Johns Creek Homes and Real Estate (Atlanta, Alpharetta: public schools, prices, club)

[berkeleylake]

Originally Posted by Tarzanman

Wow. Having lived in Atlanta for 17 years, and north Atlanta for 10-11 years..... I would take any piece of advice from someone who has lived here only one year with a HUGE grain of salt.

No offense, Mr. Panda, but i think the people reading your posts might be better served if you would throttle back on any advice that doesn't involve hard numbers or pricing in North Fulton. Johns Creek is far from the end all of suburbia in the Atlanta area. I know that you're trying to hustle up interest & sales for your realty but I know restaurant servers and soccer moms that have a more accurate and objective perspective on the schools and overall housing market than yours.

The biggest minus to living in Johns Creek (depending upon your perspective) is that it does not abut any major interstates. Peachtree Industrial Blvd and 141 are the biggest arteries going north/south. Those at the southern end of Johns Creek (close to alpharetta/roswell, where i lived for a few years) can sneak by with a relatively short hop to GA400 via Mansell Rd, but everyone else has to deal with miles of surface streets (and surface traffic) to reach the interstate.

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Johns Creek is not a bad place, but I would be careful of buying in to the hype of JC as *the* hot place to live. It is a suburb...some parts far enough to be considered an exurb, which means that it there are fewer artistic/cultural/historical/social layers to it than less 'superficial' parts of the metro area. For example, if you want to play ice hockey then you'll have to travel to Duluth or Roswell. The closest malls are in Alpharetta, Lawrenceville, Suwanee, or Dunwoody, etc.

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Hope I haven't offended anyone

No offense taken here. Everyone is entitled to his opinion here. Nothing wrong with a good debate here and you definitely can back up your statements about JC. I do like Mr Panda's posts because of all the statistics, I think he is also just very enthusiastic about where he moved to. I look forward to reading his posts time to time and I think he is a good contributor to C-D.

I do agree with you, for the Atlanta area, Johns Creek is desirable overall, but it definitely has some drawbacks when people have to commute ITP or downtown Atlanta during rush hour. Doing that commute is awful, I have done it from JC to midtown and it is no cake walk.

Having said that, the public schools are pretty strong, even if some of them seem a bit crowded in my opinion. I like living in JC for its amenities, but sometimes would prefer a less developed area due to traffic congestion but that is not to be in most areas in the metro after all the growth that went on here in the last 20 years.

The traffic congestion on surface streets during rush hour in Johns Creek, Alpharetta and the surrounding areas is a real bone of contention for me personally. It is definitely the most obvious drawback, but like with everything, you take the good with the bad and nothing is indeed perfect.

[GeorgiaLakeSearch]

Originally Posted by Tarzanman

Wow. Having lived in Atlanta for 17 years, and north Atlanta for 10-11 years..... I would take any piece of advice from someone who has lived here only one year with a HUGE grain of salt.

No offense, Mr. Panda, but i think the people reading your posts might be better served if you would throttle back on any advice that doesn't involve hard numbers or pricing in North Fulton. Johns Creek is far from the end all of suburbia in the Atlanta area. I know that you're trying to hustle up interest & sales for your realty but I know restaurant servers and soccer moms that have a more accurate and objective perspective on the schools and overall housing market than yours.

The biggest minus to living in Johns Creek (depending upon your perspective) is that it does not abut any major interstates. Peachtree Industrial Blvd and 141 are the biggest arteries going north/south. Those at the southern end of Johns Creek (close to alpharetta/roswell, where i lived for a few years) can sneak by with a relatively short hop to GA400 via Mansell Rd, but everyone else has to deal with miles of surface streets (and surface traffic) to reach the interstate.

Much of Johns Creek is still currently relatively new construction, which makes it very visually appealing to many visitors... especially people from the NYC area who may not be accustomed to all of the green space. It is a fairly safe area and even though housing in the area is perhaps slightly inflated because of your zip code, it is still cheaper than areas like DC.

Having said that, commuting into Atlanta proper would be a 45+ minute ordeal. You would be in the heavier direction of traffic during rush hour (into the city in the morning, back out in the afternoon), and there is no viable mass transit alternative. MARTA rail stops in Doraville (still inside the perimeter) on one line and at North Springs (~5 miles outside the perimeter up 400), which is still a ~10-12 minute haul from the closest section of John's Creek in no traffic.

Atlanta traffic is not the worst in the country, but there are large, populated expanses not properly served by mass transit options. Living in Johns Creek and working in Marietta, Vinings, or even some sections of downtown would mean spending almost 2 hours a day in the car. The advantage that other suburbs can offer (Dunwoody, Norcross, Roswell and Alpharetta to some extent) are proximity to major arteries as an alternative to surface streets. The difference isn't always huge, but 15 minutes can add up over time.

Johns Creek is not a bad place, but I would be careful of buying in to the hype of JC as *the* hot place to live. It is a suburb...some parts far enough to be considered an exurb, which means that it there are fewer artistic/cultural/historical/social layers to it than less 'superficial' parts of the metro area. For example, if you want to play ice hockey then you'll have to travel to Duluth or Roswell. The closest malls are in Alpharetta, Lawrenceville, Suwanee, or Dunwoody, etc.

Each area has its ups and downs that are not easily gleaned from housing sales trends. As I have already said... it is probably not the best idea to take a 1 yr old transplant's advice as gospel on the ins and outs of the entire area.

Hope I haven't offended anyone

Thank You!

[Sjfinger]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaLakeSearch

Thank You!

Really?

Sometimes a Doctor just out of school has more insite then a Doctor that has been around 17 years.

Relax dude...Everyone has an opinion..

I want to hear/read what he has to say along with every one else....get it? Got It? Good

So keep em coming MrPanda

[mrpanda]

It has been a 1 year in a half since we decided pack up from the snow of Chicago and move to the Johns Creek area... and all i have to say is i LOVE THIS PLACE!!! I can't believe how much has changed just in the 18 months I've been here. The McGinnis Ferry Road has widened up. From Johns Creek Parkway up to McGinnis Ferry it was all dirt when i moved down here... OMG look at what it looks like now. I just got the underwriter approval on my refinance and my home appraised $70k higher than what i paid for in 2011. My mortgage is the same amount as renting a 3 bedroom apartment in Johns Creek. My brand new rental I bought early last year in Lambert jumped up $30k, and I surely plan to double down this year.

I feel it.... something big is going to happen here.... I've said this before and I will say it again 18 months later.. Johns Creek is a very special place to live in Georgia. It is the unicorn city of Georgia.

BTW. my wife and I regularly attend Josh's hip hop dance class at Lifetime JC at 7pm on Monday and the place is packed. You guys need to check it out as that instructor is amazing. I mean AMAZING. If anyone is interested in finding out who mrPanda is. I am the only Asian dude in the class with two other Black dudes. Yes, the entire class is made up of women.

My wife and I absolutely love it here!

[10 feet tall]

I didn't think you were supposed to use this site to advertise your real estate website.

[mrpanda]

Lambert High School Cluster Housing Data: 30097 ( St. Marlo only) rest of Lambert HS is forsyth county zip code: 30024.

Median Home Price 2012: $343,694
134 homes active
468 homes sold in 2012
Inventory Level: 3.4 months
Highest Sale: St Marlo for $1,825,000
Lowest Sale: Riverbrooke for $122,500

I believe that Lambert HS cluster will become one of fastest appreciating markets in the next decade in the northside. I see median home prices reaching $500k in the next 7-10 years. This is the reason why i concentrate my investments here. In 2013, the easy deals are no longer available anymore, and must agressively search to find good 4bed/2.5 SFR deals under $200k.

My personal real estate investment portfolio goal is to own 10 SFRs free and clear within the Lambert HS cluster by 2020.

[mrpanda]

Northview High School Cluster (ranked #1 public HS in Georgia) Housing Data: Johns Creek, 30097 zip code: Fulton County

Median Home Price 2012: $321,000
66 homes active
205 homes sold in 2012
Inventory Level: 3.8 month
Highest Sale: Acerage for $1.3M
Lowest Sale: Abbott Station for $136,000

Most people will be suprised that the median home price in the Northview HS cluster is less than the median home price of Lambert HS. I believe that this median home price gap will continue in the year head. The median year build of homes in Northview HS is 1994. Johns Creek, 30097 is now the first Asian majority demographic sector in Georgia's history. The most expensive High School cluster in Johns Creek is Johns Creek HS: Zip code 30022 with a median home price of $425,500. The lowest entry to the Johns Creek address is Chattahoochee HS with a median home price of $200,500.

[mrpanda]

Another interesting thing to note is the inventory levels. When i first moved to Georgia in June of 2011, the inventory levels in both Northview and Lambert hovered around 1 year's worth of inventory. Good deals were all over the place. Today that inventory is down to around 3.6 months. We are now shifting from what used to be a buyer's market to a seller's market. I predict that we will see a rising interest rate environment with home prices rising in these two high schools clusters. Today it is cheaper to own than to rent, but i see rental parity in the near future. What i mean by rental parity is that with 20% down, you will see an environment where it will be more expensive to own (carrying cost: mortgage, insurance, HOA, and Tax) than to rent.

[Adie's Daddy]

Mrpanda, my wife and I are considering moving to either the West Forsyth High district (Post Brook Farms neighborhood), the Lambert district (Nichols View neighborhood), or the South Forsyth district (James Creek neighborhood). What is your opinion? We are leaning towards West Forsyth.

[mrpanda]

Dear Adie's Daddy,

I am familar with all three subdivsions you mentioned. I am assuming you mean Nichols Landing or Enclave subdivision in Lambert. That is actually one of the subdivisions i am looking to invest in 2013. I've also seriously considered James Creek.

Here is my opinion. All three school districts: West, South, and Lambert are excellent. I love the fact the property taxes are less than 1% a year, homes are newer, and zoned into excellent school districts.

This year among 400 public high schools, Lambert ranks #10.. S. Forsyth jumped 20 notches and is now ranked #9 ahead of Lambert. W. Forsyth is ranked #19. You can't go wrong with any of these excellent schools.

Median home prices and ppsf are the highest in Lambert, then S. Forsyth, then W. Forsyth. I really like James Creek as love how Windermere Parkway is developing. Absolutely beautiful with views of the hills. I really like Nichols Landing and Enclave as well. I believe the available lots in James Creek is quite small, but you can still buy new. If you can afford it.. I would choose between Nichols and James Creek.