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3928 Locklear Way, Atlanta, GA - Open House

Open house today - from 2pm to 4pm.  3928 Locklear Way in the Lockridge Forest subdivision off of Winter’s Chapel.  Great neighborhood with great swim and tennis.   Home has been well maintained and has an amazing sun room and yard.  Virtual Tour for home - 3928 Locklear Way.

Decatur Old House Fair

 

Decatur Old House Fair - Is for you if you have an old house and want to ideas, insight and advice from the pros.   There are hands on sessions as well as speakers including how a Historic Wood Window Restoration workshop, Greening your old house, and much more.   For more information visit the Decatur Old House Fair site for directions and ticket information.  

March 6, 2010  - from 9 am to 5pm at the Holiday Inn on Clairemont Ave.

P.A.L.S 20th Anniversary Bingo - Tonight!

Tonight P.A.L.S is celebrating their 20th anniversary with a Bingo fundraiser!  P.A.L.S is an Atlanta based Non-profit organization that loves animals.   It helps folks with critical illnesses, disabilities and the elderly keep their pets.  Love it!

 Fundraiser is at the Jungle.  Doors open at 6:00pm and the first Bingo numbers will be called at 7:45pm.   $20 to play Bingo ($5 donation to go), cash bar & food bar.  There are group packages available too.  GREAT CAUSE!  Want more details - P.A.L.S 20th Anniversary Bingo.

Great Homes For Sale - Buckhead & Lockridge Forest

Two great listings - just had price reductions!   Lockridge Forest home is now $239,900!   Peachtree Dunwoody Home in Buckhead is now $485,000!    

There is still time to buy home and take advantage of the tax credits for buyers!  Home Buying  Tax Credits end April 2010.

Pending Home Sales Index Drops in November 2009

The NAR announced on 1.5.2010 that the pending home sales index fell in November 2009 from previous month but remains above last year’s numbers.   In October 2009 the pending sales index (forward looking indicator based on contracts signed for the month) was 114.3%.  November 2009 saw the number falling 16% to 96%.  Nov 2009 - 96% is still higher than Nov 2008’s 83.1%.

The October 2009 surge benefited from the last push for the first time buyer tax credit.  With the extension of the first time buyers tax credit and the addition of the buying tax credit for other qualifying buyers and the low interest rates - we will hopefully see a surge in 2010’s number.

Existing Sales - November 2009

South is definitely seeing some improvement and movement in the market.  While we will have to wait a few more weeks for the December 2009 numbers - what will be more important is the cumulative numbers for the year 2009.The following information is provided by NAR in their November 2009 update.  Data was released at the end of December.   The data is for resales. Regional Sales by Price
Existing Single Family Homes
November 2009
% Change in Sales from 1 Year Ago
Region	$0-100K	$100-250K	$250-500K	$500-750K	$750K-1M	$1M+
Northeast	29.1%	75.3%	50.5%	31.7%	9.4%	30.2%
Midwest	44.0%	70.0%	47.6%	29.9%	10.7%	-13.1%
South	24.5%	53.6%	37.9%	55.2%	60.6%	28.4%
West	28.9%	46.8%	24.3%	35.9%	58.2%	64.2%
U.S.	32.4%	60.0%	38.8%	38.2%	40.7%	39.0%
Sales Distribution
Region	$0-100K	$100-250K	$250-500K	$500-750K	$750-1M	$1M+
U.S.	20.8%	49.8%	22.1%	5.0%	1.2%	1.1%

Lockridge Forest - FOR SALE

Great house for sale - 3928 Locklear Court.  Priced to sell at $247,000  $239,900.  Home has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths (plus 1/2 bath in laundry), sun room, partially finished basement and tons of storage.  Home has been well taken care of and has new windows.  Lot is very private with mature trees and on a cul de sac.    Great Neighborhood with excellent swim & tennis available.   3928 Locklear Court Virtual Tour.

Cash Buyers Creating Bidding Wars

We saw this quite a bit in 2009 here in Atlanta - foreclosed properties receiving multiple bids.  The winners of the bids are often cash offers from investors leaving would be homeowners scratching their heads wondering how to win the bid.   Here is a great article from the Washington Post about Cash Buyers Triggering Bidding Wars.   

There are some great options for folks looking to buy and live in the home - such as the HUD programs which allow for owner occupied bids over investor bids for the first 2 weeks of property being listed.  The catch on some of these homes is the bidder needs cash to cover any overages and/or closing costs. 

I had a client this past fall who successful outbid the other offers on the table with a financing contingency.  We went over on the asking price but he has moved in and has a great house in a great area.  And though he paid over the asking price, the house was still below what has sold in the area and needed minimal repairs.

Remember the tax buyer credit is still out there!

Georgia Ranked in Top 10 of Best Business States

Forbes rated the top States for Business and Georgia ranked #6.  Despite the economic woes we are feeling - this is great news and will hopefully lead to more businesses finding their way to our state.  And certainly some positive news for Georgia.

Forbes used several different sources and based their rankings on 6 different categories.  The Forbes article is here and has the details on the category rankings and the sources used to gather the information.

Federal Housing Tax Credit - 2009/2010

Great news for buyers and sellers!  The Federal Housing Tax Credit has been amended and extended.   In addition to credits for first time buyers, there is also now a credit for move-up buyers.

FIRST TIME HOME BUYER CREDIT:

• $8,000 tax credit for first time buyers - which is defined by IRS as someone who hasn’t owned a principal residence during the three years prior to this purchse.
• Tax credit is up to 10% of the home’s purchase price - maximum of $8,000.
• Home price must be less than $800,000 sales price.
• Applies to sales occurring on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010.  However - if binding agreement is reached on April 30, 2010 - you just have to close by June 30, 2010 to be eligible.
• For homes purchased after November 6, 2009 and by April 30, 2010 - the income has been increased to single filers at $125,000 and married couples filing jointly at $225,000 to qualify for the full tax credit.

MOVE-UP BUYERS:

• To be eligible to claim the tax credit - buyers must have owned and lived in previous home for 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 years.
• Tax credit doesn’t have to be repaid
• Tax credit is equal to 10% of the sales purchase price up to $6,500
• Tax credit applies to homes with purchase prices of $800,000 or less
• Applies to sales occurring on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010.  However - if binding agreement is reached on April 30, 2010 - you just have to close by June 30, 2010 to be eligible.
• For homes purchased after November 6, 2009 and by April 30, 2010 - the income has been increased to single filers at $125,000 and married couples filing jointly at $225,000 to qualify for the full tax credit

This should help continue to move inventory along with the great low interest rates.  And if you are selling your home - this will also help open doors to buyers who might need just a bit more incentive to buy!  As always - contact me if you have any questions or are interested in buying or selling!

You can visit the Federal Housing Tax Credit site here.

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