New Listing in the Heart of Buckhead

This condo is in the Heart of Buckhead - Right on Peachtree Road! It's an easy walk (by easy, I mean 2 blocks) to Phipps Plaza, Lenox Mall, and all of the shopping, dining, and entertainment options that come with them. Not only that, but Publix, Target, Borders bookstore, and more are also within short reach.

This 1 bedroom home has been updated with new floors, walls, and ceilings. It features a large kitchen, great living and dining space, and has many nice touches that make it feel warm and inviting. I could go on, but this video tour will put pictures to my words.

All this for only $100,000!

Grant Park Bungalow Renovation - Week 7

New Roof!



The beautiful blue tarps have been removed, and the house now has a new top. I once purchased a house from a retired Army colonial who loved to tell me that he "just put a new top on her 2 years ago". Ever since then, I've called a new roof a new top!




The old shingles were torn off and thrown away. Be careful if you decide to put new shingles on top of existing shingles. That method is cheaper, but it can shorten the life of your new roof. No corners cut on this one!

Property Owners Overcharged

A report to be released today commissioned by the Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership will release information that supports the findings of an AJC investigation that was published in a series of articles in December. The findings confirm the report that tens of thousands of homes were overvalued last year by county tax assessors. This report aims to take an educated guess as to by how much homeowners overpaid in the 5 major metro counties. The report goes on to say that areas hit hardest by foreclosures overpaid the most on average, and it identifies those zip codes hardest hit.

A zip code where I know many of you own homes was listed as one of the 15 hardest hit in the metro area: 30315.

There is more information in the article linked below.

As I've mentioned before, if you are appealing your assessment and would like some help putting together comparable properties for your case, don't hesitate to contact me. It's something I can help you put together.

AJC Article: Property Owners Were Overcharged

Charming East Atlanta Newer Construction

Here is another listing of mine, it's a newer construction craftsmen bungalow on a quiet street in East Atlanta. This house has tons of space and finishes for the price. A newer construction home but with plenty of character. The location, lot, and quiet street really set this home apart in my mind.
Check out the virtual tour here.

Let me know if you know someone that is interested.

2nd Best Office in Metro Atlanta!

Our office just had its annual awards ceremony for all of the business done in 2009. Here are some of the highlights:

- Our office, the Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Road office, had the 2nd highest sales total of any real estate office in the Metro Atlanta area.

- Our team, Team Rich Richardson, finished 3rd in our office in closed sales for the year.

- I finished in the Top 6 in the office for individual agents.

2009 was a great year because I had the opportunity to work with so many fantastic clients, and I hope to make 2010 even better!

FHA Loan Changes

FHA has changed the amount of Up Front Mortgage Insurance. Effective April 5th all new loans will have an Increased Up Front Mortgage Insurance (UFMIP) from 1.75% to 2.25%.

So, for example, on a $200,000 loan that means the extra .5% will add $1,000 to their loan. For a $300,000 loan the increase will add $1,500 to their loan balance.

The fee increase doesn't take place until April 5th, so there is still time to avoid the fee.

Grant Park Bungalow Renovation - Week 6 - Under Contract!

The big news this week is that the home in now under contract! I've been helping a couple look for a house in Grant Park, and they haven't been able to find exactly what they wanted. They saw every home in their price point, but none were the perfect home. Well, they feel like this renovated bungalow will be the one!

It's a unique situation that I've written about before in - Thankful for a Renovated House. At this point, the demo and framing are completed, but the rest of the work is just beginning. The new buyers can't change the floorplan, but they do get to pick 100% of their finishes! They also got a great deal because it is advantagous for the seller to have a buyer as soon as the house is finished. The seller doesn't have to pay to stage the home, market the home, or pay additional carrying costs. This is truly the infamous "win-win" situation.

I know other investors working on houses, so if this situation sounds appealing, give me a call. Maybe you'll find your perfect home - once the renovation is complete!

Justin Landis
Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Road
cell 404.803.0471 fax 404.704.0686
justin.landis@kw.com

www.justinatlantahomes.com
justinatlantahomes.blogspot.com

Some Positive Signs in the Atlanta Housing Market

Real estate stats for the 4th quarter of 2009 are in, and there are some positive signs for the first time in what seems like quite a while! The year finished on a strong note as the number of homes that sold in the 4th quarter of 2009 were up 14% from the 4th quarter of 2008. While all but the two highest price ranges experienced improvement from 4th quarter 2008, the biggest improvements were seen under $299 - with an increase in solds of 22%.

A positive outcome that is the result of increased sales is the decrease in standing inventory. Inventory is still around 10 months, which means that it is still a buyer's market. However, inventory is come down drastically from the high point of 18 months in October of 2008.

The last thing to point out is that the median price in the last quarter of 2009 was higher than the median price for the last quarter of 2008. However, the median sales price for the full year of 2009 was down 12.5% than the previous year.

It seems that there have been some positive developments in the Atlanta real estate market over the past few months. I will continue to monitor the local markets and will keep you up to date on all the pertinent information. Please feel free to contact me if you want some more detailed statistics.

Justin Landis
Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Road
cell 404.803.0471 fax 404.704.0686
justin.landis@kw.com
www.justinatlantahomes.com
justinatlantahomes.blogspot.com

Newer Construction in East Atlanta

Here is a listing of mine in the East Atlanta neighborhood Boulder Walk. Boulder Walk is a neighorhood of newer construction homes with quiet streets, a great HOA, and is completely built out.

The home has 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. It has a lot of the great features of a newer home - bigger rooms, more spacious closets, higher ceilings,etc. -but is still intown and convenient to East Atlanta Village.

Here are a few pics below, but if you want to see all of them check out the virtual tour. Let me know if you have someone in mind that might want to check it out.

Grant Park Bungalow Renovation - Week 5

This is the 5th week of renovation on Broyles. The home is now completely gutted out and the framework has been configured to the new layout of the house. As you can see in the picture, it is easier to start to envision how the floorplan is going to look.