Q1 Recap for the Walton HS District!

I have analyzed the data for the Walton School District’s current housing market. Today I am sharing the findings.

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I want to share with you today what happened in the first quarter of 2018 in the Walton School District. 

The first thing we look at is actives, or how many homes came on the market in the first quarter. This year, 242 homes came on the market, which seems like a lot since currently there are only 199 active listings. We do expect that to go up now that spring break is over. 

The average list price is a staggering $923,000. To understand where the market is, since this is not the whole story, we really want to look at what is currently pending and what sold in the first quarter. 

110 homes sold during the first quarter. The average sales price was $563,000 and the average days on market was 84 days. Obviously, the average sales price is $400,000 off the average list price I just mentioned. The average list-to-sales price is 95%, meaning that sellers received 95% of what they were asking for, on average. 

For current pendings, we have 11 homes under contract with an average list price for those homes of $641,000. 

What does all that tell us? We can see that there is a large discrepancy between the average list price currently versus what is really selling in the market. That difference is coming from new construction. We have an incredible amount of inventory above $900,000 that is new construction that is also competing with the resale market. 

Under $900,000, it is a seller’s market in the Walton School District. Inventory is low, and the number of buyers is high, which is why you see so many homes that go under contract so quickly and the days on market extremely low. 

The $900,000 and above market, meanwhile, is currently a buyer’s market. There is too much inventory to satisfy the few buyers. 

What does all this mean? If you are a buyer right now buying under $900,000, expect a lot of competition with offers. Expect that when you find a home that you love, there will be several other buyers that love it as well. So, learn how to win in the market—write great buyer letters, get pre-approved early, make yourself as close to a cash buyer as possible. 

Now, if you are buying above $900,000, you are going to have some negotiating room. Plus, you have the option of new construction or resales. Use that to your advantage and be open to the idea that there may be a few homes you want to make offers on. 

What does this mean if you are a seller? If you are seller under $900,000 in a seller’s market, that means that you don’t have to do as much to your home to get it ready. You are going to have a lot of showings in the beginning, and you are going to go under contract quickly. 

What it doesn’t mean is that you can way overprice your house. It still has to appraise, and buyers are smart enough to understand what is overpriced. Pricing it right could result in multiple offers. 

If you are a seller in the $900,000 and above, this is where you must be more careful. Focus more on the active listings than you do on the sold listings. That is how you will net top dollar in this market. 

If you would like to know about a different school district or market anywhere in Metro Atlanta, call me and I would be happy to pull the same data for you. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me by phone or email. I look forward to speaking you soon.