When considering the homes for sale in my primary coverage area (East of GA 400), I have seen a pretty dramatic shift. It’s normal to see some slow-down in August. People are settling in and children are returning to school. The push to get moved during the summer months, to reduce the disruption to family routines, has passed once the fall arrives.

Historically, there has been a seasonal drop of 20%. This year the August figures for the lower price ranges (under $350K) plummeted 39%. Let’s take a closer look:

• Homes under $200K 14 houses sold in May, 9 in June, and 18 in July dropped to 3 last month.
• $200-275K homes sold at a rate of 35 in May, 28 in June, 15 in July and remained steady at 15 for August.
• $275-350K houses sold 25 in May, 22 in June, 26 in July and 18 in August.

The higher price ranges were also lower:

• $350-450K houses sold 25 in May, 29 in June, 29 in July and went to 12 houses sold in August.
• $450-600K houses sold 15 in August, down from 16 in May, 20 in June and 31 in July.

Inventories are running from flat to slightly down. This means that there are some sellers who are giving up and removing the “for sale” signs from their front yard.

Desiring a new house isn’t reason enough to sell today. It’s much harder to sell the existing house before buying a new home and this is a requirement for most would-be buyers.

My recommendation at this point, is if you don’t have to sell right now… don’t.

I’ve noticed an alarming trend lately in the Alpharetta and Johns Creek areas involving roofing companies and “hail damage” claims against homeowner policies.

There are roofing companies out there that appear to be “drumming” up business by soliciting unnecessary roof replacements that are paid for by homeowner’s insurance. The sales tools include area maps marked up with big red circles around areas that have experienced “hail activity” and yard signs.

It also tends to happen more with some insurance carriers than with others. I asked about it with one of these roofing companies recently and their first question was “Who is your carrier?” the second comment was “They are tough, you probably won’t get it.” Read the rest of this entry »

Download the July-August 2008 Newsletter (in PDF)

Enjoy the all new layout for Johns Creek and Alpharetta Living Local Newsletter.

Check out the “before” and “after” kitchen photos this month, learn more about the current trends in the local real estate market, catch a glimpse of summer fun in the photo of the month and visit Webb Bridge Park in this issue.

The market has been fairly unchanged in the past 30-60 days, but there are a few hopeful signs that an improvement may be on the horizon.

June 2007 vs. June 2008 figures:

• Under $275K, there was a 14% decrease in sales as compared to June 2007 and the current inventory reflects a 46.1% increase in the supply of homes over the figures for this same time last year.
• $275-600K, we have experienced a 26% drop in sales as compared to last year, with the inventory up 40%.
• $600K+ price range has experienced a 50% drop with a 108% increase in inventory which represents a 21-month supply of homes now.

Although comparisons to last year seem rather dismal, June 2008 figures (for mid-range homes from $275K-600K) show an increase of 7.5% over last month and the total inventory dropped by 5.2%. This is a trend we hope will continue. The lower and higher ranges did not fare as well.

It feels like the market was a bit more vibrant at the end of June, and I hope that will continue into this new month. Personally, I’m happy to report an increase in activity with my own listings and showings.

Please note: When I report data, I’m giving you information on what’s gone under contract within the past month — so my figures for this area are more up-to-date than the national data you see reported in the news. Why? National figures for existing home sales data typically lag the market by 30-60 days because they report only closed sales, not those under contract.

Visit my sales trends section to learn more about local home sales.

The US Senate is poised to pass a huge foreclosure rescue bill as soon as today. (see article)

Basically the bill says the Federal Housing Administration would back $300 billion dollars in new loans for distressed borrowers that are currently considered too risky to qualify for a loan now.

Hmmm… correct me if I am wrong but didn’t we get into this mess by lenders making loans to people who were bad risks? Read the rest of this entry »