Market Report, Atlanta Real Estate
Roger Bozza
Atlanta Market Update - January 2021

Atlanta Housing Market Update: January 2021

The Atlanta Housing Market started 2021 the same way it ended 2020, with prices continuing to increase and supply continuing to decrease. Current supply levels dropped to 1.2 months (6 months is normal) and the median sales prices was $309,000, up 17.9% from 2019. Below is the market update for January 2021 from the Atlanta REALTORS® Association.

January Highlights

Demand: January residential sales were at 4,421, an increase of 1.0% from the previous year.

Price: Average and median sales prices continue to outpace 2020’s figures, with positive gains. The median sales price in January was $309,000, an increase of 17.9% from last January. The average sales price was $379,000, up 17.9% from the previous year.

Supply: Atlanta area housing inventory totaled 8,133 units in January, a decrease of 48.5% from January 2020. New listings totaled 6,679, down 19.4% from January 2020 and up 27.1% from the previous month. The month’s supply over a 12-month period decreased to 1.2 months.

Atlanta Market Update - January 2021
Market Report, Atlanta Real Estate
Roger Bozza
Atlanta Market Update - November 2020

Atlanta Housing Market Update: November 2020

The Atlanta Housing Market remained strong in November. Demand remained strong, up 9.8% from 2019. Due to a continued drop in inventory and strong demand, prices continued to appreciate throughout Atlanta. Current supply levels dropped to 1.6 months (6 months is normal) and the median sales prices was $310,000, up 15.7% from 2019.

November Highlights

Demand: November residential sales were at 5,950, an increase of 9.8% from the previous year.

Price: Average and median sales prices continue to gain traction and outpace 2019’s figures, with positive gains. The median sales price in November was $310,000, an increase of 15.7% from last November. The average sales price was $376,500, up 15.0% from the previous year.

Supply: Atlanta area housing inventory totaled 10,485 units in November, a decrease of 42.3% from November 2019. New listings totaled 6,239, down 5.8% from November 2019 and down 27.1% from the previous month. The month’s supply over a 12-month period decreased to 1.6 months.

Atlanta Market Update - November 2020
Market Report, Atlanta Real Estate
Roger Bozza
Atlanta Market Update - October 2020

Atlanta Housing Market Update: October 2020

As expected the overall volume of real estate transactions decreased. However due to a continued drop in inventory and low interest rates, prices continued to appreciate throughout Atlanta. Below is the market update for October 2020 from the Atlanta REALTORS® Association.

October 2020 Highlights

Demand: October residential sales were at 6,051, a decrease of 3.3% from the previous year.

Price: Average and median sales prices continue to gain traction and outpace 2019’s figures, with positive gains. The median sales price in October was $315,000, an increase of 19.8% from last October. The average sales price was $375,500, up 16.8% from the previous year.

Supply: Atlanta area housing inventory totaled 12,291 units in October, a decrease of 36.9% from October 2019. New listings totaled 8,122, down 9.5% from October 2019 and down 4.7% from the previous month. The month’s supply over a 12-month period decreased to 2.0 months.

Demand: May residential sales were at 4,085, a decrease of 36.8% from the previous year.

Atlanta Market Update - October 2020
Market Report, Atlanta Real Estate, Selling Real Estate, Buying Real Estate, Real Estate Investing
Roger Bozza
Atlanta Market Update - September 2020

Atlanta Market Update - September 2020

The Atlanta Real Estate Market in September continued the strong activity observed in August 2020. Despite all of the uncertainty in the country, September has showed that the fundamentals are still in place to support a strong Atlanta housing market. Record low mortgage rates have certainly driven demand along with a renewed optimism in the economy. Strong demand along with low (and decreasing) supply has resulted in houses flying off the market, bidding wars and continued price appreciation. Although prices continue to rise in Metro Atlanta and the surrounding suburbs, the extremely low interest rates have helped counterbalance the increase in prices. Without an increase in inventory it will be interesting to see where the market goes next.

Here’s a summary of some key metrics.

Atlanta Market Update - September 2020
Market Report, Atlanta Real Estate, Selling Real Estate, Buying Real Estate, Real Estate Investing
Roger Bozza
Atlanta Market Update - August 2020

Atlanta Market Update - August 2020

The Atlanta Real Estate Market in August continued the strong activity observed in July 2020 and took it to the next level. The strong demand in June and July is generally believed to be due to pent up demand from the shutdown. August has showed that the fundamentals are still in place to support a strong housing market. Record low mortgage rates have certainly driven demand along with a renewed optimism in the economy. Strong demand along with low (and decreasing) supply has resulted in houses flying off the market, bidding wars and continued price appreciation. Although prices continue to rise in Metro Atlanta and the surrounding suburbs, the extremely low interest rates have helped counterbalance the increased cost. Without an increase in inventory it will be interesting to see where the market goes next.

Here’s a summary of some key metrics.

Atlanta Market Update - August 2020

rental properties

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How I Choose A Rental Property

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How I Choose A Rental Property

How I Choose A Rental Property

Since I’ve acquired a few rental properties and have enjoyed some level of success I thought I’d share some things I’ve learned and my thoughts on how to best position yourself for success. I may have a slightly different perspective than most, but it’s based on real world experience, being open minded and flexible and constantly analyzing what is working and why. Most people look only at the numbers to determine if a rental property is a good investment or not. I, on the other hand, blend analytics with subjective factors that impact success.

Your Property Is A Product - Treat It Like One

In order to be successful in the Rental Property business you need to think of your rental property as a product that you’re selling. Whether you’re renting out a house long-term or plan to sell it, you have a product that you want people to pay for. Like any product there is always competition, so you’ll need a quality product that stands out among the rest. Emotion plays a large role when many people decide on a place to live. Ultimately this will be the home they will be living in for at least a year. Their decision taps into their emotional side and will be greatly impacted by things like; beautiful spa-like bathroom with soaking tub, upgraded kitchen with custom design elements, clean, nice paint, custom backsplash, porch swing/bench, large deck to entertain.

The Power of Leverage

The Power of Leverage

Should You Use Debt to Invest in Real Estate

There are a couple of schools of thought on the use of leverage (a.k.a. debt) for investing. Dave Ramsey preaches that everyone should be completely debt free and you should never use debt to acquire investments. Unfortunately that means that most of us would never have a chance to invest in real estate. I on the other hand believe that the responsible use of leverage can provide returns far superior to investments relying on cash only and dramatically accelerate the growth of your net worth while allowing you to reach goals you may have never reached otherwise. The use of leverage is one major advantage real estate investments have over others like stocks and bonds.

The Basics

The fundamental idea of using debt to invest in real estate is quite simple. You pay a portion of the purchase price for a piece of real estate with money from your savings and obtain a loan for the remainder. Although the concept is simple and the majority of people who purchase a home use this approach its true power is displayed when investing in rental properties. There are many forms of leverage and various strategies but in this post I will focus on the simplest one and the one that has provided me with great results.

Accelerated ROI

To illustrate Accelerated ROI from the use of leverage I’m going to provide two examples from my personal portfolio.

Why You Should Invest In Rental Properties!

Why You Should Invest In Rental Properties!

WHY INVEST IN RENTAL PROPERTIES

Many think that investing in rental properties is more difficult and risky than it actually is and you need to be a real estate expert to do so. I’m here to let you know that’s not true. Although you should not go in overconfident and under informed the fact is anyone can do it as long as you have the right mindset, realistic expectations, a willingness to learn and don’t mind putting in the work. Since there’s a ton of information I can provide on this topic I’m going to break it up into a series of posts. This post will focus on why you should consider investing in rental properties while future posts will address the details around how to do so as well as some of the downsides and risks.

CASH FLOW

One of the most obvious benefits and most popular reasons people acquire rental properties is the additional cash flow it provides. To keep it simple, Cash Flow is the difference between the rent you’re collecting and your expenses for the property. Expenses can include regular maintenance, insurance, repairs, loan interest, HOA, commissions and utilities. This additional cash flow can be used to pay living expenses, supplement retirement or invest in additional properties. Although it’s critical to accurately calculate your expenses (many new investors underestimate their expenses) when determining cash flow we will see that even if you don’t have great cash flow there are other benefits to owning rental properties.