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Jim Crawford ~ Atlanta Real Estate-ABR E-PRO

Functionally Obsolescent Homes are Hard Sells! Think Before Buying an Older Home!

Functionally obsolescent homes, what are they? Functionally obsolescent homes are functionally obsolete are homes that are dated homes with outdated or features that are no longer sought after. Are they a great buy? Or have others passed on buying them because of built in drawbacks? Every town including Atlanta has them. The reality is that older Atlanta homes in older neighborhoods sometimes aren't such a great buy! A home without and indoor plumbing would be an extreme example of a home that no one is interested in this day and age. Times and needs change. When a home reaches the end of a desired usefulness the price and value of the home starts to decline rapidly. Some examples of an obsolete home may be ones that does not have a garage, or has a one car garage, or open carport. Other features that may denote a home may be a conversation pit, lead water pipes, a home that has one 1 bath or 1.5 baths. Small bedrooms and laundry areas in the garage or basement are pretty standard finds. The reason they are considered not a hot buy! It isn't cosmetics that hold back the sale and future profit it is the limitations of size, the location of the property, and constraints of space that prevent the changes from being made at all.

carport AtlantaBesides the most obvious drawbacks to purchasing a way outdated homes are a lot of issues you may not have thought of, but add to the reasons why you should think twice before buying one of these homes. They may not be the great deal you once thought it was! Lead paint, asbestos, aluminum wiring are just a few more of the items that may be included in the sale whether you thought about them or not! Remediation costs must be considered before purchasing. The bottom line is that the cost of acquiring, renovating a home that is functionally obsolete must be reckoned to current market conditions and pricing, if you cannot bring it in under market it is a loser!

Jim Crawford

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Atlanta Million Dollar Estates - When Only The Best Will Do! Million Dollar Homes Atlanta

Atlanta Million Dollar Plus Estate Homes and Properties! Are you interested in purchasing or investing in an Atlanta luxury estates, equestrian estate, golf course home, mansion in Atlanta or Buckhead? Atlanta's finest luxury homes and estates are in the heart of Atlanta. Here you will find Atlanta million dollar estate properties, some in gated estates on large acerage in the center of Atlanta in neighborhoods such as Ansley Park or Buckhead while other million dolar estate homes will be in the Atlanta metro area.

Since Metro Atlanta is comprised of many different cities and counties, there is something for everyone! From a Atlanta multi million dollar estate property to an intown manor home, or an Atlanta equestrian estate on acerage. For more information, please fee free to contact us!

Jim Crawford

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Atlanta Home Sales Continue to Fall in 2008 | Atlanta Real Estate Market Report

Atlanta home sales continue their decline in 2008. I decided to do some of my own preliminary Atlanta homes sales statistics this month a few days ahead of the FMLS statistics. Sales last month were off over 40% and January 2008 seems to be doing just the same. For January 2008 there are only 2272 sold single family Atlanta homes showing as closed. In January of 2006 the number was 3807, in January of 2007 it was 3844 with the average sales price $248,137 vs. $252,347 in 2007. On a percentage basis that is over a 41% drop in sales for Atlanta homes and a 2% drop in price. The offical statistics wil be out in a few days, but I think there will not be a major revision in Atlanta homes sold. Chances are more likley to show an average drop in sales of at least 35% single falmily homes sold. There are not enough in the 2779 pending sales to make much a dent, they are normally much higher. There are a lot of great Atlanta homes for sale, contact us for more information!

  • 1/01/2006 to 1/31/2006 3807 Sales 82 Days on Market $204,940 Average Price
  • 1/01/2007 to 1/31/2007 3844 Sales 89 Days on Market $252,137 Average Price
  • 1/01/2008 to 1/31/2008 2272 Sales 102 Days on Market $248,137 Average Price

Jim Crawford

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Atlanta Foreclosure Lists | Atlanta Foreclosures All time Highs!

I just received this months Atlanta foreclosure lists and it is almost too big the be believed! I am looking at over 215 pages of foreclosures in Atlanta in mice type. This months list contains over 7500 foreclosed properties in the greater Atlanta metro area. This is some serious stuff and will impact the Atlanta area with declining home values and blighted areas for years to come. We are now at the point that see this is no minior market correction!

The problem is that foreclosed homes in Atlanta are exceeding sales 2 to 1. Do the math! We are receiving 7500 new foreclosures every month in the Atlanta metro area, and we are selling less than 3200 homes a month. The accumulation of this excess inventory has stalled new homes sales, and resales. To get inventory moving again, home prices are reducing to become more competitive, commissions, and incentives are increasing, and in general real estate prices are now declining. Eventually this sheer number of homes is going to translate into a collapse in prices in my opinion. This will scare off regular buyers, and only would be investors will want to participate. Listing inventory is now over 83170 Active Listings which is very high for this time of year, and sales have declined across the board dramatically in the last few months. I wrote a recently Blog about Atlanta Foreclosures here on Active Rain that supports the increasing number of foreclosures and a 52% increase!

Jim Crawford

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Atlanta Foreclosures and the Atlanta Real Estate Market!

Atlanta foreclosures. I was reading an CNN Money article today about foreclosures in the sun-belt and rust belt, and thought I would share some insights! Most Atlantan's do not realize how much foreclosures are impacting our real estate market. Declining sales, falling home prices are just the beginning. Vacant homes are also what we call an "Attractive nuisance!" There unoccupied status invite mischief, crime, and vandalism. No neighborhood is exempt from this blight!

In Atlanta foreclosures are exceeding sales 2 to 1! We sell about 3000 homes a month, and there are over 7500 new foreclosure filings every month! Since Atlanta and Georgia led the nation in the last few years with sub-prime mortgages (over 52% of all loans in Georgia were no money down)! Well those home buyers could not afford the first re-set of their mortgage payments, and their homes have fallen into foreclosure, or they are being sold on a short sale (at a deficit to the mortgage holder.) This will shortly start to impact appraisals by driving down home prices. Appraisers must now stay within the one subdivision for comparable sales, and will be using only the last 3 months for most recent sales. In the past, the appraisers would not count the most expensive or the distress sale. Not any more. There are too many foreclosures in Atlanta, they cannot ignore the sales any longer.

Foreclosures are now up nationally 75%, and Atlanta is now # 11 instead of # 1 or 2. Check out his latest report on CNN. We are up 52.25% over last year, and expect it to get a lot worse. Sub prime resets last year that have caused all this heartache were a result of 50 Billion Dollars in sub-prime mortgage resets, This year, it will be over 10 times worse with over 550 Billion in sub-prime mortgage resets due. Thse numbers are so big it will impact all markets across the nation.

Jim Crawford

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