west cobb 2012/2013 update? (Atlanta: real estate market, renters, new home)

[pathkid]

We need updates on west cobb for 2012...not too many posts about it recently.

questions are:

1) current school "ratings". Hillgrove is platinum for now, but i hear it is getting scuzzier removed ...true?

2) any new big commerical project rumors?...like a new walmart near the avenues?

3) homes are ALL aging here, average of 10yrs now. Should that decrease home values?..what Georgian wants to live in an old house?

[southernnaturelover]

Originally Posted by pathkid

3) homes are ALL aging here, average of 10yrs now. Should that decrease home values?..what Georgian wants to live in an old house?

You consider a ten year old house "old"?

[lorilove]

3) homes are ALL aging here, average of 10yrs now. Should that decrease home values?..what Georgian wants to live in an old house?

I find it way more interesting to upgrade and customize a home (with great bones and in a good location) than to buy a cookie cutter new home.

So count me in as somone who want to live in an "old" house. My neighborhood is 25 years old and each of the home that have been renovated are very nice and unique it is a lot of fun to see how what used to be very similar homes evolve based on the ideas of the different home owners.

[JAS]

Homes are "aging" everywhere - please point me to the new subdivisions being built elsewhere in the metro area. I live in a 12-yr-old house and certainly don't think of it as an old house. And unless you can change the space-time continuum, every house, automobile, human body, etc. "ages" as time progresses.

I live in the Hillgrove zone and don't consider it scuzzy or whatever term you may use.

[atlantagreg30127]

1) The Hillgrove district was essentially created because McEachern High School parents felt that it has deteriorated. No real complaints have been voiced here regarding Hillgrove aside from any normal complaints you hear about any High School environment.

2) There are multiple Wal-marts in the West/South Cobb area. That certainly doesn't seem to stop Wal-mart from opening more it seems, but the Avenue shopping district is seen by elected officials as a bit more upscale of an area and I don't think you'll see a Wal-mart next door to it anytime soon.

3) West cobb is filled with traditional brick ranch style homes that were built in the mid-1960s through early 1980s, so ten years is not "old" for a home in this area. It's also important to note that the mid-1980s is when the metro area's big growth boom was really going into full swing and some might say that the quality of home construction started to go downhill considerably as they developed a "if you build it quickly, they will buy it" mentality. Don't dismiss the older homes - if past owners have taken care of them properly, most of them are built considerably better than many of the "new" homes in the area.

[southernassassin]

Originally Posted by pathkid

We need updates on west cobb for 2012...not too many posts about it recently.

questions are:

1) current school "ratings". Hillgrove is platinum for now, but i hear it is getting scuzzier removed ...true?

2) any new big commerical project rumors?...like a new walmart near the avenues?

3) homes are ALL aging here, average of 10yrs now. Should that decrease home values?..what Georgian wants to live in an old house?

Hillgrove will have the demographics as McEachern in the next 5 years. Dont believe me? Go to schooldigger.com and look at the change in demographics from year one of Hillgrove to now and tell me that I am wrong.

[JAS]

Originally Posted by southernassassin

Hillgrove will have the demographics as McEachern in the next 5 years. Dont believe me? Go to schooldigger.com and look at the change in demographics from year one of Hillgrove to now and tell me that I am wrong.

OK, here goes .. "You are wrong."

I went to that website, and they have Hillgrove ranked 15 out of 399 other GA high schools based on test scores in 2011, up from #32 in 2010. 19% of students are eligible for free lunch. Hillgrove was 61% white, 31% AA.

McEachern ranked much lower based on test scores. 23% white, 65% AA. 50% free lunch.

Hillgrove's demographics changed some from the time of opening until now, but I don't see it changing much over the next 5 years since a majority of the zoning area consists of subdivisions where people aren't moving in and out. Some of the area in the eastern zone for the school is more transient than the rest of the zone, but it's not at the same level as McEachern re: rental housing, "older" houses, etc. Most of the people in the Hillgrove zone are happy with their environs and aren't moving out ... not that we can, anyway, due to the real estate markets.

[southernassassin]

Originally Posted by JAS

OK, here goes .. "You are wrong."

I went to that website, and they have Hillgrove ranked 15 out of 399 other GA high schools based on test scores in 2011, up from #32 in 2010. 19% of students are eligible for free lunch. Hillgrove was 61% white, 31% AA.

McEachern ranked much lower based on test scores. 23% white, 65% AA. 50% free lunch.

Hillgrove's demographics changed some from the time of opening until now, but I don't see it changing much over the next 5 years since a majority of the zoning area consists of subdivisions where people aren't moving in and out. Some of the area in the eastern zone for the school is more transient than the rest of the zone, but it's not at the same level as McEachern re: rental housing, "older" houses, etc. Most of the people in the Hillgrove zone are happy with their environs and aren't moving out ... not that we can, anyway, due to the real estate markets.

We will just agree to disagree then.

Should be interesting to see what happens in the next 5 years.

One question, with McEachern being a stones throw away from Hillgrove are you not conceerned at all that the demographic swings that literally overtook McEachern in under a decade will not happen at Hillgrove?

For me I feel like its just a matter time because Hillgrove pulls from over around Jim R Miller park and other areas where there are LOTS of renters and houses in the low $100K range. That is ultimately what doomed McEachern.

[HeyEng]

Oy...10 years is an old house?!? I have seen that mentioned in the Atlanta forums a lot lately. I live in a house and neighborhood that was built in 1979. Most of the owners have been there since the early to mid 1980's. My grandparents live in the same house that was built in 1973...they have 4 neighbors that have lived there since I was a little kid. Besides a couple of roof replacements, the house is in great shape. Sure, the water heater only lasted 30 years and the AC finally had to be replaced LAST year...but I have a hard time thinking that 10 years is old AT ALL! Of course, I am not sure how building standards are now compared to 10/20/50 years ago, either...but I don't think you could buy a water heater that would last 30+ years today!

Besides, I would prefer to live in a very well established neighborhood than one that is "shiny and new"...way too many variables. McEachern is a perfect example of that. When I attended that school in 88-91, it was one of the best schools in the county. And now? Well, much of that was from the explosive growth out there. In the east side of the county (pretty much all built out in 1990-1995) things have remained fairly constant.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by JAS

Homes are "aging" everywhere - please point me to the new subdivisions being built elsewhere in the metro area. I live in a 12-yr-old house and certainly don't think of it as an old house. And unless you can change the space-time continuum, every house, automobile, human body, etc. "ages" as time progresses.

My home is 25 years old now, and is still perfectly fine. Of course, some subsystems have a finite lifespan like air conditioning and roofs, but it's still in good shape. A friend of mine lives in an older Sears home in Atlanta built sometime in the 1920's, and it's still in decent enough shape.

There are still new subdivisions being built, or continued, anyway. We have one right by us (Woodbridge Crossing) which is right on the E/W Connector.