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Over the past few months, I've been working with Mark and Amanda to help them find their first house. They currently live in Brookhaven and enjoy it. As you might expect, that's where they wanted to find a home. When we start a search to buy a home, I like to ask clients if they have considered other neighborhoods. As with many things in life, we are comfortable with what we know. In this search, I suggested looking on the east side of I-85 in the Sagamore Hills and Oak Grove Elementary Districts. The location was good for their commutes, and I thought they would like the neighborhoods and houses.
Don't forgot - JustinAtlantaHomes blog is moving to www.JustinAtlantaHomes.com.
Short sales are a big part of today's real estate market. Unfortunately, many sellers are upside down or in a tough financial situation. A short sale is often their best or only option. You can read more about how they work on our Short Sale Page.
Brick Ranch Updated w/ Fresh Paint, Gleaming Hardwood Floors, New Windows, and a New AC. Great Set Up for Entertaining - Open Floor Plan and a Huge Kitchen with a Big Breakfast Bar. Two Full Baths including a Good Sized Master. You couldn't pick a Better Location in this Quiet Cul-De-Sac or a Better Back Yard - Large, Flat, and Private. Great Neighborhood and Great Decatur location. Swim and Tennis available at Pangborn.Existing-home sales1, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 2.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.36 million in January from a downwardly revised 5.22 million in December, and are 5.3 percent above the 5.09 million level in January 2010. This is the first time in seven months that sales activity was higher than a year earlier.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the improvement is good but could be better. “The uptrend in home sales is consistent with improvements in the economy and jobs, which are helping boost consumer confidence,” Yun said. “The extremely favorable housing affordability conditions are a big factor, but buyers have been constrained by unnecessarily tight credit. As a result, there are abnormally high levels of all-cash purchases, along with rising investor activity.”
A parallel NAR practitioner survey2 shows first-time buyers purchased 29 percent of homes in January, down from 33 percent in December and 40 percent in January 2010 when an extended tax credit was in place.
Investors accounted for 23 percent of purchases in January, up from 20 percent in December and 17 percent in January 2010; the balance of sales were to repeat buyers. All-cash sales rose to 32 percent in January from 29 percent in December and 26 percent in January 2010.
“Increases in all-cash transactions, the investor market share and distressed home sales all go hand-in-hand. With tight credit standards, it’s not surprising to see so much activity where cash is king and investors are taking advantage of conditions to purchase undervalued homes,” Yun said.
All-cash purchases are at the highest level since NAR started measuring these purchases monthly in October 2008, when they accounted for 15 percent of the market. The average of all-cash deals was 20 percent in 2009, rising to 28 percent last year.
The national median existing-home price3 for all housing types was $158,800 in January, down 3.7 percent from January 2010. Distressed homes edged up to a 37 percent market share in January from 36 percent in December; it was 38 percent in January 2010."
Everyone wants to put their own individual stamp on their first home. That can be anything from painting a few rooms, to renovating a kitchen, to finishing a basement. You have to keep in mind that some changes are much easier to accomplish than others. I see a lot of first time buyers focus on having to make those easy changes when the other factors are really more important.
Let's go through the things that are hard to change - location, square footage, layout, the lot, your neighbors. Your house isn't going to move. That means that your location, neighbors, and lot are not changing. You better like them! It is possible to add on to your house or change the layout, but it is much easier to finish a basement versus adding an addition or to update a kitchen versus knocking out walls and changing the kitchen layout.
You also have some things that are relatively easy to change - paint color, flooring, fixtures, appliances, and landscaping. It is easy to focus on the style, finishes, and decorations in a home. However, these are really the easiest changes. Anything that can be done in one day by one vendor (appliances, new carpet, countertops, new light fixtures) is pretty straight forward. For example, does the kitchen have plenty of space and a great layout but is stuck in 1989? If so, replacing the appliances and countertops are some of the easiest and quickest improvements. On the flip side, if it has top of the line appliances, but is small and non-functional, expanding the kitchen is usually a much harder fix.
3. Good Deals Go Fast
The beginning of the year is the time when many potential home buyers start thinking about whether this year will be the year that they buy their first home. I've been fortunate enough to talk through this decision many times over the years, and through those conversations, I realized that most first time buyers have the same questions and concerns.
Justin Landis, Keller Williams Realty, justin.landis@kw.com
Welcome to 2011! With the start of the New Year, it’s never too early to begin thinking about taxes. As you know, buying a home can be a tax advantage for several reasons. One of those is a property tax discount known as the Homestead Exemption.
Georgia allows homeowners to claim a Homestead Exemption as a tax benefit that could amount to considerable annual savings. This exemption reduces the assessment from which the country calculates your property tax bill; therefore, reducing your property tax burden. To qualify for the property tax exemption the Homeowner must occupy the home on or before January 1 and file for Homestead Exemption with the tax office of the county where you reside. Filing deadlines and requirements vary by county. We've included links to the appropriate web sites for each county below. As always, contact us with any questions. Hope everyone has a Happy 2011!
