May 3, 2010

The real estate industry is definitely looking up in the first quarter of 2010! March was Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers’ best month in more than two years with sales contracts up a whopping 25% and closings up 11% year over year.

“As the market corrects itself, we’re seeing a lot of buyers taking advantage of the low prices and interest rates,” said President and CEO Kevin Levent. “The Home Buyer Tax Credit has been a great sales motivator, and I think it’s created the shift in the market that we needed. Sales will continue to occur, even after it is no longer available.”

When glancing at the newspaper, internet news sites or even talking with friends and family, moods are definitely changing towards a positive outlook for the real estate industry.

Pending home sales showed a healthy gain in February according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index rose 9.2 percent in the South bringing it to a level of 107, 17.5 percent higher than in February 2009. In a recent report by Gallup, a leading source of economic surveys and information, 77 percent of Americans stated that they expect stable or rising home prices this year.

NAR also reported that vacation home sales rose 7.9 percent in 2009 across the country, and half of them were purchased in the South.

In the large-cities category, Atlanta is the second most cost-competitive location to do business according to a study by KPMG LLP. We have very competitive labor costs along with moderately low office/industrial leasing and sales tax costs. According to U-Haul International Inc, Atlanta is the No. 6 destination for relocating Americans.

“BHGRE Metro Brokers sales associates have continued to report more buyers and sellers entering the market,” said Levent. “As long as this momentum keeps up, we’ll be seeing a great summer of home sales.”

Founded in 1979 with just one office and a handful of sales associates, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers is the largest Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate® franchise in the world with more than 2,000 licensees, making the company the largest license holder in the state of Georgia. BHGRE Metro Brokers is also the number one selling broker in metro Atlanta and north Georgia.

To contact BHGRE Metro Brokers, call 404.843.2500 or send us a message.