<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
    <channel>
        <atom:link href="http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com/blog/atlanta/rss/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
        <title>Atlanta Real Estate Blog</title>
        <link>http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com/blog/atlanta/</link>
        <description>Atlanta real estate blog. Consumer focused real estate information for Atlanta and information and insight into local and national topics. Areas of interest include; Buckhead, Sandy Springs, Roswell &amp; Alpharetta. North Metro Atlanta.</description>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com/blog/1865-bethany-way-providence-a-reintroduction.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com/blog/1865-bethany-way-providence-a-reintroduction.html</link>
            <author>ryan@premieratlantarealestate.com (Ryan C Ward)</author>
            <title>1865 Bethany Way - Providence, A Reintroduction</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 



We are excited to bring Providence back on the market after a break for the holidays! As you can see from the pictures below, there is nothing quite like this anywhere in North Fulton, or really, anywhere in Metro Atlanta quite like this.


Providence is a very sophisticated, classic American home custom designed by Stephen Fuller. The setting - your choice of either 30 or 60 acres (both with lake frontage), is private and peaceful and the home itself is a magnificent achievement of understated elegance and symmetry inspired by Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and George Washington's Mount Vernon estates.


If you are interested in viewing this home, please contact me directly and I will arrange a private showing. You can find more photos and a video at Providence's dedicated website, www.estatesinmilton.com. Call me directly at 404.630.3187. Enjoy the photos!






























































Property Information




FMLS# 4311684


$8,900,000 with 60 acres


$6,900,000 with 30 acres


Stephen Fuller design


Heated pool


Lighted tennis


Guest cottage


Caretaker house


Walking trails


gated entry


+/- 850 lake frontage




Exlusively Listed With: Ryan Ward - 404.630.3187
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:16:19 -0500</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com/blog/pricing-a-home-in-a-down-market.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com/blog/pricing-a-home-in-a-down-market.html</link>
            <author>ryan@premieratlantarealestate.com (Ryan C Ward)</author>
            <title>Pricing a Home in a Down Market - You Can't Underprice a Home</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
This is something that we (and I think many other agents) struggle with in the market today. We meet with a client and go over what we believe should be the list price of a home and it's seldom a pleasant conversation. Typically, sellers know it's worth less than it was a few years ago, but getting the price right today really is more important than it used to be.


A home gets it's most activity from potential buyers in the early part of a listing period - the first 2 weeks. If it isn't priced for the market, it won't get an offer. Still, seller's feel they need to leave room to negotiate because they feel they need to squeeze every penny they can out of their sale. It's a fair enough idea, but it isn't grounded in what the data says they should do.


First, I'd like to discuss an important concept that regularly gets overlooked by both seller's and agents: It's impossible to underprice a home. Let me reiterate - you can't underprice your home. In a free market, it doesn't matter if you underprice by $1,000 or $50,000. It will sell for as much as the market will pay. Not more, not less.


So let's try to do a better job of recognizing the understandable objection about pricing and do a better job of explaining how the market works. If you list your home for the correct price, it will sell and it will happen fast regardless of your price point. It's not like homes aren't selling (see chart).





As you can see from this chart which shows home sales during this declined market, home sales are actually quite consistent. It's just that only the ones that represent exceptional value sell. If you price it at the right number, it's impossible for it not to sell. So the obvious question is that if you list it low and it sells fast, doesn't it meant that you could have listed it a little higher, waited and got a higher offer? The answer is of course no. Emphatically. If you overprice your home and need a price reduction to sell, it will sell for less than it would have had you priced it correctly to begin with (see charts below).








This second chart is very telling. If you price high and reduce, it will sell for less than it would have had you priced it correctly to begin with.


It is possible however to have missed the mark by pricing it a little bit too low. Guess what happens next...you get multiple offers and the price will be brought up to the highest possible price.


Still not convinved? Look how long it will take if you overprice your home instead of pricing it correctly (pay special attention to the fact that it doesn't matter at all at what price point your home is in).





Red is the time to sell of homes that did not get a price reduction. Yellow is homes priced correctly at the start.


So, don't fear low pricing. It's your best chance to get the highest amount for your home.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:23:05 -0400</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com/blog/short-sales-1011.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com/blog/short-sales-1011.html</link>
            <author>ryan@premieratlantarealestate.com (Ryan C Ward)</author>
            <title>Short Sales 101 - HD Video</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
This is a 3 minute video introduction on what a short sale is and who might be a good candidate for one. The transcript of the video is below.







Transcript


Hi, my name is Ryan Ward with Premier Atlanta Real Estate and Keller Williams. Thank you for your time with me today to learn about short sales. For too many reasons to go into today, the term short sale has become one of the most talked about types of transactions in the real estate market. So first, let’s make sure we get our definitions correct. A short sale happens when a lender agrees to accept a contract on a home when the sales price is less than the amount needed to pay off that mortgage. The bank is allowing the owner to sell the property “short” of the full payoff. So that’s the technical definition of a short sale.


Because of the downturn in the economy, most homeowners here in Atlanta and in other parts of the country who purchased their home after about the year 2000, have little to no equity in their homes. If you don’t need to sell your home you don’t need to worry about a short sale. If you have the money to bring to the table to make up the difference or if you do have equity, you also do not need to worry about a short sale. However, if you have lost your job, or you qualified for your home with 2 incomes and one of you is no longer able to work due to some specific reason - this could be health related, divorce, inability to find new work or many other problems facing Americans today, you might be a candidate for a short sale.


If you can no longer make ends meet and you are behind or it is imminent that you will fall behind in your mortgage payments, you need to talk with a specialist to see if you may qualify for a short sale and you need to do it as soon as possible. Don’t wait until you get a foreclosure notice to start looking for help!


Ok, so why may a short sale be better for you than a foreclosure?


Now, I do want to say that there are no guarantees when it comes to short sales. It’s an ever changing process, but it has greatly improved because lenders as well as their servicers are generally doing a much better job expediting the process than they did just a couple of years ago.


That said, it’s impossible to give specifics about how a short sale may impact your credit when compared with a foreclosure. Your credit standing with the 3 major credit bureaus and the methods they use to derive your credit standing are closely guarded secrets so I’m not going to stand here and say that a short sale with have less of a negative impact on your credit than a foreclosure.


I will say that if you can get back on your feet and begin repairing your damaged credit, you may be able to get back into a home faster by agreeing to short sale than you would if you went through a foreclosure.


So please - don’t wait - call me today. You MUST take action to help yourself. We will help.


Even if it means that we tell you that we can’t sell your home.


Our first obligation is to help. We are not going to try to sell you something or talk you into listing your home with us if it isn’t the right thing for you in your specific situation. You may need to speak with lawyer or a CPA before you can do your short sale as their are specific implications with the tax law, 1099’s and more, but we can’t help you you don’t call... There is no obligation - so please - do it today. Call now.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 14 Sep 2011 10:38:32 -0400</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com/blog/1865-bethany-way-providence-the-video.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com/blog/1865-bethany-way-providence-the-video.html</link>
            <author>ryan@premieratlantarealestate.com (Ryan C Ward)</author>
            <title>1865 Bethany Way - Providence, the Video</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 

#bethany-video# ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Mon, 20 Jun 2011 09:49:42 -0400</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com/blog/new-bottom-driven-down-by-condos-single-family-about-flat.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com/blog/new-bottom-driven-down-by-condos-single-family-about-flat.html</link>
            <author>ryan@premieratlantarealestate.com (Ryan C Ward)</author>
            <title>New Bottom Driven Down By Condos, Single Family Prices About Flat</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
January is the worst month for home prices in Atlanta and 2011 is no different - although not as bad as I thought. We now have all of the January data compiled and we do have a new bottom for home values in Metro Atlanta that takes us back to levels not seen since 1998.

But...

Closed sales were up and pending sales are up compared with 2010...

...and it's not as bad as it could be - or could have been for that matter especially with the weather we had early on in the month. Single family home (detached) prices are down 3.1% from 2010, but not lower than they were in January of 2009 and attached homes were down 18.4% from 2010. So I think it is more accurate to say that we have a mixed bottom. Technically, the new bottom of the market is January 2011, but I think that labeling the market as the worst it has been is only important for the doomsayers. Since the condo market is dragging us deeper in this hole while single family remains basically flat for 2 straight years (and now beginning a third year), I think it's important to make the distinction. The majority of sales (over 80%) are single family and that bottom was January of 2009. What we have is a technical new bottom and a bifurcation of the market trends as it relates to single family homes vs. condos.

The Hurdle is Financing (and therefore demand) and Foreclosures for Condos

Foreclosures played a large role in the decline in condo values as the median foreclosure price was $85,000. Until we shake out the remaining foreclosure numbers, we are going to have more trouble.&nbsp;

Financing for condos also complicate the problem. If you want to buy single family home it's not really a problem. 3.5% down and you are basically in. That's not the case with Condos where many buildings are not FHA approved making lending guidelines a bit more difficult. Where there is easier money, there are more sales. Since more sales by definition means higher demand, we see a relatively stable single family market and continued difficulty in the condo market. The good news for condo demand is that January numbers were up over 11% from January 2010.

There are great opportunities though for anyone willing to look. You can buy a 2 bedroom 2 bath condo on Piedmont park for under 230K. Try doing that 3 years ago. One bedrooms in Buckhead and Midtown for under $100,000 is not that hard to find either. For some buildings that are full in good locations with nice amenities, prices are pretty stable as well. It's just that trying to navigate through these waters without a very skilled agent who understands the market is pretty risky. That's not always the case, but working as a lone ranger right now is probably not a very good idea.

Where We Go From Here?

Sideways. For a while. That's for residential detached and down a little more for attached homes...

...and I for one am just fine with that. It's much better than it has been and should help bring confidence back to the market slowly. It's beginning to be a little more predictable too. The way it should be.

There just isn't anything to indicate a real upturn or downturn on the horizon. Anything can happen as we are seeing in the middle east right now with the effect on oil/gas prices, but without any real unforeseen changes, sideways should be the general trend for 2011.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Tue, 08 Mar 2011 09:41:32 -0500</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com/blog/ready-to-make-a-change-im-looking-for-2-agents.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com/blog/ready-to-make-a-change-im-looking-for-2-agents.html</link>
            <author>ryan@premieratlantarealestate.com (Ryan C Ward)</author>
            <title>Ready to Make a Change? I'm looking for 2 Agents</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
I am looking to bring on 2 more agents to work with us at Premier Atlanta Real Estate, LLC and Keller WIlliams Realty Consultants. Agents will be provided leads to work. Leads generated by Premier Atlanta Real Estate and Ryan Ward are from sign calls on our listings, from our website, www.premieratlantarealestate.com and other sources. Anyone interested can call me, Ryan Ward, directly at 404.630.3187 to set up an interview.

&nbsp;

Most of the leads you will receive will be north of I-20. Agents will have full use of our client management system complete with drip email campaigns and resources to fully convert leads into clients for life.&nbsp;We have an effective lead conversion manual and the technology to grow your business.&nbsp;This is an exciting time to make a change and be part of an exciting and growing technologically advanced real estate company!

&nbsp;

I would prefer someone with less than 2 years experience as a real estate professional, but will look at anyone interested. We have the training and resources needed to make you a successful agent.

&nbsp;

To be a part of our team and to be a successful agent, you must believe in yourself, be outgoing and friendly, have a keen sensitivity towards customer service and have a desire to help people. You should be comfortable working with systems and talking with people on the phone although we do not cold call. You will have your own growing database of clients in your pipeline so you must be willing to lead generate 3 hours a day 5 days a week. This is a full-time, high paying, high reward job for anyone willing to put in the work. What we do is help people. We do not 'sell' houses. If you are trying to sell a house to someone, you are not working in our customer first service oriented model. Helping people and brokering transactions with contracts on houses is what we do. We get to know our clients, we live and breathe real estate and we strive to be experts in contracts and inventory so that we can consult and help.

&nbsp;

We are a professional, and talented organization that has grown in sales volume, income and total transactions every year even while the market has been declining.

&nbsp;

If this sounds like the right opportunity for you and you are willing to make the commitment to excellence, call me today or use the contact form here on our website. I will respond to you promptly. Please don't reply in the comments section. I will not post them.&nbsp;
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Sat, 19 Feb 2011 11:37:56 -0500</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com/blog/a-tour-of-providence-for-the-holidays.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com/blog/a-tour-of-providence-for-the-holidays.html</link>
            <author>ryan@premieratlantarealestate.com (Ryan C Ward)</author>
            <title>A Tour of 'Providence' for the Holidays - Please Come In</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
&nbsp;

We should have had this up before Christmas, but our schedules just couldn't make it work. Providence is an exceptional home by any standards, but the warmth you feel during the Christmas Season is something that photographs can just begin to help you explore. Nevertheless I gave it an effort yesterday. I only had about an hour and a half for the everything and the home is large requiring multiple lights set up to fill the rooms. This is realy only a glimpse, but worth a quick look.

My plan was to take the exterior shots at dusk and use them as the intro photos here, but for various reasons we couldn't get those shots. I think the ones I was able take will help give you an idea of what it's like to host parties and have family over for the holidays. I know this home is for only a few, but if you are someone who appreciates the finest craftsmanship and quality, you need to come visit. It is truly a masterpiece. You can see the full virtual tour here.

Dinner is Served

Make sure you bring lots of friends and family... 



&nbsp;

&nbsp;Gather in the Formal Living Room

Listen to the piano, watch the fire and think of how you can theme this room for Christmas!

&nbsp;



&nbsp;



&nbsp;

The Keeping Room

This is a great room off of the kitchen. It overlooks the lake as do all of the rooms aloing the back side of the house. 





&nbsp;

I Wish I Had More Pictures for You

I'm sorry that I don't have more pictures to show you, but it was really all I could do in a short time. Hopefully it's enough that if this is a home that may be of interest you, you will be more inclined to come and visit. No photographer can capture the full beauty of this home. It has to be seen to be appreciated.Holiday phots can only give you one glimpse of the possibilities. 
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Thu, 30 Dec 2010 17:25:24 -0500</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com/blog/3rd-quarter-atlanta-market-statistics-video.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com/blog/3rd-quarter-atlanta-market-statistics-video.html</link>
            <author>ryan@premieratlantarealestate.com (Ryan C Ward)</author>
            <title>3rd Quarter Atlanta Market Statistics - Video</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
The 3rd quarter is over and it was not great - but not really worse than most analysts expected. During the second quarter (and before the statistics were complete), many of us thought that we would see year over year increases in sales volume, but those numbers were more heavily influenced by the tax credit than was factored in to many of the early interpretations. It now looks like we will end up a couple percent down in sales volume and 5-6% down in sales price. ANother significant statistics for real estate here localy is that for the first time, RE/MAX is no longer the number one real estate company in Atlanta. Keller Williams surpassed RE/MAX in the number of closed sides of real estate transactions. Congrats to all of us at KW in Metro Atlanta!

While the numbers look down, the truth is that it is marginal- more sideways really - and not as bad as the bottom (January 2009). There is a chance still that we may set a new bottom in January or February of 2011, but in the bigger picture it will be more accurate to say that we are really just continuing to drag along the bottom. The actuaries can come back later and pinpoint the exact moment of the day, week, month and year of the bottom because if that is what you are looking for before you buy a house then you have miscalculated how to avoid risk in the real estate market. I'm not saying go blindly into your next purchase - only that we are at the bottom and it's not possible to judge the exact moment although it is probably a safe assumption that if you buy right now you aren't likely to see significant equity increases based upon appreciation in the next 2-3 years. On the other hand you aren't too likely to lose money if you work with a competent professional to help navigate the minefield that is the current market with lots of great opportunities and lots of really bad ones! Sorry for the digression....below is the video (I'm still working on some technical qualities, but this is pretty decent). It's about 10 minutes long...

3rd Quarter Metro Atlanta Market Statistics&nbsp;

#3q-2010-market-stats#&nbsp;

&nbsp;
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Fri, 29 Oct 2010 10:48:49 -0400</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com/blog/providence-11500000-67-lakeside-acres-inspired-by-monticello.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com/blog/providence-11500000-67-lakeside-acres-inspired-by-monticello.html</link>
            <author>ryan@premieratlantarealestate.com (Ryan C Ward)</author>
            <title>'Providence' - $9,495,000 - 67 Acre Lakeside Estate</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
A Rare Opportunity to Own one of Atlanta's Finest Estate Homes - Providence

Offered with 67 +/1 Acres for $9,495,000 or 30+/- Acres for $6,995,000&nbsp;



&nbsp;Providence - A Manifestation of Divine Care or Direction

'Providence' - 67 acre lakeside Monticello inspired estate designed by Stephen Fuller. Classic symmetry, attention to detail, proper scale and careful proportion combine to create a one of a kind, timeless yet comfortable home. 12 foot ceilings, 6 car garage, gated, 850 feet of lake frontage, walking trails, pool, tennis, basketball, multiple equestrian pastures and a guest cottage. There is an additional 3 bedroom 2 bath caretaker home with barn on 5 of the acres as well. 

&nbsp;

Proportion and Symmetry

The Jeffersonian era architectural styles often included careful consideration and design planning to incorporate proper proportion, scale and symmetry. The aerial below illustrates the symmetry that went into the design and planning of Providence.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;The Outdoors



 

&nbsp;Inside

The design of an estate like Providence presents some real world challenges. Among the most difficult to see in photographs or even in person is creating comfortable and even intimate spaces when constructing a home of this size. In the 2 photographs below of the formal living room, note the size of the piano as it will provide a reference for size and scale. 



&nbsp;

&nbsp;



&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Engineering

The staircase was engineered without the need to for vertical supports.



At Night



Credits

Photography - Mike Moreland - Atlanta Photographers - 770-993-6059 

Architect - Stephen Fuller - 678-775-4663

Interiors - Mary McWilliams

Exclusively Marketed by:

Ryan Ward, Principal

Premier Atlanta Real Estate

Keller Williams Realty Consultants

Direct: 404-630-3187 Office: 678-287-4800 

More Information

Call me, Ryan Ward at (404) 630-3187 for more information or to schedule a private tour of this home.

More photos and a down-loadable brochure can be found at www.estatesinmilton.com 
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Thu, 12 Aug 2010 08:05:30 -0400</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com/blog/2nd-quarter-2010-atlanta-real-estate-market-statistics.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com/blog/2nd-quarter-2010-atlanta-real-estate-market-statistics.html</link>
            <author>ryan@premieratlantarealestate.com (Ryan C Ward)</author>
            <title>2nd Quarter 2010 Atlanta Real Estate Market Statistics</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
#2q-2010-market-stats#

ChartMasters creates a phenomenal quarterly market report that myself and our broker present to our office. A number of Keller Williams offices across Metro Atlanta are provided the same report - I presented it last Tuesday to our office. The presentation lasts for a couple of hours and gives all of us a pretty good leg up on other agents by providing us with a strong foundational base of the current real estate market.

If you have any questions, please either email me at ryan (@) premieratlantarealestate.com, call me at 404.630.3187 or post a comment and I will get back with you.

As with all YouTube video - make sure you switch it to 720p for the highest quality video...
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Mon, 02 Aug 2010 23:17:57 -0400</pubDate>
                    </item>
    </channel>
</rss>
