Gwinnett County 2009 Market Forecast - Brief
January 6th, 2009 Categories: Fun Stuff
Another year has come and gone and to be brutally honest with you I am so glad to have 2008 behind us. The real estate market in Gwinnett County has been hit with a number of foreclsoures and with this has come a pretty large reduction in home values throughout the County.
However, looking towards the remaining balance of 2009 I personally am pretty optimistic. For the past week or two I am beginning to get more phone calls from other agents as well as new clients who are interested in a majority of homes we currently have on the market. We closed two sales last week and are expecting a few offers on other listings by the end of this week.
Am I being overly optimistic? I don’t think so. There are a number of factors working in our favor currently.
Low interest rates, a new President coming on board in a few weeks, stilulus packages, and most importantly low pricing on homes. Just think, if you were to buy a home in the next few months, the amount of equity you will have in five to seven years when you go to sell.
Goodbye 2008, hello 2009. Let’s get moving.
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Survey of New Listings…
December 30th, 2008 Categories: Lilburn
I just ran a survey of the newly listed properties from the last 30 days. I have to say that I am quite surprised by what I found…
I was looking specifically for how the listings were presented. We know from every bit of research done on buyer behavior that photos and virtual tours are among the most important things to the VAST majority of buyers. Homes with few or no pictures are most often passed over… regardless of how nice the property might be. Buyers want to see LOTS of pictures. They want virtual tours, and they want both the pictures AND the virtual tours to be high quality.
So, with that in mind I took a trip through the last 30 days of listings for Lilburn in FMLS. In that period, there were 56 new listings entered. I sorted them by how recent they were. I was looking to see how well presented the listings were. I did NOT judge the quality of the photos, because that owuld be subjective. I just judged on quantity.
Of the 56 newest listings:
- 8 had 0 pictures, 14.3%
- 7 had 1 picture, 12.5%
- 6 has 2-8 pictures , 10.7%
- 13 had 9-11 pictures, 23.2%
- 22 had 12 pictures , 39.3%
- 6 had virtual tours, 10.7%
I have to admit that I was stunned that over 60% of the listings did not have the maximum number of pictures allowed… and almost 90% had no virtual tour. I’m not talking about bad tours… I am talking about ANY virtual tour. Virtual tours are available for as little as $99… I don’t think those are great, but at least they are something. And for the desperate, they can be done for less if the agent or seller provides the pictures. Personally, I use a high quality tour and it is more expensive, but I also think EVERY listing needs a virtual tour.
If I recall correctly, it has been almost a year since FMLS changed to allow 12 pictures on the listing. I have to say that I am stunned when I still see less than eight pictures on a listing (the old limit). And when I see no pictures… or even the drive-by curb-shot… I wonder what the problem is. Ugly property? But even then, I would want a prospective buyer to know before they visit that it won’t be a showplace. I value their time, and don’t want them to waste it looking at a property that won’t suit their needs. I nkow that when I take buyers out and the house isn’t as advertised, my buyers are annoyed.
The Bottom Line…
With digital camera technology, the ease of uploading pictures, affordable virtual tours and the knowledge that images are what buyers want to see, there is no excuse for not maxing out the pictures AND providing a virtual tour for EVERY listing.
Agents and sellers that think that they are creating “mystery” by not showing pictures of their listings are just flat out mistaken. There are too many options… Instead of mystery, they just provide an excuse to move to the next listing.
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Back towards reality…
December 30th, 2008 Categories: Lilburn
Christmas is behind us, and New Year’s Day is right around the corner.
If you are thinking that 2009 might be the year to buy a home, this is the time to start the planning process. Unlike years past, buying a house in the current climate may take a little more work.
To start with, lenders are looking for actual down payments with many loans. That isn’t to say that 100% financing is out of the question, but as the down payment goes up, options increase and interest rates improve. Having 3% makes the process a world easier. Having 10% or 20% makes the financing process even easier.
Of course, down payments aren’t the only financial consideration. One also needs to consider financial reserves (the savings account) and credit-worthiness.
This is a good time to look at your credit scores and make sure everything is real… it isn’t exactly rare that the credit bureaus make a mistake. Make sure that they have the correct accounts and get them fixed early. Lenders are a little tighter now that a couple of years ago. Also, if there are problems, it is easier to raise the score by correcting them when there isn’t a time constraint.
Financial reserves are actually something that can be more easily addressed at the moment. The federal government is offering a $7500 first time home buyer’s tax credit. There are some things to keep in mind with that tax credit. There are also some state and local programs that one might qualify for… although they are often tougher to find, and run out of funds from time to time.
Finally, after visiting with a good mortgage broker to find out what you can REALLY afford, start the search. Figure out what area or areas you might be interested in, and start to watch the prices. Some areas are actually tough to buy right now because demand is high. Other areas are seeing prices still dropping. The bottom line is that you want to know if you are looking at a good deal. The best deals pop back off of the market in days! I am seeing some great opportunities out there, but they are literally sold in the first couple of days on the market. The properties that are hanging out for a long time are often not priced attractively… although there are some gems hiding in that group too. But the point is that if you want a good deal, you have to recognize it and be ready to make a move.
As we get closer to spring, sellers get less motivated because they expect more buyers in the market.
Give me a call… let’s get started. I offer a free, no obligation notification service. I will set up a website that will notify you of the newest properties that meet your criteria.
from LaneBailey.com
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Kitchen and Bathroom Upgrades in Lawrenceville Home
December 29th, 2008 Categories: Fun Stuff
View video survey of the kitchen and master bathroom upgrades in this recently reduced-priced home on a cul-de-sac in Brookside Plantation subdivision with the master on the main level.
Lawrenceville, Georgia
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Suwanee Town Center Park Condo For Rent
December 26th, 2008 Categories: Fun Stuff
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Merry Christmas from Diamond Dwellings
December 25th, 2008 Categories: Fun Stuff
BNL and Boston Pops - We Three Kings/God Rest Ye
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What if a Nuclear Weapon hit Hamilton Mill?
December 23rd, 2008 Categories: Fun Stuff
OK, this is a little weird and it’s not very Christmasie. But, I saw it on wired.com and I just had to share it. Some designer in Australia came up with this google maps mashup that shows you the thermal radiation impact of a nuclear weapon impact at whatever address you enter.
So, I couldn’t help it. I entered the office address for Diamond Dwellings here at Hamilton Mill and here’s the map I got. Looks like all the mall of georgia shoppers would not be happy!
A bit twisted? Sorry about that.
Merry Christmas!
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SpiritWares Embriodery and Gifts Hamilton Mill
December 22nd, 2008 Categories: Dacula, Hamilton Mill
This afternoon my wife needed to go pick up some monogrammed Christmas gifts and she asked (dragged) me to go with her to SpiritWares which is a new embroidery and gift shop in Dacula near the Ingles shopping center. Typically you could not get me to walk into a “gift” shop on my own but being the wonderful husband I am, I went with her.
To my suprise, this place ROCKS! I was so impressed with all of the local spirit ware they had that was very reasonably priced and they even embroider items you buy at the store for free. I ended up getting my brother in-law an awesome Dacula Falcons sweatshirt for Christmas which they are in the process of embroidering for me. Woo-hoo my shopping is done!
The store has all kinds of clothing for the Mill Creek cluster system as well as the Dacula system. I actually could have spent more time there but I wanted to get home and write this post to let everyone know about this place. If you have any last minute Christmas shopping to do head on over and take a look.
Also in their inventory is a huge selection of purses, handbags, and all the other ladies items I passed by but my wife found a headband for our daughters birthday and she could have stayed there shopping for quite a while. Honestly I did not spend too much time in the ladies/girls area I was too busy looking at the guys stuff.
The address is 2995-C Old Fountain Road, Dacula, 30019 and you can reach them by phone at 770-682-5961 or via email spiritwares@bellsouth.net.
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Great Cuts Family Hair Salon Moves in at Hamilton Mill
December 22nd, 2008 Categories: Fun Stuff
We have no shortage of hair and nail salons in the Hamilton Mill area. If fact, I think it might be part of the county economic expansion plans that you must have a hair salon or a nail place in every single strip mall. So, the only way to stand out in that business is to do three things
- Have a great price
- Offer “service with a smile”
- Give great haircuts
Today, I decided to try out a new place. It turned out quite nicely. Since I started cutting it so short that it basically only takes clippers to cut it, a great haircut is pretty easy to find :) But, price is also important. So is a friendly atmosphere. I found all that at the new Great Cuts Family Hair Salon. It’s in the new shopping center next to the CVS pharmacy on Jim Moore at Hwy 324.
They are running a terrific special right now. Men’s haircuts are just $8.99 & women are $10.99. Man, that’s a great deal. Tell them you saw it on HamiltonMillDwellings.com
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How can I specialize in Lilburn with an office in Dacula?
December 19th, 2008 Categories: Lilburn
I’m just tossing this out because I get a few questions about it on a regular basis. When I mail out packages to people or even when they look at my business card they see that my office is in Dacula. Granted, at least it is still Gwinnett County, but it isn’t like it is nearby.
But, here is the thing… Read the rest of this entry »
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