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Today’s All About Real Estate segment on Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio features an interview with Michael Barsky, a residential real estate broker and self-proclaimed presale guru. Barsky is on hand to discuss the biggest change he’s seen in the real estate market in the last five years – the shift away from market homes to presales.
Many builders have decreased the number of market homes it builds as presales have increased. This has changed the real estate landscape for both buyers and builders in a variety of ways, which Barsky discusses throughout the interview.
The primary reason this shift has occurred is that building market homes leaves builders with more risk. Standing unsold inventory homes costs builders a significant amount of money, and after the recent downtown, many builders aren’t willing to have as much inventory on the ground.
Buyers are also becoming more particular about what they want in a home, which is partially attributed to popular sites such as Pinterest and Houzz. Builders used to build market homes with fairly standard selections; today, buyers want much more control over their home, including incorporating functional spaces in the plan to fit their family’s needs, selecting architectural features throughout the home and choosing the design elements. According to Barsky, the average buyer is probably adding between 10 and 40 percent to the price of the home to make more of the selections on their own.
Another trend that has been seen throughout metro Atlanta is that fewer builders are equipping their communities with decorated model homes. Builders are also foregoing design centers, meaning the onsite sales agent has even more of a responsibility to know every facet of the building process, including having full knowledge of all of the floor plans and design features offered by the builder.
In the interview, Barsky discusses that it’s important for buyers interested in presale opportunities to have an experienced buyer’s agent. Most traditional agents don’t have new construction experience, and the buying process is much different than a resale home. It’s also important for buyers to keep in mind that while an onsite agent is an expert in the community that a buyer may be searching in, their primary function is to represent the home builder, not the buyer.
To learn more about presale homebuying, listen to the full podcast above, and then contact Michael Barsky at 678-522-0954.
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Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio’s “All About Real Estate” segment airs on Fridays and highlights the movers and shakers in the Atlanta real estate industry – the home builders, developers, Realtors and suppliers working to provide the American dream for Atlantans. For more information on how you can be featured as a guest, contact 770-383-3360 or via the contact form on this site.
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