atlanta: Rainy Days in Georgia Exposing Homes with Water Issues
- 12/21/09 11:22 PM
This past year has been incredible as far as rain goes. We started the year in a very severe drought with Lake Lanier being about 20 feet below full level. Docks and boats were stranded in the mud. Atlanta was down to just weeks before their drinking water supply would run out.
(Video version of this post.)
In the past three months, after we keep having days where rainfall amounts of 2-3 inches seem to be common, many are praying for the rain to stop already.
We had some major flooding in September and we have continued to have large … (4 comments)
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atlanta: Atlanta Home Appraisals Coming in High
- 12/17/09 08:20 AM
Most of the time appraisals will come in exactly at the contract price. It's kind of frustrating when you tell your client he got a steal and then the appraisal just comes in right at the contract price. You tell them that that is normal but it's kind of a let down.
(You can watch the video instead. I say pretty much the same thing.)
I've heard other agents having to deal with low appraisals lately. Maybe there have been a few foreclosures in the neighborhood and now the appraisers have to include them as comps. Atlanta is also considered a … (1 comments)
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atlanta: About a Third of Atlanta Foreclosures Selling at or Above List Price
- 06/04/09 04:40 AM
I'm seeing a lot of foreclosures being priced very aggressively. It's creating multiple offer situations. I am working with a buyer right now who has been beat out of a foreclosure deal by someone else four times over the past few months.
He tells me that if it's a "buyer's market" why should he have to pay any where near asking price. It has been very frustrating. I began wondering if it was just bad luck on my part that just about every "great deal" that I find for my buyers is getting competing offers.
So I did a small analysis. I … (5 comments)
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atlanta: Local Experience? Show Me Your Map
- 05/06/09 06:11 AM
… (3 comments)
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atlanta: Atlanta Market Stats
- 05/06/09 01:56 AM
These numbers came out two weeks ago. I've been really busy but I finally got time to update all of my charts.
Below are the numbers for the total FMLS area for March 2009. They are for single family detached homes. It's nice to know but the important numbers are what's happening in your more immediate area. For that, I now have graphs for 26 local market areas around Atlanta. Links with a reference map are down below. I'll add about 10 more areas as time permits over the next few months.
Overall, the numbers were encouraging. I think the next two months will … (1 comments)
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atlanta: Are Home Prices in Atlanta Near a Bottom?
- 04/08/09 10:06 AM
Below is a chart I created using the S&P Case Shiller Index data. It shows the 20 metro areas that they cover.
I added the data for inflation(the black squares) which I got from the Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS).
Over the long term, I would say it's a fair statement to say that housing prices follow the rate of inflation. In the short term, prices are more affected by supply and demand. The Case Shiller Index has an equilibration point at the year 2000 starting at the value of 100. Going by the inflation rate from the BLS calculator, that value adjusted … (4 comments)
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atlanta: Atlanta Real Estate Stats for February, 2009. Total of All FMLS Areas
- 03/28/09 01:29 PM
The Atlanta FMLS came out yesterday with the Atlanta housing stats for February 2009.
I was really surprised at how things have kept going down. I personally had a pretty good February and the activity has really picked up. Maybe it will be March and April before that increased activity is reflected in the numbers. It also could be that what business is left is going to the fewer agents still in business.
Atlanta is a huge market so I have also graphed out the data for 24 separate market areas. Links to these posts are at the bottom of the … (0 comments)
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atlanta: Video Tour of My Listing Got on ABC's "Good Morning America"
- 03/02/09 05:40 AM
Good Morning America did a piece last week on how video home tours are progressing. Instead of just picture slide shows and 360 panoramas, some agents are using walk through videos to convey a sense of actually being there.
I got Tom Knight to do a video tour of one of my listings a few months ago and ABC asked him if they could use some clips from that home video tour. Tom didn't get a mention and my listing didn't get identified, but it was pretty neat seeing my seller's home on TV like that.
Here's the ABC segment. My … (7 comments)
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atlanta: I'm Pumped! Two Closings and More Buyers Filling My Pipeline
- 02/05/09 11:24 PM
I feel like that lady in the Comcast commercial catching up to joggers telling them how pumped she is about the great cable channels she's getting.
I'm feeling good about my business. I'm pumped!!!
I have two closings this week, almost have another one under contract, starting to work with a good buyer this Sunday, working with a first time home buyer looking for a foreclosure deal, and today I will be showing a few $600,000 homes up in Forsyth County. One of the listings is listed by none other than Jim Crawford.
I have set up a routine to try … (6 comments)
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atlanta: Free Source of Foreclosure Listings in Atlanta. Don't Pay for Outdated Information
- 02/05/09 02:04 PM
I had a client who gave me a list of 20 homes that he got from a foreclosure site that he was paying for. When I looked them up in the MLS, about half had already been sold several months ago. I would never pay for such out dated information.
Just about every bank foreclosure is going to get listed by a real estate agent who will put it in the MLS. You can use my site, HomeAtlanta.com, to search for these foreclosures.
Go to the "advanced searach" tab and you'll see that there is a keyword search function. Just search for foreclosure, … (0 comments)
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atlanta: Do You Trust Your Agent? Do Ya Feel Lucky, Punk. Well Do Ya?
- 02/01/09 03:28 AM
There are some great deals coming onto the market everyday. I've seen a few first hand and sometimes I want to scream out loud for someone to come and get the deal of the year.
Unfortunately, no matter what I say to a buyer, if they don't trust me and my experience they won't feel comfortable pulling the buying trigger and snagging a great deal.
Unless you are in the game and looking at homes and getting a good feel for value, you probably aren't going to trust me when I tell you that you are going to get a … (6 comments)
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atlanta: Caller Said I Probably Wasn't Meant to be a Real Estate Agent. Episode #4 Video Agent Guy
- 01/18/09 10:32 AM
I had a caller leave me a message saying that some people just aren't cut out to be real estate agents and I might be one of them. This is because I said it might be difficult to find a home that fit all of her criteria.
She had called me from out of state. She sounded nice and I thought I was making progress. She wanted to find out about areas around Atlanta where she would be able to find the kind of house she desired.
I get many calls like this and have learned that I need to ask … (77 comments)
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atlanta: No Sales in 2008? Are You Getting Desperate? Episode #3 of "Video Agent Guy"
- 01/16/09 11:40 PM
Summary of Episode #3 of Video Agent Guy video blog.
Half of one company's agents in Atlanta in 2008 had zero closings! Zip, zero nada!
Many well known companies had their average agent sell only 3 or 5 homes in 2008.
If I were shopping for an agent, I would want to know this information for two reasons.
1. With so few closings, are the agents getting enough first hand experience of what's happening out in the market place? Are they out there showing homes and making offers? Or are they getting their pulse of the market from the newspapers and … (6 comments)
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atlanta: It's Cold in Atlanta, Episode #2 of "Video Agent Guy"
- 01/16/09 11:52 AM
Summary of Episode #2 of my video blog, January 16, 2009.
It got down to 14 degrees last night. That's pretty cold for Atlanta. Of course, it's the major story on the evening news.
In past years, I've seen schools being closed due to temperature in the low teens. I grew up in Pennsylvania so that seems a little silly to me. When I was a kid, it seemed like we would have to have blizzard conditions before they would cancel school.
Someone stole my flyer box from one of my listings. That really makes me mad. I had just … (4 comments)
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atlanta: First Episode of "Video Agent Guy"
- 01/15/09 11:39 PM
This is the start of my video blog. I'm excited about testing out this format. I work with a lot of buyers, especially from out of town. We spend a lot of time talking in the car in between houses. I answer questions and also play a little tour guide.
So I figured that it might be neat to get some of that on video and share it with the world. I was planning to do a series about various real estate topics. I had written out scripts and even built a home made teleprompter to help in my delivery. I … (8 comments)
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atlanta: 5% on a 30 Year Fixed Mortgage? Here's the Bailout You've Been Waiting for.
- 11/26/08 01:12 PM
I received an email alert from my preferred lender telling me that 30year fixed rate mortgages were down to 5%. I figured that it had to be a mistake. I called him this morning and told him I wanted to refinance if the rate was still available.
I had a first mortgage at 5.75% and a home equity line that adjusted every month according to the prime rate. Right now the rate is low but I just don't have a good feeling about rates staying low.
So I thought that now was a great time to save money and get everything combined … (5 comments)
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atlanta: Homes Are Selling in North Atlanta. I Hope It Continues
- 10/24/08 09:41 AM
Lately I have been reluctant to take listings. Who wants something that's going to sit there and drain your time and energy? But I'm glad I took on my most recent listing in Roswell Georgia.
I took a listing a few weeks ago and got it under contract in 9 days. It's a home in the $500K range. He had bought it in July of 2007 so I thought it might be tough to get him out whole. I did my market research and thought we had a good chance at selling it even in a slow market at a price he … (6 comments)
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atlanta: Are Your Clients Gas Worthy? Atlanta Is Running on Empty
- 09/22/08 08:02 AM
Along my four mile commute into my office I pass by 10 gas stations. This morning, all ten were completely out of gas. For the past 10 days only about 3 of the ten have had any gas on any particular day.
I'm down to having 270 more miles before I need to refill. I was going to show some homes to a buyer this morning but she called to postpone it until next week. She wasn't quite certain about the homes we were going to see and she didn't want to waste her gas or mine. She was having trouble … (1 comments)
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atlanta: The $1000 Gamble to Turn on Utilities for a Foreclosure Home Inspection
- 07/03/08 02:22 PM
I've been experiencing the joys of helping people try to buy foreclosure deals. Having utilities on for inspections has never been a big deal. I've never really had to bother too much about it. The sellers just took care of it and I never really got involved.
This week I learned that when the power is turned off for an extended length of time, it can be complicated and costly to get the power back on in order to do an inspection.
I'm seeing more and more bank foreclosures state upfront in their special addendum that they will not be responsible for … (6 comments)
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atlanta: Princeton Square Fourth of July Parade
- 07/05/07 04:31 AM
I live in a small subdivision in Sandy Springs, Princeton Square. There are about 150 families, many with kids. Every 4th of July they have a little breakfast party down by the pool club followed by a parade around the neighborhood.
The kids decorate their bikes, scooters and wagons trying to win prizes in the various categories.
I don't know who is responsible, but the Sandy Springs Fire Department sends out a firetruck that leads the parade around the neighborhood.
After the parade, the firemen usually open up a hydrant and set up a huge geyser that is great fun for the kids.
Unfortunately, this … (3 comments)
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This past year has been incredible as far as rain goes. We started the year in a very severe drought with Lake Lanier being about 20 feet below full level. Docks and boats were stranded in the mud. Atlanta was down to just weeks before their drinking water supply would run out.
;)
;)
;)
