Atlanta, GA Real Estate Market Outlook

[Kavian Anderson-Spells]

My first post! 

I'm a newbie looking for my first deal. I just started reading The Ultimate Beginners' Guide to Real Estate Investing and I ran across the explanation of the Real Estate Market Cycle. My question is, where do you think the market cycle is for the Atlanta, GA area? I understand that every county/zip code can be different so if you want to go into a specific area, please do! 

Refresher:

The Peak: Prices are at an all-time high, inventory is down. Multiple offers are common, even above asking price

The Tipping Point: Prices begin to fall. Foreclosures begin rising

The Decline: Proces continue to fall, foreclosures flood the market. There is a fear of buying

The Bottom: Prices bottom out, there is excess inventory. Deals are plentiful and cash-flow is at an all-time high

The Climb: confidence improves leading to more sales. Declining inventory and rising prices.

[Canesha Edwards]

@Kavian Anderson-Spells

Welcome to BP. Honestly, I believe the Atlanta market is over priced, especially closer to the city. I do agree that the south side of Atlanta has lower price points but it really depends on what type of investor you’re looking to be and what type of tenant you want.

I say this because while everybody is looking to the Southside of Atlanta for deals, very few people are thinking about the area as a whole. The school systems on the Southside are terrible. ( Jonesboro, College Park, Riverdale are in Clayton County and South Fulton school districts which I would argue are probably in the top 5 worst school districts).

East point and some parts of College are close to a private school ( Woodward Academy). If you can find houses in this area for a discounted price, you probably could make a decent profit flipping. Everywhere else on the Southside I don’t see flipping being that profitable, unless maybe you’re supplying affordable housing.

I do feel like we’re almost at the end of this current market cycle, so for that reason I’m personally not buying anything in Atlanta. I’m aggressively saving money so when the market does turn I’ll be in a great position to buy. However, in 6-9 months if there hasn’t been a slow down, I might look to buy but I’m not in a rush.

The most important thing to remember when investing, is its all about the numbers. The number have to make sense. Set your property criteria, Be conservative in your underwriting, and never just take a person’s word for something. And don’t invest off of speculation.

I hope This helps.

Feel free to reach out to me with any other questions you may have.

Just my 2 cents.

Canesha