A recent AJC article spells out where most of the opposition originated and while I can understand people’s resistance to change; I am also concerned that a great opportunity may have passed.

Simply stated, there are few 9.5 acre tracts available in East Cobb and price for land in East Cobb is expensive. So, as an investor, what types of projects could expensive land be developed into?

Retail – Does East Cobb need more of this? Traffic and more stop lights, yuck.
Park – Yes we do need this. Is government willing to pay top dollar for land?
Residential – Yes, we need affordable housing! No more McMansions, please. To many vacancies, already. More to come.
Office – Yeah, right.

So what is right about senior living: (from a neighbors perspective)

Senior Residents like to drive during non-rush hour.  This means no additional congestion and yet taxpayers save the cost of additional roads and highways.
Senior Residents Eat early!  Restaurantuers appreciate the Early Bird patron’s additional revenue just before the start of the normal Dining Rush Hour.
Some of our best neighbors are Seniors.  They look after your stuff as take great care of theirs.
Best of all:  Senior Living properties are not competition for your Single Family Residential (SFR) resale. In short another home that is newer than your existing residence is, well, not your friend!

I guess there are few times in life that we can pick a new neighbor. In this case, I hope we have not traded a great neighbor for another 24 hour gym, a call center, or 25 additional 6 bedroom, 5.5 baths homes on 1/3 acre lots.

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In a recent Cherokee Ledger article, it appears the city planners are considering the renovation and construction of a well needed public meeting hall. This project would be money well spent, in my opinion. In Downtown Woodstock, there is little space available for the purposes of holding large scale meetings with the proper audio-visual tools that are a mainstay of current business practices. In addition, an attractive and useful meeting hall could be an additional revenue source for the city by renting such space to a variety of local businesses, social and civic clubs, and private events.

For more details on the Project and to review other city council business, check out the Ledger News Article.

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The 2010 Marietta Greek Festival will be held this weekend at the Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church in Marietta.  The festival is one of my favorite local events of the year and is a great setting for the whole family to enjoy.

I like the the food but my wife says the shopping is very nice.  The church tour is really neat and everyone, including the  kids, will enjoy the music, dancing, and facepainting.  Oh. Did I mention the food is unbelievable?

Times

• Friday May 14, 3 -11p
• Saturday May 15, 10am – 11 pm
• Sunday May 16, 11 am – 7 pm

Parking

There is no parking on the festival grounds but parking is available at the following locations.  A Free shuttle service will provide a round-trip service from car to main gate.

Friday, Saturday Only

• Church of Latter Day Saints, Trickum Road

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

• Simpson Middle School, Trickum Road
• Lassiter High School, Shallowford Road
• Shallowford Crossing Shopping Center, Shallowford & Trickum

Special Offers can be found on their website.  Hope to see you there!

Google Map

View Larger Map

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In the middle of 2009, homes listed for sale in Metro Atlanta topped 120,000 units.  As of today, homes listed are hovering around 85,000 units available.

In short this is a GREAT statistic to embrace but it must be tempered with a dose of reality. There are two reasons for the decline of inventory over the past year.

1) Yes. Homes Actually SOLD.  WooHoo!

With a combination of tax credits, low interest rates, FHA funding, and government support of the mortgage market, homes sold at an impressive rate for purchase prices under $300,000.  Many homes sold at full price, by and for regular families, and many homes sold for tens of thousands of dollars more than the foreclosure down the street.  One thing I have learned over the past 2 years is when it comes to buying a home, most people will buy the one they like over the (uglier, less impressive) better bargain.

2) Shadow Inventory

Shadow inventory are the homes that our neighbors decided not to sell becasue they did not have to sell.  Also included are the homes that banks did not foreclose on because they were able to receive partial payments from homeowners while deferring the inevitable.

Shadow Inventories represent as much as 30% of the decrease in the number of units available for sale. Recall the decrease of 125,000 to 85,000 units.  Not all of that decrease was sold outright.  Many were simply pulled from the market as the sellers decided to wait for better times.  Further, foreclosures that did sell have not been replaced by the amount of new foreclosures on the horizon that experts predict will be coming shortly.

So, there are still great buying opportunities upcoming and available now.  Couple this with historically low interest rates, and yes it is a great time to buy if you are strongly considering a home purchase.   As a seller, we will continue to have competition from the foreclosure market.  Good news though! Home-buyers purchase what they like.  Which in most cases means you can get a higher price than the foreclosure if your home is truly “Move-In Ready”.

Check out this article which parallels the issue of shadow inventory.

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On Thursday, May 6, 2010, the Cherokee Association of Realtors will be hosting the Hugh Wilson Memorial Charity Golf Tournament. The tournament is being held at the Eagle Watch Country Club in Woodstock and Maxsell is proud to be a “Team and Tee Sponsor” this year.

Come join us for some fun, laughter, dinner, raffle prizes and of course GOLF. A portion of the tournament proceeds will benefit the local charities of:

MUST Ministries, Papa’s Pantry, and Cherokee Family Violence Center.

Are you a golfer? We can use a 4th. Must have 13 clubs and a Very sharp #2 Pencil!

Not a golfer? CAOR has added an exciting dinner with games, prizes, and entertainment including a Professional Comedian. Come out and Join us! Tickets for the dinner are $20. Lots of fun!

Can’t make it? Donations to the above charities are appreciated.

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Maxsell Real Estate welcomes Brent Ellis to the 2010 team.

Brent is a true real estate professional and is involved in, well, everything! Brent is a Local Director for the Cherokee Association of Realtors, Chair for the Cherokee Association RPAC, Leader in the Green Home Building Movement, a huge supporter of Downtown Woodstock, and an overall Great Guy!

Through his affiliation with REtechSouth 2010, he made a decision to align his career with a nimble brokerage firm that is embracing the many technologies that will change our profession for the better. Brent is truly a team player and we look forward to assisting him in his success. Welcome Brent and the best of luck.

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Maxsell Real Estate welcomes Geri Toale to the 2010 team.

Geri says that she is prepared to couple her people skills and real estate knowledge with the newest trends in real estate marketing, community building, and  agent branding.  She simply loves selling homes and all of the new relationships she develops along the way. It is her passion and her excitement shows!

We are so excited for Geri and have the highest of expectations for her.  Join us in wishing Geri the “Best of Luck” as she develops her Brand at Maxsell!

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Question:
“Mike: I went to my HOA meeting last week and the pres of the HOA said that the REALTORS won’t show houses in our subdivision?? Do you have any idea what that’s about? Just curious and wanted to get your thoughts.”

Response:
Every HOA I know (mine included) says that Realtors won’t show the neighborhood. An answer like this probably resulted from the large reduction in showings across the entire market and because of the bigger ramifications of the following question:

“Why are Buyers not requesting to see homes in our neighborhood?”

Since facts are usually what speak best. I would look at the asking price of the homes in your neighborhood and then run a sales report to see what has sold in the past year, in similar price points, across your local area.  Finally, I would compare traits of the sold properties vs. your neighborhood. My guess what I would find is New Homes and Foreclosures are the culprit. How many new homes and foreclosures are in your neighborhood? Probably, small to none. Most resellers, myself included, can’t beat the value proposition of a deeply discounted new home or a foreclosure in our current market.

As for REALTORS, we’ll show anything that can sell!  But realize, Buyers drive the list of properties to show.  In regards to your neighborhood, I expect there are newer or better deals that can be had which is why Buyers are not, yet, looking.

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Maxsell Real Estate welcomes JT and Deborah Thorman to the team. When asked what attracted them to Maxsell? The primary interests were: standing relationships with management, focus on the 575 market, networking opportunities, and community focus. In addition to their real estate business, JT and Deborah are also owners of Jasper Marine of Jasper and through the years have built a tremendous reputation with their customers in both real estate and retail. Local Presence and Local Knowledge!

We are so excited for both of them. Join us in wishing the Thorman’s the “Best of Luck” as they develop their Brand at Maxsell!

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Our friend and Business Associate David Bell with Wachovia sends an update every few weeks to shed insight on various financial topics. Here is a recent summary:

3. Unemployment is expected to remain above 10 percent for all of 2010.

But with all of these facts and figures…
Many people I speak with are perfectly perplexed about where the economy really is. On the topic of the stock market, we see that the indexes have risen as much as 70% from the recent lowpoints. On other topics, we hear that unemplyment numbers are getting worse, new home starts are at the worst in 40 years, and foreclosures are expected to rise again. So how can one sector of the economy do so well and others be failing miserably? The answers usually involve comparing the words “Expectations vs. Reality” and “Projections vs. Historical Data.”

Explanations
Stock prices (thus indexes) are, quite simply, the value of the future cash-flows of a company. Since few of us know for sure what will happen tomorrow, traders base prices on what should happen and not necessarily what has happened.

Home prices, unemployment claims, and unemplyment rates are factual data based on what is happening in a market. Houses do not sell based on expected future values and unemployment rates do not count those who may loose or gain a job in the future.

So what we see in an improvong economy is a lagging effect. The stock market goes up because buyers of these securities expect the economy (thus cash-flow) to improve over time. Currently, home prices, foreclosures, unemployment, and salary reduction seem to be a way of life for many of us and create uncertainty in the market and though we see improvement in the stock market, we are all yet to feel the positive effects of such.

My Perspective, basically.
Economics, Data, and Analysis are topics that get me excited about being in real estate but I am usually the last one invited to a cocktail party for fear that I may speak from the heart with a bunch of bologna nobody cares to understand. Economics can be extremely complex, just ask the guys on TV. But here is the question you and I should ask ourselves (and why you should not be afraid to ask me over for cocktails).

If you want to know how the economy is really doing: Go to the mirror and ask yourself if NOW is the time to purchase a new car, a new TV, a new house, life insurance, buy a boat, go on a 10 day cruise, etc. If you are concerned about salary reductions, being layed off, lost values in your 401k, or can’t sell you home; regardless of the stock market, the economy is ________, to you. Ask your family and friends if they are ponying up cash for a major purchase, they’ll tell you where the economy is, today. The stock market will tell you where the economy is heading.

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