Is the Walton High School housing market immune to COVID-19? Given the charts below, it would seem that it contracted the virus in March, developed the antibodies and is now on its way to recovering.
Miller Group Realty (MGR) has been tracking since March the weekly higher value ($600,000+) binding contract activity in four elementary schools (East Side, Mt Bethel, Sope Creek, Timber Ridge) that feed Walton. Continue reading “Is The Walton High School Housing Market Immune?”
What’s reality?
A higher value sale in the Miller Group Realty (MGR) target market was recently recorded. The MLS indicates it went under contract in only 11 days at 100% of the asking price. That’s pretty remarkable given the near shut-down of the housing market beginning mid-March due to the Covid-19 virus.
Detailed research, however, reveals a different story; i.e., the property had actually been on/off the market four times over the past 11 months, required 247 days to go under contract, and finally sold for 80% of the original list price. Continue reading “What’s Real in Real Estate?”
Is Covid-19 negatively impacting the Walton High School housing market? While using a larger market, such as the greater metro Atlanta area, would likely provide better insight the following is pertinent to those with higher value homes in Walton.
The following charts contrast the number of resale listings priced $600,000+ that went under contract the first 12 week of the year.
Using the Dow Jones Industry Average as a backdrop and frame of reference it appeared that the 2020 steady decline in the number of binding agreements was in sync with the financial market. Both peaked about Week 8, and then began to decline. Is there a connection?
It seemed so, until past year’s data was collected. Several recent years mimic to a degree the current trend while other years exhibited the seasonal crescendo one has come to expect from the early spring to early summer period.
The Walton housing market provides a small data sample and therefore trends are difficult to detect. With that said, the number of binding contracts through the first 12 weeks of 2020 is well ahead of recent years. Will that pace continue?
I personally believe a slowdown has begun in the Walton area as well as across the country. There is just too much uncertainty surrounding the virus at the present to make any specific projections with a high level of confidence. Are we entering another “2008”? Time will tell. What I do believe to be certain is that anyone with a house currently on the market had better adjust their outlook (lower) if they want to reach the closing table in the next four to eight weeks.
Bloom or bug? What gets you thinking about making a move?
Blooms are about to appear with spring just around the corner. We don’t need a calendar to know it. Our eyes and nose tell us. Warmer weather. More sunshine. Greener grass. Homeowners transform into amateur gardeners. And perennials, shrubs and trees show us with new growth out of the ground or on old wood, and, yes, shortly thereafter blooms. Visual images and sense of smell are powerful motivators.
The bug in this case is not the insect but the emotion and mindset that prompts one to begin a search online, visit an Open House, drive neighborhoods, converse with friends, pause social media feeds displaying new construction, peruse a luxury home magazine, tune-in a DIY program, or swear off that home repair budget buster?
The arrival of spring and early summer drives activity in the metro Atlanta area. This graph of 2019 is similarly repeated year after year. The seasonal trend is pretty consistent.
Miller Group Realty has an exclusive focus on this market. Contract Brady to discuss your plans.
The monthly Walton High School real estate stats I publish to my website takes almost a full day as the data is not readily available from the MLS system and due to the time involved in updating the charts and preparing and uploading the images. The fun part begins when the work is completed; i.e., comparing and contrasting what has transpired relative to other areas, schools, price ranges and over time.
The featured image above (and fully labeled below) depicts the percentage change in the resale (excludes new construction) average sales price over the last four years of detached homes (excludes condos, town homes, land, and lots) in the Walton High School district versus the four major metro Atlanta counties of Dekalb, Fulton, Gwinnett and Cobb (excluding Walton High School). Which line represents Walton? Think school colors. Continue reading “Walton High School Housing Market Performance”
Housing inventory shortage is the conversation of the day, and has been for a while. It seems to be an oxymoron that sellers seem to feel anxious that houses are just sitting and clocking more and more days on market, while buyers bemuse that there are few choices due to the lack of inventory. What gives?
I decided to take a look at the number of Active Listings in my area of concentration – the higher value homes in Walton High School. As of today, 7/9/19, there are 113 resales (not new construction) of detached (not attached, land, lots, rentals) homes on the market priced at or above $600,000. That seemed like a lot so I went back in time to compare that number to prior years.
This chart shows the results. It’s no surprise to see that July 2009 had only 33 Active Listings. The housing market was so bad at the time that only those with big motivation decided to sell or at least attempted to sell.
It appears that everyone seemed to think the recession was over in 2010. Note the increase from the prior year and that the July 2010 inventory was the same then as today (113).
In retrospect, while Realtors and buyers would like to see more homeowners offering their house for sale, our current level of inventory is better (higher) than it has been for years.
Back to the issue or feeling that the market has gone dry. Stats are likely to show (subject of another post) that Right Pricing (an original list price that attracts offers without the need for reductions) is more effective than starting high. Are there fewer buyers in the market today at this price point, or are there fewer buyers willing to overpay?
Selling a house is not rock science. Experienced and novice agents alike perform this exercise every day of the year. The challenge is to set the right environment to give the seller the very best opportunity to net more at closing, in less time.
Visit Miller Group Realty online and spend a few minutes with Best Home Marketing to begin to appreciate why I may be best positioned to represent the interest of those with higher value Walton High School homes in the elementary schools of East Side, Mount Bethel, Sope Creek and Timber Ridge.
As a reminder, homeowners have 45 days after receiving their Annual Notice of Assessment to file a written appeal. (The notice includes the deadline date.)
In case you were not aware, the county does make periodic onsite visits to update their property record from which to more accurately determine fair market values and/or make other determinations. More information can be found at www.CobbAssessor.org.
Don’t rely on the county’s opinion of value when preparing to sell. A Realtor and/or appraisal are a better resource for determining the potential sale price.
MillerGroupRealty.com is the home for higher value Walton High School home resale stats by price range in Dickerson Middle School and Dodgen Middle School and the four elementary schools of East Side, Mount Bethel, Sope Creek and Timber Ridge that feed them. The local MLS provides a number of market metrics but system design does not support the level of detail that is so important to homeowners living within the Walton High School attendance zone.
The most recent Walton High School numbers reveal the following: Continue reading “Higher Value Walton High School Home Resale Stats”
Time in the sun? Use this before and during prolonged exposure to protect against sunburn.
Prolonged time on the market? Expect cash burn as there is no SPF equivalent. The best approach to selling higher value Walton High School homes* is Miller Group Realty Best Home Marketing and Right Pricing to be Moved By The Experience and to have the best opportunity to net more at closing in less time.
The difference is huge and illustrated using 2018 transactions*. The following charts contrast listings that did not require a price change in order to close (Right Price) with those that did. Note the drastic difference in the SP/OLP% and Seller Days On Market (SDOM).
*Includes Walton High School resales of single family detached homes in East Side, Mt Bethel, Sope Creek and Timber Ridge Elementary Schools.
Contact Brady (678-933-7780) when preparing to sell or desire a 2nd opinion, and visit Miller Group Realty monthly to follow hyperlocal Walton stats by elementary school and price range.
What’s happening the in the Walton High School area?
The standard answer comes from the MLS reporting, but the best answer comes from an in-depth study using FMLS raw data which requires an extensive manual process. This step is regarded as critical because it is very revealing and relevant when counseling sellers on how best to prepare and position their property to improve the opportunity to net more at closing, in less time. It is the MGR business model, local knowledge, and depth of experience that brings about the delicate balance between these opposing forces. So why the need for hours of work when push button MLS reporting is available?
First, the MLS “Original” List Price is a bit of a misnomer as the OLP comes from the most recent listing and not the initial listing in a multiple listings scenario; i.e., when more than one listing has been used to market a property. As show below, the average homeowner goes through about 2 listings in their effort to sell.
Second, the MLS “Total” Days On Market does not always reflect the entire amount of time a property has been offered for sale, and especially so in a multiple listing scenario due to MLS reporting rules.
Third, the MLS system is not currently built to segment results based on whether or not price changes were introduced.
Fourth, is the granularity needed to isolate the events down to the elementary school and price range level. More detailed information leads to better and more confident decision making.
The featured chart (in seasonal colors of red/green) illustrates two things; a) what happens when property is initially offered for sales at the Right Price (no price changes were required), and b) how this ratio varies among the upper price ranges.
Directly related to the falling SP/OLP% is the corresponding increasing days on market when the Right Price has not been identified.
These stats are for the higher value resale Walton High School single family detached homes in just four elementary schools (East Side, Mount Bethel, Sope Creek and Timber Ridge) because it is the focus of my business, and clients that fall into this slice of the market appreciate and benefit from this concentrated effort.
Below is the summary section of the reporting for the List Date 1/1/18 – 11/20/18 with List Price $800k – $999k, comparing among other things the variance between the MLS TDOM and MGR SDOM (seller days on market). It is very enlightening!
Contact me when you plan to sell and I’ll be glad to review this information in detail and other aspects of the MGR Best Home Marketing approach to selling higher value property.
