Current Outlook for Georgia Residential and Commercial Real Estate

Residential Real Estate in Georgia

While Georgia’s residential real estate market did not get hit as hard by the housing slump as some other states, people in the Peach state have certainly felt their share of pain.

According to Dr. Rajeev Dhawan, director of the Economic Forecasting Center at the Robinson College of Business of Georgia State University, housing starts may drop by 39 percent in 2008, after falling by 34 percent in 2007.

However, some housing experts see reason for optimism because housing starts began an upward trend during the summer of 2008. Dhawan agreed with that outlook in an interview with the Atlanta Business Chronicle in May, 2008. He estimates that permit activity will increase by 6.5 percent in 2009 and then jump to 20 percent in 2010.

Commercial Real Estate in Georgia

While the residential real estate market seems poised for a comeback, according to a recent report by the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers, the commercial real estate market will continue to fall into 2009.

The market's growth will be stalled by two primary factors:

Property owners continue to carry large debts
Lenders are nervous about granting larger loans

No one can be sure how long the slow-down will last, but some experts predict it could continue into 2010.

Raw land could be a good investment in this market if you are willing to hold on to it until the next real estate boom. With recent decreases in pricing, land could be a wise investment if you find a good deal on a piece of land that has water and sewer access and is zoned correctly. Eventually, when the market is on an upswing, you should be able to sell the land for a profit.

The Bottom Line

Do your research and you may indeed find a very attractive deal on either commercial or residential property in Georgia.