All Forum Posts by: J. Mitchell Bernier

No Doom and Gloom Here!

If you have been watching the news lately, especially the financial markets, there have been a lot of sad faces on there. Especially on Wall Street, there is a lot of doom and gloom around tariffs, inflation risks, and slowing economic growth in the US. This could be the start of a rolling over on the stock market with the DOW, S&P, and Nasdaq all pulling back over the past month. However, if you’re a real estate investor in Valdosta, No DOOM AND GLOOM HERE!! Let’s dive into the numbers.

Median list price of homes for sale continues its march higher to another record high of $267,000. This is only up slightly from last month, but the trend is what matters. And that trend is showing no signs of turning in the other direction. This trend is being reinforced by price per sqft hitting another record high and days on market decreasing again for another straight month.

Another sign of good things to come are inventory levels have decreased again and quite dramatically from last month. With the spring home buying season fast approaching, if these levels stay low, this will just push prices even higher in 2025. Higher prices will lead to higher rents as well. Which are starting to bounce back after being around $1500 at the start of the year, they have come back slightly to around $1,400. I would project that over the next 9-12 months it will be choppy, but by the end rent median rates will be back above $1,500 in Valdosta.

All in all, the data continues to show that Valdosta is an excellent market and is on the trend higher, and we are starting to see other media outlets take notice.

In January, Prop.text.com did their own report of their top 10 markets for 2025. They used a variety of data sources and focused on three main categories: Overvalued vs Undervalued, Population growth, and job growth. And look who came in as number 1, Valdosta came in at number 1 as the best market of 2025. The full list is listed below.

1. Valdosta, GA
2. Shelby, NC
3. Harrisonburg, VA
4. Charlottesville, VA
5. Chamberburg, PA
6. California, MD
7. El Paso, TX
8. Grand Forks, ND
9. Jonesboro, AR
10. Las Cruces, NM

 Great buy! We own one and manage multiple others on that same street. Market rents ranged from 1100-1300 on that street for 3 bedrooms. I would suggest raising the rents though, even if it is only by 25 bucks a year. 

Reason being, Valdosta has experienced two hurricanes and inflation, like we all have, in the last 5 years and the property taxes have been rising every year for the last three. I have seen some practically double over the last two! 

So, I would suggest at least raising the rents, just to cover that increase in expenses. I would be shocked if your tenant tried to move with an increase of 100 bucks or less, due to the fact of limited supply for similar size and type for under 1100 a month. 

Good Luck Let me know if I can help in any way! 

Valdosta GA Market Update: FEB 2025

Love is in the air!!

Over the past two months, and really two years, I have been watching and waiting to see when rising inventory and higher rates will finally affect the Valdosta real estate market. Thankfully I have not held my breath, because it may not happen. Another month, another solid report on the housing data, provided by Altos Research.

If you are a current owner, you are going to love these statistics:

• Median List Price= UP month over month
• Median New Listing Price=UP month over month
• Price Per Sqft=UP month over month
• Avg days on Market=Down month over month
• Median days on Market=Down month over month
• Inventory=Down month over month

I don’t know if it could get much better for sellers! However, in every real estate transaction there is someone else on the other end of the table. Buyers are getting beat up right now… The question remains, will the buyers ever regain control, or will it always be an uphill climb to become a new homeowner???

The one negative from this month’s report is rent rates, surprisingly went down. It would seem logical to think that the above metrics would lead to higher rent prices, but that is not the case. Last month we saw median rent at $1,500 a month and it fell back to $1,350 a month this month. What could be a factor not showing up in the data is timing. With Valdosta being a town full of college kids and military families, the busiest time for U-Haul will be around December and May. So, with a flood of renter’s leases ending at year end this could of caused the demand to increase dramatically, driving up median asking rent. Now, that demand has cooled landlords are now offering lower rents to entice new renters.

This is a working theory that we will continue to monitor. None the less, the Valdosta housing market continues to move up and up.

Even if it is only a 2 bedroom, great looking place. Wish they would build houses with this style of architecture still. Instead of the cookie cutter blocks you see now a days. 

Valdosta GA Market Update: Jan 2025

Happy New Year!!

Most of the US real estate market has seen inventory continue to rise with a lot of relisting and stale dated listings, but Valdosta seems to be a “Great White Buffalo” (if you get the movie reference). Last month, I was projecting to see the inventory numbers rise with seasonality and get a slight bump from Hurricane Helene, but that has proven to not be the case.

New inventory and relisting rates have actually declined month over month which is allowing to pricing to remain elevated. Since the last report, we have seen a significant increase to Median Price of New Listings, from $227,950 to $241,450. This is also showing up in the increase to Median List Price of all inventories.

Transaction volumes continue to be slowed with days on market increasing, but Sellers are remaining defiant and not coming off too much of their higher prices. Sellers continue to drive the Valdosta market even during this higher rate environment.

Last month, we were hearing that rental listings under $1250 were continuing to get movement, but anything higher was becoming stale on the rental market. That was short lived! As you can see, the median rent MoM has jumped from $1388 to $1,500 and after a conversation with our leasing team, they have been the busiest they have been in a few weeks, leasing multiple properties with increased rates and in little time on the market for rent. When asked, Are you seeing any pushback on leasing rates? “Absolutely not, we had only one tenant out of eight give any dissatisfaction with the new rent rates this week”

Wil be interested to see if the resale market reverses course over the next month, with rates steady going up the past few weeks.

 Hey Kevin, 

I have worked with these two offices a bunch for clients and would recommend them over just about anyone. 

Mike Rayboun- Rayboun Winegardner Attorneys at Law

Owen Title Company. 

Good Luck! 

 This does seem like a lot of communication, but I would have a conversation with the owner about this prior to firing. I would explain to them your process of handling requests, response times, property inspections, and so on. If they are wanting an even more hands-on approach, then i would refer them out. I wouldn't try and price it up to keep the business. I would just stick to your systems and processes and if the fits not there so be it. However; I would explain it to them first before just letting them go. 

 Hey Jonathan! We treat all of these properties the same as any other, so our down payment is the same for section 8 homes or regular cash paying tenants. We don't have a loan minimum or purchase price minimum, so purchase price is up to you. 

Our biggest thing is the deal has to cashflow at a 1.2X DSCR. That is higher than most, but we want to see you succeed and only way to do that is to be sure every investor has room in the rent income to service unexpected issues.

We do all our loans as balance sheet loans, so that means short term fixed rates with 20yr amortizations and 20% down. 

Hope that helps! 

 @Nicholas Stout Welcome to the section 8 space!

We have had voucher tenants in two separate markets and have found them to be our top performers overall. Nathan is right regarding timelines, need to plan for 60 days for anything you want. However; in Georgia if the semi-annual inspection finds something wrong, you have to get it done in 24hrs. So be prepared for that. I will say my personal experience has been better than Nathan's regarding the cleanliness of the home and overall tenant experience. 

Our voucher tenants tend to stay much longer than our cash paying tenants. Like 3 to 5 times longer. Plus, in Georgia, the tenant can be kicked off the program if they trash the property or don't pay their portion. So, most treat that voucher as a golden ticket and will do just about anything to not lose it. There are outliers of course. We have had no trouble getting our rents increased as long as we have three comps to support it and send in our request in a timely manner, 60 days out. 

One suggestion, go to your states housing page and find the inspection sheet they use and keep a copy of it when you walk your home. That way you can have everything checked off before the inspector comes. Also, take as many pictures as possible before the tenant moves in, again this protects you in case of damage caused by tenant. 

This is a copy of the inspection sheet in Georgia we use: Housing Inspection Sheet

Good Luck! 

 Are these being done on 10 year interest only then P&I for the remaining 30? Is the rate fixed or floating? Lastly how long does the prepay penalty last? Just have a lot of questions on a 40yr loan option. Just seems foreign when we do 15 and 20yr almost exclusively.