Do REALTORS really think the public is dumb?
Posted: Friday, April 28th, 2006, 12:05 pm EST
Category: Real Estate News
Does bait and switch advertising still work?
By surveying the local print ads I realized that most advertisers say what they mean, at least when it comes to revealing the true price of items sold. Why do REALTORS insist on continuing to attempt to lure buyers with lower prices on signs than actual sales prices? I am talking about New Home Communities that advertise “From the 200s”, but have only 1 house at $299,900 and the rest of the homes are at $325,000+.
By doing a drive through the local market you will see this bait and switch marketing used on almost every single new home community, regardless of price point. I think it is really absurd when you see “Homes from the $700s” and many homes in the neighborhood are priced over $1 Million. Are $700,000 home buyers easily tricked into spending an extra $300,000?
It would be refreshing to me as a REALTOR and as a buyer to drive by a new home community and read the sign “New Homes from $325,00 - $375,000″ and that be the actual price range once I picked up the price sheet at the sales center.
Local Real Estate Market - Staying Strong
Posted: Saturday, April 22nd, 2006, 1:20 pm EST
Category: Real Estate News
Last week I finalized the contract for the last office condo in Weatherstone Park. It will be the 6th sale in 4 months of 2006. This is a good sign for the office market in Woodstock and surrounding Cobb and Cherokee county areas. Local real estate activity in general has picked up over the last few weeks. My phone is constantly ringing, email inquiries are on the rise and I have scheduled more showings in a week than ever before.
It seems that everywhere I turn I learn of more real estate deals in the area, like this one. Plus, road improvements are now Cover Story material for the Cherokee Ledger-News.
“I-575 lane construction to begin in May
Auxiliary lane construction contract between Ga. 92 and Towne Lake Parkway approved
By Tom BrooksInitial roadside clearing for construction of new auxiliary lanes designed to ease the Interstate 575 traffic bottleneck between Ga. 92 and Towne Lake Parkway may be under way as soon as this week, according to a state transportation official.
The auxiliary lane project of northbound and southbound lanes to be added to the edges of the interstate to keep vehicles moving between Ga. 92 and Towne Lake Parkway out of traffic on I-575 will be completed under a $2.5 million contract awarded to L.C. Whitford Company Inc., said Lou Chastain, area engineer for the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT).
The construction work on the auxiliary lanes between I-575’s Exit 7 and Exit 8 in Woodstock is expected to start in May and is due for completion by the end of March 2007, Chastain said.”
This road project is in addition to the New Interchange. Here is a snippet from the latest news on the Interchange:
Rope Mill interchange plans unveiled
By Erika B. NeldnerMore than 200 people attended an informal open house about the proposed interchange at Interstate 575 and Rope Mill Road April 13. The general public had a chance to get their questions answered and see the proposed plan.
Croy-MSE, the firm providing the engineering work for the project, had engineers on had with four stations to display the overall plans. The Georgia Department of Transportation also had representatives available for questions.
… The plan calls for the interchange to be placed just east of the Brookshire subdivision. Old Rope Mill Road, which leads to Rope Mill Park, is expected to be replaced with North Woodstock Parkway. North Woodstock Parkway is expected to line up with the existing Woodstock Parkway.The existing bridge crossing Interstate 575 is expected to be widened, and sidewalks and bike lanes are expected to be installed on the surface streets including Woodstock Parkway and Ridgewalk Parkway.
Woodstock business owner Brad Nix said he thinks the proposed plan is much more suitable than the previous Alternate 5H plan.
“I’m excited,” Nix said. “This is a much better solution than the original plan.”
Michael Davis of DeKalb County is looking for a home in Cherokee County and wanted to find out what was going on before he moved here.
“I think this will be good for the community,” Davis said. “I’m new to the area but I can see how it’s always been a pinch [around Towne Lake Parkway].”
Yes, I know blatent abuse of self-promotion, but I truly am excited about the changes in our local market!
Also, on a recent marketing flyer, I notcied Cousins is already promoting The Avenues at Ridgewalk for Spring 2008. It doesn’t appear that the I-575 Corridor will see any slowing of the real estate market for quite some time.
Finally, if you are interested in capitalizing on the continued strength of our local market and are considering placing your Home For Sale, then I encourage you to read this posting by Ardell about the Top 10 Obstacles to Selling a Home - she is right on the money with this one.
Woodstock Interchange & Northwest Corridor Project Updates
Posted: Saturday, April 15th, 2006, 12:38 pm EST
Category: Real Estate News
I attended the Open House last Thursday for the proposed Woodstock Interchange. If you didn’t stop by, then don’t feel like you missed much. Basically, they jut posted the same diagram in 5 different locations. You can just as easily view the .pdf diagram at City of Woodstock’s website. The most obvious questions (estimated cost? who will pay for it? when will it be built? etc…) are still up in the air and I got very few answers to any of my questions. However, combining all answers individually I can guesstimate that this new interchange is still several years away.
Provided funding and approval falls into place within a year or so, say Spring 2008. Right of way aquisition could take a year and a half more, say fall 2009. Actual construction will take another year and a half, thus putting this new interchange into use sometime in 2011. Granted things could go faster, if the right politcs and funding are in place, but my guess it is more likely to go slower. My realistic expectation is 2012.
Woodstock and Cherokee County in general are in much need of this new interchange and I hope support grows for this project, as well others planned for Cherokee County. (click here to view all future GA DOT plans for the county)
There is also a plan to improve the entire Northwest Corridor of I-75/I-575 with HOV and TOL (Truck Only Lanes) Lanes. Here is the proposed HOV/TOL project for the I-575 portion:
* The number general purpose lanes in each direction at any given point will remain the same.
* A single HOV lane in each direction is proposed.
* A system-to-system connection between the I-575 HOV and I-75 HOV system, for northbound-to-northbound and southbound-to-southbound directions only.
* A truck only access to and from the I-75 corridor at the I-75/I-575 Interchange. Southbound to northbound connection is not proposed from either freeway, based on low demand projections.
* HOV access points at Big Shanty Road, Shallowford Road and Dupree Road.
View a complete overview at the Northwest Corridor (I-75/I-575) Project website.
There will be an Open House for the entire Northwest Corridor Project:
Wednesday, April 25, 2006
Cobb County Civic Center
548 S. Marietta Parkway
Marietta, GA 30060
5:00-8:00PM
For Sale By Owner in East Cobb
Posted: Saturday, April 8th, 2006, 6:48 pm EST
Category: Real Estate News
Why in the world would a Realtor promote a FSBO? Because I think this seller is on to something great for both sellers and Realtors. The owner has created a blog just for selling her house. www.3581winfairplace.com By marketing her home on a blog, the seller will reach more buyers faster on the Internet and can also put the URL on a yard sign to give more information to drive-by buyers.
Realtors should take notice of this clever way to promote listings! Sellers should encourage their Realtor to use this marketing tool and even offer to help the agent get a blog started. Too many times in the real estate industry I have seen Realtors and their clients at odds or acting awkward about working together. Seller’s should engage Realtors (and Realtors should engage Sellers) in a teamwork fashion. Two minds are greater than one!
Representing a Seller is absolutely about teamwork. If the seller doesn’t keep the property in showing condition and make it available to buyers at appropriate times, then the Realtor is hindered from performing his job effectively. Likewise, if the Realtor doesn’t spend time and money promoting the property, then the Seller is wasting valuable time on the market. By entering into the Realtor : Seller-Client relationship as a team, everyone benefits by a quicker sale for optimal price.
I encourage all Realtors and Sellers to work as a team, share ideas and strive to accomplish the common goal together.
* This specific FSBO is a buyer-client of mine and will become a seller-client if she does not have success as a For Sale By Owner. Please monitor our progress as we work as a team to sell this property and buy a new one.
New Woodstock Interchange Moving Forward
Posted: Saturday, April 1st, 2006, 7:11 pm EST
Category: Real Estate News
The new I-575 interchange project to be located at Woodstock Parkway (formerly Rope Mill Road) begins the next phase of implementation. There will be an Open House at the Woodstock Community Center on April 13th from 4pm to 7pm. The purpose of the open house is to provide the public with an opportunity view the proposed project, ask questions and make comments.
The new interchange will serve many functions, most important is reducing the amount of traffic on Main Street in downtown Woodstock. Traffic is a severe problem for the small downtown area and the new Hedgewood project, Woodstock Downtown, will only make it worse. This new interchange will be a step in the right direction to making Woodstock more pedestrian friendly by routing traffic around Main St.
Rumors are that there are plans for the Toll Brothers new home project to be approved with granting of a new road access to connect Arnold Mill Road with the new Ridgewalk/Woodstock Pkwy interchange on I-575. This would be another giant leap forward in reducing traffic problems on Main Street.
Another benefit to the new interchange is the promise of high quality retail. Cousins Properties is planning the largest Avenues (their unique brand of power retail centers) project in Metro Atlanta. Retail in Woodstock will eliminate many Cherokee county shoppers driving to Town Center Mall and North Point Mall to spend their tax dollars in neighboring counties. By keeping retail tax dollars in the county, Cherokee County will be able to make more improvements to quality of life for it’s residents.
I encourage everyone to go the Open House on April 13th and show your support for Woodstock’s newest interchange!
