Atlanta Real Estate: What is going on in your area? (Buckhead: mortgage, credit)

[lolamom]

Originally Posted by SCJ

I know about 10 people actively looking for a home in Buckhead, and they are still sitting on the sidelines because many sellers are pricing 10-20% above last year's prices, and the homes still need a lot of work. I know the mindset of the buyer is 'why should I pay list price if the market is so bad'.

I totally hear you.....but as a person selling in that price range (in Buckhead), I will admit that I also don't want to spend another dollar on a depreciating asset. I am going to do not a penny more than I need to move the property. IT pains me to say it because as a former marketer, it feels counter-intuitive not to do everything possible to show your product in its best light...
I had illusions of putting in some new cabinets and painting to neutral colors that I no longer feel motivated to do.....
I think too that many people crazy enough to move right now (like us) are being relo'd and at least, in our case, we have a guaranteed buyout. The buy-out is below market price but our current list price is way below a recent appraisal. So we are doing things in measured steps: showing the home, dropped the price, now have some interest and we will see if there are any bites. If there aren't, maybe we'll do some minor cosmetics or maybe we will just cut our losses and let the company buy it....

CRAZY.

It's a crappy market! I think too that having just bought on the other end, I was shocked by the hoops we jumped to get financing! So not the case in the past and we have sound financials.... However, everything from the appraisal to the mortgage process was cumbersome and nity-picky bureaucratic. Our realtor told us that she has lost several high end deals with CEOs etc because of mortgage problems. We are not talking deadbeats here, but rather folks who can afford things and are not highly leveraged.

Very crazy.... I think too that I wish we could sit and ride this out rather than move. Our property is fantastic, the location is pristine but the market is crappy....

[playground]

Lou, thanks for the reply.
That sounds reasonable. Do you have any recommendation on properties I should look into?

[MisterNY]

Originally Posted by LoufromNewYork

Sure Playground, I'll help you connect the dots.

With the ways things are going, people are moving BACK into the city. Living in the suburbs is cool, and there will always be people that want that, but more people see that they can give up having a car payment, filling a car up with expensive gas, having to get insurance, finding a place to park it, and maintaining a car. For those people, there is a limited amount of land. No one really wants to touch SW Atlanta with a 100' pole but the people that get in there in I'd say the next 2-4 years will enjoy what's going to happen.

Consider the following:
-tons of homes are close to MARTA stations, which people will love
-the Beltline, whenever it's done will pass through SW Atlanta making it easier for people to live in WE, OC, and EP and get to other parts of the metro area
-there are lots of restuarants if you go down Main Street, so you can walk to places to eat
-houses in this area are dirt cheap with lots of people that love their neighborhood getting people together to help


It's all my hunch, but when you consider what's going on in other Metro areas (Chicago, New York, DC) what I'm talking about isn't very far fetched.

Good points Lou. What's your say in places like College Park, Camp Creek areas (Is Camp Creek considered SW ATL?) ? I'm just picking your brain on this...I've been looking at those areas lately as they are closer to town versus Lawrenceville and Fayetteville. I have been looking at lots in those areas, mainly 30331 zip code. Anyone else care to chyme in?

[Atlantasfinest]

Originally Posted by MisterNY

Good points Lou. What's your say in places like College Park, Camp Creek areas (Is Camp Creek considered SW ATL?) ? I'm just picking your brain on this...I've been looking at those areas lately as they are closer to town versus Lawrenceville and Fayetteville. I have been looking at lots in those areas, mainly 30331 zip code. Anyone else care to chyme in?

The College Park/East Point area near the Marta Stations in each locale are ideal places for investment in my eyes and to alot more people who are moving there. You can take the surface streets or the highway or Marta directly into town without having to deal with much traffic at all. The housing stock in those areas and the neighborhoods are nice and quaint with existing downtowns in each city (East Point/College Park). I believe the closer to the Marta Station you are the better the neighborhoods and investment for East Point and College Park.

[Scraper Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by lolamom

I totally hear you.....but as a person selling in that price range (in Buckhead), I will admit that I also don't want to spend another dollar on a depreciating asset. I am going to do not a penny more than I need to move the property. IT pains me to say it because as a former marketer, it feels counter-intuitive not to do everything possible to show your product in its best light...
I had illusions of putting in some new cabinets and painting to neutral colors that I no longer feel motivated to do.....
I think too that many people crazy enough to move right now (like us) are being relo'd and at least, in our case, we have a guaranteed buyout. The buy-out is below market price but our current list price is way below a recent appraisal. So we are doing things in measured steps: showing the home, dropped the price, now have some interest and we will see if there are any bites. If there aren't, maybe we'll do some minor cosmetics or maybe we will just cut our losses and let the company buy it....

CRAZY.

It's a crappy market! I think too that having just bought on the other end, I was shocked by the hoops we jumped to get financing! So not the case in the past and we have sound financials.... However, everything from the appraisal to the mortgage process was cumbersome and nity-picky bureaucratic. Our realtor told us that she has lost several high end deals with CEOs etc because of mortgage problems. We are not talking deadbeats here, but rather folks who can afford things and are not highly leveraged.

Very crazy.... I think too that I wish we could sit and ride this out rather than move. Our property is fantastic, the location is pristine but the market is crappy....

You're right about people not being able to get financing. I'd argue that at least half of all people are now unable to get financing because of the changes that were made. It's part of the reason why there are so few homes being sold, and why prices are dropping, despite that they'd drop some as they were over-inflated.

[gotjenks]

Lucky you!! Our house has been on the market since April and we have only had 4 showings!! We have had to reduce the price to 179 since the other homes in our neighborhood have dropped the prices (thought they have been for sale much longer). It is killing me to have to make a house payment and a rent payment that is double the house price (we are now in the DC area).

[lolamom]

gotjenks, yes, we consider ourselves lucky we have had any showings and any interest and have a backstop. Thanks for the reminder... In fact, after reading your note, I thought yeah, we are lucky...that we are healthy right now, have a roof over our heads etc. Nice perspective, so thank you!

I wish you the best of luck moving your place. My parents once had to do what you are now doing (pay two homes) and I remember still the financial stress and I was just a kid. I remember very well going without, recycling outfits every 2 days etc (a vain high school freshman girl with 2 outfits! eeks!). Let me just say my mom is still an expert food recycler of leftovers--there was no waste in our home. It was a tough time for our family. Have to say too that I credit my parents for sticking to their guns and keeping the budget tight and having a good attitude about it, even if their teenage daughter (me) didn't appreciate it at the time.

They were in that situation for nearly 2 years until they were able to dump the first property. When it was finally sold, my parents literally had to start again from scratch. That was in 1982---it is not but a mere memory and when we think of it, we think of it as "wow, we were tough!" instead of remembering the stress, so there is that! My parents are FINE now. I have a friend going through that here and I have been thinking a lot about that time. My friend and her husband are going after each other's throats from the financial stress. It makes me realize my parents must have been a lot more tense than they ever let on to us, their kids!

Have faith---bad times come and go in troughs and waves and this is just one of the lows. I will keep your property in my prayers--that it finds nice buyers and that you guys "stop the bleedin'"

Meantime, I am going to call my mom and dad and tell them I love em!
:-)
Lola

[LoufromNewYork]

playground/MisterNY:

I'm not going to give my gameplan away but I'll definitely share my thoughts. The reality is that the television is spewing nothing but doom and gloom. It's a harsh reality for some, but for others it's a golden opportunity becuase it will allow people to acquire assets that will appreciate over time. Prices are going to hit bottom (in most places) because interest rates are going to increase (they have to in order for the dollar to get stronger) and if you get your hands on something in a good area - no matter the cost, you'll see it go back up because people will be told the worst is over and want to buy something now.

The problem is that at that point...it''s already too late!

Right now is great because people are under such duress from their situation that some are willing to sell at any price and banks/municipalities would rather have cash in hand than dilapidated real estate [I've even heard that Atlanta is starting to go after real estate agents representing out of state sellers over the poor housing conditions]

I'm in no way a professional but I have to think that anything within 10 miles of downtown would be good. Something close to MARTA even better. All of that and in a up and coming neighborhood....even better still!

I've been driving around recently and the number of for sale signs and empty subdivisions is discouraging. The good part in all of this is that it's all happened before and if you notice the pattern, you can be on the good part of the equation instead of the other side.

After being here for only 5 months, I haven't learned too many names of areas but I hope to learn more because I get lost when I hear about them all.

This is a great thread and I hope we keep it going if only to give others a perspective of how things are going on all over GA.

[staywarm2]

Originally Posted by bayarea-girl

What's going to happen with all the new development? Building is going on every where in GA (it seems). Do you think there will be buyers? I eventually want to buy in the Roswell/Alpharetta area. Do you think better deals will come in the next year? Where do people feel the market is going in GA?

I've noticed several developments that were begun here in Alpharetta 4-6 mos. ago that have stopped dead in their tracks. Entrances built and some roads, but nothing else happening. Personally, I think much new building will stop for a while. When the market has finally begun to really pick back up, there won't be many new homes left on the market and resale prices will go through the roof. At least I hope so, because that's when I'm going to sell mine!

[staywarm2]

Originally Posted by plessthanpointohfive

I will never buy in a new development because of this absurd phenomena of one house built exactly to spec as the next house selling faster or for a paltry sum more simply because it's seconds newer. I will always buy an older home in established areas.

What you have to remember, though, is that not everyone has the time, money, or interest to repair and redo an older home. I like older homes, too, and don't mind the fix-up, but many younger people I know have very busy two executive job lives and don't have the time or energy to do the work. So they buy new homes. Something for everyone, right?