Archive for the 'New Construction' Category
Luxury Home Builders and Home Buyers in Alpharetta and Milton - The Chicken or the Egg?
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, Foreclosures, Milton Real Estate, New Construction
I’ve written several posts in the past about builders who are buying up developed lots in Alpharetta, Milton and Cumming out of foreclosure and building homes in the lower price ranges. It makes perfect sense, with the tax credits and persistent demand for new construction among buyers. Home buyers almost always gravitate towards new construction, given the chance. In communities where homes may have sold in the mid $300’s in the past are selling in the $190’s - $210’s and comparable homes can be built in those price ranges because the builder has a lower cost of entry into the community and materials are cheaper now as well.
But what about those communities where homes were originally selling in the $800’s to well over $1 million? Construction stopped a long time ago, lots are in foreclosure, there may be an inventory of homes (that have been standing for quite a while); and home owners who may have purchased earlier on are way upside down. The list is long, but a few are The Manor Golf and Country Club , Valmont , Echelon , The Oaks at Crabapple , King Estates Manor , Blue Valley , and Kingsley Estates .
20 Months of Inventory
There are 195 homes on the market in all of North Fulton, listed from $800,000 to $1.5M, 119 in that price range sold last year. The demand for luxury homes has waned a bit, but not vanished. Credit is tighter and qualifying for a home in that price range is significantly more challenging but not impossible. The rub is when a home buyer looks at a community that has been frozen in time and asked, "is it safe for me to buy a home here? What will they be building down the road, and when?". Which brings me back to the main question posed in the title of this post, who will come back first, the Luxury Home Builder or Home Buyer?
What if a Builder started building homes in one of those stalled communities? Would you as a buyer feel comfortable purchasing one of those homes or are you going to look for something a little older but in an established community? For me, it would depend on a few factors. First and foremost, who is the builder? What price range are they building in now, compared to the existing inventory. And what is the product they are building? Are there covenants in place that will dictate size, exterior materials, etc.? What is the vision for the community and is that vision different than what was started? If it is, that’s not necessarily bad, but it should be considered.
As more builders buy foreclosed lots or decided to start selling homes on the lots they currently own (at lower price points) these questions will come up from buyers. It’s not a situation buyers need to stay away from necessarily, just proceed carefully and with good advice from a local advocate. Tell me what you think, I want to know.
Posted by Bob Strader | Currently No Comments »
Alpharetta Real Estate for 2010: What will the future hold?
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, Crabapple, Foreclosures, Local Market Conditions, Metro Atlanta Statistics, Milton Real Estate, New Construction
It’s a question buyers and sellers ask almost every day, especially in a market like this, but at the end of the year people look forward to that new beginning. For a brief period of time it’s like the slate gets wiped clean on January 1st. Anything is possible and we look for signs of what may come for Alpharetta real estate. I always say, in order to know where you’re going it helps to know where you’ve been. Looking back over 2009 might not be a pretty picture, depending on your perspective, but it’s telling.
Ouch : Sales declined through most of the year and Sellers really took it on the chin. And builders took it even harder. It’s tough to compete though when almost 40% of all homes being sold in the first 2 quarters were foreclosures or short sales. For those that could take less and get out, they didn’t like it but felt like they made it out. For others, they had to stay put or take a loss. Never before have I seen so many homes available to rent, which was a good alternative for many sellers out there that had to do something.
Cha-Ching : While Sellers were getting beat up, Buyers where cashing in. For those in a position to buy, the real estate deals were plenty and the banks had their shelves stocked with goods. First-time home buyers and renters were in the envious position of not needing to sell and having plenty to choose from. Still, competition was stiff for foreclosures. Banks started the year pricing at the old market value but later realized that aggressive list prices brought multiple offers fast and sales prices that were over list. They were still good deals but the time on market was reduced significantly. The tax credit did it’s job and continues to do so until it expires next year. Inventory levels were reduced quite a bit and now we are seeing an increase in homes sold year-over-year. Comparing November 2009 to November 2008, the number of homes sold in Metro Atlanta are up 52% and for North Fulton, they are up 82% .
Bye Bye: No, all the deals aren’t gone but they are slowly fading away. The expanded tax credit will continue to help but I’m seeing the mindset has changed with both buyers and sellers. At the beginning of the year Sellers were still amazed that a home reduced by $100K could still be on the market and Buyers were amazed it hadn’t been reduced more. Now sales prices have come down further, Sellers except much of the current pricing as market value and Buyers are not willing to spend months looking for that spectacular deal because they are slowly disappearing.
Looking Forward : We will see a higher than normal level of activity for the first 4 months while the tax credits are still in effect. This will help continue to reduce inventory levels and we will continue to see the number of home sold year-over-year go up. Sales prices will flatten out for most, and begin to increase in small pockets of demand and sought-after communities later in the year. The 400 corridor is well positioned with great schools and businesses that are still moving employees into the area.
New construction starts, which showed up in the 4th quarter of 2009 will widen through 2010 due to an abundance of developed lots at bargain prices. Forsyth County will lead the pack here, mainly because builders will be able to buy lots and build in lower price ranges to a greater degree than in North Fulton, but we’ll see that in North Fulton as well. Knight Construction is selling out in the Cumming community of Union Station, which is no surprise as first-time buyers typically gravitate towards new construction when it’s available. I suspect new homes in Crabapple and Milton will have the most opportunities.
Foreclosures will be present for the next couple of years (no surprise) but banks will continue to roll them out slowly keeping competition for them fairly high. Also, thanks to the banks, Short Sales will remain an excruciatingly painful and slow process (thank you Bank of America). Interest rates are anybody’s guess but until unemployment comes down to a respectable 7 or 8% then they will have to remain reasonably low.
How do I know it will all turn out this way? I have inside information that "It is decidedly so".
Posted by Bob Strader | Currently No Comments »
Shhh…..Developed Lots are Beginning to Move in North Fulton
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, Crabapple, Lots, Milton Real Estate, New Construction, Roswell Real Estate
I don’t hear anyone talking about this but I’ve noticed recently that some residential developed lots in Alpharetta, Roswell and Milton have sold. Builders appear to be cherry-picking some good values out of foreclosure. On the surface it may sound surprising with what seems like a lot of resale inventory still out there. However, that inventory is down to levels not seen since the end of 2005. And, of course, new construction inventory fell of a cliff.
On top of that, the first time home buyer tax credit has been expanded and extended to move-up buyers that have owned their home for at least 5 of the last 8 years. With 47% of home sales this year (nationally) coming from first time buyers; this tax extension / expansion will definitely help bring those inventory levels down even further.
The lots that seem to be moving are mostly in more expensive communities such as Echelon , The Overlook at Litchfield, The Manor Golf and Country Club and newer communities that have not really been built out too much, like Crabapple Oaks . Homes for sale in Crabapple Oaks were originally listed for the high $800’s but are now selling in the low $600’s. In fact, there is a fantastic deal in one of the new Crabapple communities that I’m surprised hasn’t been jumped on yet. However, one surprising sale was a 1 acre lot in Country Club of the South that sold for $750K. Not exactly what I would call a deal, but someone certainly wanted it.
I had recently written a post about this same situation in Forsyth County, where builders were buying developed lots for sale out of foreclosure, building new homes in the first time buyer price range and selling them rather briskly. This is a clear indication that there is a healthy appetite for new construction and again, may be a leading indicator of a stronger recovery in the local housing market. I think we will see more of this to come in the 1st half of 2010.
Posted by Bob Strader | Currently 1 Comment »
Would you like a $1.2M home for $750,000? | Bargain Hunters Part II - North Fulton
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, Buyers, Luxury Homes, Milton Real Estate, New Construction
Milton, Ga. - This is inside information and you are getting it before anyone else. We informed the readers of this blog about 4 amazing deals in January, you can see the post here: $700k homes for half price, and we sold them in four hours….yes, 4 hours. So, this is fair warning, if you are interested then contact us now as this is first come, first served.
Nearly 40% of all sales are foreclosures or short sales and most of those are GOOD deals. But everyone is looking for really GREAT deals and believe it or not, really GREAT deals only come up occasionally. You can choose one of these 3 nearly $1,200,000 homes for $750,000.
They are all new homes and built by a well respected custom home builder who has built hundreds of million dollar homes in various North Atlanta communities. These are all 4-side brick and stone, 3-car garages and pre-planned terrace levels that have high ceilings and open plans. All with very custom features & finishes and all on 1+ acre lots.
I hate clichés but with interest rates this low and the economy beginning to show signs of improvement-this is the proverbial no-brainer. I challenge you to find another home like these at prices even close to this in North Fulton.
But wait, there is more. We know of a nearly $800,000 new construction home you can get for under $600,000 and the owner will finance. For more details on this one-you have to call.
Posted by Bob Strader | Currently No Comments »
Seller Financing and House Trade Program Aim to Break Real Estate Market Impasse | The Snorkel Business
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, Buyers, Lending, New Construction, Real Estate Industry
ALPHARETTA - Expanding on yesterday’s post about house swaps and real estate log jams, here is a slightly different angle to this problem.
Take builders. I didn’t talk about them yesterday.
They are the opposite of the first time home buyer. They don’t have anything to buy, only a lot to sell - as opposed to not having anything to sell and only dealing with a single home to buy like a FTHB.
Builders, of course, are dependent on buyers. Builder are having trouble selling though because, as much as John Q. Public might like to buy, he either can’t sell his house or he is underwater in his house, in which case he needs a snorkel - I mean he might be selling in order to downsize.
The buyer might be credit challenged; sometimes the buyer has a sizable down payment but can’t get a loan because they are self-employed, or don’t have American credit because they are from another country.
So what do builders do about the situation?
Some of them don’t do anything. These are the ones you hear about going bankrupt.
Others get more creative and agressive. They partner with a lender to do low rate or “buy down” loans where the builder pays to buy the interest rate down for a period of time. I saw today where McCar homes is partnering with SunTrust for loans at 4.5% if they close by January 31st. The purchaser must have a 680 credit score to qualify, though.
Some builders will offer to purchase the buyer’s existing home so that they can buy the builder’s new home. This strategy could help, but sometimes the builder is just trading one head ache for another.
I was involved in a deal last year where a builder offered to buy my client’s house. He was going to pay them about 20% less than what it was listed for: His calculation was that my client would ultimately net about that once he paid real estate commission, price concessions and repairs. The deal didn’t work out, but the offer was certainly there and I know similar deals have been struck.
Finally, owner financing is another option that you see builders offering these days and owner financing is closer to what I feel is really going to help break the log jam.
We have a market failure where willing sellers and willing buyers can’t transact because prices are out of whack and credit is extremely tight. However, where there is a problem, there is always a solution in a free market.
What I’m seeing now is more sellers and particularly builders offering financing. In Cherokee, Forsyth and North Fulton counties, there are currently 222 properties for sale where the seller is offering to finance. Most of the same rules apply as a typical loan except your bank is the seller. Like a bank, the seller is assuming the risk that you pay on the loan. If not, they can foreclose…just like a traditional lender.
Even more interesting, now we are starting to offer seller financing coupled with a house trade program to help buyers and builders break the market impasse. Again, where there is a will, there is a way: a free market allows for creative solutions. The lenders screwed things up, so now other parties must assume the role of a bank to unscrew us all.
If you would like to buy a new construction house, but need to sell yours first, we can help with a trade program; or we can seller finance your new purchase if getting a loan is your roadblock. We could also privately finance the sale of your home so you could get it sold in order to buy the builder’s new house.
Our current inventory is sixty homes ranging from $285,000 to the $800’s throughout north Atlanta.
Builders are anxious in this market to understate the situation. They have asked us to do anything and everything to help break the log jam and get their inventory sold. I hate the expression “thinking outside the box” because I think it is thoughtlessly over used, but I do believe some new thinking is required in this market in order to get things done.
The alternative is not pretty. Reference the builder who does nothing. We are now in the snorkel business.
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently 3 Comments »
Crabapple Update - Victoria Secret Models Working as Sales Agents
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, Crabapple, New Construction, Townhomes
CRABAPPLE - Watching a community like Crabapple transform seems to take so long that it is hard to maintain the excitement. There is very little glitz and glamor, just small real estate signs, public notices and construction, construction and more construction.
Plus, there is lots of starting and stopping, particularly in a market like this one. Characters come and go. For a story that takes so long to unfold, it is hard to hold our attention.
So, enter the Victoria Secret models. That got your attention refocused on Crabapple - or at least refocused, didn’t it?
Okay, there really aren’t any Victoria Secret models in Crabapple. I’m so sorry, really; I wish there were. Then we’d sell some real estate!
But now that I have your attention, let me get you caught up on some of the less glamorous happenings in that little place we call Crabapple, just west of downtown Alpharetta.
Crabapple Station - Crabapple Station is the Waterford Homes neighborhood behind Azio Pizza. They have two single family homes available in the low $500’s and one under contract. They also have five very nice townhomes for sale. There hasn’t been a townhome sold in Crabapple Station since February, which was for $375,000. Last week the existing five townhomes were all reduced $20,000 to $379k. The quality of these units is the best in Crabapple, in my humble opinion, plus they all have basements, some of them already finished.
Crabapple Crossroads - Crabapple Crossroads is the Williamscraft neighborhood with the seven three-story brownstones that you can’t miss. Well, congratulations, they sold two more brownstones: one for $359k in September and one for $369k in August. That leaves three to go, currently listed at $379k.
Crabapple Crossroads also has sold two single family homes since September, one for $450 and the other for $412. There are still 32 homes actively for sale in Crabapple Crossroads, and get this: They have ten under construction even with that much inventory already standing.
Crabapple Crossing - Crabapple Crossing is the neighborhood adjoining Crabapple Station behind Foster’s Grille. Crabapple Crossing is a Whitehall development, but Whitehall gave up the ghost during the summer and an investor stepped in and purchased the loan. Prices were reduced and all the townhomes have been sold except one, which is a 3-bedroom end unit, with all the appliances, listed at $315k but purchasable for $290k I know. It represents the best deal currently in Crabapple.
Old Place at Crabapple - Located at Mid-Broadwell and Charlotte, Old Place at Crabapple is a Harrison Builders development that remains dirt and an idea on paper. They have eight lots in an enclave. The interesting part is that they have reduced prices from the $800’s to the $700’s.
Braeburn - Here is some shocking news. Wieland has started (or should I say re-started) the construction of the Braeburn Office Village on Birmingham Highway across the street from Crabapple Crossing elementary school. There will ultimately be ten building and there are already two Under Contract signs posted, so that is positive for the area in terms of activity.
The residential portion of Braeburn - Wieland "Signature Homes" from the $700’s is still stilling undeveloped with no sign of movement.
Lodestone - The most noticeable work is that being done by Lodestone Development on the Crabapple Mercantile Exchange, the group of building along the north side of Crabapple Road in front of the brownstones. (Also the ones pictured above with our lovely Victoria Secret model ;->)
The Exchange is coming along very well and I think it looks great aestically with the brick and the dark stained trim. They have some new tenants signed up, too. In addition to Scoops, the ice cream parlor, and The Founders Club, a cigar merchant, Crabapple Dental (Dr. Roberts), an Irish Pub, Faire La Belle (which I can only assume is a lady’s clothing store) and Chateau de Nails, yes, yet another nail salon, will all take residence in the Exchange. From the looks of it, the French are going to have to battle the Irish for bragging rights at this point. My money is on the Irish. Plus, the building looks like it should have a saloon in it.
I hear that Scoops is going to try to open for the holiday season, at least they better because I understand that they have ordered a few thousand pounds of chocolate inventory. Now that is my kind of neighbor.
Natural Food Warehouse - The rumor was that Natural Food Warehouse was moving into the old Ingles location in Crabapple. This still may be the case, but they don’t appear to be in any hurry to move in if they are. Not one piece of on-site site modification has been made in the last couple of months. The Walgreens in the corner of the parking lot, however, has made significant progress and looks like it is near opening. Nothing like a cookie cutter store to get something built and opened.
Beragio - The active adult community of single story three-bedroom homes looks like it has come to a halt. The sign is even down. They were poring the sidewalks yesterday, but that is probably because the City of Alpharetta requires them. The Beragio website doesn’t have an updated "progress picture" since July 1.
That’s it for the Crabapple update. I have to get back to surfing for Victoria Secret models…that was a fun diverstion ;-> You have to find ways to keep things fun, right?
For information on any of these Crabapple communities or properties, please feel free to contact me . I don’t write this blog for fun - well, actually I do; it is my creative outlet - but I also write this blog to make a fair and honest living and provide value for you, my potential clients.
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently 2 Comments »
Has Echelon Found Its Prince? | Southeastern Capital Partners Poised to Ride to the Rescue
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, Cherokee County, Foreclosures, Golf Communities, Luxury Homes, New Construction
The rumor mill has been working and this time it has spit out that Echelon could have a suitor. No, not "The Donald" as I had teased here in the Spring. The Donald must have spent his money bailing out Jim McMahon.
This time, it is rumored that Southeast Capital Partners has Echelon under contract and is in a 60-day due diligence period that is about to expire. Southeast Capital would be buying out The Melrose Company , which by all accounts has triple bogeyed Echelon. The question remains if Southeast Capital does complete the purchase if they can turn it around, as their expertise is mostly in apartment and multi-family development in Atlanta. Echelon would be their first luxury home, golf course community development that I’m aware of.
I’ve often maintained that Echelon has the potential to be some of the most top-notch luxury living in the Alpharetta area mainly for two reasons: one is the lot size. You can go to The Manor Golf and Country Club , which is Echelon’s nearest competition, and purchase just as beautiful of a home. However, for better or worse, The Manor has a private sewer system which allows them to have smaller lots and higher density development. The Manor is not worse, just different; but that is one reason I think Echelon is unique.
The other thing that Echelon has going for it is the golf course. The Rees Jones designed course is a fantastic test of golf, better than just about everything around here except Hawk’s Ridge. If I could play it every day, I would.
There is a third advantage that the market may provide Echelon, kind of like a back handed compliment. Because of the real estate market’s decline and lenders’ unwillingness to make speculative home building loans, future home building in Echelon will very likely be custom construction. [If you are interested in custom building in Alpharetta, CLICK HERE .]
Custom construction will create an inventory of homes in Echelon that will offer more amenities, better finishes and more ultimate value than a neighborhood that was built out with "builders homes." Don’t get me wrong, the spec homes that builders produce are no where near "bad," it’s just that they sometimes lack imagination and extra touches that you’d put in a strictly custom home. More custom equals more better!
What Echelon hasn’t had is quality development. Unlike The Manor, which built a temporary club house with indoor pool, the clubhouse at Echelon is not built. Last year they slapped in a couple of tennis courts and there is still no pool.
Having amenities in place, per se, are not going to all of a sudden turn around Echelon’s fortunes, but they will be a sign to people looking to build and live there that there is forward momentum and a positive future. Right now prospective buyers are just plain scared because they don’t know what the future holds. I can look at old listings in Echelon and see where agents were promoting that the swim tennis would be OPEN, not just under construction, by Spring 2007. Ha!
The marketing and sales aspects have fallen short, too, as The Manor has outsold Echelon by a long margin and the marketing plan to affiliate Echelon with The Georgia Tech Club, seems to have backfired.
So here sits Echelon: great golf course (which thank goodness they have continued to maintain at high standards) and tons of potential locked in the downward spiral of a bad housing market and developer mis-steps. Money is tight exactly when money is needed, the same problem that Vickery faces not too far down the road in S. Forsyth County, in which, by the way, Cousins Property is rumored to be interested.
Just as Cousins could be Vickery’s knight with deep pockets, Southeast Capital could be Echelon’s knight.
In the mean time, there are some deep discounts to be had at Echelon. For one, Storey Residential has an awesome house on the first fairway for $2.3 million. This house is discounted $400,000 from its original list price of $2.7 million in June, 2007. The home has great attention to detail and a killer finished basement…you’d never have to go upstairs is you lived there.
There are nine other homes for sale in Echelon, including the super-jumbo red brick house on the first tee for $4.15 million. What’s the over under on when it will sell? It has been 14+ months so far; they started at $4.6 million.
The rest of the current offerings include three foreclosures and one corporate-owned property.
The opportunities are there and the sale of Echelon to Southeast Capital, if it goes through, will hopefully signal a change of direction for this development if for no other reason that golf’s sake. A great golf course is a terrible thing to waste.
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently 5 Comments »
Build a Custom Home in Alpharetta
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, Luxury Homes, New Construction
Do you want that "dream home," that home that you will leave feet first?
Do you just not like resale or think that all the resale homes are tired and need updating? And you’re not going to be the one updating them!
Do you think that builders building on spec are just popping out cookies, even if they are nice, expensive cookies?
The other option is to build your own home. To some people, that sounds like a daunting task, but it is not has hard as it sounds, particularly if you have a good builder who you can trust. That, of course, is the key to the exercise: a trusted builder. One of the ones that I would recommend is Artisan Custom Estates . They have some excellent properties available, like this one , which is a good example of their quality.
To help people who are interested in building a custom home in Alpharetta , I just finished building a new section of this website. From there you can search for developed lots in the area, which range in price from around $150,000 to as much as you want to spend. For instance, you could spend three or four hundred thousand for a 3-4 acre prime lot probably with some water front and or view.
On the new page , I’ve highlighted and mapped a few new developments in the area for you to puruse. I’ve also created a search page where you can easily search for every available developed lot in the 30004 zip code , which is Alpharetta west of GA-400, Milton and portions of East Cherokee County and South Forsyth County.
Finally, there is a Frequently Asked Questions section and a Free Report on Building a Custom Home . If you have questions that are not addressed in the FAQ or Report, please just leave a comment here and I’ll make sure we update the information with the answer to your question. Please let me know what you think of the new information and how we can continue to enhance and improve it.
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently No Comments »
