Existing home prices up 2.4% in Atlanta

Andrea Cueny, REALTOR

Submitted by Andrea Cueny, REALTOR®

The median price for existing homes sold in metro Atlanta grew 2.4 percent in November compared to the year before, according to data released Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors.

The median price in the metro area was up to $129,300 from 126,300 in November 2008, NAR said. Sales volume was up 33 percent over November 2008, one of the deepest months in the recession.

The increase in price is the first since 2008, according to the data.

Nationally, existing home sales 7.4 percent last month, the NAR said, as first-time homebuyers closed deals before the Nov. 30 expiration of the federal tax credit, which was recently extended and expanded. The pace is 44.1 percent higher than November 2008.

“This clearly is a rush of first-time buyers not wanting to miss out on the tax credit, but there are many more potential buyers who can enter the market in the months ahead,” Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said in a statement. “We expect a temporary sales drop while buying activity ramps up for another surge in the spring when buyers take advantage of the expanded tax credit, which hopefully will take us into a self-sustaining market in the second half of 2010. In all, 4.4 million households are expected to claim the tax credit before it expires and balance should be restored to the housing sector with inventories continuing to decline.”

Please click here for the entire story on the Atlanta Business Chronicle about Atlanta home prices

A home for sale in Serenbe is featured on the AJCHomefinder.com

Currently listed with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty, this home in Serenbe, 9051 Selborne Lane, is featured on the AJC HomeFinder’s Home For the Holidays section.  

Feel free to click through the beautiful photos! 

Fred and Darla Vetter are planning on spending Christmas in Serenbe with friends and family. They say that they love the idea of being rooted in their community this Christmas. Christopher Oquendo, for the AJC

This seating area is warm and cozy all year round, but the glow of the Christmas tree offers extra mirth this time of year. The bench seat and drum-style coffee table are two standout pieces in this room. Christopher Oquendo, for the AJC

Please click here to find out about this home for sale in Serenbe.

2009 Highlights – Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty

Descante, 3650 Tuxedo Road ~ Most expensive home ever sold in Atlanta

As we begin to look back on an “interesting” year in Atlanta’s real estate history, a few significant events surface regarding the role of Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty in the residential real estate market in Atlanta in 2009 (as of December 15, 2009).

• We participated in 60% of the ten highest priced residential closed sales in metro Atlanta
• Our market share of listings has grown by over 60%
• Our closed sales are up YTD by 16%, while the market as a whole is down over 20%
• Opened an office in the North Atlanta area
• Recruited 60 agents
• Sold the most expensive single family home ever sold in Atlanta, listed at $16.9 million
• Sold the most expensive condominium in Atlanta’s recent history, listed at $9.5 million
• Sold the most expensive lot in 2009 listed at $2.9 million
• Sold the most expensive new construction single family home in 2009 listed at $4.75 million (at 100% of list price)

Congratulations to our unmatched team of REALTORS® at Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty, and to our SkyRise Group, who manages luxury high rise condominiums.  We also thank the co-op agent community for bringing these important deals together.

Home staging makes a huge difference in a competitive real estate market

Andrea Cueny, REALTOR

Home staging is preparing a private residence for sale in the real esate market.    The goal of staging is to make a home appealing to the highest number of potential buyers so that the house sells in the shortest amount of time possible and for highest market dollar.

7735 Marsh Court ~ Dining Room Before Staging

Staging techniques focus on improving a property’s appeal by transforming it into a welcoming, attractive product that anyone might want. 

7735 Marsh Dining Room After Staging

Industry experts believe that staging raises the value of a property by way of reducing the home’s flaws, depersonalizing, decluttering, cleaning, improving its general condition .

For vacant homes, staging furniture is used to create a living space where the buyer can imagine themselves living throughout the home.

7735 Marsh Court ~ Master bedroom before staging

In a very competitive market, staging can be a very important compenent in not only creating the “wow” factor for a buyer, but bringing that buyer back for a second showing and then genearing the offer.

7735 Marsh Court ~ Master bedroom after Staging

The photos in this post about home staging are before and after images of a home for sale on Marsh Court in Sandy Springs  that has recently been staged by Showhomes of Atlanta.

Recovery in the Atlanta real estate market confirmed

Jay Bailey The Bayne Group

The recovery in the Atlanta real estate market is confirmed by several recent statistics. 

First, new figures from Trendgraphix show that the number of homes for sale in metro Atlanta has declined substantially.  A reduction in the excess supply means that sellers have more bargaining power in their real estate transactions.

Second, new data from Case-Schiller shows that the extreme slide in housing prices in the last few years is over.  In fact, housing prices have increased by 4 percent in the last year. 

Finally, mortgage rates have risen in the past week.   The rise in mortgage rates is due to increasing demand by buyers. 

In sum, there are more buyers, higher prices, and fewer homes for sale in metro Atlanta.  All of these figures indicate that now is a better time to sell a house than any time in the last few years.

Should I put my home on the market before the holidays?

We asked the REALTORS® at Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty their thoughts on putting a home on the market before the holidays or after the holidays.  Check out the scenario below for their thoughts:

You sold a home to a client a couple of years ago and they have just called you, frantic that they just found out that they are being transferred after the first of the year. When do you recommend they put their home on the market?

55% – Now! Even though it is right before the holiday, they should take advantage of possible buyers who are coming into town only for the holidays and are making a decision before the end of the year.

28% - After the first of the year. Put the house on the market when everyone is looking anew at 2010 and are ready for some fresh listings. Also, many people will decide over the holidays to start looking for a new home.

15% – Now! With the history of the market in the past couple of years, most sellers who have sold in the past year agree that selling their home sooner than later benefitted them, and there is no reason to wait. No one can tell if the market will improve sooner than later.

Atlanta’s top name-brand companies

Atlanta's Skyline

Georgia is home to 13 companies on the 2009 Fortune 500 list.  We are privileged to have many of these companies here in Atlanta.

We asked the agents at Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty which brand-name companies came to mind first when thinking of those based in the metro area:

Coca-Cola – 35%

Home Depot – 20%

Delta Air Lines – 13%

UPS – 8%

Georgia Pacific – 5%

Newell Rubbermaid – 4%

Kimberly Clark – 3%

Chick Fil A – 2%

Spanxx – 2%

SunTrust – 2%

Turner Broadcasting – 2%

Also mentioned as having top-of-mind awareness for the companies based in Atlanta by our agents were BellSouth, CNN, Cox Communications, Equifax, Ford Motor Company, NCR.

Please click here for the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s article on the 13 Georgia companies on 2009 Fortune 500 list.

Atlanta homes for sale on iPhones and Blackberry phones

Finding homes for sale in Atlanta just got easier. Using the latest mobile phone app from Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty, you can search for homes for sale anywhere in Atlanta on a phone that offers wireless internet service or GPS capabilities. 

Text AFH to 87778 or click here to download the free application to your iPhone or Blackberry (primarily).

This means now you can search from your car, a coffee shop, and even as a passenger while in driving.  Simply download the free application for your iPhone or Blackberry and within a minute or two, a GPS map will show your location and will list all the available homes in that specific area.  As your location changes, so do the available homes.   

You can view multiple pictures, find out prices, square footage, interior and exterior features, number of bedrooms and baths, etc.  You can even press a “Call to See” button and, while you’re being connected with the listing agent, the agent is simultaneously being sent an email with the information about the listing about which you are calling.  All this information is available to you instantly, any time of day, with the touch of a button on your SmartPhone.

Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty has the exclusive offering for this hand-held search for homes for sale in Atlanta.  Primarily designed for Blackberry and iPhones, data is pulled directly from FMLS.  Our downloadable app will find properties using a GPS-enabled phone or via the wireless connection on any phone.

Visit our website at  www.atlantafinehomes.com, and download the mobile real estate application to use this free and valuable service. 

Or you can simply text AFH to 87778 to get started immediately. 

Let us know what you think.  Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty is interested in finding out how you are using this great new service and how it is making your home search easier!     

If you have any questions, please give us a call at 404.835.9600.

Treasury Department unveils new rules about ’short sales’

Lisa Bennett, REALTOR

Submitted by Lisa Bennett, REALTOR®, Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty

The change would help financially strapped homeowners

December 02, 2009, The Associated Press

The Treasury Department unveiled sweeping rules this week to help financially troubled homeowners who need to sell but can’t get a price high enough to pay off their mortgages. Homeowners will even get $1,500 to help cover their moving costs.

The plan is designed to help homeowners who don’t have the income or debt levels to qualify for a loan modification under the Obama administration’s $75 billion Making Home Affordable program. The plan establishes timelines, a standard process and documents, and cash incentives for participation.

“There’s always efficiency with uniformity,” said Vicki Vidal, associate vice president of government affairs at the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Short sales, as these deals are known, reduce the damage to the borrowers’ credit record and save the lenders the cost of foreclosure. Short sales also help neighboring property values because the sales price is usually higher than what the house would fetch in a foreclosure auction.

About one in 10 home sales this year was a short sale, or an estimated 500,000 sales, according to the National Association of Realtors.

To qualify under the new guidelines:

• The property must be the homeowner’s principal residence.
• The homeowner is delinquent on the mortgage or default looks likely.
• The loan was made before Jan. 1 this year and is less than $729,750
• The borrowers’ total monthly mortgage payment exceeds 31 percent of their before-tax income.

For more information on this topic, or for the entire article, please contact Lisa Bennett at 678.531.2996 or lisabennett@atlantafinehomes.com.

Foreclosures Can Offer Deals, but Buyer Beware

Bill Rawlings, REALTOR®

Submitted by Bill Rawlings, REALTOR®, Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty.  

By TARA SIEGEL BERNARD,  Published: December 4, 2009 on the New York Times.com. 

So you’re looking to buy a new home, and you think a foreclosed house may be the best deal. You’ve probably noticed, then, that many of the big banks’ Web sites are beginning to look a bit like real estate brokerages, showcasing the many properties that they’ve repossessed.

Michelle and Mark Gordon, with their daughter, Taylor, bought a short-sale house. Jamie Rector for The New York Times

These houses often sell for about 15 to 20 percent less than comparable homes in the same neighborhood, according to the National Association of Realtors. And while the banks have been careful not to flood the market with all their properties at once, there are hundreds of thousands of listings now, and half a million more expected in the coming year.

Despite the seemingly high inventory, though, anyone considering buying a distressed property should heed the classic warning: Caveat emptor, or let the buyer beware.

Closing a deal in a desirable neighborhood can be hard to do. Many aspiring homeowners have lost out to all-cash bidders. Buyers also need to search more aggressively than usual, which means figuring out which brokers have the best foreclosure listings, religiously checking for new ones and visiting the properties shortly thereafter.Buyers also need to ensure that the home is truly a good deal and not a money pit — most of these homes are sold as is.

Please click here to see the rest of the story on the New York Times regarding tips for buying a foreclosure or short sale.