Atlanta Real Estate: What is going on in your area? (Mableton: sales, foreclosure)

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by BGS99

Which lot? We're in the last phase of the enclave.
They're working on a handful of lots that say "available" on our street.
I'm sure they will be sold as soon as they're done.

It's over in The Glen. It's a Dorset plan, which they never had a model of (so no one ever bought that plan since they couldn't "see" it- they only sold 1 or 2 of that plan and the other plan that didn't get modeled), and it has a really small yard that backs up to a stormwater basin. It's really a shame because it's a great floorplan, but I think the small lot size plus the fear of the basin scares people off. During the next phase of the development they're bringing a road up along the other side of the basin, so there will be houses that back up to this one- maybe that'll help, since right now you're just staring into some woods.

[LoufromNewYork]

In SW Fulton - it's a mixed bag. There are houses selling for $800k down the street from houses selling for $300k, down the street from houses in foreclosure for $125k. I'm not sure how it works, but it does.

In my subdivision, every house is sold (I think) and for a community that's about 2 years old, not one home is for sale or foreclosure. Compare that to some of the other subdivision in the ares (ex. Cooks Landing) and it's a different story. I think people buy a house, they are also buying a neighborhood, and in a sense a community.

Don't believe the hype of what's going on the TV, people are buying and selling - but they can't justify the higher sales prices because of the interest rates. If I could get a $300k mortgage for 5%, but now my rate is 7%, I can probably only afford a $250k house. When you add the fact that most banks are requiring 5+% down, it makes things seem bad.

This is exactly the way things went in the 80s after the S&L bust. I don't think rates will go to 18% like they did then but expect rates to up, prices to come down and stay that way for a lil while in most places.

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by postprime

Watch for Lakeside to become one of the most sought after school districts again (maybe it is now?)

Yes, I think that it's arguably considered the best HS in DeKalb.

[lastminutemom]

Originally Posted by postprime

I think the growth of closer-in areas has a lot to do with the growth of Emory. Which makes sense because of the connection between Emory and health care, which was one of the few fields to post job gains. A friend of mine is an Emory pediatrician and loves the Oak Grove area. Watch for Lakeside to become one of the most sought after school districts again (maybe it is now?)

Lakeside is actually struggling right now, perhaps the new principal is as weak as some say she is, perhaps the parents are just undermining her potential, whatever, but many good teachers are leaving as well as some really strong families (think past PTA presidents, that kind of crowd) who are putting their younger children in private school.

I was at a party a few weeks ago and the family had a 5th grader who had finished at Oak Grove who is headed to private school along with several of his friends.

[CMMom]

I'm in the Sandy Springs/Dunwoody area, not too far from either RoslynHolcomb or Spacelord75. When I drive down Spalding Dr. from the intersection with Jett Ferry to the entrance to my subdivision (maybe 2.5 or 3 miles), I count at least 20 For Sale signs. I'm talking about houses that are actually on Spalding, not just little signs indicating that there are houses off the main road for sale. These homes are probably within the $400K-$800K range.

Meanwhile, my sister sold her townhouse in Dunwoody in less than a week! She sold it to her next-door neighbor. I guess that the neighbor would rather pay for an updated townhouse than spend the $ to update her own. Whatever!

[bmay]

I am in Kennesaw and it seems that the overpriced homes are sitting on the market for months and months with no activity. But the "just right" priced homes are getting mutliple offers - so I think it just a matter of making sure your agent prices the home correctly when it goes on the market.

[masonbarge]

In Collier Hills (south area of Buckhead near Brookwood Station/Piedmont Hospital) prices are holding steady and sales are reasonably strong. There were 5 for sale signs up three weeks ago, and three of them have gone under contract.

On the other side of Northside (between Howell Mill and Northside) single family home sales are really quite strong, due to the good elementary school districts (Sarah Smith and Morris Brandon). Sales are brisk and there are a lot of teardowns and fix-ups, both with and without increasing square footage. I'd say prices are rising there a bit, and are steady on the east side of Northside Dr.

[RainyRainyDay]

In my part of NE Cobb County I'd say the number of For Sale signs is about normal for this time of year (when there's always more turnover due to people timing moves for the school vacation period). Some homes seem to sell promptly while others are definitely lingering longer on the market. There's an unoccupied house a couple of blocks from mine that's been for sale for the best part of a year and has gone through multiple realtors. It's not a particularly desirable property and I guess just isn't priced well enough. So it looks to me as if in our area, nice properties reasonably priced are still changing hands, but just as several people have reported on this thread, it looks like the less desirable and/or less realistically priced homes are just not selling.

There's one foreclosure sign on a two or three year-old house on Mabry Road (main road). Just the one that I've noticed, but one wouldn't normally expect to see foreclosures in East Cobb, I think.

A couple of miles away over on Wesley Chapel Road, there's a new subdivision (Highlands at Wesley Chapel, phase II) that looks to have around a dozen fully finished empty homes. These were priced around $800K and seem to have dropped to $750K. There are some occupied homes in the subdivision, but also a lot of unbuilt lots, and not surprisingly, building activity looks suspended.

Dotted around NE Cobb and Roswell, on pockets of available land, one can see variations on the phenomenon described by Roslyn - the prospective new subdivision where only the wall was build, or the wall and a little more, and now the weeds are tall and there's been no work happening for months. This must be a terrible year for builders and developers, and it looks like it will surely take a while for the market to recover well enough to pick up all this slack.

Like SpaceLord75, our plan is to gratefully hunker down in our present house until our daughter gets through high school, barring unforeseen major job changes, etc.

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by lastminutemom

Lakeside is actually struggling right now, perhaps the new principal is as weak as some say she is, perhaps the parents are just undermining her potential, whatever, but many good teachers are leaving as well as some really strong families (think past PTA presidents, that kind of crowd) who are putting their younger children in private school.

I was at a party a few weeks ago and the family had a 5th grader who had finished at Oak Grove who is headed to private school along with several of his friends.

I had forgotten about that brouhaha between the former principal and the superintendent...sorry to hear about the schools' problems. I know that the former principal was very popular with the parents, so I guess that the new one has to carry that baggage.
Seems a lot of Oak Grove kids opt for St Pius.

[SCJ]

I think that Collier Hills is still seen as a relative bargain in Buckhead...you can actually get a decent home for under a million! Perhaps this is why sales are still steady.

But, with prices as they are, many families are priced out of Buckhead.