Atlanta Real Estate Blog 
Spring Market Update for Metro Atlanta
Monday, March 9th, 2009 at 7:20pm. 1945 Views, 22 Comments.
The ups and downs (mostly downs) of the market are likely to continue, at least for most of this year and there is a good chance that the next six months will be the hardest summer selling season yet if you are a seller, but, the statistics are definitely showing some important and changing trends that you probably are not hearing about on the news. What we need to look at is one month from one year compared to the same month from a previous year. This counterbalances annual cycles like the ones that we have here in Atlanta. That's the case everywhere, but I digress. An increase in December over November is meaningless to the market as that is the case every year.
Below are a few sales graphs that I want to explain before you read them and then I'll add…
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Keller Williams Family Reunion 2009 The Recap
Friday, February 27th, 2009 at 7:04am. 1729 Views, 10 Comments.
In a perfect prelude of what was to come, the sun rose on a clear, cool Orlando morning for the Keller Williams Family Reunion this year. This was my first time attending and I really didn't know what was in store. Many of the agents in my office who had attended previous KW Family Reunions were either excited for me or sorry that they would not be attending so I was beginning to get excited about the prospects of meeting new agents and learning a great deal in a compressed environment to improve myself, my business and to be able to bring something back with me that I could share with others. What happened was far beyond my wildest expectations.
Day 1 - Sunday and The Vision Speech
Sunday began with me attending my first of what was to be 5 technology…
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$15,000 Tax Credit Out, Housing Crisis Largely Ignored in Stimulus
Thursday, February 12th, 2009 at 6:44am. 1560 Views, 14 Comments.
Now that the stimulus bill has passed the committees and is set to be signed by Obama as early as Monday, any hope that the bill would include help for the industry with the biggest problem and is the biggest reason we are in a recession is all but gone. While it could be argued that the $15,000 tax credit was not the right prescription, it would have sent a message that the problem was being addressed.
Bloomberg reports this morning that the bill weighs in at $789 Billion dollars and that instead of a $15,000 credit, there will be a $500 addition to the $7,500 tax LOAN already in place. Like most things in the behemoth, little details can be found. We could hope that they would remove the LOAN portion of the bill with all this money being thrown around,…
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Listing Real Estate is a Full Contact Sport
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 at 2:46pm. 1215 Views, 15 Comments.
Listing real estate in any market requires that we make contact with other agents and prospective buyers, but today, this statement really does hit home (pardon the pun). With home sales down and still falling, squeezing the most out of our databases will be essential. Sure, a home has to be priced right, it must have good photos and the condition must meet the price, but, that's often not enough to get a home sold in today's market.
Many agents will argue that one good listing photo, the right price and listing a home in the MLS will result in a sale, but, that isn't my experience in this market. With fewer buyers and more listings available, it's quite possible that a particular buyer at a particular price point may not see your home or even if they do…
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Stop Time With Me, For Kevin Warmath - If Only For a Moment
Thursday, January 29th, 2009 at 8:05pm. 1092 Views, 6 Comments.
Kevin Warmath:
Son. Father. Husband. Friend to many. Fellow REALTOR. You will be missed. I never met you in person, but, I feel like I knew you quite well. You made it easy for me and many others to feel this way. Your contribution to your family, your friends and your clients greatly outweighs what you have done for me as another local real estate professional, but, it is significant. To me.
Few days went by that I did not visit your blog. I looked to you for inspiration when I could not find it myself. You made me better. And you probably didn’t even know it. I know that you will.
I cannot stop time. I know what’s coming. I need to write about it though. It’s what I know. Goodbye Kevin. For now. Tonight, I will pray for you. For your family. And for a…
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Foreclosure in Glen Abbey $80,000 Below Lowest Sold in Neighborhood - Alpharetta
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 at 6:57am. 1322 Views, 4 Comments.
This is one of those foreclosures where the bank finally has priced it right to sell. It's most recent sale was in April of 2007 for $575,000 and it's now on the market for $436,900. It's also about $80,000 below the least expensive home that sold in Glen Abbey in 2008 and over $250,000 below the most expensive sale in 2008. If you have looked at homes in Glen Abbey in the past, you would probably have a good feel for what type of floorplan it has as well as the condition of the interior. Honestly, at this price, I was expecting it to be in far worse condition than it is and I was definitely not expecting to see a basement finished out this well. At this price it's going to be a real bargain and put a new homeowner in a pretty solid equity position rather…
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Unbelievable Deal for an Investor in Alpharetta Under $120,000
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 1:53pm. 607 Views, 1 Comments.
You want a deal? This is a deal. It will be gone within the week. It's on the market for $118,900. This is the type of property that could turn a positive cash flow in 60 days if you are skilled investor. It needs paint and it needs carpet, but, it seems like a pretty decent house.
The school districts are very good; Northwood Elementary, Haynes Bridge Middle and Centennial High. It's a 3 bedroom 2 bath home with a fenced backyard on a little side street located off of Haynes Bridge Rd. This is the type of property that sold for mid $160's last year and will be there again before long. In the meantime, it would be a great investment property that should net positive rents immediately and possibly a ridiculous return on your investment if the market turns -…
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Following a Foreclosure in Roswell - This One in Brookfield Country Club has Potential
Sunday, January 25th, 2009 at 9:13pm. 675 Views, 4 Comments.
There is a potentially really good foreclosure listing that just came on the market today and I went out to have a look at it for a client. Like many foreclosures in the market right now, they seem to get more traffic than regular listings - even if they absolutely lookk like a mess in the pictures online. This listing has no sign in the yard and was just put on the market today. By the time I arrived at it at about 1:00 in the afternoon, there was already a family at the property in the driveway scoping it out.
I picked this one to follow because it's a very established neighborhood, the home sits directly on the golf course and it has a pool so it's something of a unique property for a foreclosure and could potentially sell quickly. You can view the…
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February Marks the End of the Slow Winter Season - What Can We Expect Now?
Saturday, January 24th, 2009 at 12:31pm. 569 Views, 9 Comments.
Traditionally, February in Atlanta (right after the Super Bowl) is the beginning of the end for the slow winter season in the real estate market. After 2008, most experts now at least see the light at the end of the tunnel. Prices have come down and inventories have been decreasing for the last 5 months. What this means going forward is a beginning of the end for further price declines and summer should bring back some balance to the overall real estate market in Atlanta.
Of course, this change will come slowly and it's possible for certain segments of the market to continue price declines for several more months. Most areas north of I-20 should begin to see a leveling off before many of the areas south of I-20. Some segments of the market are already…
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December 2008 Market Statistics from the FMLS
Friday, January 23rd, 2009 at 9:23am. 990 Views, 0 Comments.
* Edit 2-5-09: This Post has Been Edited and will be Recompleted this Weekend
- Home values were down 12.3%
- Inventories are coming down
Heating up, but When?
The crystal ball sees a thawing of the market, but it won't be fast and it won't be immediate. We cannot stop the downward trend in values until inventories reach numbers more inline with sales so we are on our way to balancing the market from an inventory perspective. We are not there yet, but, we are getting closer. I still think that a truly balanced market is still a year away anf that is based on the presumption that the overall economy doesn't get much worse (which it still is in Atlanta). Were are geitting close to 6 months of continuous decline in inventory, but, with the spring market approaching,…
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