About Coweta County, GA

Awake, from sleeping root push forth
To beckon famished apian swarms
‘Tis Spring’s first industry of growth
That bursts from rock as Nature’s host!
(R Weisser 2012)

It’s THAT time of year again. The time when the earth warms enough to force the earliest blooms to open and face the sunlight before the canopy of leaves prohibit them for completing their reproduction cycles.

I often marvel at how delicate and fragile these earliest flowers are. Springtime conditions provide a harsh environment and the plants will only bloom a short time.

And while you may have to narrow your focus and look very closely to see the show, it’s well worth the time and effort to discover what symphonies of life are being orchestrated beneath your feet!

It’s a show that should not be missed!

Photos: Chattahoochee Bend State Park, Coweta County Georgia!

Is was an unusually busy weekend with quite a bit of activity. As a result, my Monday is fully scheduled out with housekeeping tasks that need to be completed today.

I often wonder what causes the “switch” in business to be thrown from “off” to “on.”

If I had to guess, I would say that there are three significant factors that contributed to the current floury of consumer interest:

1) Amazingly low interest rates. Rates are so low now, they are barely significant. In many cases, there is not enough mortgage interest being paid to even consider itemizing deductions on an income tax return. And since mortgages are long term notes, a buyer can fix mortgage expenses for years to come.

2)Decreasing inventory. InCowetaCountyGeorgia, we are at about one third of the number of listings compared with the peak months of available inventory. Less houses for sale equals more activity per listing. We are now down to a four month supply of homes.

3) More seller flexibility. After years of adapting to the buyer’s markets, sellers are now entrenched in the mindset of doing whatever it takes to get the house sold. Sellers that negotiate with an open mind and a realistic attitude towards buyer concessions are getting the deal done!

We still have a long way to go, but at least now there is some light at the end of the tunnel.

And we are ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work. Bring it on!

In Coweta County Georgia, we are starting to see some houses listed as short sales and REO and HUD sales for the SECOND time in the last few years.

How did this happen? Did we learn nothing from the past? Have year after year of buyer incentives and continued low down payments completely eroded the fundamental concept of ownership?

True ownership involves skin in the game. It is too easy to just walk away and there are fewer and fewer consequences with each passing month. And yet the clamoring continues for easing mortgage qualification requirements.

Leverage has toppled the market. The notion of only losing OPM has created economic chaos.

Call me simple-minded, but I will always feel that people will act more responsible when THEIR money is at risk.

The madness will not end until attitudes do as well.

The current real estate market has caused a paradigm shift in the way buyers think about real estate.

The old notion that “more is better” has given way to “less is best.” Buyers simply do not want to put a lot of money into a house during a declining market.

Builders in Coweta County Georgia has responded to consumers by purchasing existing lots at fire sale prices, and by downgrading the product finishing to make the price as attractive as possible.

What was once a stone or tile shower is now a one piece fiberglass unit. Where there was once crown molding, now there is none. Carpet has crept over most of the space that at one tome would have been a hardwood floor.

It makes you wonder if perhaps we had come to the point where we expected too much in the first place.

Perhaps simpler is better. At least it is more affordable, that’s for sure!

All of the experts seem to agree that the “shadow inventory” is out there. Houses that have gone through the foreclosure process but for whatever reason are being maintained in inventory but have not been placed on the market for resale.

The motivation behind the phenomenon has been described as being anything from sinister to shrewd. Are these institutional sellers simply buried under piles of paperwork, stymied by litigation, or simply trying to stabilize the market in an effort to reap top dollar for their properties?

Whatever the reasons, in Coweta County Georgia there is a significant difference between the number of monthly foreclosures and REO and HUD homes showing up in the marketplace.

I get calls all of the time about houses that have been sitting empty for long periods of time while would-be buyers await the opportunity to make an offer.

The shadow inventory is out there. And it can affect our market dramatically.

And until it is dealt with in a proactive way a lot of uncertainty will remain.