I just received the December Foreclosure report and in Alpharetta there are 92 home scheduled for Foreclosure. In looking through the Data, the most expensive purchase price was $1,888,596 (purchased in the Year 2000 in Country Club of the South) and the least expensive was purchased for $106,100 in 1996. These homes are scheduled to be sold on the First Tuesday of the Month - these numbers do not include the Forsyth County part of Alpahretta - on a good side I do not see an unusual number of Foreclosures taking place in one neighborhood.
Are you an investor interested in purchasing an investment home - call me at 770 722-7010.
Forbes magazine (as reported by the Atlanta Journal) ranked the top 10 places to retire in America and Atlanta is in that top 10. This is no surprise to me because of Atlanta's quality of life, the cost of living and the number of great neighborhoods.
I have been amazed that Forsyth county has not become more of a retirement community - it has the lowest tax rates in the state, plus once you turn 65 the "school' part of your property tax is dropped making the property tax rate even lower. With Lake Lanier and the North Ga mountains close there is lots of activities and the weather is great. The one item Forsyth County lacked was a convenient hospital. Well that was built in completed in 2005/2006. I think when housing comes back you will see lots of Cumming Ga homes built for seniors.
I like the quote by Adrienne Simpson where she says Georgia is becoming more like Florida, she then states Georgia has more affordable housing and a lower cost of living compared to the Florida. Additionally, more communities are being built to suit the needs of seniors, so once they get there they can stay there. Things like ranch homes, stepless ranches w/ level yards, wider doorways and more.
Some great senior communites I has sold in are Peachtree Court, Vickery Lake, Windermere Muirfield and Kingswood to name few.
If you interested in see any homes for sale please call me at 770 722-7010 or visit my website at www.FosterHomeInfo.com.
Source: Forbes and Atlanta Journal
According to the National association of Realtors, September homes sales increased 5.5% compared to September 2007. It was in September 2007 when I noticed a significant decrease in traffic through my listings and to me this downturn seemed to hit in September last year - this is good news. I am convinced the reason for the increase is due to sellers decreasing their prices. In fact, in the Metro Area the average sales price for single family home was the lowest since 2001 according to Stevel Palm with Smart numbers (in his letter to the Directors of the Firm Multiple Listing Service). This is a sign that even under tough market conditions a home will sell if it is price right.
From a personal production standpoint we we have a total of 5 homes under contract (we being Lisa and I) - which is a pretty good November. Transactions are taking place.
From a sellers standpoint - homes are selling but they have two items in common:
What is a motivated Seller? I have met with many sellers recently and when I ask them how motivated they are to sell their home they say they are extremely motivated. Then I tell them the way that motivation is expressed is through the asking price of their home. In the article by Walter Molony, the median sales price is down 9% Nationwide and 16.9% in Metro Atlanta (September 07 to 08) - that is what separates motivated sellers from unmotivated sellers. A year ago when I showed 15-20 homes we may see 1-2 foreclosures or short sales - today it is closer to 6 or 8. All of these homes compete for the Buyers dollar.
Finally, it looks like the number of units sold in September will exceed those in August whereas in the past the August to September time period usually produced a decline. With the price of oil dropping it looks to me like me may be bottoming out. Time will tell.
Call John Foster at 770 722-7010 if you are looking to Buyer or Sell a home in Alpahretta, Cumming or Suwanee Ga. Also, stop by my open house this Sunday in Windward
I was showing a first time home buyer a home on Monday and told her about the $7,500 tax credit available to First time home buyers if they purchase a home beteen 4/9/08 and 6/30/09. She was very excited to learn of this benefit. I thought I would write a little about this to provide people with a little information on the subject.
Basically, the qualifications are:
• The Buyer could not have own a home, as a primary residence, in the past 3 years to be considered a "First Time Home Buyer"
•Purchase date on the contract between 4/9/08 and 6/30/09
•Tax credit up to $7,500 for federal taxes. The Credit is taken when your file your taxes so it does not help you as you sit at the closing table, but definitely helps at tax time.
•Income restriction to receive the full $7,500 are an AGI of $75,000 if you file as single, and $150,000 for married couples
•Repayment is spread over 15 years at $500 a year interest free (almost like the second mortgage)
•Tax credit is repaid beginning 2 years after the credit is claimed. If you purchase a home in 2008, you would begin repaying the loan on your 2010 tax return.
•If home is sold before repayment is completed the remainder comes from the sale proceeds. If proceeds are insufficient to repay the tax credit, repayment is forgiven.
For more information please consult your tax advisor and see www.Federalhousingtaxcredit.com. The impact on the market will be interesting to watch. This seems similar to me to the second mortgages that are now much harder to get, the issue is it does not help at the closing table unless the Buyer adjusts their withholding and saves the money before closing. As a realtor, I am grateful because I do think this will help demand.
If you are thinking of buying a home, call the John Foster team at 770 722-7010. Johns sells homes in Cumming, Alpharetta, Suwannee, Johns Creek, and Duluth.
This weekend I had a buyer in from out of town and we looked at over 60 homes in 3 days. In looking at the 60 homes I am amazed at the number of homes that are in very poor condition. Homes that are vacant, that need to be painted, need carpet to be removed and need the A/C to run in order to sell the home. It was the exception when a home was pleasant to view.
When you want to sell your home price is a key, but the ability to have it in showing condition is how the buyer makes decision - remember when a buyer comes to a home to view it - they know they price and have said it is within their acceptable range. The next step are the features and benefits of that home compared to the - in this case 60+ homes we viewed.
Yes there are a lot of homes on the market right now, but if you have your home in tip top shape and it is priced right I belive it will sell.
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John Foster with Remax Greater Atlanta discusses the trends for Alpharetta Ga Real Estate & Cumming Ga Real Estate. John is an Accredited Buyers Representative & a member of the Re/Max Hall of Fame.
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