Downtown Decatur

848 Sycamore Drive – 2 Bed/1 Bath – $249,000

This charming Decatur Heights 2 Bed/ 1 bath Cottage retains much of its historic charm: Classic fireplace & Mantle, Original Hardwoods, Picture Molding, Built-in Bookcase and more.  Its large relaxing sunroom is a great place to enjoy the GA sunshine regardless of the weather or mosquitoes.  It sits on an expansive lot which is over 255′ deep and features stone patio. The entire backyard is already fenced.

It sits in the Clairemont Elementary School District.  Walk to Downtown Decatur.  It’s a short 5 min. drive to Emory and the CDC.

Virtual Tour:  http://www.propertypanorama.com/slideshow/?id=154336

If you or someone you know is looking for a home of this quality, in a neighborhood as inviting as Decatur, please give me a call at 404-431-2117.

Downtown Decatur

311 Ridley Howard Court – 2 Bed/ 2 Bath – $174,000

This top floor condo located in the City of Decatur has 2 Bedrooms Suites.   The suites have large bedrooms w/ closet space.  The open kitchen features lovely stained cabinetry, a breakfast bar, pantry and a view to both the dining area and family room.  The family room has a gas fireplace w/ mantle suitable for showcasing your finest artwork.  The balcony w/ retractable, motorized awning, allows you to enjoy the outdoors rain or shine.  Unit 311 comes with 1 assigned parking space its own additional storage unit on the 3rd floor.

This secure building also features underground parking, a swimming pool, a pet walk and so much more.  It’s a 5 min. drive to Emory & CDC and in 10 mins. you can be in Midtown and Downtown.  It also sits on Emory’s CLIFF bus line.

Virtual Tour: http://www.propertypanorama.com/slideshow/?id=154272

If you or someone you know is looking for a home of this quality, in a neighborhood as inviting as Decatur, please give me a call at 404-431-2117.

Downtown Decatur

137 Lockwood Terrace – $339,000 – City of Decatur Listing

The home at 137 Lockwood Terrace feeds into acclaimed Winnona Park Elementary. http://winnonapark.csdecatur.net/. The City of Decatur has an independent school system in GA that is comprised entirely of GA Schools of Excellence.

This home is a 3 bedroom/ 2 bath Southern gem with the ice tea front porch to prove it.  You can walk to Downtown Decatur & the Avondale MARTA. It’s also a 5 min drive to Emory, CDC, the VA Hospital & Agnes Scott College.  In 10 minutes you can be in Midtown and Downtown Atlanta, while in 20 mins. you can be shopping in Buckhead or taking off at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.

Enjoy the Virtual Tour: http://www.propertypanorama.com/slideshow/?id=143342

If you or someone you know is looking for a home of this quality, in a neighborhood as inviting as Decatur Heights, please give me a call at 404-431-2117.

Downtown Decatur

Office Market in Bad Shape

Nearly 16 percent of offices in the U.S. were vacant in the second quarter, the highest rate in four years. Rents fell by the largest amount in seven years, according to research firm Reis Inc.

“It’s bad,” Reis’ Director of Research Victor Calanog says. “It’s decaying and getting worse. Given the depth and magnitude of the recession, you can argue that we are facing a storm of epic proportions and we’re only at the beginning.”

Reis confirmed its previous prediction that the U.S. office vacancy rate will top out at 18.2 percent in 2010 and for rents to continue to fall through 2011. It expects the default rate to peak at 5.2 percent in 2011.

Source: Reuters News, Ilaina Jonas (07/07/2009)

——————–
Elliott Robinson, JD – Associate Broker
Adams Realtors
458 Cherokee Ave. SE
Atlanta, GA 30312
(o) 404-688-1222

Downtown Decatur

City of Decatur – Single Family Intown Market Study

City of Decatur – Single Family Homes

This month we will compare the sales activity for the 1st six months of 2007 to 2008 to 2009.  Prior to pulling the data, there was an industry consensus that closing activity has been down.  However, there was some feeling that once the home buying season kicked into gear, things would certainly pick up.  To date, that has not been the case as sellers who do not need to sell appear to be sitting out 2009 in the hopes of a more stable and promising 2010.

I’ll start with an analysis of the City of Decatur (COD) as a whole and in later posts, I’ll break down some of the individual neighborhoods in search of trends.

2007

Through the first 6 months of 2007, the COD Single Family Market was experiencing an explosion.  There were 145 single family home sales in the first half of ‘07 for an average sales price of $379,646.

A sizable thrust of the growth was spurred on by significant new construction activity in Oakhurst.  There was an appetite for newer homes in general, with 31 of the homes sold being built after 1995 (21% of total sales).  Sycamore Ridge (Decatur Heights) and Glenlake Commons comprised the majority of resales for homes built after 1995.  The average sales price of those newer homes  was $477,093.   City of Decatur sales of property built before 1995 was $354,972.  Newer construction realized an average sale price in excess of $120,000 over the COD’s older housing stock.

The Days on Market was almost identical at 60 for older homes and 63 for newer properties.

2008

The first half of 2008 saw a 20% decrease in total sales (to 117 from 145).  The average sales prices saw a 3% decline from $379,646 to $368,778.

Newer home sales were still strong at just under 20% of total sales (23 sold).  And the activity in this area saw most of its transactions come from Oakhurst new construction and Sycamore Ridge resales.  The 2008 average sales price for a home built after 1995 was $516,260.

The Days on the Market inched up slightly for both total sales (71) and newer home sales (79).

2009

The COD market activity has declined dramatically in the first half of 2009.  The total number of home sales has plummeted to 69, down 42% from 2008 and 53% from 2007.  On a positive note, despite the slowed activity, the average sales price has increased to $391,504 eclipsing the average of 2007 by over $12,000.  A great sign that despite the slowdown, the COD remains a highly desirable market for homebuyers.

Given the strong new construction growth over the past 5 years, it was bound to slow down.  A great deal of the more desirable lots have been converted and new construction financing has become more tenuous for in-town builders.  There have only been 12 sales of homes build post 1995, with Oakhurst still leading the charge.  Surprisingly, Sycamore Ridge has only accounted for 2 sales in the first six months of 2009.

Another sign of a strong COD market is that Days on Market has dropped back down to 63 days.  A 6 day decrease from its 2008 figure of 71.   However, perhaps due to the shift in the market and somewhat skewed due to a few homes being delayed in construction, the newer home Days on Market increased to 120 days.

* Data provided by First Multiple Listing Service.

——————–
Elliott Robinson, JD – Associate Broker
Adams Realtors
458 Cherokee Ave. SE
Atlanta, GA 30312
(o) 404-688-1222 ext. 26
Blog: elliottonrealestate.com
Twitter: elliottrob@twitter.com

Downtown Decatur

Mortgage Applications Bounce Back

Mortgage applications bounced back last week after nearly a month in the doldrums when the number of applications fell to a seven-month low.

The market index compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association rose 6.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis to 548.2 points from 514.4 points the previous week.

On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 6 percent compared with the previous week and rose 17.2 percent compared with the same week a year ago.

Both purchases and refinances were up with the purchase share increasing 7.3 percent and refinances rising 5.9 percent.

Source: Mortgage Bankers Association (06/24/2009)

——————–
Elliott Robinson, JD – Associate Broker
Adams Realtors
458 Cherokee Ave. SE
Atlanta, GA 30312
(o) 404-688-1222

Downtown Decatur

Cities With Most, Least Courteous Drivers

If you do a lot of driving, maybe you’ll identify with this study for AutoAdvantage, which identified the cities with the most and the least courteous drivers.

Drivers responding to the survey identified the two key characteristics of rude drivers as:

* Drivers who overreact and lose their tempers.
* Aggressive drivers who cut into lanes, tailgate, speed and honk.

The five cities with the largest numbers of these miserable drivers are:

1. New York City
2. Dallas/Fort Worth
3. Detroit
4. Atlanta
5. Minneapolis/St. Paul

The survey identified the five most courteous cities as:

1. Portland, Ore.
2. Cleveland
3. Baltimore
4. Sacramento
5. Pittsburgh

Source: AutoAdvantage (06/16/2009)

——————–
Elliott Robinson, JD – Associate Broker
Adams Realtors
458 Cherokee Ave. SE
Atlanta, GA 30312
(o) 404-688-1222

Downtown Decatur

Great Lakes (City of Decatur) – Market Survey June ‘09

This analysis compares residential single family sales activity from June2007-May 2008 to activity from June 2008-May 2009.

Average Sales Price
2% increase from $505,418 in ‘07-’08 to $517,914 in ‘08-’09.

Average Number of Days on the Market
127% increase from 52 days to 118 days.

Number of Homes Sold
13% decrease from 8 in ’07-’08 to 7 in ’08-’09.

Overall Sales Volume
10% decrease from $4,043,344 in ’07-’08 to $3,625,398 in ’08-’09.

Milestone sales within the last 12 months
Most Expensive: A 4 bed/ 3.5 bath on Michigan Ave sold for $800,000. It was on the market for 153 days.

Lowest Price: A 5 bed/ 2.5 bath on Lucerne St. sold for $341,000. It was on the market for 196 days.

——————–
Elliott Robinson, JD – Associate Broker
Adams Realtors
458 Cherokee Ave. SE
Atlanta, GA 30312
(o) 404-688-1222

Downtown Decatur

Winnona Park (City of Decatur) – Market Survey June ‘09

This analysis compares residential single family sales activity from June2007-May 2008 to activity from June 2008-May 2009.

Average Sales Price
12% increase from $398,562 in ‘07-’08 to $448,033 in ‘08-’09.

Average Number of Days on the Market
57% increase from 60 days to 94 days.

Number of Homes Sold
7% decrease from 29 in ’07-’08 to 31 in ’08-’09.

Overall Sales Volume
20% increase from $11,558,298 in ’07-’08 to $13,889,023 in ’08-’09.

Milestone sales within the last 12 months
Most Expensive: A 5 bed/ 4 bath on Winnona Drive sold for $725,000. It was on the market for 42 days.

Lowest Price: A 3 bed/ 1 bath on Oldfield Road sold for $195,000. It was on the market for 100 days.

——————–
Elliott Robinson, JD – Associate Broker
Adams Realtors
458 Cherokee Ave. SE
Atlanta, GA 30312
(o) 404-688-1222

Downtown Decatur

Oakhurst (City of Decatur) – Market Survey June ‘09

This analysis compares residential single family sales activity from June2007-May 2008 to activity from June 2008-May 2009.

Average Sales Price
3% increase from $361,877 in ‘07-’08 to $371,837 in ‘08-’09.

Average Number of Days on the Market
20% decrease from 74 days to 59 days.

Number of Homes Sold
15% decrease from 85 in ’07-’08 to 72 in ’08-’09.

Overall Sales Volume
13% decrease from $30,756,545 in ’07-’08 to $26,722,264 in ’08-’09.

Milestone sales within the last 12 months
Most Expensive: A 5 bed/ 4.5 bath on W. Benson St. sold for $785,000. It was on the market for 49 days.

Lowest Price: A 3 bed/ 1 bath on 2nd Ave sold for $95,000. It was on the market for 26 days.

——————–
Elliott Robinson, JD – Associate Broker
Adams Realtors
458 Cherokee Ave. SE
Atlanta, GA 30312
(o) 404-688-1222

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