With less than twenty-nine-thousand homes listed for sale in the Atlanta market, a low number matching numbers not seen since the early 1990's, sellers would hope values to be increasing and time on market to be decreasing. Neither are necessarily true though the data is not mutually exclusive.
Atlanta agent Ellen Crawford writes, "The reason is that Atlanta area metro unemployment still remains a major factor in the sluggish Atlanta real estate market that is dodged by credit challenged Atlanta home buyers are looking for a great deals in bank owned properties, and short sales", and she should know.
Even though mortgage rates are at an all time low having seen rates under 4% even for fixed rate thirty year terms buyers are hesitant because of an uncertain economy and trepidation over the possibilities facing us in one of the most politically divided times in recent history in an election year.
As of today the Georgia Department of Labor shows 10.2% unemployment which, as is well understood, only accounts for people who are claiming unemployment. Economic and business specialists, like Atlanta Fed chief Dennis Lockhart, put the actual number of unemployed in Georgia easily above 16% with nearly 1 in 6 employable Georgians currently out of work and a large percentage of those not even actively seeking employment.
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