Olde Ivy is a wonderful gated community built by John Wieland Homes, located just inside I285 in Smyrna GA – Cobb County. This beautiful Vinings community is located on historic property that was s a supply point during the Civil War. Several Civil War bunkers are still located around the property. My wife and I were one of the first people to purchase a home in this community. The neighbors are wonderful and the HOA has done a great job keeping the community up. The Olde Ivy HOA is very financially secure and the monthly HOA fees are very reasonable.

There are 4 different types of maintenance free home styles in Olde Ivy. There are Court Yard Homes, Multi Level Townhomes, Lofts and Condo Flats. You’ll find very few communities that offers amenities like Olde Ivy. All residents have the security of a gated community and use of an elegant clubhouse, walk trails, large swimming pool, and professional fitness room.

This is one of the best locations in Metro Atlanta. Just minutes to the Hartsfield Jackson Airpor, Downtown, Midtown, Buckhead, umberland Mall, Perimeter Mall, Lenox Mall areas. The area is just exploding with new mixed use developments and executive housing. There’s also a major property Cobb County tax break for persons over 62 years of age. Olde Ivy is also centrally located to some of the finest private schools in metro Atlanta.

I’ve been involved in selling homes in Olde Ivy since it was on the drawing board. I know all floor plans by name and know the community well. I’ve sold more homes the Olde Ivy community than any other real estate agent to date. I have a lot of pride and confidence in the community and its future. Want to see whats for sale in Olde Ivy? Click here! If you would like to discuss Olde Ivy real estate opportunities please contact me under no obligation.

As many of you know I’ve been very optimistic as to how far home prices in Atlanta will fall and how long it will take for values to start moving up again. I still strongly feel there isn’t a bubble in Atlanta that’s just waiting to pop. Right now we’re going through a market correction. Atlanta’s population growth has us positioned for major housing needs in the very near future. But overall the US real estate market has had numerous issues and factors that’s compounding and causing some unexpected new problems that hurting the already troubled real estate industry. It’s not all because of the collapse of Sub Prime loans and that’s a fact. FHA will now finance homes up to 346K and has filled the Sub Prime void pretty well. Thursday the US government reported that new home sales hit their lowest point in seven years. Let me repeat…..seven years???

Builders are slashing new homes prices 7.5% on average in the US. With a bloated supply of new homes for sale it’s clear it’s a buyer’s market. The Atlanta Builders have clearly realized this and are making the price adjustments and concessions to try to stimulate sales. But the resale home market isn’t following this trend. Thus leaving the new home builders without many move up buyers.

I recently attended a Re/Max of Georgia Platinum Club meeting. The format was town hall, round table, questions and answers. During our time together a very successful agent made the statement “without listings your dead”. I replied “No sir, the fact is without good listings your dead”. Listings and good listings are two totally different animals.

I’ve been fortunate to have had a steady flow of business this year and I’m very thankful for people putting their trust in me. However, most of my commission checks this year have come more from buyers I represented, not sellers I’ve represented in 2007. I’ve always consistently had equal buyers to sellers in the past. But this year representing buyers has kept me alive. However, buyers are struggling to find good homes to purchase in the Marietta, Smyrna, Powder Springs, Acworth, Kennesaw, Roswell and Alpharetta areas. Over my 15 year career my average buyer looked at 17 homes before buying. If we looked at many more than 20 homes I would scheduled a meeting with the buyer to analyze what the problem was. Could it be that I’m not be listening to them? Or was it the fact their dream home didn’t exist within their limits??

Today my buyers are having too view 25 to 40 homes before finding the one they may consider buying. Nothing is knocking them over right now. Why can’t these buyers find homes? A huge percentage of the resale homes on the market have either pricing problems or neglected maintenance issues. Surprisingly most don’t have as much of a home pricing problem as they do with neglected maintenance issues. I don’t blame the sellers in regards to this situation. I fully blame Atlanta Real Estate agents for not telling the sellers the right price and the condition a home has to be in order to sell.

Regardless of what you’re selling, whether it’s a car, playground equipment, or a house, the consumer has to see the value. Something they feel good about. Something that will make them say “I’ll take it”!! Nobody pays full book value for a car with a dent in the fender and a busted tail light; nobody pays full retail for a swing set missing a sliding board. So how are you going to sell that house that needs paint and carpet?? You’re not!! If you cannot sell your home stand back and take a good look at the things you would do if you were going to stay in the home. Then do them!! Don’t wait!! Real estate agents need to be honest with their sellers and let them know buyers want move-in condition. Inside and out! We will all see a significant upturn in the market if the median priced home inventory looked better. If this price range home begins to move faster, then the dominions will start falling and higher priced homes will have buyers that sold the median priced homes. I believe one of the reasons the Atlanta real estate market has slowed is because the median priced home inventories aren’t in the best selling condition!!