Best and Worst Performing Zip Codes in Metro Atlanta*
BusinessWeek published an article this week on the best and worst performing zip codes in the top 20 metropolitan areas. As mentioned here before, we get caught up in the news and paint the real estate market with a broad brush because all we hear is bad news. I thought this was a helpful article because it attempted to point out the good with the bad, something more of the media should aspire to do. Lesley and I have lived in Alpharetta before, and I spent almost seven years working in the area. It’s a great community, which has seen an influx of homeowners thanks to newer affordable luxury housing, a robust commercial market, and the rise, fall and leveling out of the technology sector so prevalent in the area.
The only flaw I see in these statistics is that it’s built around the change in percentage of homesellers’ list prices. We really don’t know how realistic these homesellers are or how motivated they may be. It’s quite easy to deny the downturn in the market and to take the “Well, my house hasn’t lost it’s value” approach. Let’s face it. We’ve all lost money. Lesley and I have lost nearly $50,000 in equity since we purchased our home last year, and we purchased in one of the hottest zip codes in the state of Georgia. With the correct information from a professional real estate agent team, homeowners get realistic home sale and market statistics, which should in turn be reflected in quicker home sales at a higher list/sale price. Don’t leave the sale of your home up to chance. Gary Keller, the founder of Keller Williams Realty, calls everyone from homeowners and agents to “get real and get right.” The market will be back, but until then we have to be students studying the statistics and paying close attention to the many variables in the economy affecting the rise and fall such as interest rates, liquidity, employment, consumer confidence, gas prices, etc. It’s a much more complicated climate to do business in these days, but that’s even more reason to seek the guidance of a Realtor.
Highlights from the article include:
Best-performing ZIP code: Alpharetta, Ga. 30022
Annual % change in asking prices: +12%
Median listing price: $464,664
Days on market: 84
Worst-performing ZIP code: Atlanta (Oakland City), Ga. 30310
Annual % change in asking prices: -49%
Median listing price: $66,426
Days on market: 99
*Editor’s note: The year-over-year percentage change compares the 90-day rolling average of median asking prices for existing single-family homes in the 12-month period ending July 11, 2008, to the same period a year earlier. Only ZIP codes with at least 50 active listings as of July 11 were selected.
Source: Altos Research
