A Better Deal Than Black Friday or Cyber Monday?

This is the time of year when everyone is looking for a great deal.  Retailers advertise special pricing on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.  But the best deal of all may be real estate in the Greater Athens area and Oconee.  You do not have to camp out all night in the freezing cold weather to get it! 

A recent article in the Washington Post stated that Metro Atlanta, New York, and Chicago are poised to drive a housing recovery.  The article uses the comparison of rental rates versus home prices.  When rents are rising faster than home prices, it is a sign that purchasing a home is becoming more affordable, and that creates upward pressure on home prices.  This presents an opportunity for homeowners and investors to “buy low and sell high” in the future. 

The study found that the biggest divide between rents and prices, both over the last year and the last three years, has been in Metro Atlanta including the Greater Athens area and Oconee.  Our area experienced far less of a housing bubble during the 2000 to 2005 years, with price increases outstripping rent increases only 22 percent percentage points (by comparison Miami was 136 percent). But despite having missed the excesses of the boom, the Atlanta metro area housing market still saw a steep price drop during the housing bust, falling over 29.8 percent from the peak of 2007 according to the latest Case-Shiller Index.  Prices have continued falling in the last three years, even as equivalent rents in Metro Atlanta have been rising slightly. All that adds up to a market that would seem primed for improvement; at this point, our market would seem to be the most undervalued of the 12 major markets examined in the study. 

If you or someone you know would like to better understand their options, we can help.  Please share this message as we fear many people will miss a great opportunity if they wait too long.      

For more information on these or any other listings for sale in our market please feel free to call Hank Bailey at (706) 621-1895, email to hankbailey@prudentialgeorgia.com or follow @PrudentialGARE on twitter. Hank is a resident of Oconee since 1984 and is the #1 Realtor in Oconee representing Prudential Georgia Realty! Hank's reviews on Zillow.

Click here to view neighborhoods and MLS listings in each city in Oconee, and visit my website www.hankbailey.prudentialgeorgia.com to create an advanced MLS search including foreclosures, short sales, new construction, and by schools!