The Metro Atlanta area is made up of over 16 counties and is growing. It is considered one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country. Once you decide to purchase a home and before you call a Realtor, consider where in Metro Atlanta you want to live—county and city.
Think about where you work, where your friends and family live, where you dine, exercise, and hang out—then consider the residential area. Intown living is very different from living in the suburbs. Ride through some communities in various areas of town to get a feel for it, listen to the traffic report to see how long it will take to get to work, and go online and see what home values are in different counties. Once you narrow down the area, you are ready to call a Realtor.
Let’s look at a real-life example. Your lender has just pre-approved you for a $300k home purchase. As your Realtor, I will set up a search for you ranging from $280-310k. In this current market, I am going to start just a little lower than $300k to give you room to make a competitive offer in the case of multiple offers. However, there are times when a home sits on the market for a while, and the seller is motivated enough to negotiate.
Right now, in DeKalb, Cobb, and Gwinnett counties, respectively, there are 133, 53, and 63 single-family homes currently on the market. About 50% of those homes will go “under contract” in less than 30 days, so you can see that the competition in Cobb and Gwinnett is slightly greater than DeKalb. Be prepared.
Finally, as you are doing your research, you are not only looking at the number of homes on the market and the pricing, but you are also looking at what you can purchase at that price.
Using the above example, at $300k are you purchasing a fixer-upper or a renovated home? Is there new construction in the area at that price point? How old are these homes? What is the style of these homes—ranch, two-story, or split foyer?
When you reach out to a Realtor, knowing some of this information will make it easier to find the right home and will also reduce the stress of your search.
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