Atlanta’s home sales’ numbers and statistics for March are out and they are amazing! There are currently 27,042 homes for sale in the metropolitan Atlanta area and only 6,040 are “Pending” sales. That is a ratio of 18.2%, which roughly put, says that 4 out of 5 sellers didn’t, or couldn’t, sell their homes. Price and condition sell homes and to me, these numbers say that Atlanta home sellers are still over-pricing their homes for today’s market! In this same time period, 10,872 listings expired, or failed to sell.

For today’s market, unsuccessful home sellers have three choices. Quite simply:  Reduce it, Remain in it, Rent it. It is a market of the 3 R’s.

This past Sunday, The Atlanta Journal Constitution‘s Tom Sabulis had a conversation with the King of Atlanta’s new homes, John Wieland. He talked about Atlanta’s real estate market and how he and his company, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, are dealing with it.

Personally, I think John Wieland is one of Atlanta’s smartest home builders and one of the best things that has happened to the Southeast’s homebuilding industry. His homes are well-built and his philosophy accurately reflects the market. All of us in the new homes market knew he was scaling back in 2006 and 2007, predicting a down market. But in this interview, he talks optimistically of his view of Atlanta’s housing market now, in 2010, and going forward.

Here are several excerpts from Mr. Wieland’s interview :

• Q:  It’s been a brutal few years for the housing industry. Is this the worst you’ve seen it? 
• A:  I predicted privately to friends that it was going to be severe. Now I have a new definition for severe. Nobody in their wildest dreams thought that anything like this could happen. And I think that’s largely why  it happened. Nobody saw the consequences of inappropriate lending, shall we say.
• Q:  Have you lost much sleep over it?
• A: No, but I do a lot of thinking about it. How do you measure when it’s turned? And I really think it has turned this spring. Where do you go from here? What does housing look like?  What’s totally amazing is how consumer preferences have changed.
• Q: How’s that?
• A: Everybody’s more conservative than they were three years ago. More conservative as to how much house they really think they need to live in. And more conservative in how much debt they’re willing to take on for that purchase. And I think that’s a good thing.
• Q: How do you react strategically to these changes?
• A: We sort of had to redial the entire company. Two of the biggest factors are developing more efficient plans; more efficient to build, and more efficient to live in. Secondly, we’re putting more emphasis on being closer to jobs, transportation, downtown Atlanta, the airport.
• Q: You’re focusing closer intown now?
• A: Along with [people saying] ‘I don’t want to pay as much for housing’ comes [people saying] ‘I don’t want to drive so far to go home’ syndrome. I think it’s all part of we’re a more conservative America than we were four years ago.
• Q: Your company built around 200 homes in Metro Atlanta in 2009. How many will you build this year?
• A: Probably 250. I know we’ll do better. Our sales in March [2010] were the best month in three years . . . we’re juiced up.

Sue and John Wieland are long-time donors to the High Museum of Art. Mr. Wieland also spoke of his optimism on the contemporary art front. But, this blog is about Atlanta real estate, so forgive me if I don’t quote that portion of the interview. I’m just thrilled about his enthusiasm for Atlanta’s 2010 housing market and that he believes that the market has turned!

Atlanta dropped from No. 1 but remains a top 10 destination city, according to U-Haul International’s annual migration trend report for 2009. The Big Peach ranked 7th after being ranked the top destination in 2008.

The # 1 destination for relocating Americans is now Houston, followed by las Vegas, Chicago, San Antonio, TX, Orlando FL and Austin TX. Ranker after Atlanta, are Sacramento, CA, Kansas City, MO. and Denver.

The moving company said its rankings show destinations for movers traveling more than 50 miles and includes every city regardless of size. However, the data is not stated as a percentage of population and is not reflective of overall growth, U-Haul said. The report was compiled from more than 1 million U-Haul truck transactions last year.

I’ve said it many times, it’s all about price and condition. If a home is priced correctly and is in proper condition, it will sell quickly; it is not, it will languish on the market.

Part of my job is to preview houses, to know Atlanta’s real estate inventory. So many of the houses that I see, are not ready to show or sell; many are not priced correctly. True, many Atlanta homes are in the upper price range, and there are not as many buyers in the upper ranges, but there are buyers in every range!

This past week, I listed a home and within 48 hours, it was “Under Contract”. The house was clean, uncluttered and priced right. The buyers recognized what a great home it will be for them, made an offer and viola, we had a deal. Now the seller is ready to move on to his new, beautiful home and the buyers will have a fabulous new home! It sounds easy, but if a property is priced right and in the right condition, I, as your Realtor, will make it easy for both the buyer and the seller!

One of the most important parts of my job is help a homeowner price his/her/their property correctly. I’m a good Realtor, and that means I’m telling homeowners the truth,  making some of them uncomfortable. But wouldn’t you want to hear that now, rather than spend months on the market, with no offers and no sale? Or would you like to sell your home quickly and move on with your life like  the seller of this home? Call me and Experience True Experience!

Are your Atlanta-area property taxes too high? Read this to learn how to file and appeal your tax assessment!

Many properties have dropped in value since last year, but this does not mean that the property taxes will automatically go down. If you want to lower your assessment, you must file a Real Property Tax Return early in 2010 to lower your assessment from 2009 and to have the right to appeal your 2010 assessment.

This tax return is not the same as an appeal, and the value submitted by the owner does not set the final assessed value.  However, the tax assessor will review the owner’s value and decide whether to accept it or dispute it. The property owner will then have the right to appeal an official assessment that exceeds the owner’s proposed value.   This is a separate process.

The procedures and deadlines vary by county (usually March 1 or April 1, with no extensions).  Most counties require the form to be mailed – no fax or email. PLEASE NOTE:   This is in addition to filing for your Georgia homestead exemption.

See these websites for forms and details:

Cobb County:     http://www.cobbassessor.org/Forms/HtmlFrame.aspx?mode=Content/TPRRP.htm

DeKalb County:   http://web.co.dekalb.ga.us/TaxAssessor/events.asp

Fulton County:    http://www.fultonassessor.org/Forms/HtmlFrame.aspx?mode=content/taxpayer.htm&LMparent=180

Gwinnett County: http://www.gwinnettcounty.com/cgi-bin/gwincty/egov/ep/gcbrowse.do?channelId=-61080&pageTypeId=536880236

 A special thanks to Leigh Clack, Neel & Robinson Attorneys at Law, for pulling this fantastic information together!

Buying a home is an exciting adventure! It can also be a very time-consuming and costly one if you’re not familiar with all aspects of the process and don’t have all the best information and resources at hand.

How do you select a real estate agent? Whether you are buying or selling, here are some thoughts for you to ponder, before selecting an agent to help you:

I am a Realtor. All Realtors are real estate agents, but not all real estate agents are Realtors. Realtors are agents who belong to a Board of Realtors and more importantly, adhere and subscribe to a Code of Ethics. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) prides itself in their Code of Ethics, which in 2013, will be 100 years old. NAR constantly changes the Code, to be relevant to real estate business practices, market conditions and technology. Realtors do not charge extra for this designation and, typically, are better trained and educated.

Get to know your agent. Let’s get to know each other so that you feel safe and comfortable with me and that I can best serve your needs. This may take a while, whether in person, on the telephone or via email; I will ask a lot of questions and listen closely to your answers.  These conversations, along with every conversation, email, text or meeting we have, will give me the information I need to make sure your Atlanta home search is focused on what you are looking for, so that we don’t waste your valuable time looking at homes that are not appropriate.

Ask questions of your Realtor. How long has she/he been licensed and how many transactions does she/he do in a month or in a year? Is your Realtor a full-time or a part-time agent? Does your agent have repeat clients? In terms of number of transactions and commissions earned in 2009, our office was the #2 office in the Atlanta metropolitan area, city-wide and I was in the top 5% of agents in my office.  Can your agent say that?

Your agent will help you find a lender that will tailor a loan to fit your needs. Getting pre-qualified and pre-approved will lend weight to any offers you make and add valuable criteria to use in your Atlanta home search. I work closely with lenders throughout the purchase, making sure you have a smooth transition from “home buyer” to “home owner.” 

Your Realtor will recommend inspections when necessary, schedule your inspections, make sure the reports get turned into the appropriate parties, schedule repairs (if needed), work with the other agent, your lender, appraiser, closing attorney and other professionals as required to keep your Atlanta home purchase moving forward.  I will help you measure your rooms for furniture, recommend gardeners, insurance agents, places to stay while you’re home-shopping (if you are coming from out-of-town) and places to eat, plus I will be accessable to you for your questions and concerns throughout the process.  I enjoy these details and do not pawn them over to an assistant or to another agent!

If you’re like most people, buying a home is the purchase you will ever make.  Whether you’re buying a starter home, your dream home or an investment property, why not take advantage of my experience to make the most informed decisions you can, every step of the way?

If you or a friend are buying or selling an Atlanta home or property in 2010, call or email me.  Experience TRUE Experience!

Are you an Atlanta home seller who has some, but not unlimited, cash for upgrades? Whatever your budget, remember that this market is a beauty contest and in a beauty contest, the “prettiest one” always wins.

According to Realtor Magazine, there are ten (10) big-impact, low-cost remodeling projects you can do to enhance your home and make it stand out in the beauty contest:

1. Tidy up the kitchen cabinets and the closets. Buyers do open up cabinets and closets to look inside. They want to feel that there is room for their things.
2. Add or replace tile.  Go for low-cost tile. Retiling will make a kitchen backsplash or bathroom look clean and updated.
3. Add a breakfast Bar. When a wall separates the kitchen from the family room, think about cutting out an opening to create a breakfast bar. On top of the new cut-out/opening, place a large slab of granite and add chairs in front of it. You’ll only have spent $400-600 and can now claim an “open-to-the-family-room look”.
4. Install granite tiles instead of a granite slab. Everyone wants the look of granite, but a granite slab can cost thousands of dollars, depending of the size of your kitchen and the type(level) of granite you select. Using granite tiles will give you the look of an expensive countertop, but the labor and materials will be a fraction of the cost of a granite slab.
5. Refresh a bathroom without retiling. Exchange dated mirrors, vanities and  ”jewelry” (plumbing and lighting fixtures). Also consider scraping and regrouting the existing tile, which after buffing, will make the tile look brand new. Installing glass shower doors adds elegance and people will notice the doors, not old tile.
6. Freshen up the Basement. The basement may not be finished, but it shouldn’t show as a damp dungeon. Have a contractor fill in the cracks with hydraulic cement and then paint the cracks with a waterproofing paint. Sellers can also paint a basement floor with floor paint to add color.
7. Add a “room”. Look for large spaces that can be enclosed to create a new bedroom or sunroom, for just the price of a wall. Sometimes a $400 procedure can add an increase of $15-40,000 onto the sales price.
8. Spruce up a kitchen or bathroom cabinet front.  Reconditioning is the most inexpensive way to do this. If the wood is starting to look shabby from use or contaminants in the air, recondition it with oil and put on new jewelry (hardware) on the doors. Or replace the cabinet doors and drawer-fronts. It’s like putting a new skin on the boxes, for a fraction of what new cabinets would cost.
9. Replace light fixtures. Replacing light fixtures in the foyer and bathrooms provides a lot of pop for a little money. Or, if you have dated track lighting in the kitchen, spend $500-700 for an electrician to replace it with recessed canned lights, with a dimmer switch for added ambience. You can also add pendant lights over a kitchen island or peninsula.
10. Tech-up the Garage. Replace the opener with a remote touchpad entry system. Another low-cost idea is to install built-ins for more storage space.

The averge cost of every remodeling project has gone up, though at a slower rate than in the previous year. According to Remodeling Magazine, one surprise is the common misconception that contractors are hungry for work and therefore, are willing to wheel and deal.

To get to the finish line (the closing table), you need to get your home ready for the market. If you need help getting your home ready in this highly competitive market, call or email me for more suggestions. Experience TRUE Experience!

According to Forbes Magazine, Sandy Springs GA and Marietta GA were ranked #1 as the best place in the US to retire in 2009! Georgia was ranked #19 as the state that residents are the happiest, based on personal reports of happiness and other objective measures, such as how crowded that state is, air quality, home prices and other factors known to impact quality of life. The bad news is that Atlanta ranked #4 for the worst traffic in the US, behind Los Angeles (#1), New York (#2) and Chicago (#3). My guess is that everyone is rushing into and around Atlanta, Sandy Springs and Marietta, to experience our metro-area.

Atlanta was also ranked as the 9th top relocation city in the country by Forbes. The top 10 cities were ranked in order of getting a business or family relocated and productive quickly.

If you are looking to retire in, move up, into or around Sandy Springs, Marietta or the Atlanta-area, I have the experience to help you with your move; call or email me. Experience True Experience!

Thanks to Forbes Magazine and The Real Estate Bloggers.

A great little development in Brookhaven’s Ashford Park neighborhood, just off Dresden Drive, Village Place Brookhaven, has finally gotten real! They have reduced several of their home prices by an average of 65.6%.

When a buyer can buy a larger single-family home for less than he can buy a condominium (with condo-sized monthly fees), most buyers will flock to the single family home. Ashford Park’s Village Place Brookhaven has finally realized that their wonderful product will sell, but not for the high $300′s to mid-$400′s. Now reduced to the mid- to high-$200′s, I think that they have hit their price point! 

 Brookhaven and Ashford Park are two great neighborhoods located 2 miles north of Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza, but are still in unicorporated Dekalb County. If you would like to see these or other affordable single family homes or townhomes, call or email me today!

I am  happy to report that we are two steps closer to extending the $8000 tax credit!  A lopsided 85-2 Senate vote last night was followed by another lopsided 97-1 vote today.  The final Senate vote is expected sometime after 6 PM EST tomorrow, Thursday, November 5.  The hope is that it goes immediately to the House and then to the President for his signature. 

I will continue to keep this post current but the swift movement and lopsided Senate votes are a testimony as to what the home-buying public wants! If you are interested in buying, selling or investing in Atlanta real estate, please call or email us today and Experience True Experience!