Owner: Atlanta Real Real Estate Blog URL:www.ryanwardrealestate.com/WordPress Join Date: Wed, 05 Dec 2007 21:12:03 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Real estate blog about atlanta and the surrounding cities. Infomration for buyers and sellers. Site statistics:Click here
Alpharetta and Milton Real Estate Statistics in Zip Code 30004 2007-12-08 20:24:41 For our purposes here (and because this is the best way to obtain enough good data to have meaningful statistics) I’ve grouped together Alpharetta and Milton
where they overlap in the 30004 zip code. These statistics are meaningful for the areas west of GA 400.
Currently there are 691 homes for sale in this area of Alpharetta and Milton.
There are an additional 79 homes working on an offer or are under contract.
During the month of October, there were 48 sales. This indicates an absorption rate of 14 months supply of homes.
During August, September and October, there were 174 sales. This indicates an absorption rate of just under 12 months supply of homes. During 2006 the same period of time yielded 254 sales - a reduction of 31.5% in volume.
The average price of a home currently is $456,101. Last year it was $446,997. This is something of an anomaly, but, might help to explain why total sales are down. If prices were lower, there would have been more sale.
*Absorption r Read more:Estate
, Statistics
Two New Helpful Ways to Search For Homes 2007-12-07 08:07:47 Always trying to improve the consumer experience, we added two new ways to find Atlanta homes for sale. Although it’s chilly here in Atlanta right now, we added a way to narrow your search for homes with pools. Seems we get more requests for homes with pools than you might imagine so it was better to let consumers search for themselves to find them. Additionally, because of the topography here, we added a search for homes with basements option to narrow the search to only homes with basements.
These two features should help as we continue to try to provide the best resource available for consumers to find homes online.
Read more:Search
, Homes
Times Are Changing In The Atlanta Real Estate Market 2007-12-05 15:49:32 They sure are and in the signs are everywhere. Interest rates are extremely low - mid 5’s today and the market is stirring, sales are up and we are beginning to work our way through the oversupply of homes in the Atlanta
real estate market. If you have thought about buying, now is probably the peak time. Actually, it was probably last month, but, this is traditionally going into the slowest part of the year (January and February) so you will have a few more good months of house hunting. There is an eminent freeze coming on some interest rates which should short the supply of foreclosure homes and that should stop the decline in prices. For sellers this should come as exciting news for the coming year and don’t forget that December is a great month to sell. If you have been on the sidelines, it’s time to get out and play. Better times are on the way.
Read more:Estate
, Times
, Changing
, Market
, Real Estate
The Easiest Way to Find East Cobb Homes For Sale 2007-12-04 13:18:47 We’ve added a new section to our website to make it easy to find East Cobb real estate listings. Most websites will only allow you to search by “marietta” or a “cobb county”, but we have set our website up in such a way that you will only find homes for sale in East Cobb in the two zip codes that most people consider to be “East Cobb”, 30067 and 30068.
The page is set up to search by price, but, if the options available are not enough, we can set up personal webpages for you to search from within our website. Let’s say that you are specifically looking for homes for sale in East Cobb between $450,000 and $550,000 with a pool on a basement built after 1990. We can do that for you. All you need to do is let us know and we will create a custom page on our wesbite. No annoying emails, just search at your convenience and we will take care of the rest. We’ll filter out homes that go under contract and add the new homes that become availab Read more:Homes
Sandy Springs Homes for Sale Better Than Metro Atlanta 2007-12-03 09:11:43 I looked at SandySprings
homes for sale this morning and compared them with what is going on in the Greater Atlanta
market and found that the old adage about location certainly holds true for Sandy Springs. The point for you to remember as a consumer is that because real estate is so local you cannot rely on information that you obtain from many sources that you might think are reliable.
A few good examples of what not to do when you are looking for market statistics as it relates to your particular home would be to watch newscasts which paint with a broad brush a picture of the real estate market. Also, I have found that information in the local paper is generally not a reliable source for an individual. If you are concerned with finding out about the real estate market as it relates to your home, homes in your neighborhood or homes for sale in your local city within Atlanta, you need to look directly to a local REALTOR® and get statistics that are relevant.
We constantly stay ab Read more:Homes
Should You List Your Home in December? The Crystal Ball says… 2007-12-02 13:26:32 Yes you should! Below is a chart that shows the month to month history of sales of Atlanta homes dating back to 2000. You will clearly see that at the end of every year, there is a significant uptick of home sales.
Take a look at the chart and look what happens every year at month 11 and 12. What I read from this is that it is not time to wait to list your home, it is in fact time to put your home on the market.
Contact us if you have any additional questions about what this chart means or if you are ready to sell your home at 404.630.3187 or send us an email from the link just below.
Read more:December
, Crystal
Water Council to Holds Meeting Open to Public About a Comprehensive Water Plan 2007-11-30 13:06:10
Recent revisions to the September 13th draft water plan will be posted to the Water Council
’s website no later than December 5, 2007. The Water Council encourages you to review and comment on the revised draft. The Council will receive comments via e-mail or through the interactive web site until December 12, 2007. In addition, the Water Council will host a final round of public meetings to discuss the draft plan prior to the Water Council’s submission of a draft plan to the 2008 session of the General Assembly (see schedule below). The Water Council encourages those wishing to make comments at the meetings to bring written copies of their comments if possible so that they can be accurately reflected in the record.GAR has joined a broad-based coalition formed to review and critique the proposed Water Plan. It is very important that members of the Water Council and the Environmental Protection Division continue to be made aware of the business community’s interests Read more:Public
, Comprehensive
Sellers Are Not that Desperate! 2007-11-27 20:54:36 If you are in the market to buy a home in Atlanta now or in the near future, you might have a preconceived notion that the real estate market is in terrible shape and that if a home is listed for sale that you can surely “steal it” for a price far below what the sellers have it listed for. I would like to give a you a solid piece of advice and I want you to take it to heart. In the end, it is an issue of perceptions and right now, far too many buyers have incorrect perceptions of the state of the real estate market in Atlanta. Put down the newspaper and turn off the news reports about real estate. They are incorrect or incomplete at best.
Here are some facts you might not know about the market:
Very few homes will sell for 10% less than the list price unless you are looking for homes listed for sale above $1,000,000 or specifically looking at foreclosures and short sales. These segments make up about 10% of the total market of Atlanta homes for sale.
As of the last comple Read more:Sellers
, Desperate
Homes For Sale in Alpharetta 2007-11-24 07:55:59 Search all homes for sale in Alpharetta
If you are looking for homes in Alpharetta, we have made it very easy to find them. With our newly designed custom search for homes, you can search all homes for sale in Alpharetta any way that you like. Search by subdivision, map, address, mls number, price, age, number of bedrooms and bathrooms and if these options aren’t enough for you, we can create custom searches for you that specify in further detail search options that you define. We’ve made it easy to save your favorite homes and create personal email alerts that can notify you of new listings that match your specified criteria.
Read more:Homes
Homes for Sale in the Wolf Creek Country Club 2007-11-23 18:52:56 Enjoy the active lifestyle of golf, tennis and swimming in the wonderful Wolf Creek Country
Club. This magnificent home sits on a level lot with a view of the golf course. Built by certified professional homebuilder, Venture Homes
, you can be sure that the quality of construction meets your expectations.
MLS#3607859
$330,000
5 Bedrooms
3 Bathrooms
Hardwood Floors
Master Suite
Bedroom on main level
To schedule an appointment to view this home, call Ryan Ward at 404.630.3187
Email me for more information
[Show as slideshow]
Does Your Agent Have a Positive Attitude? 2007-11-20 20:06:58 We are all familiar now with the news reports, housing starts, real estate stocks, closed sales and prices dropping over the last 6 - 9 months. So does your agent think think can actually sell your home or is it just simply listed for sale? There is a difference and homes are still selling so if your home is listed for sale and has been for some time then maybe it’s time for a change. What is your agent doing to market your home? How is your price?
Many agents are being pressed to place downward pressure at listing presentations to get sellers to list their home for less money than at the same time last year. Did you know that Atlanta homes on average are selling for 3% more than they did last year and that home sales are down some 40%? It’s hard to make clear sense out of those numbers as they don’t generally go hand in hand. New numbers for October will be out in the next couple of days and the report should give us a much better indication about where the market Read more:Agent
, Positive
Brookhaven Open Houses - Dec. 2nd 1-3 p.m. 2007-11-16 08:03:47 Don’t miss our open house in Brookhaven on Thanksgiving Sunday from 1 - 3 p.m. at the Brookhaven Heights Community. This is an opportunity for you to buy in one of Brookhaven’s most unique neighborhoods and in enjoy the benefits of close-in Intown Atlanta living.
Property Details
FMLS Listing # 3585467
4 bedrooms, 3.5 Bathrooms
3 Story 2 Car Garage with Extra Storage
10 Foot Ceilings
Hardwood Floors
Gourmet Kitchen with Granite Counters
Plantation Shutters
New Exterior Paint
Brookhaven Heights is a fabulous Intown Atlanta gated community located within walking distance to MARTA, shopping and dining. The Brookhaven location allows for an easy commute to the airport via MARTA as well as Midtown and the top end perimeter of Dunwoody and Sandy Springs.
Please join us on Sunday for an an opportunity to view one of the best townhomes to become available all year in Brookhaven. If you will be out looking at Atlanta open houses this weekend, please take the t
The Astoria at the Aramore 2007-11-15 13:17:59 The Astoria at the Aramore, a luxury high rise development by Kairos Development Corporation, allows condo buyers the opportunity to personalize their homes with high end options not available in other Atlanta condos. With only seven homes per floor and the addition of personal touch, each resident can truly claim their condo to be one-of-a-kind. Condominiums are priced from the $400,000s, and penthouses are priced from the $900,000s.
“The ability to personalize the condo with finishes from classic traditional to urban contemporary makes The Astoria unlike any other condominium development. Most condominiums are a packaged deal, with each condo looking identical to the rest in the development and having the same features, which offers buyers little options in regard to making any changes,” said Kevin Brangers, Director of Real Estate Brokerage and Acquisitions for Kairos Development. “But Kairos Development prides itself in not only meeting the standards of each client, but
Keller Williams WordPress Blog Theme 2007-11-15 09:55:32 I don’t usually post off topic information that isn’t on point to consumers, but, I thought I would offer this if anyone would like it. I created the theme you are viewing now to meet the criteria set forth by KW for colors and logos and if you like this theme and would like to use it on your own blog, I would be happy to email you the theme. It’s very easy to install (just as with all themes) and requires only about 5 minutes of customization to make it compliant with your office. I will provide you with a list of add-ins (plugins) that will make the theme extremely SEO friendly so you can start getting you message to consumers as well.
If you are interested, email me here.
It comes with a read me file that will help you with any explanations needed and you can call or email me for additional support.
Read more:Williams
, Theme
Wells Fargo Wholesale Underwiting Closes in Atlanta 2007-11-15 06:04:01 Fallout continues in the mortgage industry as WellsFargo
’s wholesale mortgage underwriting department closes its doors today. Retail offices will remain open, but, this means that there is one less place for mortgage brokers to shop loans for the best rates. This one hits home for me a little more so than some of the other closings in recent months. My wife has been an underwriter there for almost 6 years. Over the years I have had the opportunity to get to know quite a few good people at her office and I am sad to think about what will happen to them. So to all of you that I know there, good bye and good luck in the future. If there is anything that I can do to help, please don’t hesitate to call me for a reference.
Read more:Atlanta
, Wholesale
, Wells Fargo
What Kind of Homes Are For Sale in Alpharetta? 2007-11-14 12:53:45 I received a phone call yesterday from someone who asked this question. I don’t think that they were the only ones wondering either. I think Alpharetta has a reputation as a being a sort of snobbish, upscale suburb where people fear soccer moms speeding in their minivans and SUV’s to pick there kids up from school. I don’t think that way of Alpharetta at all - and I live in Alpharetta - and I drive a minivan. Homes
for sale in Alpharetta vary in price and size as much as they do anywhere else in Atlanta. While I would certainly agree that that there are soccer moms and minivans, I don’t think that Alpharetta is a snobbish nor do I think of Alpharetta as a self centered area. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. People are very friendly and very family oriented.
Homes for sale in Alpharetta range from first time homebuyer communities such as Berkshire Manor, located off of Haynes Bridge Road where homes start in the high $100’s to very exclusive neighb
Which Counties Have the Highest Percentage of Subprime Loans 2007-11-13 12:50:35 I was searching around looking for some information about the subprime market and I ran across Ki Gray’s Austin real estate blog and found exactly what I was looking for. Take a look at this map he found from the New York Times showing county by county where the highest percentage of the subprime loans are. Here in Metro Atlanta it looks like Rockdale and Clayton counties have considerably higher rates than the rest of Metro Atlanta and the highest in the state of Georgia. click the map below to open a new window with the full interactive version.
What does this mean for us here in the Metro Atlanta market? It’s hard to say right now, but, keep if you are an investor, keep your eye on these two counties. There may be quite a few opportunities in the next year.
Read more:Subprime
, Loans
Nobody Wants To Buy Your Wallpaper 2007-11-13 08:12:16 At the risk of offending a few wallpaper aficionados, I’m going to have to say that you are doing yourself a disservice if you are trying to sell your home with your favorite wallpaper. Of the 1000’s of homes that I have shown to buyers, wallpaper seems to have one of the biggest effects on whether someone wants to buy your home. Walking into a kitchen covered with something like this can be an immediate turn off. It’s almost as if they forget that they are in a house and all they can think about is the wallpaper. It’s just too much work for a buyer to undertake when they buy a home. Don’t risk losing a buyer over wallpaper.
If you are selling your home, remove the wallpaper!
Very few instances exist when this is not the right thing to do so here is the list:
Don’t remove the wallpaper if you have a period home and the wallpaper is part of the charm and history of the home.
Otherwise remove it. Let’s think about this for just a second. Here a Read more:Nobody
Real Estate Agents - The Traveling Salesman 2007-11-08 13:39:24 Sometimes buyers will call and say that they would like to see 3 - 5 houses and make a decision to buy. Sometimes. More typically, we will see somewhere between 10 - 20 houses mostly located in an areas with a radius of about 5 miles. Below is a trip I have planned for this weekend with some out of town buyers who are completely unfamiliar with Atlanta. They won’t be for long. Anyone reading this who knows the geographic size of Metro Atlanta is sure to appreciate the scale of this weekends trip and I will definitely feel more like a traveling salesperson this week than is usually the case. This is an extreme case, but it is very typical for someone relocating to Atlanta to want to see homes in all of the areas we will be seeing this weekend.
This trip, according to Google, is 298 miles
It’s only 18 houses, but, these are the ones on the final list that they want to see. So I have given myself a challenge - to be no more than 30 minutes off the appointment with the homeown Read more:Estate
, Real Estate
, Traveling
The Truth For Many Sellers Today 2007-11-06 08:32:23 Have any of you noticed that part of the problem with the market today is that many sellers bought their currently listed home for sale less than two years ago with the expectation that they deserve to make money when they sell? Everyone became a real estate investor because they thought that watching a few shows on HGTV was all that was needed to transform a project into a home. Well, as many a seller has seen since the beginning of this year, it appears that instead of buying a home with solid foundational principle’s they bought a home like the one to the left. Unfortunately, they failed to follow historically sound principles and were instead caught up in what they thought was a sure fire way to make money.
Chickens Come Home To Roost
The market has changed and the new market doesn’t fit the short sighted plan for many homeowners. Now many are left with a home worth no more than it was when they bought it just a couple of years ago, and, for many, less than 2 years. I&r Read more:Sellers
, Truth
, Today
Eric Blackwell, Latest Contributor on Bloodhound Blog 2007-11-06 06:40:53 I don’t usually give away my secrets to what I have learned about search engine marketing as it relates to selling real estate, but, I will make an exception for a good friend of mine, Eric Blackwell. Eric has taught me a great deal over the past year about search engine marketing and his hard work has paid him dividends with the latest reward of becoming a contributing author on The Bloodhound
Blog.
Part of my success in marketing real estate on the internet is due in no small part from what I have learned from Eric and this is a great accomplishment for him. The Bloodhound blog is one of the most read real estate blogs on the internet and I am happy for Eric to get the additional exposure for himself and his business. Keep up the great work Eric and I’ll keep learning how better to utilize the internet to improve service to my clients from what I learn from you.
Read more:Contributor
Fall and Winter Curb Appeal 2007-11-05 13:52:52 While Atlanta doesn’t get as cold as cities farther to the north, we do have four full seasons and and if you are trying to sell your home in the fall or in the winter, you should consider the impact that the changed landscape will have from a buyers perspective. The most immediate difference for many homes will be the added exposure and light that your home will receive. This can work in a positive or a negative way for your home. Certainly, if you have some land, it will make your lot feel larger than it does in the summer, but, it will also expose areas of your home that don’t see as much light during the summer months.
Barren trees give buyers a clean view of your home and you need to make sure that they like what they see. This is an excellent time to evaluate a few critical areas of your that may have been overlooked in the warmer months.
Soffits, Fascia Boards and Gutters- Make sure your gutters stay free of the falling leaves and the outside of the gutters are cl Read more:Appeal
The State of the Alpharetta Real Estate Market 2007-11-03 08:24:09 So the market has shifted in favor of buyers. That isn’t news. What might be interesting is that you might not know that real estate in Alpharetta has not seen the massive slowdowns you may have heard about in the news. Certainly, the Alpharetta real estate market has shifted, but, it is still better than most other areas in Atlanta. Here is a month by month breakdown of home sales in 20006 and 2007.
Alpharetta
2006
2007
% Change
January
121
132
+ 8%
February
137
177
+ 29%%
March
216
222
+ 2.7%
April
209
202
- 3.4%
May
283
239
- 15.5%
June
297
282
- 5%
July
295
246
- 16.6%
August
284
201
- 29%
September
192
134
- 30%
October
176
N/A
Data
November
167
N/A
Data
December
191
N/A
Data
What Does This Mean?
In my opinion, a trend is defined as a minimum of 3 months worth of data doing the same thing consistantly. What is evident is that the trend from a sellers market to a buyers market began in April. You could argue that it was actually March, but, I woul Read more:Estate
, Market
, Real Estate
, State
When Price is NOT the Issue (Advice for Sellers) 2007-11-02 14:24:06 This is a topic that I have bounced around with other agents lately as well as discussed with a few sellers. The answer to the question is the same regardless of whether the market favors buyers or favors sellers, but, right now I have seen a lot of REALTORS and sellers allowing their frustration get in the way of reality on this and I just want to firm up a fundamentally sound economic principle.
Price is Always an Issue
O.K., I said it and some of you may disagree. The argument I hear most frequently on this is the one from a seller or an agent who says that they have already lowered the price and it still hasn’t sold or it has not increased traffic. This is called denial! What it actually means is that the price is not low enough to make the home a better value than others that they would buy instead.
You see, people are actually still buying houses. I’m sure you know that, but, the news reports make it sound as if that is not the case. The truth is that what happens in Read more:Sellers
The Price is Right! 2007-11-01 21:26:24
Here is another post from my associate in Sarasota, Marc Rasmussen. He doesn’t live here in Atlanta, but, the advice is true for us here as well. So Marc, just so you know, September sales ‘07 compared with September ‘06 are down some 40% here as well! As for any sellers combing through the internet looking for the magic bullet, you need to read this…
Our real estate market is pretty sick right now. I am not sure how Atlanta is doing but I have a feeling your market has seen better times. In Sarasota, Florida the buyers are scared and apprehensive to jump into the pool. They don’t want to buy something and have it be worth less in the future. Can you blame them? Even though bad real estate news seems to be a headline in every newspaper across the country many sellers are still unrealistic or uneducated about where the market is right now. The realistic ones price their property correctly and they see action. Foreclosures are on the rise and will continue Read more:Right
Park Creek Homes and Alpharetta Market Statistics 2007-10-30 22:22:43 Search all Park Creek Homes
For Sale
Park Creek, part of the greater community of Park Bridge is located on the north side of Old Milton Parkway, just south of Windward. Homes in the Park Creek subdivision sell considerably faster than most homes in Alpharetta and Atlanta as a whole. In fact since the beginning of 2006, the average days on the market for Park Creek real estate is 27 days. Let’s look at Park Creek homes for sale compared with Alpharetta homes for sale. Since Park Creek homes range in price between $350,000 and $450,000, we will use that as our baseline for Alpharetta.
Park Creek MarketStatistics
1/1/06 - 9/30/06
Total Sales
2
LP/SP
99%
DOM
18
Park Creek Market Statistics 1/1/07 - 9/30/07
Total Sales
6
LP/SP
97%
DOM
15
Seems to me like a certain neghborhood in Alpharetta never got the message that the real estate market slowed down! 15 days is extremely low.
The average price is not as easily determined with so few sales and because the homes v
Atlanta Poised For A Return to a Seller’s Market? 2007-10-30 09:13:44 Yesterday I read an article on Yahoo about the 10 cities poised to have real estate markets bounce back. I am happy to say that Atlanta
is on that list and I am in complete agreement with the article about our local real estate market. However, some of the information about the market was inaccurate. Cited statistics, well, I’m not sure where they got them from, were different from a report I just read so I want to take a moment to set the record straight as to what some of these inaccuracies were and get out some more accurate statistics.
The article cited that the projected median sales price for a home in Atlanta for Q1, 2008 would be $177,750. Let’s hope they are incorrect about that because I just did a quick check from some statistics put together by the First Multiple Listing Service here in Atlanta and they indicate that the median home price year-to-date in Atlanta is $195,000. That number is actually up from 2006! So, if we are looking at $177,750 for quart Read more:Market
, Return
, Seller
Alpharetta City Officials Pay Up 2007-10-28 22:24:51 Alpharetta City Officials take responsibilty for sprinklers watering the shrubs of City Hall.
In typical fashion and as an example of the quality of representation expected in Alpharetta, the city council and Arthur Letchas, Mayor of Alpharetta, paid fines for accidental water usage with personal funds. Here is an excerpt from a press release on the City of Alpharetta’s website:
“Regardless of the reason, the sprinklers on City property were active during a time when our region is experiencing a level four water crisis and we need to be held accountable for these violations,” voiced Councilman Doug DeRito, Council liaison to the Department of Public Safety. “Although every effort was made to ensure we were in compliance on all City properties, our most prominent municipal structure, City Hall, still had sprinklers in operation. According to our own Ordinance, I and my colleagues on Council, not our citizens, have a fine to pay,” continued Mayor Arthur Letchas.
The C
Sandy Springs Real Estate Market, Summer 2007 2007-10-23 07:07:33 We’ve just looked back at the overall Atlanta real estate market compared with 2006 and it is quite clear that overall, Metro Atlanta is a very strong buyers market. One of the strongest sub-markets for sellers in Atlanta over the past several years has been the city of SandySprings
. Here are statistics for the summer months compared with 2006. Sandy Springs homes for sale do not appear to have been affected the same way that Metro Atlanta has been affected.
2007 June Sales Numbers - Up 15%
Sandy Springs Real Estate
, June 2007
Total Sales
23
LP/SP
93%
DOM
61
Sandy Springs Real Estate
, June 2006
Total Sales
20
LP/SP
91%
DOM
50
June is historically the month of the year with the most closed homes in Atlanta. Sales in 2007 were up 3 closed homes, or, 15%.
2007 July Sales Numbers - Up 111%
Sandy Springs, July 2007
Total Sales
19
LP/SP
89%
DOM
79
Sandy Springs Real Estate, July 2006
Total Sales
9
LP/SP
91%
DOM
79
Over twice as many homes sold in Read more:Market
, Summer
Should I Buy An Atlanta Home Right Now? 2007-10-21 07:56:42 There is a lot of hesitation in today’s real estate market on the part of buyers and it’s quite understandable. The news reports are beating into us that the real estate market is weak. What does that mean? Well, not really anything - or more accurately, it depends on whether you are a buyer, seller or both.
Let me be very clear about this; If the market for Atlanta
homes is weak or strong, it refers to only a buyer or a seller, not both.
The statistics are now in for Atlanta homes during the summer months for 2007. Let’s take a look and see how we compared to the summer months of 2006. This should help us to get a better grip on the overall market for Atlanta homes. We will be looking at each month individually. As always, I use data gathered from the First Multiple listing service for analysis. Abbreviations are as follows:
LP/SP - List price to sales price. While not exactly accurate because seller contributions are not calculated, it still determines a good baseli Read more:Right
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