Jim Collins in “Good To Great” recommends creating for yourself a BHAG (pronounced Bee-HAG), or a Big Hairy Audacious Goal. This is your BIG WHY – the reason you get up in the morning!! Don’t be afraid to think BIG BIG BIG! As Jim Collins says, “With a big enough WHY, you can overcome any HOW.”
Establish a reasonable timeline on how long your BHAG will take, then work backward. Breakdown sub-goals for the year, quarter, month, week and day; this will be your road map (otherwise you won’t know where you are going or if you are headed to the right direction!).
Keep in mind that when you share your BHAG with others their jaws should drop…
2019 was a record year for real estate and at the beginning of 2020 it was anticipated that 2019’s numbers would be exceeded in 2020. Then the pandemic hit and essentially hit the pause button on real estate for 7 weeks. In the worst month of 2020 the transactions were down 42% (April) compared to 2019.
Many feared that 2020 would not live up to expectations and exceed 2019… but it did! The biggest issue from 2020 was that we never got the influx of spring listings, which normally happens like clockwork every year. The long shelter-in-place and consequent necessity to work from home had a major impact on our society and the housing market. The demand for single family houses in good school districts sky-rocketed and interest rates hit new all-time lows … a total of 14 times over the year!
A significant increase in demand combined with a significant decrease in inventory led to the perfect real estate storm. Average house appreciation in 2020 was 7.8% for metro Atlanta. 2021’s strong market start suggests more of the same to come, at least for the near future.
What immediate changes is this causing?
We are getting Suburbia nucleuses in the suburbs.
As the city-dwellers move out to the suburbs, they want to still have that ‘walkability lifestyle’ that they experienced in the city. Pools and fire pits have become the go-to upgrades for backyards. Closed floor plans are now preferred by couples both working from home… And my personal favorite: prefabricated flex-sheds are being converted into extra living space (i.e. office).
What is the forecast for Altanta Real Estate in 2021?
The wild card for 2021, according to my humble opinion, is mortgage forbearance. At its peak, almost 8% of mortgage holders took advantage of forbearance (deferring your mortgage payment to a later date). The more realistic number to look at, however, is closer to 4% because almost half of the people that took advantage of forbearance did not need to. The normal default rate on a mortgage is between 1-2% (COVID or not).
These motivated sellers in default normally help bring the average of the market down. Instead, they are currently accruing mortgage payments but will at some point have to sell, and the majority of them will hit the market at the same time. This will be a great opportunity for buyers, especially first time buyers, as there will be an influx of cheap houses needing work with the sellers needing to sell fast. This will essentially create two groups of sellers and lead to a small market correction.
Rest assured this will be nothing like 2008; there is currently a high demand, much stricter lending criteria, lots of cash on the side lines, and tons of housing equity built up in the last decade. This is without a doubt the healthiest the real estate market has ever been!
With the Fed affirming that they will not even discuss raising interest rates until Q3 ’21, there is no end in sight to a positive real estate market trajectory. Essentially, this is a great time to sell, a great time to buy, and most importantly, a great time to borrow. I have a client who prequalified at 2.25% with decent credit on a conventional loan: UNBELIEVABLE!
Should you want to know how much your house is worth, see what is currently available for purchase, or speak with a lender to get an idea what your potential interest rate is without pulling your credit, I AM HERE TO ASSIST!
In closing, if you would also like to be inspired and motivated by “Good to Great” of Jim Collins, feel free to send me an email so I can send you the e-book!
Thank you and have a great day!
-Val