Atlanta is a Top 10 City to Buy Real Estate Now

By: Brad Nix, Managing Broker
Posted: October 30th, 2006
Discussion: Comments



CNN Money recently released a story on the Top 10 Cities: Where to buy now, stating…"The real estate slump could get worse before it gets better. But these 10 markets offer great opportunities for those who have the patience to buy and hold."

  1. Panama City, FL
  2. Vero Beach, FL
  3. Bridgeport, CT
  4. Lakeland, FL
  5. McAllen, TX
  6. San Luis Obispo, CA
  7. Wilmington, NC
  8. Manchester, NH
  9. Fort Collins, CO
  10. Atlanta, GA

24% Projected Gain in home prices over the next 5 years, combined with a 26% Projected Gain in Per Capita Income means Metro Atlanta is a great place to move - now!

Thanks to Jonathan Miller over at Matrix for the story tip.

Woodstock Downtown will help you get Around Town

By: Brad Nix, Managing Broker
Posted: October 27th, 2006
Discussion: Comments



Hedgewood Properties has assembled another 30+ acres on the west side of Main Street in Woodstock to continue their redevelopment efforts of Olde Towne Woodstock. As Hedgewood’s current project on the east side of Main St continues construction and sales we can all get a glimpse of what Woodstock is going to look like in a few short years. The number one concern I have heard from locals is the traffic congestion in Woodstock. It appears that the west side project will create more cross streets and a grid system to allow for alternate routes around Woodstock and aleviate some bottleneck route problems.

Remember though, things usually get worse before they get better. Construction delays are sure to cause serious problems, as evidenced on I-575, but things will be better when the road projects are completed.

Christopher Quinn recently wrote in the AJC Cherokee…

Though final plans are not in place for the new Hedgewood development, Smith said the company is leaning toward more of a retail and commercial mix than is in the first project. As for the type of housing, he said, "We are leaning toward flats mixed in with the commercial."

Hedgewood plans to expand its development with more retail, commercial and housing mix, according to David Smith, a development partner.

The acreage will also give the city a chance to build something it needs — a grid of streets.

Woodstock traffic converges at Main Street and Towne Lake Parkway/Arnold Mill Road, and there are few ways around it. A grid of streets built on the 30 acres would make north-south connections between West Mill Street and Dupree Road.

"We finally have a serious opportunity to do this as part of this project," said City Planner Richard McLeod.

The city has been working for months on a downtown traffic plan. It includes improving the Main Street intersection at Towne Lake Parkway, sidewalks, streetscaping and parking.

The company does not own the historic downtown retail buildings. McLeod said those will remain in place.

Hedgewood’s five-story retail and condo building is nearing completion.

About half of the 70 condo flats there are already sold. People will begin moving in around the first of the year, Smith predicted. He said talks with restaurants and other companies that are interested in the retail spaces are ongoing, and there is also interest from people who want to put small offices in the building.

 

 

The retail portion will probably see its first tenants in the spring of 2007, he said.

 

Other news around Woodstock:

Upscale Clothing Boutique comes to town
No more consignment for Maggie’s Closet

I-575 Road Projects spur Development Plans
Old News about The Avenues at Ridgewalk

Where is the Magnolia Thomas Restaurant?
My favorite restaurant in Woodstock

Toll Brothers has Woodstock Knoll on website
A new neighborhood just north of downtown

vFlyer is great for Commercial Real Estate

By: Brad Nix, Managing Broker
Posted: October 25th, 2006
Discussion: Comments



Jim Cronin over at The Real Estate Tomato has some good info about vFlyer, which I started using a few weeks ago. If you are in real estate, you should consider this using this service for marketing your properties. Here is an example of how I use vFlyer to market a church property for sale. Jim wrote…

Create handsome, online flyers for classified service websites search engines such as: eBay, Craigslist, LiveDeal, GoogleBase, Vast, Edgio and more.

In addition to generating an HTML style flyer in a snap (no brainer easy), Vflyer also provides you with an online ‘landing page’ for your listing. Each listing allows for ample content and several high quality photos. Designs can be customized based on around flexible template layouts. Lead generation pages, photo gallery and traffic tracking systems round out the tool nicely. PDF’s can be created for your listings as well to convert them into traditional or emailed flyers.

The service, although useful for advertising anything for sale (with up to 40 categories to choose from), has mostly caught the attention of Realtors who are using it for their listings.

What makes VFlyer.com most competitive with Postlets is the fact that it is FREE!

I commented: Great post about a great service. I recently switched from Postlets to vFlyer because of the support for Commercial Real Estate. Postlets requires Beds and Baths , etc… while vFlyer let’s you customize your ad for commercial usage. I especially like the fact that you can leave an entry blank and it not show up on the vFlyer, plus the ability to add your own custom fields is so simple. Great service. I even got myself a Rapleaf Reputation!

I forgot to add the fact that you get Page View stats on each vFlyer you post. Very cool.

Please rate me on Rapleaf, if you have the time.

Why do I blog about real estate?

By: Brad Nix, Managing Broker
Posted: October 24th, 2006
Discussion: Comments



I blog about real estate because it combines two of my favorite subjects, technology and real estate, into one creative experience. I have always been a fan of technology. Whether it was my first computer, the Commodore VIC-20, or the Christmas when I received the Coleco Head to Head Football game from my grandparents (I could still my beat my brother if he challenged me). I always loved learning and using new technologies. Now with the advent of free blogging platforms, I get to use technology to share my thoughts and research about my local real estate market with hundreds of clients, friends, family and business partners.

Being the co-owner and managing broker of Maxsell Real Estate combined with the fact that I grew up in Cherokee County and live in Cobb County gives me the fortunate position of being well-informed about the local area and it’s real estate market. I blog about the news, events, and my thoughts because I enjoy it. The benefit of feedback and interaction with my sphere of influence is truly a bonus.

I owe a lot of people thanks for encouraging me to blog about real estate and here are a few names (Dustin at RCG, Giles at Developing Atlanta, and Joseph at Sellsius), but perhaps the most thanks are due to Desiree Scales at Bella Web Design. Bella has been my internet design and hosting company for over 6 years. She also did the site for my mother’s small business, Beverly’s Day Spa, and has always been a good source of tech-info and a good friend. Desiree encouraged me to start a blog and share my knowledge on the local real estate market.

Today she announces the launch of her own blog (bellawebdesignblog.com) and gives thanks to me (see below) and shame on me for letting her beat me to the THANK YOU she deserves most. Thanks for getting the ball rolling Desiree! She wrote…

After listening I realized this is what I’ve been telling my clients–”One of the best ways to establish yourself as an expert in your field is to get a blog!” Everyone complained that it would take a lot of time, they wouldn’t know what to write, it was too hard, blah, blah, blah…then one of my clients took me seriously and started reaping some serious benefits.

Take a look at http://atlanta575realestate.com/ Brad Nix, one of the top brokers at www.maxsellrealestate.com, started his blog about a year ago and hasn’t looked back. He is now on the 500 Real Estate Blogs to Watch List! Pretty amazing in such a short time. Talk about learning from your clients–Brad is a perfect example of this!

So then I had yet ANOTHER idea! I hired Brad to help us sell our house back in June. I knew that creating a blog for our home would be a quirky yet innovative way to market our house and enable us to put a lot of really good pictures and information up on the web. We created the blog and IT WORKED! Our house sold in 36 days and I know the blog was part of our success. It was an easy way for people to get really solid information about our home and it stood out in the field of 90,000 homes for sale in Atlanta. Genius!

Thanks for the kind words Desiree and thanks for encouraging me to blog, best of luck in the blogosphere and I hope your new home is all you dreamed it would be.

Canton Mayor earns 2006 Georgia Municipal Official of the Year Award

By: Brad Nix, Managing Broker
Posted: October 23rd, 2006
Discussion: Comments



Canton’s Mayor, Cecil Pruett, was named 2006 Georgia’s Municipal Official of the Year by GeorgiaTrend Magazine in the City Elected category. Mr. Pruett has done a good job in managing the growth and progress of Canton, but his toughest decisions may still be ahead of him as he is faced with over 16,000 new homes being proposed by developers. Let’s hope he continues the great job!

Cecil Pruett: Destination Downtown
Every city has its mundane challenges, from potholes to trash pickup. But when Cecil Pruett became mayor of Canton in 1996, a small town poised to become a suburban hotspot, he knew he would have to look beyond the everyday.

Pruett envisioned Canton as a vibrant town, one that balances greenspace and tasteful development, with a thriving city center and new places to play and work. Some 10 years later, the town has grown from 7,700 to about 17,000 - and lived up to Pruett’s greatest expectations.

Canton Mayor Cecil Pruett
Canton Mayor Cecil Pruett (photo by Diane Kirkland, www.dianekirklandphoto.com)

The city of Canton bought and renovated a dilapidated theater, sparking downtown revitalization. Now, shops, restaurants, brick-paved sidewalks and lampposts surround historic Canton Theatre. Downtown is a destination.

Pruett also saw the untapped potential of the Etowah River, which runs through the town. At his urging, the city launched the Etowah River Greenway project and purchased about 90 acres along its banks. Heritage Park, the project’s first phase, provides 30 acres of walking and biking trails and a natural amphitheater that hosts free summer concerts and other events. Nearby, a new community center offers a pool and other amenities. The 60-acre phase two includes soccer and baseball fields and tennis courts.

But even more important than these improvements, under Pruett’s leadership, the city has actually managed its growth. While its population swelled, the city followed a master plan that designated residential, commercial and industrial areas. Pruett worked with developers and homebuilders to create impact fees, which funded new police and fire stations and other improvements. “You’ve got to be proactive, you’ve got to plan,” Pruett explains. “You’ve got to see things and do things that make a difference in people’s lives.”

Pruett came to Canton about 40 years ago as Southeastern sales manager for Henny Penny Corp., a restaurant equipment manufacturer. He became national sales manager and then bought the Eaton, Ohio-based business, all the while living in Canton. He saw beautiful cities in his travels, and he took new ideas home. For example, the Etowah River Greenway is reminiscent of riverside greenery in Boulder, Colo. (”Our river is much larger and offers much greater opportunities,” Pruett boasts.) He loved the hanging flowering baskets in Abingdon, Va., and Canton’s downtown is being streetscaped with similar flowery plants. He even tried to tackle the notorious suburban traffic. Canton runs a free local bus service, and express buses take commuters to Atlanta.

Thanks in part to Pruett’s efforts, Canton is a partner with the Livable Communities Coalition, which provides volunteer expertise to cities that grapple with rapid growth. Pruett tries to balance the needs of longtime Canton residents with those of newcomers, says Jim Durrett, coalition executive director. “I have been impressed with his genuineness, with his honest passion for trying to do the right things for that community,” he says.

To keep his ideas fresh, Pruett meets with a Youth Design Team of high school students. And though he owns an insurance agency, Pruett & Associates, being mayor is his second full-time job. “I do not take this responsibility lightly,” Pruett says. “I spend 30 to 40 hours every week or more working very hard to make our city a better place. I know we’ve made tremendous progress, but we’re not finished. I’m going to do everything I’ve got to make sure we leave it in much better condition [than when we started].”

That’s something the Pruett clearly has already done.

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