Atlanta foreclosures.  I was reading an CNN Money article today about foreclosures in the sun-belt and rust belt, and thought I would share some insights!  Most Atlantan's do not realize how much foreclosures are impacting our real estate market.  Declining sales, falling home prices are just the beginning. Vacant homes are also what we call an "Attractive nuisance!"  There unoccupied status invite mischief, crime, and vandalism. No neighborhood is exempt from this blight! In Atlanta foreclosures are exceeding sales 2 to 1!  We sell about 3000 homes a month, and there are over 7500 new foreclosure filings every month!  Since Atlanta and Georgia led the nation in the last few years with sub-prime mortgages (over 52% of all loans in Georgia were no money down)!  Well those home buyers cou... 02/13/2008

  New Construction Homes in Metro Atlanta & surrounding Suburbs Below are the new homes that are currently offered in the Atlanta metro market and surrounding suburbs. All you need to do is click on the pictures below. The home builders are in need of selling their homes in this slumping market. You can search for these deals these many ways: Under Grand Tour, High to Low Prices, Low to High Prices, Date Listed, or under the cities.  Making offers on new homes if different they buying a resale home. You can contact me for more information on new construction by clicking on my website. Happy hunting! John J. Reinhardt REALTOR http://www.infrontmarketing.com/ 770.475.1130  Ext.  6806           New Homes Cherokee County   New Homes Cobb County  New Homes Dekalb County  New Homes Fulton Cou... 02/12/2008

Ridgedale Park is a premiere neighborhood in the heart of Buckhead. Centrally located along Kingsboro Road just east of Peachtree Road with easy access to I-85 and GA400. Only minutes away from the wonderful shops and restaurants of Lenox Mall and Phipp’s Plaza as well as downtown Atlanta. Homes in the Ridgedale Park neighborhood range in price from $400,000 up to well over $1,000,000. According to Buckhead.net: Developed beginning in the 1920s, the Ridgedale Park neighborhood is on the east side of Peachtree Road just north of Lenox Square/Phipps Plaza. Neighborhood signs mark the entries. Its 110 homes are a charming blend of early 20th century vernacular architecture in a mature urban forest. Tudor revival, Georgian and English and French cottage styles mix comfortably. Although not... 02/11/2008

Ardmore Park is a premiere neighborhood in the heart of Buckhead. Centrally located between Northside Drive and Peachtree Road along 26th Street, 28th Street and Collier Road with easy access to I-85 and I-75. Only minutes away from the wonderful shops and restaurants of Lenox Mall and Phipp’s Plaza as well as downtown Atlanta. Homes in the Ardmore Park neighborhood range in price from $300,000 to well over $1,000,000. According to Buckhead.net: The Collier Hills-Ardmore Park area of Buckhead is rich in Atlanta history as well as lush landscape. Some of the bitterest fighting of the Civil War's Battle of Atlanta took place in its gently rolling hills and hollows and along boulder-strewn Tanyard Creek. The earliest history of the area is commemorated on a granite marker at the intersect... 02/11/2008

Haynes Manor is a premiere neighborhood in the heart of Buckhead. Centrally located between Northside Drive and Peachtree Road along Peachtree Battle with easy access to I-75 and GA400. Only minutes away from the wonderful shops and restaurants of Lenox Mall and Phipp’s Plaza as well as downtown Atlanta. Homes in the Haynes Manor neighborhood range in price from $500,000 up to well over $2,000,000. According to Buckhead.net: Developed in the late 1920s, Haynes Manor takes its name from its developer, Eugene Haynes, who subdivided his Haynes Manor estate. The neighborhood's spectacular entrance from Peachtree Road along Peachtree Battle Parkway gives the area a wonderful, European flavor. The parkway, once known as Battle Avenue, commemorates the bloody Civil War Battle of Peachtree Cre... 02/11/2008

Tuxedo Park is a premiere neighborhood in the heart of Buckhead. Centrally located between I-75 and Peachtree Road along West Paces Ferry with easy access to I-75 and GA400. Only minutes away from the wonderful shops and restaurants of Lenox Mall and Phipp’s Plaza as well as downtown Atlanta. Homes in the Tuxedo Park neighborhood range in price from $400,000 up to $19,000,000. According to Buckhead.net: Tuxedo Park has evolved over more than 50 years from woodland and farms through magnificent summer estates to one of Buckhead's most prestigious neighborhoods. Although its elegant homes range from Georgian and Tudor to Italianate and Greek Revival, the lush natural environment unifies the district. Homes on large lots often are nestled into woods or sited beyond a rise in a rolling par... 02/11/2008

Equity is the most important thing a home buyer or seller can have. Equity is basically your interests in a property after your obligations are deducted.  If you purchased a $100,000 home with 20% down that means your equity is $20,000 dollars.  It is a sad commentary in this current real estate market that most agents and home owners do not heed this!   A home is something that is a long term plan, not a fix for the short term.  Over the past few years all the fundamentals of home ownership have been thrown out he window and trampled underfoot.  From what I see, buyers overpaid for junk, did not ask any questions, and got themselves into really hot water!  Equity begins by buying right!  When a builder offers you closing costs, upgrades, bonuses for your agent and other major incentive... 02/11/2008

Looking for Atlanta New Homes? Search everything the web has to offer, right here! Don't miss my Feature Homes either. You can even create your own search by entering the criteria you want in your perfect home. I will email every listing that hits the multiple listing directly to you! You can't beat getting the listings that have what you're looking for instead of searching through thousands of homes you don't want! Your time is valuable!  I am a lifetime resident ofGeorgia and my knowledge of this are is my advantage that will help yo find the perfect property for your next real estate purchase.   02/10/2008

Purchasing a home in Grant Park When I work with first-time home buyers or clients relocating to "intown' Atlanta, it seems that the first neighborhood they want to see is Grant Park.  WHY?  As one of Atlanta's oldest neighborhoods, Grant Park is known for its history, its family-like environment and simple living attitude. Grant Park has its own neighborhood associations, which strives to, promote and strengthen the neighborhood... they also hold several fantastic annual events throughout the year. Of course, there is the beautiful Grant Park, Zoo Atlanta and some absolutely STUNNING Victorian-era homes. SO WHY DO ONLY A FRACTION OF MY CLIENTS PURCHASE A HOME IN GRANT PARK?  I've given this quite a bit of thought and would narrow it down to three key reasons: 1)  Lot size - buyers are ... 02/10/2008

Atlanta Homes, Condos & Lofts for Sale Located just off of Dekalb Avenue, near Candler Park, Inman Park, Little Five Points (L5P) and the Edgewood Shopping District, Arizona Lofts has a fantastic community feel in an urban setting.   Each loft is UNIQUE, unlike many others around the city with that "cookie-cutter" feel.  The development also features a salt water pool, which is great, but the developers went one step further and created  a doggie cabana adjacent to the pool so that your pup can play while you take a dip in the pool.  Everyone is happy. If you are considering purchasing a loft, I would add this to the top of your list!  Also, stay tuned for the second phase of the Arizona Loft Development, "AZ2". >>>  View all available home in Arizona Lofts >>> Need help with your loft ... 02/10/2008

As any professional stager will tell you, the design plan is perhaps one of the most important things we do as we prepare to stage a home.  Given how important it is, I thought it might be beneficial to share a little insight into how the process works.Capturing the "before" picture:  Yes, before pictures are great for a stagers portfolio; however, they become critically important in the creation of a design plan.  So, what am I looking for when I review the pictures?Let's look at the following "before" picture: In the picture above, I'm looking at the following:Color of the wallsSpaceWindow placementGranite color and tile colorHeight of the islandColor of the marble on the fireplaceFrom that, I'll determine:   Artwork, accessories, plants, furniture items, number of lamps, etc..  Given... 02/09/2008

Atlanta Real Estate is home to millions of people and approximately 130k businesses. Its vibrant economic growth draws hundreds of companies and thousands of job hunters annually. In fact, metro Atlanta Georgia Real Estate has drawn more families to the area than any other City in the country in the past few years. The reason most families relocated to Atlanta and the surrounding areas is the area's low cost of living, high job growth.  Here is a sample list of businesses in the Metro Atlanta Area.1. BellSouth2. AT&T and Sprint all have major metro Atlanta operations3.Atlanta Journal-Constitution4.CNN, TNT, Headline News, The Weather Channel and The Cartoon Network are based here. 5. Delta6. Coca-Cola  02/09/2008

What to do with that old cell phone is always a dilemma. In our household, we seem to store them away in a closet or drawer like one day they'll be worth a lot.Well, here is a website that buys old phones. It's called:cellforcash.comYou plug in your phone brand and model and they tell you how much it's worth. I believe that they will also help in the shipping.Check it out...get rid of the old phone, declutter a little, and make a buck!  02/09/2008

Atlanta real estate agents, do they have any experience?  You you know that more homes go unsold in the Atlanta real estate market each month than sell? Expired and withdrawn listings are now exceeding sales almost 3 to 1!  I personally believe for the leveraged homeowner this may allow the seller to slip into foreclosure if they are not proactive in their marketing.  There is more grief today Atlanta real estate market that is compounded by the inexperience of the listing agent.  This is avoidable!  They obviously have no clue what they are doing, and their own ego prevents them from admitting it to themselves.  In the meantime the seller cannot sell, other more experienced agents will not show the overpriced listings that are not prepped for sale and are in need of work, and repair! I... 02/08/2008

 Peachtree Hills Market Activity Report brought to you by Our Home Team at Keller Williams Realty at Peachtree Battle. The following information is for the month of January. In the last 30 days, 1 home has SOLD in Peachtree Hills: 161 Ridgeland Way $387,000 There were 50 homes that sold in Peachtree Hills this year down from 72 in 2006. The average sale price was $473,500, up 8% from $437,000 in 2006. And the average days on market was 50 days compared to 72 in 2006. In the last 30 days, 9 homes have been listed in Peachtree Hills: 75 MOBILE AVE NE  $849,000  2215 STEPHEN LONG DRIVE  $799,000  2445 Hurst Dr $579,000  247 Springdale Dr $555,000  132 EAST DRIVE  $489,000  2233 EDISON AVENUE $485,000 *  2030 Fairhaven Cir $439,000  112 TERRACE DRIVE  $425,000  2034 Fairhaven Cir $375,000  ... 02/06/2008

While our temperatures here in Atlanta warmed up to slightly over 70 degrees (a welcome reprieve from the cold), there's no doubt that home staging a vacant home can provide the much needed warmth!And, while I typically share before & after pictures, I thought I'd shake things up a bit and share with you the "after" pictures of a home I staged today.  By the way, the home I staged two weeks ago just received an offer for the full asking price.  That particular home had been on the market for over a year; staged and offer submitted 2 weeks later!  I'll be sharing photos of that home in a future blog so stay tuned.In the meantime, here are a few pictures of the home I staged today:Atlanta's Premier Home Staging Company,  Georgia Interior Solutions, LLC, takes great pride in helping homeow... 02/05/2008

What is Affordability? When someone asks, "How affordable is Atlanta?" what he or she means to say is, "What is the cost of living in Atlanta?" One method of determining the cost of living is to measure and compare the prices of good and services from metropolitan areas in the United States. The Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) developed an index to measure cost of living differences across urban areas. Formerly known as the American Chamber of Commerce Research Association (ACCRA), the ACCRA Cost of Living Index (COLI) is a widely used tool for cost of living comparisons. The composite index uses 57 weighted measures including such indicators as mortgage rate, home price, phone bill, apartment rent and the costs of ground beef, dry cleaning, doctor visits, electricity... 02/05/2008

Even though it is a slow market and there are not many new homes being built at this time, there are some great deals to be had if you are looking for an Atlanta New Home. New Homes In Atlanta are priced lower than ever before, and builders are offering deals and incentives that never would have crossed there mind 12-18 months ago. Most are wanting to just get rid of there exosting inventory to get them off of there books so that they can start with a clean slate when the market does return to form. If you are looking for new homes here in Atlanta call Dwayne West at 678-233-4159. 02/04/2008

Atlanta foreclosures and foreclosed properties.  Are you a home-buyer looking or an investor looking for a great deal buying a distressed bank owned homes below market in Atlanta foreclosures and foreclosed Atlanta properties?  Are you looking for a great deal on Atlanta new homes that are foreclosed and now bank owned?  Do you know and understand the process and drawbacks to buying a foreclosure property or real estate?  There are a lot of great Atlanta foreclosures deals out there!    You need to know what you are doing!  If you are looking to have a buyers agent represent you when you buy an Atlanta foreclosure please fee free to contact us to assist you!  We are your Atlanta foreclosure specialists!  We can assist you with some of the complexities of buying a foreclosure property or... 02/03/2008

There is nothing that can kill apotential sale quicker that restricting showing times, complicating showing instructions, and limiting the access to a property.  Newer agents do not understand this, because all they understand was the recent market we have just left.  That was called "A sellers market!"  In a sellers market, no matter what the seller wanted, they got!  If they said "Jump!"  Their listing agent said "How high!"  Not to worry, that market is dead, and you won't be seeing that for some time to come! Now we are in a "Buyers Market!"  They are very different!  No inventory, and inventory beyond the next horizon!  In this market...the buyers have so many homes to look at, if you have the wrong tone of voice they'll cancel you!  In some markets like Atlanta, you can literally ... 02/03/2008