Well, I can tell you… it’s hotter than it was.  I don’t know if I’d call it ‘hot’ yet, but it’s warming up… sort of like the weather.

Home sales & median sales prices were down in the 4th quarter of 2010 vs. 3rd quarter, but they started climbing in December & have continued through Spring 2011.  The Ratio of Sales Prices to Original List Prices was UP in the 4th Quarter of 2010 compared to 4th Quarter 2009 by 2% and Days on Market (DOM) was down slightly from 123 to 120, which indicate that homes are entering the market at more competitive prices. The amount of homes for sale in the Atlanta area (i.e. Inventory) also began to trend downward after June 2010, so although the market may seem a little saturated with inventory, it’s mainly overpriced homes or distressed properties that need LOTS of work.  The good homes at good prices are still going super fast.

We’ve noticed that in the $300-$400k price range, there seems to be a boom of interest from Buyers.  We’ve had 4 sets of clients in Multiple Offer situations since February (3 with Buyers, 1 with a Seller – and my buyers won all 3!!) and ALL have been between $325-$375k in Virginia Highland, Grant Park and 2 in East Cobb (yes, we can cover some territory – we have lived in Buckhead, East Atlanta & East Cobb in the last 7 years).      The $300,000 to $500,000 price range has the lowest inventory count (12 months) of any other price range besides the <$200,000 range at 9.7 months of inventory (which accounts for approx 60% of the current home sales in this market).

And to touch a little more on that price range: in the $300-$500k range, median Days on Market was down to 158 in the 4th quarter of 2010 vs. 189 days in 4th quarter 2009 (-16%).  For all price ranges, if a home is overpriced, the median DOM is 181, but if priced correctly it’s ONLY 28 DOM!!  Meaning you have to act FAST to get the goods.

So, this may have been a little scattered, but what we tried to indicate is that although the market seems to be slow-go, it’s really picking up in certain price ranges.  The Prices have fallen enough to where Buyers are definiltey taking notice.  I mean, who would’ve thought you could get a nice 3 bedroom home on a basement in Virginia Highland for under $340k?  Who would’ve thought you could get a 5 bedroom 3 bath home on a finished basement in the Sope Creek Elementary, Dickerson Middle & Walton High School district in the mid-$300′s?  The time is right, the prices are more right than ever, and the rates continue to be ridiclously low (although they do like to bounce around a little).

If you’re thinking of buying a home – do it before the rates go back up.  Seriously, that’s the biggest factor.  The prices are so good, you can’t miss if you plan on being in the home for at least 5 years.  Get the best rate, because that will ultimately have a bigger effect on your monthly payment.

If you’re thinking of selling your home, give us a call & let’s do a Market Analysis to see how your home would fit into the market.  Inventory may be low for comparable homes in your area & price range & that may help you get the best price by getting in front of those buyers looking for a great home at a great price & a great mortgage interest rate vs. waiting on the spring/early-summer inventory to come on the market & increase your competition.  You could potentially get yourself into a multi-offer situation!! Wouldn’t that be nice?!

Click here to search Atlanta Homes for Sale just like an Agent can, OR here to get a FREE Market Valuation to find out “What’s My Home Worth?.”  If you want a more custom, real-time search that pulls directly from the MLS & will prompt you when homes that meet your wants & needs, email us at HomeTeam@KellySellsAtlanta.com & we’ll have it set up for you pronto. 

With gratitude,

The KellySellsAtlanta.com Team
#1 Team in Keller Williams of Buckhead since 2007

It’s SUCH a great time of year to be outside, and this weekend at the Candler Park Fall Fest, there are good times to be had by all…  It’s one of the best treats Intown Atlanta has to offer – you’ll be pleasantly surprised at this intimate & artsy event.  So get out & enjoy the weather & the changing colors  & you’ll likely make this a yearly outing from here on.

More info on Candler Park & the Fall Fest can be found here on the Candler Park home page.

If you happen to be interested homes in the Candler Park area, you can view a list of homes for sale in Candler Park, Lake Claire, and Inman Park here, and do some drive-bys while you’re in the neighborhood.    Lake Claire is also a very popular neighborhood next to Candler Park & both are located in the Mary Lin Elementary district – a very soughtafter elementary school in the intown Atlanta area.

Have a great weekend!  It’s bound to be gorgeous.  Atlanta is such a great place to call home.

The KellySellsAtlanta.com Team
Your 1 Stop Real Estate Shop

#1 Team: Keller Williams Premier Atlanta

Q: What is the 1st step to buying a home?
A: Calling the KellySellsAtlanta.com Team, of course!

Seriously, though, we do hope you call us 1st!  And in the event you do, we’ll tell you that the very best 1st step is to be Pre-Approved by a Mortgage Lender.  We refers our clients to THE BEST Lender in the Metro Atlanta area, and he proves it time & time again.  Our clients rave about his service & his mortgage rates So even if you have a lender picked out, we advise that you speak with our lender as well, at least to get a 2nd opinion.  His loan packages are 2nd to none & you’re doing yourself a favor by at least giving him a call.  He can also do loans in other states, so if you’ve been transferred or planning to purchase a vacation home, he’s able to help with that too.

There are a couple of reasons that getting Pre-Approved with a Lender is the best 1st step to buying… the #1 reason is so that you know what your budget is.  Our Lender will be able to help you come up with a price range that will fit the monthly payment you need.  He can work backwards, based on the payment, county, estimated taxes, mortgage interest rates, etc & help you find the price range that actually fits into your budget.  He will also provide you with an interactive estimation tool that will re-calculate as you manipulate the data (i.e. mortgage rate, purchase price, down payment amount, etc) so that you can play around with it and see how your monthly payment, etc would look if you changed your price range, etc.  Just please don’t be fooled by the online mortgage calculators that generally don’t take into account (or do so inaccurately) the property taxes & insurance payment, etc.  You need advice from an actualy human being and starting with our Lender is definitely one step closer to reaching your goal of Buying a Home!

And the 2nd most important reason to call a Lender & get pre-approved is that you want the Seller to view you as a serious buyer and one that has has the backing of the bank/lender (i.e. money in hand).  Every Seller questions whether the Buyer has been pre-approved for a loan, and when you provide the Pre-Approval Letter with the offer to the Seller, that question is already answered.

Recap: Call The KellySellsAtlanta.com Team 1st & let us help you through the process of Buying a Home.  We’ve been in business for over 10 years & have aligned ourselves with some of the best in the industry… So rather than piecemeal the homebuying process on your own, come to us & let us align you with our partners (lender, home inspector, home warranty company, closing attorney, contractors, vendors, etc) so that you can focus your time and energy on YOU & living life.  Our Team is leveraged internally as well with an administrative assistant & marketing specialist, a Buyers Specialist, a Closing Coordinator & 2 Listing Specialists to help you efficiently & effectively reach your goals of buying or selling a home.  After all, our goal is to help you reach YOUR goal.

In the meantime, if you just want to browse homes for sale, you can view ALL metro Atlanta MLS listings HERE on our website.

With gratitude,

The KellySellsATLanta.com Team
Keller Williams Realty Premier Atlanta
404-863-8680 | hometeam@kellysellsatlanta.com

your 1 stop Real Estate Shop…

Morningside Elementary is one of the best Elementary Schools in the State of Georgia (ranking 56th on the Georgia Public Policy Foundation website). It is absolutely one of the best schools in Atlanta – no doubt. Some classic, cool & very desireable neighborhoods feed into Morningside Elementary…like Virginia Highland, Morningside, Ansley Park, Sherwood Forest, Johnson Estates, some of “Midtown,” etc…

Currently there are just over 200 homes for sale in the Morningside District with an average list price of $703,889. There are 35 homes under contract (this is a HOT area) and in the last 3 months, 42 homes have sold for an average sales price of $581,184.

I’ve set up this hot sheet link for you (see below) to view all homes for sale in the Morningside Elementary School District. The list of homes is always up to date, so you can put it in your favorites & feel free to revisit anytime.

Once you’re ready, you can call or email us for a FREE home valuation on your home, to set up a listing appointment or to view some of these listed homes and we can tailor a search that fits your specific criteria.

Our Team would love to help…and until then, Happy Hunting!! Oh, and the tax credits expire in 3 weeks & mortgage rates have gone slightly this week…still really good rates, but seems like they may not stay in the 4′s too much longer.

Click here for a list of homes for sale in the Morningside Elementary School District!

Click here for the Morningside Elementary School Website…

HomeTeam@KellySellsAtlanta.com | www.KellySellsAtlanta.com | 404-863-8680 cell | 404-969-1600 office