Where Have All the Short Sales Gone?

Athens Real Estate Podcast with Justin Woodall

A few years ago, short sales were everywhere. You couldn’t mention real estate without talking about short sales. Now, short sales are scarce. What happened?

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If you remember, just a few years ago, short sales were everywhere. These days, you don’t hear about short sales very often. What happened? Where did all of the short sales go?

In short, the market has changed. Home values have risen, the market has improved, and sellers are no longer being forced into short sale situations.

A short sale is when the owner of the home owes more money than what the home will sell for in the current market. Since the market has improved and home values have risen, those sellers are no longer underwater. They’ve become solvent, so if they need to sell their house, they are able to sell it for more than what they owe rather than being forced to sell for less than what they owe.

Now is the best time to sell a home since 2007.

What does that mean for buyers? Since values are rising, you could’ve gotten a better deal last year than you will this year. However, you could’ve gotten a better deal in 2014 than you could’ve in 2015. The good news is that if this trend continues, you will get a better deal this year than you would if you wait until next year to buy a home.

As a seller, if you tried to sell your house a few years ago but were unsuccessful, it’s very likely that your home value has gone up. You can sell today for more than what you owe. It’s also very possible that you can sell for more than what you were asking a few years ago because the market has improved so much.

If you have been renting that house out and waiting to sell it, now may be the time to put it on the market. In fact, now is the best time to sell since 2007. We don’t know what the future holds; we’re hearing that some markets are slowing down, but the market here in Athens is still wide open.

I will keep you updated on the latest market trends as we move forward. If you have any questions in the meantime, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!