Michelle Francis Realtor Buckhead Atlanta Homes for Sale & Lease

Buckhead Luxury Home Rental Market Report – March 2012

Every year as the Bradford Pears, Azaleas and other blooms spring to life, so too does the Atlanta Real Estate Sales and Rental Market. This year, 2012, is no exception and might prove to be even more of a shift than in years past. For sales, Atlanta as a whole and Buckhead, specifically has reached the lowest inventory level in a DECADE! Yes a decade. Sales demand is stronger.

What does that mean for the Buckhead Luxury Single Family Home Rental Market? Well, we are again at our lowest inventory levels with homes rapidly getting rented or leased with qualified tenants. Folks are surprised at how strong the luxury rental market is. We aren’t. The Buckhead Luxury Home Rental Market has only had momentary weaknesses in 10 years where there was more inventory than prospective tenants. This occurred in 2007/8 as the market was struggling with a huge oversupply of homes.

In a typical year for Buckhead, there are not enough luxury rental homes for the demand. Tim Francis Realty has been offering Luxury Rental Homes and Property Management for a decade. Our company AVERAGE luxury home rental rate in Buckhead is $4,000 a month. We were just analyzing the latest market inventory for 4 bedroom homes in Buckhead. Today, there are 16 homes available from $2,000 to $7,000. (There are a few higher than $7,000, but that’s a pretty unique market.) There are 4 pending homes in this price point AND in the last 6 months, there have been 46 homes leased. This means there is about a 3 month’s supply of homes.

In Tim Francis Realty’s experience, it will be a crazy spring. As we say many times a day to folks that call, “if you see something you like that fits your budget in the Buckhead Luxury Rental Home Market, TAKE IT IMMEDIATELY”.

Are you looking for a Buckhead Luxury Rental Home in Garden Hills, Chastain Park, Peachtree Park, Buckhead Forest, or Sarah Smith area? Please contact the experts who handle more rentals in this Buckhead Luxury Rental Market of single family homes than any other agent, Tim Francis Realty LLC

Are you really "saving money" with the CHEAPER Atlanta Property Management Company?

Just about to put a new townhome unit up for rent that is meticulous with fabulous details. Tim Francis Realty LLC has been watching the area and keeping up on latest rental rates, as the Atlanta market has seen solid rental increases over the last few years. 2012 is no exception. We had planned to put the property up for what the latest market comps show leased just two months ago.

With no competition, the strong spring market and a unit that will show very well, it was a slam dunk from a market rate perspective.

Unfortunately another unit just came up yesterday in the same complex for what the townhomes leased for 18 months ago. WHAT! Yes, the very lazy leasing and property management company – who advertises their low rates and how they save you money, left off market research as a task for listing a new property. Gee, that’s $150 a month they left on the table at the $1,500 price point, so instead of getting $1,500 a month, the unit is being advertised for $1,350. I expect it to lease soon and when asked about it as a comp, I’ll have to say they got the deal of the year.

How do you think the owner would feel if they find out home much money they have saved this year with the low-price option? Let’s see, saving $20-$30 dollars a month COST them $150. What a deal! I figure they LOST roughly $1,600 after their “savings”.

If you are looking for a smart valuable company to handle your Atlanta Luxury Rental Properties, please call Tim Francis Realty LLC to get the best service and the MOST net dollars.

Why do you want to save money in fees that cost you MUCH MORE in rental income?

Buckhead Market Report Feb 2012 - Very low sales and lease home inventories

As Tim Francis Realty, LLC continues into 2012, we are seeing significantly reduced inventories in the Buckhead Real Estate Market and throughout the metro-Atlanta Market. This reduced inventory levels is driving a new and improved Atlanta real estate market. For listings, we get multiple calls confirming availability, as well as are hearing more and more of multiple bid situations. For lease listings, our showings are through the roof with multiple applications expected this week. On both, we’ve got agents calling and e-mailing for first advance looks on UPCOMING properties.

Let’s take a look at specific Atlanta trends in early 2012. For CLOSED Sales Volumes we are seeing dramatic 25% and 30% increases year to date over closed units for both single family homes (Detached) and the Condo & Townhome (Attached) markets.

Unfortunately, price points did not rise for either category. For single family homes – sales prices were down to an average of $154k from $178k last January. For Condo’s & Townhomes – sales prices were down to an average of $117k from $119k a year ago.

While these are not trends we like to see, the picture doesn’t show the factor of how the dramatically reduced inventories will start to affect pricing. Today, in metro Atlanta – all detached listings total about 24,000 units down 31% from last year’s 36,000 homes at this time of year. This is tremendously significant and Tim Francis Realty believes will be the greatest driver of potential price increases this year. For Condo’s and Townhomes, inventories are down 36% from 6,800 units to 4,700 units.

It’s a whole new Atlanta (Buckhead) real estate market out there in 2012. As Tim Francis Realty attended agent caravan’s today to preview the existing market and stay on top of this reduced inventory, we continually heard agents’ optimism about this current market. As well, our showings report this week shows incredibly high showing activity meaning that the Atlanta Real Estate SPRING market has SPRUNG already!

While we realize folks are trying to determine the best time to buy and time the market bottom, indications with current inventory, current demand suggest we are at or very close to that Atlanta Real Estate Market Bottom.

If you are in the market for a new property, personal or investment, why not work with a professional who is on top of the local Atlanta Buckhead Real Estate Market?

How can we help?

Buckhead – Atlanta Public School Redistricting – Questions, Concerns and Getting Answers – Feb 8^th, 2012

Buckhead, an intown area of Atlanta just north of Midtown, offers a number of phenomenal public schools that Tim Francis Realty is specifically asked by Buyers and Luxury Rental Tenants to find a good home in. Because of this high demand for a number of area schools, they are facing overcrowding and challenges with managing enrollments. At this point, the Atlanta Public Schools are working on a redistricting plan. It’s never easy to do this, but emotions are strong, as folks want to understand where their kids will be going to school.

Tonight, there’s a meeting to allow residents to answer questions. The APS Meeting is at the North Atlanta High School at 6:30pm today – February 8^th, 2012. Please arrive at 6 pm if you would like to sign up to speak for a 2 minute time period.

For more links on current mapping options, click on Buckhead APS Redistricting Maps. Also, to stay in the loop, we recommend that you sign up for the Buckhead Patch, as they are doing a nice job covering this and how it will affect Buckhead. One of the major concerns, besides moving a child from one school to another is that a majority of the Buckhead Atlanta Public Schools – carry the International Baccalaureate (or IB) designation. Take Sutton Middle School, which is currently IB, if they open a second middle school or put one grade of three at a new location, that current school would not have the IB designation.

Choosing a home is always a challenge, a bit more today when the school districts are shifting. If you are looking at purchasing or renting a luxury home in the Buckhead area of Atlanta, please be sure you take this into account.

Do you need an agent who knows Buckhead and the current issues? Please feel free to contact Tim Francis Realty if we can help you with housing needs in Buckhead.

Price it right and they will come in droves! A Buckhead Home Sale Story – January 2012

While it is true that 2011 was still very much of a buyer’s market, as Tim Francis Realty starts 2012 we are seeing trends that show parts of metro Atlanta housing are already in recovery. Prices are stabilizing, demand is high when a good property comes on the market, and homes are going under contract quickly.

Tim Francis Realty was happy to offer this lovely Buckhead / Brookhaven home for sale in early December 2011. Within the first week on the market, we had very strong showing demand (like something you would see in 2006) and a solid offer on the home. Now, just six weeks later, we’ve had a successful closing on this Buckhead Home.

Interestingly, the house was NOT a short sale or foreclosure. It was a regular sale of a 10 year old home. This lovely home was meticulous, offered at a reasonable price point and ready for a new owner. The change in market from last January to today is significant. Overall inventory for the Buckhead / Brookhaven / Sandy Springs area is down to levels of 2001. Demand for homes is high, as there are a number of buyers looking for the right home to come on the market for them.

Even while under contract the home had multiple showings with the knowledge it was under contract. During closing week, the home had more phone calls for additional showings. Real estate is completely local. Tim Francis Realty believes Buckhead & Sandy Springs in early 2012 is already stabilizing and ready to rebound.

What real estate trends are you seeing in Buckhead and Sandy Springs?