A humble real estate agent is one that’s just sold their own home in this market. My wife and I recently SOLD our home. I’m proud to say we did it in 3 weeks and got within 99.9% of the asking price. Our homes asking price was in the slowest selling price range in the Smyrna / Atlanta real estate market. I’ve had several astonished people and agents contact me to see how I accomplished the sale in the current market?

The answer is simple. I took my own advice. I had and appraisal from 2006, I knocked 6% off the top. Got my house in tip top shape and this smoked the surrounding Smyrna /Vinings competition.

I’ve been saying for some time now that price, condition and staging is the winning combination for maximum return. One without the others will not work in most cases. I have a great testimony to share with you. There was another home for sale across the street from mine. It was priced 14K under mine. I felt hands down I had the better home, as all homeowners think they do. In no way was the price enough to make a difference. But I kept noticing that home was getting much more buyer traffic than mine. I knew most of the showing agents so I called them to see why my home wasn’t shown. They informed me the buyers were looking up to a certain price and I was missing the top end price by 14K. I was like… holy, moly, 14 K difference…. give me a break!!! Make me an offer?? But with no showings, you’re not going to get an offer, plain and simple!! This is proof that being in the right price range or bracket is very important. You must consider what your home is worth and then research if buyers are in that price. You must be within that range to sell! If you’re not, then it’s like setting a baited fishing hook just above a school of fish. If you’re not a fisherman what happens is the fish never sees the worm. You have to drop it in their sight! Same difference!

You see it didn’t matter my home was bigger, larger lot, custom wall treatments, finished basement, etc. It was first and foremost about price. We had beautiful curb appeal but it just wasn’t enough to bring the buyers in. We made the downward price adjustment and it went under contract within days. I’m like every other seller out there, I wanted more but I wasn’t going to get it in this market. I feel your pain. It simple doesn’t work in today’s real estate market to start out high and think you’ll get an offer and negotiate from there. The only paper (contract) you’ll see is the AJC newspaper on your front door every day.

A recent survey by Zillow.com claimed 62% of the homeowners surveyed claimed their home had either appreciated or stayed the same in value over the last 12 months; the reality is 77% of those surveyed homes had decline in value in the past 12 months. The day when an agent priced a home just using the MLS comp’s are over. You need an agent that’s in the market everyday and can provide you with numerous facts and data to support the correct asking price to sell to today’s buyers. Pricing your home correctly is very, very important! The slightest adjustment may make things happen! I’m proof of it!

Some of you may be aware that the amount of water in your toilet has been on our local governments mind lately. That’s right, if you buy the right new low water volume toilet you’ll receive anywhere from $50 to $100 back from many metro counties. Some counties even wanted to mandate that certain age homes would be required to retro fit to the new low volume toilets.

Here’s the stat’s on the water savings published in the AJC March 7, 2008.

Average home savings 30 gallons a day!!!

Metro Atlanta would save 6 million gallons a day!!!

There’s an estimated 425,000 old toilets in the region.

Are these huge savings? Yes, but there’s a huge flaw in this equation ….. THEY TAKE MORE THAN ONE FLUSH TO WORK!!!

My good friend Chris called me this week. All I heard on the other end of my cell phone was “What’s up with these new toilets?? I just purchased a $500 toilet, and paid $100 to have it put in my new basement bath and it will not handle business”. When I told him his contractor wasn’t trying to pull something over on him he was very upset the government was in his bath room. We both agreed we may be using more water because the new toilets don’t work properly or in any fashion we’re all accustom to.

We all know water is an issue and will continue to be as Atlanta grows. I strongly feel there are a number of things the average family can do to save lots of water. Like stop washing the dishes then putting them in the dishwasher or running the shower as you’re also waiting for the iron to heat up, then ironing your cloths before entering to wash yourself. Quit letting the water run when shaving or brushing your teeth. Also quit using your toilet as a trash can. Simple things like this will conserve our water resources. I believe the media and government needs to do more in the way of education that will change some old habits,not changing out some old porcelain.

I think a new hot business could be on the horizon folks! It’s going to be in designer plungers. If there is an estimated 425,000 old toilets here then multiply that by say $9.99 to $29.99(Martha Steward deluxe model), you’re looking at possibly doing 4 to 12 million dollars in sales your first year just in Atlanta sales. I assure you the old natural wood, round stick, stuck into that odd black bell shaped rubber end just isn’t going to get it. Your going to need something attractive, quick and handy. It will become as important as the TP holder!

Some say the new campaign is like throwing money down the drain. In this case I promise you it will take 2 or 3 attempts to make the money go away if your trying to flush it!!

When people ask me what’s hot in the housing market today I would have to say Green Building or Going Green as many say. In past blogs I’ve written we’re going to have to embrace natural resources to heat, cool, recycle water and light our homes. As many of the green home technologies and products advance, prices are starting to become more affordable and cost justifiable.

I believe you really need to research and consider all Green Products when building or remodeling a home today. The demand for green energy efficient homes will be very high in just a few years.

For those of you that don’t personally know me, I’m not a tree hugger. I believe that as long as a truck fueled by diesel picks up my recyclable products then takes them to a recycling facility powered by a coal power plant isn’t saving or helping the earth’s eco system at all. And.…. many or the products after recycled aren’t suitable or in demand for use in the manufacturing of new consumer or industrial products.

When consumers or special interest groups bring things like Green Building to the forefront of America’s attention there seems to be someone that presents a different twist to the message glorifying their product and how it’s Green. To my understanding Green building should incorporate proper land use management, total energy conservation, products that were environmentally safe to make and wildlife habitat protection or replacement. All the products used in building any new Green home shouldn’t damage the environment in their manufacturing process or have waste that cannot be properly disposed of or is toxic. Say….. like vinyl siding does. Bottom line for me to consider something a Green Product it cannot harm the environment in any way when it’s manufactured, recycled or disposed of. For now we’re still going to have the diesel trucks moving these entire Green Products around the US. But the good news is they’re making diesel engines run cleaner all the time.

I just read an article with a new twist for going Green. It seems some of the hard hit vacation properties claim one way to go Green is to buy into the new fractional ownership housing now being offered at many resort properties. Fractional ownership is not a timeshare. Fractional ownership is taking a number of people; let’s say 4 families and they split the cost on a 500K beach condo. It’s easy to understand this opens the market up to a lot of people wanting second homes in expensive resort areas. But to consider this going Green is a stretch to me. David H. Schwartz, a real estate broker in Mammoth Lakes, CA was quoted in Forbes by saying. I observed, “Vacation homeowners using their home no more than one week a month. This is considered wasteful and definitely not green”. He goes on to claim fractional ownership is Green in every way. Sorry, David but I don’t buy it. The only Green involved here is the amount of Green Cash you’ll need to bring to closing table. Don’t get me wrong, fractional ownership is great, I can see myself buying one. But to claim fractional ownership is within the Green Movement is nuttier than a Snickers Bar.

If you are smart, and do your homework, buying or building a Green Home will have it’s pay offs! Both in energy and eco savings!

I usually only write one blog a month but after writing my most recent blog about the Sub-Prime Interest lock the government is proposing I decided to research more areas surrounding Atlanta to see the ratio of foreclosures by counties.

I always hear conversations about the person that just bought a 600K home for 400K. Sounds great doesn’t it? In reality it very rarely happens! In most cases the person is quoting you the asking price vs. what he paid for it. Or the best one I hear is someone saying they got a 600K home form 400K, it needs 200K but they can get it done for 100K. There’s more to these stories than you’re ever told.

I’m contacted every week by someone looking for a deal on a foreclosure. It’s understandable that everybody wants a deal on a home, but so far it’s been pretty hard for me to find plenty of foreclosure deals. I can find foreclosures but they are not deals!

However, I did find one this month. The buyer purchased this home for 225K which was about 25% less than the average home sold in the last 2 years in that subdivision. The home needs about 13K to 16K in cosmetic improvements and stripped appliances. This client has long term plans to live in the house. Thus making this a deal compared to the current market and county which was Cobb. The transaction took over 45 days from binding agreement to close!!

After doing some research I discovered why I’m not seeing all these foreclosures the media keeps talking about. I mainly work within Cobb and North Fulton County’s and these numbers tell my why I’m not seeing all those great foreclosure deals!

Below is the foreclosure rate per households in the following counties.
Cobb County - 1 in 597
Fulton County - 1 in 122 (Majority South Fulton)
Gwinnett County – 1 in 311
Paulding County - 1 in 164
Douglas County 1 in 260
Forsyth County 1 in 553
Cherokee County 1 in 396
DeKalb County 1 – 252
Rockdale County 1 in 207
Fayette County 1 in 368

So if you’re looking for a deal you might want to start in the counties with the most foreclosures. I want to make people aware that you have to do your homework when buying a foreclosed property. It’s very tricky and I recommend you hire a seasoned real estate agent to help you negotiate with the bank. It’s takes lots of patience and time to get foreclosure homes under contract and to the closing table! Banks are simply overwhelmed by foreclosure volume in general. They don’t pay any attention to the dates you want to close, etc. Be prepared to wait on all responses from the bank every step of the way. If you do your due diligence you may end up with some instant equity. If you don’t, your deal today will be a deal for someone else tomorrow. My dad used to say “figures don’t lie, liers figure”!

Call me I would love to discuss real estate opportunities!

If you have a sub-prime mortgage on your home with a escalating interest rate then you may soon get some needed help from our government. If you’ve got one of those adjustable rate mortgages, you may qualify for a rate freeze under certain conditions. Standard fixed rate mortgages will not be affected.

The bailout is really designed for homeowners who are into trouble because their mortgage payments keep going up making it impossible for them to pay their monthly payments. If you have sufficient funds or income to pay your mortgage even if your payments have gone up then you’re not eligible for the rate freeze. You have to live in your home to qualify for the rate freeze, second homes and investment properties will not qualify for this program. You have to have taken the loan out between 2005 & 2007 with rates set to increase between 2008 & July 2010. You have to have less than 3% equity. You must be current on your mortgage payments or no later than 60 days. You have to prove you can handle the locked payment but not the higher payment. Analysts estimate this will help between 240,000 to 250,000 people out. That’s a huge number of homeowners with sub-prime mortgages. And there are many more homeowners with sub-prime mortgages that will not qualify for the rate freeze. This bailout is a half fix at best! Unfortunately many of the people that this rate freeze is trying to help out will eventually end up in foreclosure. We need a plan for other with a sub prime mortgage with diffirent curcimstances.

The current Bush administration is concerned about the fallout from the housing slump. The repercussions of the high rate of foreclosures will have a series of problems for the housing industry. Ten of thousands of American could be forced from their homes. This will slow consumer spending hurting the economy overall. All of this will cause home prices to fall even more.
This bailout deal will add some stability to the housing market, but it will not stop all the problems we face in the real estate industry right now. The same day Bush announced his plan, the Mortgage Bankers Association said that foreclosures had reached a record high in the third quarter. Mortgage foreclosures hit a record .78% up from the previous high of .65%. At the same time, delinquencies for all mortgages rose to 5.59%, from 5.12% in the second quarter. So we still have more people out there that will end up in foreclosure as time moves on. As I stated in a earlier blog, we haven’t hit bottom yet.

The Atlanta real estate market has had its share of higher than normal foreclosures this year. However it hasn’t drastically affected home prices in the North Metro Atlanta area. Supply and demand has softened our home prices more than anything else so far. It’s projected that we’ll get over million more people moving to the Atlanta area by 2011. Our job growth looks good. Atlanta will fair pretty well through this real estate downturn in the long run. The national news media wants you to think all the flood gates are open and look out below. The truth is the majority of the foreclosures are happening in three states, California, Florida and Ohio. Folks in these states will have a long journey back before they can say the word equity!! Reports claim some homeowners in these states have homes that are worth 37% to 40% less than 2006. Be glad you own a home in Atlanta. We’re actually project to have a slight increase in home values this year! But certain areas of Atlanta have been hard hit.

Keep in mind this rate freeze is really going to be a problem for the mortgage industry. Investors will think twice about backing mortgage programs that have been big money makers in the past due to uncertain returns. I don’t want to see anyone lose their house in foreclosure but Wall Street and many such firms have invested in securities that back your mortgage – there also tied into pension funds as well as mutual funds. Their clients include all sorts of people like you, teachers, fireman, policemen, etc. So……some people will have lower payments which are good……but other people will not have the kind of return on their investments which is bad for their retirement. We need much more of a fix to help the housing industry.

I’ve don’t believe the average person has any idea how many people are involved in the home buying process and the supply chain involved. The current mortgage problems are undermining what made America great! Long term financing!!

The Atlanta Journal and Constitution ran an article this week: How does your home stack up? It’s very well known that the Atlanta real estate market is soft. The AJC did a great job explaining and showing charts of the 2005 -2006 housing market pertaining to different zip codes. I receive calls and e-mails’ all the time asking me if it’s a good time to sell? There isn’t a simple answer anymore?

The AJC article supports the advice I’ve been giving prospective clients for a while now. It’s all about area and price. What I’m finding in the market right now as far as pricing goes is a seller has to be prepared to price a home for not much more than the home was worth in late 2005 or early 2006. So if you bought a home in the last 2 years your goal should be to just break even if possible. I know of very few homes or areas that have appreciated any noticeable amount since early 2006.

If a seller is willing to price a home with this in mind then they stand a very good chance of selling a home in a reasonable time frame. The Atlanta market isn’t dead by a long shot. I will personally sell more homes this year than last year! In most cases what you lose in selling is offset by what you will save when buying. How?? If you take a 5% reduction on a $300,000 ($15,000) home and you purchase a $600,000 home at 5% off ($30,000) then your net gain is $15,000. Right now I’m seeing the higher end homes taking even bigger discounts, especially if you want new construction. So if you’re moving up in price the time couldn’t be better to make the move.

As I been saying and the AJC showed the numbers are very different per location and home. For instance, the Vinings 30339 zip code experienced a 54% increase in sales, but the median home price dropped more than 30%. Smyrna’s 30082 had a median price increase of 15% (mainly due to new construction) but sales are off 5%. You can throw a rock and hit both of these areas but look how different the numbers are.

I’ve been telling client’s re-sale homes are great values for a long time now. It’s finally sinking in! But the biggest problem with many of the re-sale homes is neglected maintenance. This is compounding the real estate slow down as much as anything else. If you want to list your home in today’s market it has to be in move-in condition. With the recent changes in mortgage requirements and programs, buyers now need more cash to qualify. This means the buyer has less cash to do upgrades after a purchase. Sellers have to adapt to the market demands to sell a home. Fresh paint and carpet goes a long way right now with a buyer!

Many new home communities are taking huge discounts. But buyers need to beware. You have to make sure the builder has the financial means too not only finish your new home but to also finish out the subdivision. I’ve been in this business long enough to see wonderful new developments not being finished because the builder ended up bankrupting before the project was built out. I’ve seen numerous new defunct communities where a new builder/developer comes along (eventually) and they change the style and price range of the homes that was originally built, thus messing up the continuity needed for solid appreciation. You cannot have apples and oranges in the same neighborhood. There are several other things buyers need to be cautious of when buying new right now. Contact me if you’re thinking about buying a new home. I’m willing to discuss with you some of my concerns and knowledge as it’s different for each area and builder!

People are trying everything right now to sell homes. Buyers and agents are being offered free laptops, upgrades, vacations, TV’s, cars and cash. These types of spiffs just aren’t working overal. A professional real estate agent should always have his client’s best interest when guiding the way. Not what a free gift they will receive if they can sell a home!

Bottom line….Be sure the deal today isn’t a deal for someone else later!

I’m sitting in my basement tonight with my nephew Nicholas watching a Little Feet concert on TV. Nicolas is 16 and hadn’t heard of Little Feet before and he loved them. Experiencing this really made me think of the old and the new. I thought about the good times gone and the good times to come. It was exciting turning a much younger person on to something old school to me. When I was his age I loved Little Feet. So for those of you that haven’t heard of Little Feet you should check them out! Or you will never understand the point of my closing sentences.

So what does this have to do with a real estate blog what so ever? Homebanc. Homebanc filed for bankruptcy this week and pretty much shut the doors. At one time Homebanc was the hottest mortgage company around and they dominated the Atlanta market. They bought life and energy to our market and pretty much ate every body’s lunch that tried to go toe to toe with them as far as mortgages’ went. They did business as a humble giant for years! They were a wonderful company to work with, as well as work for. I‘ve never had a better working relationship with any mortgage company. Homebanc treated my customers as royalty and gave great rates and service unmatched by anyone. I truly hate to see them go. I miss those days of quick easy approvals and on time closings.

You may ask what’s my point to this rambling blog? The older I get the more I love to see the old still being around (Little Feet)and I hate it when the old go away. I loved seeing Little Feet still kicking it. I wish Homebanc was still kicking it. As Little Feet sang “There’s a fat man in the bath tub…. I hear him moan…I hear him moan. It made me think of all my friends at Homebanc! So my friends you now have to put on your Sailing Shoes!! There’s life after Homebanc.

Good luck to all of you.

WHATS HOT!

PRICING DIRECTION: As predicted the market has softened and prices have adjusted downward over the last several months. Many are saying the fed’s will drop interest rates towards the end of the 3rd qtr 2007 to stimulate the housing market. But right now mortgage rates are moving up.

HOMES THAT ARE PRICED RIGHT: This isn’t the 2005 real estate boom times. Forget cocktail party chit-chat. If you want to sale your home you better price it right for the current market. Not what homes in your neighborhood sold for 12 months ago? Sellers have to look at all the recent sales in their market not just one sale that brought top dollar! You’ll most likely make up for any downward price adjustment you took when you purchase your new home in this market.

ONLINE HOME VALUE SITES: I’m finding most of these sites aren’t up to date in th3 Atlanta area. It’s a great starting point if your thinking about buying or selling a home. But if you want accurate information call a professional real estate agent.

HOME OFFICES: Very hot feature for a home. We’ll see an increase in two home offices being in demand. With more and more people working from home commute times and gas prices with keep home offices in demand. I’m seeing more home offices that have built-in cabinets and work areas just like a professional work place. Windows and exterior doors are a huge plus. People will also look for homes located near alternative work spaces that will bridge the home office with places that will charge hourly rentals or monthly fees allowing SOHO’s to meet clients in a professional environment offering technology and privacy.

CAVING: Man and women alike are requiring more dedicated spaces where projects, hobbies or just a place to chill without being disturbed.

DUEL SLEEPING AREAS IN MASTER BEDROOM: Snoring rooms. I’m not kidding here. You’ll see a big demand for these as more are being offered in upscale homes. Snoring rooms are secondary bedrooms or sleeping areas within the master bedroom. People will love these as they are an alternative to the couch or guest bedrooms.

MODULAR BUILDING: I’m surprised we haven’t seen more of this here in Atlanta already. With the rising cost of building a factory production home is the only alternative. Don’t think double wide when I say modular building. Factories will construct panels (A-B-C) for framing that can be used in many different floor plans. The panels will be shipped and deliver to the job site. These panels could have electrical junction boxes, switches and HV/AC heat ducts already installed. The benefits are huge because of cost and time reduction. Quality control will greatly be improved. When finished these homes will look just like an on site stick built homes

SUBSTAINED DESIGN: Sustainable Design is based on three areas; energy conservation, indoor air quality, and resource conversation. Natural forms of energy cannot be ignored any longer. Wind, solar and geo-thermal will be in high demand in the very near future!

CABINETS: Start mixing finishes and counter tops. It was only a short while back when all my clients started wanting granite and maple cabinets in there new home. I told all of my associates that this was going to date homes quicker than avocado appliances. Many of these people kept picking the same granite and cabinet colors. I now have buyer looking at homes saying they already look dated. Oh those millennium years.

HOME WIRING: Category 5 or above, data lines and multi line phones are very important in newer homes. Its must have!

HIGH DEMAND: Large kitchens, upgraded appliances, custom laundry rooms, basements or even better a finished basement, custom garages with industrial type flooring, highly finished screened in porch’s with fireplaces, stone patios, rear stairs, pools or room for pools, swim & tennis communities, public schools, custom wall and window treatments, brushed door handles and hinges, mixing different counter tops in the kitchen. Three + car garages, mixed stone, brick and heavy wood exteriors.

WHATS OUT!!

AS IS MARKETING: Buyers see this as a red flag. There is way too much competition out there. Don’t chase buyers away. Also don’t except a contract and inform the buyer their welcome to have a home inspection but you not willing to do anything. Let time take its course.

BUYER OR AGENT INCENTIVES: Free cars, gas credit vouchers, gourmet dinners and Plasma TV’s don’t sell homes anymore. Realistic pricing does!! Cut to the chase and drop the price if incentives are being considered! Agents chasing or steering their clients towards homes with these types of incentives are not looking after their clients best interest in some cases.

ENDLESS OPEN HOUSES: The OPEN HOUSE pendulum has swung the other way. Internet placement is essential. Only 1.5% of the homes in the nation sold because of an OPEN HOUSE. With gas being over $3.00 a gallon people don’t drive around looking at homes like they use to. Keep in mind they can surf the web for about $1.00 a day. Many agents are scared to be alone in an open house. It’s just a dinosaur marketing mentality. Home buyers have moved past OPEN HOUSES I’m just wondering when some sellers will?

FULL PRICE OFFERS: Not in this market. If a home is priced right for the market you can expect to see offers within 2.5% of the true market value. Don’t confuse buyer interest or lookers with a hard written contract from a willing and able buyer. Negotiate every contract presented to you till the buyer signs or walks.

FADING TRENDS BUYER TRENDS: Small bedrooms, lots of glass on upper kitchen cabinet doors, bowl shaped sinks that are mounted on top of a vanity, stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops are starting to fade, oversized front foyer staircases, 2 story great rooms, sponged wall painting, home remodeling projects not done to professional standards, drop ceilings in basements, any brass fixtures or brass shower frames, wall paper, painting old kitchen cabinets, bamboo or laminate flooring.

The new Belmont mixed use development at the corner of Atlanta Road and Windy Hill Road is going to be a premier mixed use community. The old Belmont shopping center is hopefully going to see life again. The Belmont shopping center in the 70’s was one of the hottest shopping centers in the southeast. It set the pace for the malls we have today. I read an article that said Hollywood would open new movies at the old Belmont Shopping Center and would gauge the success of a movie based on the Belmont box office take. It must have been something to see in the day!

It’s a huge piece of property. It’s a sprawling 47.5 acres right in the middle of the hottest growing area in Atlanta, Smyrna GA. Atlanta Road has made major road improvements. Having this new mixed use development right in the middle of Atlanta Rd will have a huge impact on future development extending in both directions up and down Atlanta Road. In time you will be able to start at the Marietta Square and have beautiful buildings and developments all the way to I285. Take a ride today and you might think I’m nuts. For true it’s coming, now is better than later. Nothing is getting cheaper to develop.

The developer Halpert Enterprises has had to jump through a lot of hoops with Cobb County. Halpert is asking for TAD (Tax Allocation District) financing. Cobb County has set June 26 as the tentative date to approve its TAD guidelines. TAD money helps offset some of the expense in developing a project of this proportion. For instance TAD financing was approved for the Jonquil Square development right down the street. This projected needed to build underground parking for 1000 cars at a cost 18 million dollars. You had to have the parking to make this project work. Without the TAD financing the project would still be on the drawing board or an old run down strip center would still be there with half empty store fronts. Why give any developer TAD financing? Because Cobb County will get bigger and better reoccurring long term tax revenues from the new development. It’s a win - win situation for the city of Smyrna and Cobb County. I personally hope Cobb County approves the TAD guidelines that will allow the Belmont project to move forward. Halpert Enterprises is hemorrhaging money as they wait for the commission and school board to approve the project.

Belmont will be the new downtown Smyrna when finished. The proposal just looks beautiful. It offers lots of green space in proportion to development. This project gets my full support and thumbs up!!! It will bring new life to an old tired mall that was once a great attraction for all of metro Atlanta! Make it happen Cobb County!

Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre is scheduled to open September 15 2007. This has turned out to be a beautiful modern performance building and is going to enhance Cobb’s Platinum Triangle tremendously. The presents of this building should generate a lot of synergy for future projects in this area.

The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center will cost $145 million to build. It will hold premier opera’s, concerts, Broadway Shows, ballets, education and family shows, corporate meetings and events.

The breath-taking facility will include the 2700 seat John A Williams Theater and a 10,000 sq ft ballroom, 9500 sq ft Courtyard, 3100 sq ft Terrace and 1700 parking spaces.

I drove by the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre a few days ago and all I could say was, Wow!! The Cumberland Mall and Cobb Galleria Area has a very bright future ahead of it.