Candler Park
{ Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 }
Rhiannon Apple, Kirkwood Spring Fling
When Rhiannon Apple isn’t busy managing an active team as Moxie Interactive’s VP of Trends, she’s busy managing an active team of volunteers that puts on the annual Kirkwood Spring Fling Festival & Tour of Homes. As chair of the Kirkwood Spring Fling Festival & Tour of Homes for the past two years, Rhiannon keeps a fast pace from January through May. The five year Kirkwood resident on what makes Kirkwood awesome, and why you should make plans to hit the Spring Fling this weekend…
Q. A potential home buyer is thinking about buying in Kirkwood. Sell them on the neighborhood…
A. Kirkwood captures the true sense of the word “community.” There is a strong neighborhood association, as well as neighbors who come together from all walks of life and demographics to help one another in times of need. Whether it be a house fire, surgery, funeral or candlelight vigil to help a family heal, the residents band together. Of course, we enjoy the good times as well, like the traditional Sunday Coffee gatherings, Spring Fling, blessing of the animals or volunteering at Teen Club.
Our business owners are always the first to step up for donating to our school or a neighbor’s Walk for the Cure. It’s like living in an episode of “Cheers” where they always know your name. Where else do neighbors who have the personal cell phone numbers of their city councilperson, police detective turned close friend and UPS driver ban together to save a school, collect clothes and goods for a family whose home has been damaged by fire, and insist on picking you up from the emergency room even if they aren’t your closest buddy? Where else can you go to a cute little bistro, stop by and chat with the firemen, grab a smoothie, head to the park for Screen on the Green, and help prune the trees and mulch the park just because you want to?
Q. Hidden Atlanta gem?
A. The old Pullman Train Yards. They are closed to the public, but the buildings provide a peak into the history of our neighborhood.
Q. You’re given an unlimited budget to produce next year’s Spring Fling. Plans?
A. We’d offer all of the food and beverages for free, so that it could be a true celebration of the neighborhood. Right now, it’s our community’s largest fundraiser and there is pressure to sell a lot of beer and booths to cover our costs.
Q. Favorite neighborhoods, other than Kirkwood, of course?
A. I love all the surrounding neighborhoods we are sandwiched between: East Atlanta, East Lake, Edgewood and Candler Park.
Q. What is the Kirkwood Spring Fling and Tour of Homes, and why is it a must-attend event?
A. The Kirkwood Spring Fling offers the diversity of a big Festival with the warmth and ease of a neighborhood party. Folks can browse the open air Artist Market, with more than 90 booths, in the shade of giant trees, enjoy the music of live bands and singers on the Mainstage, and play with their children in our creative Kids Area, which includes a playground, Moonbounce, storytelling and crafts.
Kirkwood also has a diverse collection of building styles from classic Victorian cottages to craftsman bungalows to modern lofts and everything in between. Some of our best homes will be showcased on the Tour of Homes.
Admission to the Festival is free. It is held in Bessie Branham Park and the surrounding areas. Tickets for the Tour can be purchased in the park at the Festival or in advance at several local businesses. All proceeds go to benefit the Kirkwood Neighbors’ Organization, a local 501c3 non-profit group dedicated to community improvement.
{ Wednesday, December 7th, 2011 }
Josh Lindenbaum, Curbed Atlanta
If you haven’t visited Curbed Atlanta yet, you should do so immediately. Once you’ve spent a minute or two taking it in, you should bookmark it. Return and read often- you’ll be smarter for it.
Clearly, I like this website. So I was absolutely thrilled that its Editor, Josh Lindenbaum, took a few minutes to share some advice for the mayor, Atlanta dining tips, and real estate crystal ball reading…
Q. Crystal ball time- ten years from now, the most dramatically changed neighborhood in Atlanta will be…
A. Poncey-Highland / Old 4th Ward. Between The Beltline (and the private investment that’s already tracking it there) and the Atlanta Steetcar, huge transformation is under way.
Q. Mayor for the day- what’s on the agenda?
A. Expend significant political capital pressing for T-SPLOST to be passed. Buy 50% of the surface parking lots in the Midtown-downtown corridor and redevelop them into parks ringed with space for pocket retail and food/beverage businesses. Find some money to jump start local entrepreneurship in the downtown corridor, with Underground Atlanta converted into a new art & (local) restaurant district as the focal point. Convene a meeting with leaders from around the state and make a killer-app presentation illustrating in clear terms, once and for all, that what is good for Atlanta is truly good for the entire state.
Q. One day to eat your way through Atlanta- where are you going, and what are you ordering?
A. Jalapeno & bacon biscuit at Empire State South. Handmade marshmallow at Cacao. The Duck Mi sandwich at Muss & Turners. A cappuccino at Octane. Wild boar prosciutto at Star Provisions. Eggplant fries at Rathbun’s. Frisee Aux Lardons salad at Bistro Niko. Something with foie gras at Bacchanalia. Vegetable plate at Restaurant Eugene. Pommes frites at Leon’s Full Service. A salad selection from Metro Fresh. Pizza Diavola at Antico. Slice of Red Velvet cake from Piece of Cake. French press of Dancing Goats coffee from Batdorf Bronson. If I didn’t keel over, all to be followed by 48 straight hours of water and exercise.
Q. Favorite neighborhoods?
A. Virginia Highland, Candler Park, Garden Hills.
Q. What’s Curbed Atlanta, and why is it a “must read”?
A. Curbed Atlanta is an electronic magazine that combines information and commentary about Atlanta real estate, neighborhoods, architecture and the trends (economic, demographic, social) that affect these subjects areas on a macro scale. Taken together and presented in our editorial voice, we believe the site provides an easily-digested snapshot of Atlanta that’s a valuable resource folks working in the Atlanta real estate industries, as well as any businessperson operating in the Atlanta area. We also strive to be an essential daily read for generally curious Atlantans.
{ Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011 }
Six Relatively Important Letters: SPLOST
This is a voting booth. Next Tuesday, you should get to know one.
While you’re probably overwhelmed with just figuring out how you’ll recover from the Kardashian divorce, get ready to deal with a bigger issue: To SPLOST, or not to SPLOST.
SPLOST – which stands for Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax – is an opportunity for local communities to levy a one cent sales tax to fund “special purposes.” If you were looking to build schools, fix a decrepit sewer system, or fund a once-in-a-generation transportation system overhaul without raising property taxes… SPLOST is for you!
There are passionate voices on both sides of the debate. There’s obviously a certain level of NIMBYism going on- if you’re neighborhood is set to benefit from the construction of a new school, it’s safe to say that you’re going to vote “yes.” Do yourself a favor- learn more about the issue, and vote next Tuesday, November 8 to vote. As a bonus, you’ll also get to vote on Sunday alcohol sales!
{ Wednesday, October 12th, 2011 }
Candler Park Real Estate Market Update
Candler Park may not be one of Atlanta’s largest neighborhoods, but it more than makes up for it in amenities. It’s always been an Atlanta neighborhood that passed the “smell test” for me- only a few minutes walking its streets and you know that you’re in a community that’s more than just a collection of homes.
The neighborhood features two parks (the 55 acre Candler Park as well as neighboring Freedom Park), a public golf course, swimming pool and tennis courts. Highly acclaimed Mary Lin Elementary is the neighborhood’s darling, and with close access to Downtown Atlanta, Emory and Decatur, Candler Park residents enjoy phenomenal access to multiple employment centers.
All that said, let’s get at the heart of the matter: how’s the real estate market looking? A quick look back at Q1 and Q2 sales (Jan.1-June 30) over the past five years:
| Year | # of Sales | Avg. Sales Price | Avg. Days On Market | Avg. SP/LP | $500k+ | % 500K + |
| 2007 | 34 | $443,997 | 59 | 95% | 6 | 18% |
| 2008 | 33 | $436,093 | 45 | 96% | 8 | 24% |
| 2009 | 21 | $456,529 | 90 | 91% | 6 | 29% |
| 2010 | 22 | $388,405 | 75 | 92% | 2 | 14% |
| 2011 | 18 | $387,972 | 116 | 91% | 2 | 11% |
So, what do all of those numbers really mean?
1. In terms of total sales volume, things really fell off a cliff from 2008 to 2009. As noted in my Decatur Real Estate update, I think that it can be attributed to the hangover/unintended consequences of the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.
2. I made a point of counting all home sales $500,000+, as well as their % of total sales. Infill development- tearing down and rebuilding- made a significant impression on the market in the boom years. In this particular sub market, that translated to more homes selling for over $500,000 from 2007-2009. Of course, when the global economy mutated, home builders and banks became much less enthusiastic about building new homes on speculation. To focus solely on the median sales price without noting the collapse in inventory of new construction would be somewhat misleading.
3. Today’s home seller needs to adjust their expectations. In five years, that Average Days On Market has gone from 59 to 116… and this is just for the homes that have sold! Average List Price/Sales Price ratio has also dipped precipitously, and it’s likely that the number of homes that expired without selling also skyrocketed (a statistic not measured as a part of this exercise).
4. Prices have stayed consistent over the last two years, but are still down 13% from 2007.
A few footnotes:
1. This search includes all detached, single family homes in Candler Park. This means no townhomes or condominiums.
2. All data courtesy of FMLS. While I searched by neighborhood, I also cross-referenced by map, to ensure that I wasn’t accounting for any homes that were “mislabled” by the listing agent. You’d be surprised to know that there were homes in neighboring Edgewood and Poncey Highland that were “masquerading” under the Candler Park moniker.
3. I’ve chosen not to include the most recent data- Q3 (July-Sept.) because it often takes a few weeks for all sales to be finalized by the listing agent in the FMLS database. I just didn’t think I’d be able to produce an “apples to apples” comparison by including the most recent data.
{ Monday, September 12th, 2011 }
Intown Atlanta Population Surge?
While I spent much of last week on the Decatur bandwagon, I should point out that Decatur’s schools aren’t the only ones that are busting at the seems. Midtown Patch points out that Grady High School is also at the breaking point:
A drawback at Grady: The school that borders Piedmont Park currently has 1,524 students, compared to 1,432 one year ago — and one year ago was already seriously overcrowded. (The Grady campus was expanded several years ago to accommodate about 1,200 students. In 2005, there were 996 enrolled, compared to 1,146 in 2006 and 1,264 by 2009).
For those of you scoring at home, that’s a 25% increase in the last five years. I’m not a demographer (nor do I play one on television), nor am I trend forecaster, but I’d imagine there are a few threads at play here:
- The neighborhoods served by the school, including Ansley Park, Candler Park, East Lake, Inman Park, Kirkwood, Lake Claire, Old Fourth Ward, Midtown, Morningside, Poncey Highland and Virginia Highland continue to experience infill development, albeit at a much slower clip now that we’re post-boom.
- A slumping economy and rising private school tuition have forced some parents to enroll their children in public schools rather then private ones.
- Negative home equity has, in effect, “trapped” many homeowners in their existing homes. It’s a pretty common theme throughout the country to see homeowners “sticking around” in a home that they hadn’t planned on living in for such a long duration. Put simply, our migration patterns are all gummed up.
The net-net is further evidence that Atlanta’s notorious sprawl has turned inward. This isn’t breaking news by any stretch, but it’s certainly worth keeping an eye on as the region attempts to curb sprawl and promote density. Exciting and terrifying at the same time depending on the vision and political will of Atlanta’s civic and business elite.
Photo Credit: Architecture Tourist (an outstanding piece on Grady High School’s architecture, I might add).
