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Stabilizing Market
Intown real estate agents discuss housing trends for 2019 By Kathy Dean
T
he real estate market in Atlanta’s Intown neighborhoods may have seemed to cool at the end of last year—at least from a seller’s perspective. But if you ask homebuyers, they’re likely to say it was all getting a bit too hot to handle. We checked with some of the city’s top real estate professionals to get a clearer view of what to expect in 2019. They reported that things are stabilizing while staying strong. “The market has been self-correcting for the past few months—returning to more normal price/value conditions,” said Christopher Burell, Managing Broker and Christoper Burell Chief Motivation Officer, Ansley Atlanta Real Estate, “and we anticipate the wild spikes in home values we’ve seen to continue to level out in 2019.” He explained that while some Intown neighborhoods have still experienced 8 to 12 percent increases, the metro Atlanta area overall has experienced an 8.7 percent increase in sales price, according to the November numbers provided by the Atlanta Realtors Association. As far as inventory goes, Burell said, “A steady stream of new condominium developments around the BeltLine corridor will certainly help fill the inventory void in the coming months.” However, he said he feels there will continue to be inventory challenges in many Intown neighborhoods through the beginning of 2020, though some suburban metro markets probably will see a quicker increase in supply to meet the market’s demands by the end of 2019. “I think inventory is going to level off, which may sound like a negative, but this is not a bad thing to have happen. It means we’re getting back to a balanced market,” said Lisa Johnson, Senior Vice President and Managing Broker, Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty, Intown Office. “We can expect to see properties staying on the market longer than we have in the last few years,” she continued. “Although it’s a Lisa Johnson change from what we’ve experienced of late, we’re simply returning to what we consider a normal market and not such a robust market.” She noted that people had gotten used to a home selling immediately or within days of being listed on the open market. “That’s simply not a sustainable market in the long term,” Lisa Johnson said, adding that she expects 2019 will bring a balanced market with the potential to see a small increase in property values. Valerie Levin, Managing Broker, Senior Vice President, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Georgia Properties, Midtown Office, is optimistic, too. “I think 2019 will be an outstanding year in home sales. That being said, the market is normalizing, and wellpriced, staged homes will sell in a reasonable time frame...30 to 60 days.” She also stressed that what had been “normal” the last few years for Intown homes—three offers in one day—is not a normal market. “Over the next year, 2019 will probably remain a seller’s market in most segments,” said Leslie Johnson, Managing Broker, Harry Norman Intown Office. Intown neighborhoods and properties nearest to suburban town centers are well positioned,
22 January 2019 |
he added, because there’s such a strong preference to be in walkable neighborhoods. “Demand will remain high in core Intown neighborhoods,” he said, though he expects that inventory will remain on the low side. “Condo conversions would put a lot of inventory on the market at once, which will help to normalize the market.” Scott Askew, Owner, Engel & Volkers Intown Atlanta and Engel & Volkers Brookhaven Atlanta said that in the late summer and early fall of 2018, the market saw a slight decline in number of sales as compared to the same period a year earlier, and a bit of softening of prices. “But do not mistake this ‘softening of prices’ as sellers losing money on their investments,” he said. Valerie Levin “They’re just making less of a positive return.” He believes there’ll be a leveling of many price ranges, especially for the $1.2 million and higher properties. “Sellers need to decrease their expectations...but again, they’ll still
Scott Askew
be making money, just, perhaps, a bit less than hoped for,” Askew said. Homes in the $200,000s to $700,000s will continue to rise at a good pace, he predicted, with homes in the $800,000s to $1.2 million range experiencing an increase, but slightly less than last year’s increases. There’s good news after all—Intown homeowners can still expect their properties to increase in value. Of course, some locations attract more homebuyers than others, and the growing BeltLine and planned park on the Westside continue to be big draws. Askew said that properties along the BeltLine continue to be well received. “Decatur, Lake Claire, Candler Park, Inman Park, Old Fourth Ward, Grant Park and Morningside have been—and should At l a n t a I N t o w n Pa p e r. c o m