Atlanta Real Estate: What is going on in your area? (Decatur: cul-de-sac, section 8) - Georgia (GA) - City-Data Forum

SCJ · 06-13-2008, 08:35 AM

I live ITP, unicorporated DeKalb, 3 miles north of Phipps Plaza, 3 miles south of Perimeter Mall, 1.5 miles from the hospital area. There are a lot of homes for sale in my area, not much selling. Some prices are unrealistic, most are realistic/reasonable. I did a radius search with one of the real esate sites, and there are 140 homes for sale within 1 mile radius of my home. Some are $1.75 million and up (newer McMansions) in gated neighborhoods; some newish, smaller homes on smaller lots/cul-de-sac neighborhoods for $750,000 and up; some older, moderately updated homes for $600,000 - $900,000; and some 10-20 year old cluster homes in cul-de-sac neighborhoods priced between $500,000 - $600,000. There are some foreclosures, but not a ton.

What is the situation in your neighborhood? Are things selling? Are prices declining or holding steady?

Iconographer · 06-13-2008, 08:41 AM

Everything in my neighborhood (Ponce DeLeon Terrace in downtown Decatur) is turning over quickly...two houses around the corner just sold...there are a couple of SFHs for sale over on Ponce DeLeon Place, both priced at the high end of the market (one is a 5BR, a rarity around here), and a condo for sale around the corner (Montgomery Place condominiums).

atlantagreg30127 · 06-13-2008, 08:43 AM

Well, I'm outside the Perimeter in West Cobb (Powder Springs).

There are two homes within a block of me that are for sale in the $189k range and have been on sale for over a year, each. Now, granted - home # 1 hasn't been doing a great job keeping their yard mowed, and the garage is full of junk (not "show ready"), and home # 2 is painted green. Up the street are more traditional "subdivision" type 2 story homes that range in the $160 to $190 range and most of them have been sitting for a while. Some of this can be explained for a variety of reasons - one house has an in-ground pool (minus), one house is right next door to a section 8 house (minus) and another has something like 8 cats (smell=minus).

On the flip-side, at the end of my street sat a very tiny 3BR ranch home that went up for sale for $125k because of it's small size and the fact it wasn't updated with the latest cool stuff. It sold in THREE DAYS, to a nice woman. The house next door to me sold for $157k not long ago and it was also a brick ranch, but does have a basement (sought after), and a large yard.

We're at the point now where EVERY detail means something. Uncut grass, junky cluttered homes and/or garages, strange color paint on/in the homes - these may not have deterred people as much in the past, but people now want near perfection if they're going to pay market value for a home. You pretty much have to have your place looking like something from a Better Homes and Gardens magazine unless you are selling it for below market (in which case you'll sell quickly, but perhaps lose money).

This is just based on what I've seen around my area.

BGS99 · 06-13-2008, 08:50 AM

I'm closing on a house in Cherokee Co in a month.
Its almost a neighborhood by neighborhood situation. Some are selling well while others aren't.
I guess buyers are able to cherry pick with so much to choose from

BGS99 · 06-13-2008, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

We're at the point now where EVERY detail means something. Uncut grass, junky cluttered homes and/or garages, strange color paint on/in the homes - these may not have deterred people as much in the past, but people now want near perfection if they're going to pay market value for a home. You pretty much have to have your place looking like something from a Better Homes and Gardens magazine unless you are selling it for below market (in which case you'll sell quickly, but perhaps lose money).

They were talking about that on the "home fix-it show" on 750.
A seller was asking if its ok to not fix things and just offer allowances to the buyer. Like not replaced old carpet and allowing a carpet allowance.
They flat out said no. Sellers can't be lazy in this market. If someone walks in and sees bad carpet or an AC unit that needs repairs they will walk out. Even if the sellers are offering allowances.

SCJ · 06-13-2008, 09:05 AM

Atlantagreg, I agree with you: buyers are expecting perfection if they are going to pay within 5% of list. Otherwise, buyers are expecting bargains. I watch the market closely in Buckhead, as I would like to move closer to my kids' schools, and I have been to see a few houses in recent months. Some of those homes were priced like the heyday of the real estate market, and the owners put minimal effort into sprucing them up for sale.

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'.

There is one house I have been watching, it went on the market spring '07 for 1.85 million; dropped down to $1.75 million in the fall; dropped down to $1.5 million this spring; just dropped down to $1.35 million last week. It is in a great location, but has a strange lot, and is quite a small house on the inside, with a very strange basement.

plessthanpointohfive · 06-13-2008, 09:42 AM

I was having a talk with a neighbor who is a broker and he told me that homes in Candler Park are still selling at mostly normal rates for near asking price. There tends to be a lot of turnover this time of year. I think that's normal everywhere because people are moving after the school year, etc.

Chris_Davis · 06-13-2008, 10:17 AM

My wife and I were in town last weekend looking for a house to rent. We looked mainly in the East Atlanta / Grant Park area and there were a ton of houses for rent or for sale.

BobKovacs · 06-13-2008, 10:20 AM

Homes in our development in Cherokee County are still selling well- it seems that there's a new one popping up every few days recently. One thing I've also noticed is that the sales seem to be closing with the original purchasers, whereas last year there were a number of houses where the contract fell through 1/2-way through construction, and they'd resell the house to someone else, and then do it again. The last dozen or so houses they've built have all closed upon completion, and the few specs that they've put up are all sold- no standing inventory left (other than one house that's been sitting for about a year, and likely will for a while- it's on a really bad lot).

By comparison, several of the other builders in the same master planned community aren't doing so well, so it's really all about offering the right product at the right price, which is what Pulte is doing.

MiriL · 06-13-2008, 10:27 AM

Our house in unincorporated DeKalb is under contract for 98% of asking price, in a relatively well-located neighborhood. (Not perfect, but close to a lot. Well-maintained houses with more expensive neighborhoods very close.)

There was one house in our sub on the market that was priced significantly below ours because it was much smaller (but same # of beds/baths). Once it sold, our showings went up dramatically and we had a good offer soon. We were on the market for about 2.5 months. We did a fair amount of updating, but didn't go nuts -- lots of painting, changed light fixtures, etc. but we didn't replace our laminate countertops with granite, which was suggested. Assuming the sale closes, I'll be happy with how the experience went. We were lucky to be there for a number of years, so we didn't need to really get top dollar in order to sell, but we did get a fair price.