Online home-selling platform Knock is today unveiling its first Failed Sale Report, which examines the last two years of Georgia property transactions to reveal why many home sales fail in metro Atlanta. The report aims to clarify why home sales might fall through in an otherwise hot market, and which metro Atlanta areas – such as Cobb County and the city of East Point – commonly see pending transactions return to market.

The index also includes data on which kinds of homes have the highest rate of sales failures, such as properties built in the 1960s, and the months when transactions are most likely to die. (In Atlanta, it tends to be around March.) Knock compiled the report to help future sellers, who may not be aware of the risks and pitfalls of home-selling, boost their chances of success.

Knock provides homeowners a guaranteed way to sell their home in six weeks or less without risk, stress and uncertainty. It mines proprietary data to ensure homes are priced right the first time, and the Failed Sale Report contains useful information for anyone interested in Atlanta's residential real estate market.

"The Failed Sale Report puts power back in hands of homeowners," says Sean Black, co-founder and CEO of Knock. "Plenty of owners, particularly those who have never put a house on the market before, don't know how problematic the process can be and that sales can easily fall through. We're giving them the data they need to make informed choices about pricing their homes correctly and listing them at the most opportune times."

The first installment of the Failed Sale Report shows that Atlanta trade-up homes – considered a step above starter homes but not quite premium properties – see almost as many sales collapse as starter homes do. In 2015 and 2016 collectively, 11.7 percent of starter homes sales failed, compared with 11.6 percent of trade-up homes. Meanwhile, properties built during the 1960s see sales disintegrate more than any other decade's homes.

Those trends align with national data from Trulia, which also found that sales of starter homes and properties from the 1960s fail most often. Black says that Atlanta's unique market dynamics worsen the issues in these categories.

"We're seeing that many houses built prior to 1970 are in underdeveloped neighborhoods with higher poverty rates," he explains. Residents there may not be able to afford upgrades to older properties, many of which might face serious structural issues.

The issue is particularly pronounced in East Point, a metro-area city where 14.4 percent of homes sales failed in 2016. Over a quarter of East Point residents live below the poverty line, and 86 percent of homes in the area were constructed before 1970.

In Kennesaw, meanwhile, other forces drove 13.7 percent of transactions to failure. A third of the homes that ultimately sold in 2016 were built during the 1990s, and Black points out that because the homes are relatively newer, owners might be unaware of major issues.

Knock plans to release an updated report each quarter. No matter when an owner is considering selling, though, Knock experts recommend a few key steps to boost chances of success.

"Invest in a home inspection and address major issues upfront," Black says. "And while it's important to price your home accurately, don't forget about marketing it well, too. This is one of the biggest, most emotional purchases a consumer will make in their lifetime, so it's up to the seller to inspire them."