Ferrari Friendly Real Estate in Atlanta Metro?

Out of interest does this scenario apply to Buckhead and surrounding area in your opinion. My understanding was that land/SFH in the good/prime ITP areas was still increasing at a good pace. Last month I was interested in a 1960's ranch with a 1/2 acre flat lot in 30327 and it sold within 3 days at full asking price that I already thought looked high! I met the buyer and he was moaning about lack of availability in this zip code. I was amazed but my realtor seems to think some areas/zips are still rising very fast.

 

chuck, where do you trail ride that hummer ?

if i didn't have a family i'd sell my house and i don't think i'd be property shopping just yet. the foreclosure guys i know have been noticing dramatically dropping spreads on deals they have been closing lately. with the recent rise in rates and the number of ARMs due to unlock in the next few years, i think you'll see a real buyers market.

 

sounds like prime tear down for a mcmansion. don't forget the top end usually isn't price sensitive. my neighborhood supposedly just had a $3.8m sale.

 

Yes it was I guess, although the buyer right now is going to live in it and fix it up, he just wanted to be closer to work and his kids schools (same reason I was interested). At a later date he always has the option of tearing it down or selling to a developer although I wonder how long until the city really starts putting in some heavy restrictions.

 

location location location trumps all. especially in ATL with the traffic. i still can't believe any of these homes listed for <$300k in east cobb are not termite infested ****boxes (no offense). find one with a nice lot and you'll always have the tear down option. i went to east cobb solely to get out of fulton county as i was also getting dinged for city taxes as well and it's not like the schools are worth a ****.

when/if the RE market ever takes the nosedive that many are predicting you'll be fairly well insulated ITP and close in. all these mcmansions with the commute up 400 (etc) will be the one that will get hammered. buckhead, vinings (the real vinings - not smyrna) and east cobb are probably the number one on any shopping list.

 

Atlanta is somewhat bucking the national trend...there is a finite supply of home north of I-20, in Fulton Co. and inside 285...so prices should continue to climb, but that overall growth will be slower than perhaps 2years ago.

Atlanta's Real Estate market has been somewhat depressed over the last 5 years.... low employment growth, and for a while after 2000 we were actually loosing people instead of growing.

current sigins ( last 2 years ) point to more growth in back office FIRE sector... which leads to more people coming in than leaving. Atlanta is NOT a front office town like NYC & Chicago... IT is a back office town and those - the do-ers of the world live here. So the market will in my opinion grow 3-5% overall ( not bad ) in some areas Buckhead will grow much more simply because of supply & demand....

Condos & Town Homes I think are coming in for a beating... especially the mid priced Million to $350K... above not much is being built, and what is will find customers ... below -entry level stuff, will be ok too, as its affordable... but in Atlanta there is a whole lot of - move up - stuff.... thats where the pain will be.... already is, but the Real Estate world thinks if they dont talk about it then nobody will know.....

My problem with Realtors is that the info they have is old... its from closed sales, and pending sales... very few have the ability to intrinsically price real estate ... its a bit of a black art....you have to be really savvy and be wired in... to whats happening, when you are you make millions! and are worth your weight in gold... problem is most Realtors are just following the crowd.

Long answer to short question.

 

I agree with all this. Much safer to buy a fixer upper ranch for 300k in a good location with a nice lot that a new build in a bad location with a small lot. You can always upgrade the fixer upper when you have more money. I wonder what will happen if gas goes to 4$4 or $5 a gallon to the people commuting 80 miles a day.

 

I grew up in Marietta/East Cobb as well and went to Walton, was ranked 117 out of all high schools in the nation this year. You might want to check out Princeton Walk/Lakes subdivision off of Johnson Ferry, lots of flat drives, not sure on the prices these days though. PM me if you want more info, I know the area very well. Best of luck.

 

In East Cobb 300k will not buy you a fixer-upper. It will buy you a very nice home in excellent condition, with the best schools in the state. Ours needed nothing...that's right, nothing. It had a new roof, new a/c, up to date termite bond, new siding, new driveway (poured to 8" depth), perfect fescue front yard, cul de sac lot, new stainless appliances, new lower deck, hot tub, and on and on. All we've done is upgrade things.

We also have a 50' magnolia in the front yard, we're surrounded by hardwoods and I can't see my neighbors behind the house. Find that in a new subdivision.

Mark

 

http://beta.re.com/ListingsWeb/Listings/994796/PropertyDetails.aspx?ESOURCEID=220728


HUGE House !!!

 

Not meaning to hijack this thread, but I have to say you guys all deserve a medal for living in Atlanta and putting up with all this ****** traffic, I simply don't know how anyone can live a normal life dealing with infested highways in an overpopulated city (is it 6 million now?). I come back for business occasionally and I laugh at how difficult it is just to cross the city on 85 at any given time. New construction everywhere, specially in Gwinnett, unbelievable. Something should be done as it doesn't seem to get any better. I know it's the same in New York and many other large cities, but I still want to say hats off to all of you for enduring it.

 

I really don't have any trouble. I live 23 miles from downtown where I work and in the mornings it's never more than 35 minutes to get there, sometimes a good bit less. The afternoons are a little worse, but usually 50 minutes or less, sometimes as little as 30 if traffic is flying. I leave the house just before 7am and in the afternoons, usually leave around 5:15 or so.

Gwinnett is another story altogether, absolutely horrible and I'm so glad I moved away from there. I lived in Lawrenceville and commuted to Vinings for a while. That's down 316, 85S, then across the top end of 285 - the three worst traffic corridors in the city. I had to leave at 5:45am to make it in 45 minutes. If I left at 6am or later, it was well over an hour and by 7am forget it, might as well stay home.

It's all about knowing where to go and what route to take. I've been in Atlanta for 20 years and I like it.

Mark