Sandy Springs
{ Monday, September 19th, 2011 }
Sandy Springs Million Dollar Housing Market Update
About a year ago, I wrote about the state of the Sandy Springs housing market. Specifically, I focused on homes priced from $999,000 up, located in the desirable Heards Ferry Elementary School district. At the time, here’s what I found:
2010 Year-To-Date Sandy Springs $999,000+ Housing Market
119 Homes For Sale
33 Homes Sold Year-To-Date
29 Months of Supply
Since that post – written on August 13, 2010 – we’ve had quite the year.
To recap:
- The U.S. flirted with default.
- Daily talk of double-dip recession permeated the national dialogue.
- Weekly talk of Europe’s march towards total meltdown.
- 2012 Presidential cycle shifts into full swing. A multitude of voices begin assuring the American public that economy will remain in tatters until the current administration takes permanent leave.
With all that said, I bet you can already guess what’s happened at the top of the market in Sandy Springs. Right? Right.
2011 Year-To-Date Sandy Springs $999,000+ Housing Market
79 Homes For Sale
38 Homes Sold Year-To-Date
17 Months of Supply
If you’re scoring at home, here’s how the last year went within the boundaries of Heards Ferry Elementary, for homes priced at $999,000+:
- Total homes on market reduced from 119 to 79 (34% reduction in inventory).
- Total homes sold increased from 33 to 38 (13% increase).
- Months of housing supply reduced by a full year, from 29 months to 17 (41% reduction)
The moral of the story: Be careful in evaluating what the talking heads tell you about the health of the economy, especially when you’re thinking about whether you should buy or sell a home. Granted, one year in one sub-market means very little in assessing the the overall housing market, but at the end of the day it’s your local housing market that matters.
{ Monday, August 22nd, 2011 }
A Tale of Two Cities
Spent some time last week looking at townhouses in Sandy Springs. Inevitably, I hit up a few developments that were conceived pre-bust. A few of them haven’t seemed to get their mojo back yet:
These are two separate developments, probably less than two miles from one another. Not easy on the eyes, especially for those of us that are rooting so heartily for a real estate recovery. To protect the innocent, I’m going to keep the name of the developments and developer to myself. Think you know where these pictures were taken? Email me your guess- if you’re right, you’ll win an AisForAtlanta prize pack.
To the southwest a couple of miles in Vinings, a radically different picture:
Yes, that’s an active construction site! Not only that, but a staffed sales center, where I was told that the units under construction have already been pre-sold, and that additional construction will begin soon on the remaining available units.
The difference between the two developments? Exhibit A is still owned by the original developer. They’re sitting on dozens of lots that were purchased, developed and financed pre-bust… which means that the townhomes are priced accordingly.
Exhibit B, on the other hand, was purchased post-bust. The current builder bought the lots from bank at a steep discount, allowing them to build and price their townhomes accordingly.
The market, obviously, appreciates the difference.
{ Monday, July 11th, 2011 }
Charter Schools and Home Buying: What You Should Know
There’s a ton of buzz- both local and national- surrounding charter schools these days. There also happens to be a good deal of misinformation and misunderstanding. Unfortunately, when it comes to buying a home, this confusion can potentially lead to regret.
One prime example is Grant Park’s much loved and respected Neighborhood Charter School. Neighborhood Charter is a gem, the product of an active community of parents and educators who’ve worked tirelessly since opening the school’s doors in 2000 to create a phenomenally successful school. Only one slight problem- the school is now flooded with applications. There are simply fewer available slots than there are applicants.
According to a recent post on Great Schools (it’s like Yelp, for schools… so take the source with a grain of salt), Neighborhood Charter accepted 18 of 50 non-employee applicants- an acceptance rate of 36%. Putting that into a “collegiate context”, it’s a little easier to get in to Georgia Tech (49% acceptance rate), and a little harder to get into Emory (30% acceptance rate). Not exactly great odds.
Putting the acceptance rates to the side for a moment, let’s focus on the home buying side of the equation. According to the FMLS, there are 43 homes currently for sale in the Neighborhood Charter School District. At this point, you’re probably wondering “if only 36% of applicants are accepted, how are there 43 homes on the market that are being marketed as ‘in district?’”. It’s complicated, but the marketing rationale likely falls in to one or two categories: ignorance (it’s quite possible that the listing agent has no idea that Neighborhood Charter does not admit all applicants) or branding (Neighborhood Charter is a great school with a strong brand). Regardless of motivation, the reality of the situation is that there’s a strong possibility that someone will end up buying a home under the false assumption that there is a complete certainty that they’re zoned for a school that there’s only a 1/3 chance they’re really zoned for.
Not all charter schools are set up this way. If you live within the boundaries of Riverwood International Charter School in Sandy Springs, you’re virtually guaranteed admission. It’s not just a charter school- it is the neighborhood high school. Knowing the difference in admission processes between schools like Riverwood and Neighborhood Charter is absolutely critical in evaluating whether or not to buy a home within each district.
The moral of the story is that it is incumbent on home buyers to do some home work. Ask questions, and most importantly, work with a Realtor. The interweb has made fantastic strides in organizing information, but is still a few years away from providing the human expertise needed to help make a complex real estate decision.
{ Thursday, April 14th, 2011 }
Atlanta Neighborhood One-Liners
Everyday is a beautiful day in these beautiful neighborhoods...
Creative Loafing recently published their Ultimate Neighborhood Guide (the complete issue in pdf format). It’s chock full of good information, including one-liner “upsides” and “downsides” to different neighborhoods. Below, some of my favorite one liners. If you follow the hyperlink to each neighborhood, it will take you to the neighborhood page on my site which includes a brief description as well as an active database of homes currently for sale.
Cabbagetown- Because of its history as a refuge for young, artsy types, Cabbagetown boasts strong support for nonprofits like WonderRoot, Trees Atlanta and the recently relocated Eyedrum.
Candler Park- From the Kashi ashram to the First Existentialist Congregation to the Hare Krishna temple, this is ground zero for alternative spirituality.
Decatur- A small-town-yet-progressive vibe; great schools; a strong LGBT community:;and beer.
East Atlanta- More hipsters than you can shake a PBR trucker cap at.
Grant Park- Good place for families with kids. Seriously, have you ever seen so many strollers?
Inman Park- Gorgeous homes and plenty of greenspace.
Midtown- The 189-acre Piedmont Park is reason enough to live here, never mind that it’s close to everything, exceedingly walkable and super cultured.
Old Fourth Ward- A thriving restaurant and nightlife scene and a perfect destination for urban pioneers.
Sandy Springs- Great for families, thanks to its low crime rate, top-notch schools and great public library.
Virginia-Highland- The neighborhood is picturesque, active, safe and eminently walkable.
{ Tuesday, March 15th, 2011 }
Sandy Springs Real Estate Update
Nearly seven months ago, I wrote about market conditions in the million dollar+ market in Sandy Springs. Specifically, I focused in on homes priced $999,000 and higher in the Heards Ferry Elementary School district. At the time, there were 119 homes on the market, and 33 had sold in the previous eight months. This was equal to 29 months of supply.
That being said, how do things look, seven months later?
There are currently 91 homes for sale in this particular sub-market, an inventory reduction of 24%. Granted, there are a number of variables that I’m not tracking- which homes sold in the previous months (and what were their sales prices), how many of the listings expired, how many of the listings were withdrawn, how many new listings have come on the market in this price point, etc… but it’s a healthy market indicator to see inventory levels continue to drop.
Of course, if you’re selling your home, the rubber meets the road at the closing table. Over the last six months, this sub-market is averaging 4-5 sales per month with a sales price of $900,000+. If you’re the owner of one of these 91 homes in Sandy Springs currently on the market, what are you (and your Realtor) doing to be one of the 4-5 that sell?
* All data sourced from First Multiple Listing Service
