
Are you in the market to buy a home in Alpharetta or Cumming, Forsyth County this year? There are quite a few homes on the market right now, so you, as the buyer, have the comfort of being picky. Who knows, your dream home may be out there right now. But, there is one very important factor to consider in the current Alpharetta & Forsyth County real estate market: The bottom-line price. You may be thinking, "of course, price is the most important factor". But, it's not what you can afford, it's how much instant equity you will have in the home you are about to purchase.
Homes in this area have seen such a fast appreciation in the past few years, that the market price had to level off, or ultimately crash. Fortunately, prices have leveled off, and you should not see such rapid escalation of housing prices. This is good news for the real estate market, as we are already seeing homes moving again. Home prices were just rising so much, that they were beginning to exceed the average home buyers' price range. So the market has improved, and home prices should remain on a steady, realistic rise for awhile.
In this changing market, though, many sellers have not realized the pricing slow down. Whereas one year ago, they may have been able to sell their home at a $50k gain, they just cannot sell it at those prices now. But many sellers are starting to realize this, and dropping their prices. The most important thing you can do, as a buyer, is to make sure you have a qualified Realtor who is able to give you an honest assessment of how the price of your next home rates in comparison to other homes that have sold recently and are currently on the market. Financially, you should choose a home that has some instant equity. Again, this sounds obvious, but when you are searching for that perfect home, you may be tempted to overpay. In the past few years, you would not suffer for it, but in today's market with prices leveling, you might be in trouble if you had to move again anytime soon. And, you may say, "well, this is our dream home, and we plan to be here for a long time". Let me just tell you, that circumstances change, and too often we see "dream homes" being sold within a year.
So, be picky, and find the home that suites you or your family best, but also factor in how much equity is in that next home when you buy it. You will not regret it.