Congrats, John and Angela on your new Midtown condo in the Metropolis building! We love that you made an excellent investment in a second home while Angela completes her residency at Emory. Having a place to call home in a small town AND the big city is the perfect combo! We are super jealous of your amazing downtown views and quick walk to Piedmont Park. Please keep us up to date on all of the fabulous new hole in the wall restaurants you find in Atlanta. You were both wonderful to work with – we couldn’t have asked for kinder clients. Congrats, again!

You aren’t celebrating the holidays like an Atlantan unless you are taking part in at least a few of these well-loved city traditions! Atlanta has something for kids, adults, and everyone in between!

Botanical Garden Lights :: November 17 – January 5 :: 5 – 10 p.m.

The Botanical Gardens are transformed into a winter wonderland  and you won’t believe the breathtaking lights you will see when you take a stroll through the Gardens. Sing your heart out with carolers, walk through Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” and sit on a bench on The Great Lawn and enjoy watch the topiary light exhibition dance to your favorite Christmas carols. Adults can enjoy a cocktail at the Glow Bar and no one can say no to roasting their marshmallows for s’mores over a fire. Visit their website to learn more. (Photo courtesy of Atlanta Botanical Gardens.)

Macy’s Pink Pig :: October 27- January 1

Who can resist this five decade old tradition? Priscilla, the Pink Pig, is the decadently bejeweled pig Atlanta waits for all year! On the ride, she tours you through a life-sized storybook under a 150 foot tent at Lenox Square Mall. Tickets are $3, but the memories are priceless! Visit the Pink Pig website to learn more. (Photo courtesy of Macy’s.)

Ice Skating and Christmas Lights in Centennial Park :: November 19, 2012 – January 27, 2013

Centennial Olympic Park’s skating rink opens November 19th and it is $10 to skate for 90 minutes. There are vendors selling food and hot chocolate. If ice skating isn’t your thing, take a walk through the park. Centennial Park transforms its 21 acres into a spectacular Christmas light stroll that can’t be missed! Click here to learn more about Centennial Park skating.

Magical Nights of Lights at Lake Lanier :: November 16-December 31

This year is Magical Nights of Lights 20th Anniversary! It is a well loved tradition that carloads of people have enjoyed for many years. The seven and a half mile long car drive will take you through animated scenes and moving lights. There is also a Holiday Village complete with a live nativity, carnival, shopping, and marshmallow roasting. Click here to learn more about Magical Nights of Lights at Lake Lanier.

The Nutcracker at the Fabulous Fox Theatre :: December 6- 26

This year the Atlanta Ballet will preform The Nutcracker choreographed by John McFall with music by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. This is a magical event that will amaze audiences with its charm. Dress your tiny ballerina up in her tutu or enjoy a romantic night under the sparkling night sky of the Fox Theatre. (Photo Courtesy of Atlanta Ballet.) Click here to learn more about The Nutcracker.

Macy’s Great Tree Lighting at Lenox Mall :: Thanksgiving Day, November 22, 6:15-8PM

Over 100,000 Atlantans are expected to gather in front of Lenox Square to watch the magical lighting of the Macy’s Tree and to celebrate its 65th Anniversary of tradition and holiday cheer! There will be a kick off event with live musical guests like Academy of Country Music and CMT award winner Trace Adkins, The Voice finalist Chris Mann and Nickelodeon star Cymphonique Miller! As a grand finale there will be a firework show set to Christmas music. This great tree boasts over 8.2 miles of wiring, 1,200 basketball-sized ornaments, 100 Macy’s stars, and much more! Click here to learn more about the event. (Photo courtesy of Macy’s).

Snow Mountain at Stone Mountain :: November- February 18

Grab a sled, jump on a tube, or enjoy making snow angels and a snowman to brag about! Snow mountain will have snow that can cover over 5 football fields. They will also have 20 lanes so you can enjoy tubing for hours of thrills, chills, and excitement. Grab your snow gloves and enjoy a day of snow at Stone Mountain. Click here to learn more about Stone Mountain’s event! (Photo courtesy of Stone Mountain Park).

Peach Drop at Underground Atlanta :: December 31 Starting at 11:00am

If these events aren’t enough then be sure to kick off the New Year right with the Peach Drop. There will be children’s activities and entertainment starting at 11:00am and live entertainment throughout the night. The main attraction is the 800 pound peach drop at midnight with a fantastic firework show. Visit their website to see who will be preforming this year!

The Peters Company hopes that you enjoy this fantastic holiday season in Atlanta and we hope this list of events will help bring your holiday season plenty of fun!

Congratulations, Nik on getting a great deal on a condo in the heart of Buckhead! You must be so happy that your commute went from 20 miles to 1 mile! You had one of the fastest closings on record! You went from being under contract to the closing table in 2 weeks. We hope you enjoy the close proximity to great Buckhead dining including Atlanta Fish Market, Bistro Niko, Corner Cafe, Seasons 52 and Gordon Biersch Brewery. You are also conveniently close to the great entertainment The Buckhead Theatre has to provide. We hope you enjoy strolling around Buckhead as the Atlanta weather turns to Fall!

This spacious traditional ranch located in unincorporated DeKalb County is in the stylish Briar Hills neighborhood. With close proximity to hot spots such as  Emory, Druid Hills, Toco Hills, Buckhead and Virginia Highlands, this amazing  location can’t be beat!

Features

• An abundance of living space with separate formal living room and den.
• Gorgeous hardwoods that flow through the formal living room, dining room, and two of the bedrooms.
• Numerous windows throughout the home fill every space with natural light.
• Large kitchen with double oven, spacious counters, and plenty of cabinet space.
• Kitchen features breakfast nook with a skylight for cozy eat–in dining.
• Patio is large enough for any sized party, barbeque, or casual outdoor living.
• Den is complete with a gas fireplace and built-in bookshelves.
• Spiral staircase leads to an oversized bonus room with a built-in work area and large living space. Perfect for a play area, sitting room or office.
• Master bedroom with tongue and groove cathedral ceilings boasts an enormous walk-in closet and enough space for any size bedroom set and sitting area.
• Master bath is complete with double vanities, a walk-in shower and a jetted tub.
• Gunite pool with separate half bathroom for convenience and ease.
• Three car garage with shelving provides ample storage space.

Click here to learn more about this listing.

FMLS :: 5061816

GAFMLS :: 03281252

Congratulations, Anna and Justin on selling your home in Drew Valley! When we helped you buy this home back in 2011 it definitely needed some TLC, but your renovations to add on a master suite and update the kitchen and bathrooms gave this home the face lift it deserved. The exposed beams and stone fireplace add superb flare and personality to your home and make it a warm space. We are so happy to have you as both friends and clients and we look forward to hearing from you as you take your next steps!

Congratulations, Bill, Jane, and Barbara on selling your family’s Chamblee home in only 4 days with multiple offers! What a great home that has been impeccably maintained, lending it vintage charm. This one-story home has a graceful flow from one room to another and the private tree view gives a secluded wooded feel even in the city.  The Peters Company loved working with you all and we are happy we helped you sell your Chamblee home with such ease!

Congratulations, Bill and Colleen on getting your gorgeous Kenwood home SOLD in 13 Days on Market for list price! This home is impeccably maintained both inside and out. The interior of the home benefited from brand new paint and light fixtures, as well as completely renovated bathrooms. Natural light pours into the spacious rooms. The double sided fireplace made the living room and dining room a cozy haven and charmed buyers the moment they saw it. It was no wonder that your lovely home had multiple offers and was loved by every Smyrna buyer who had the pleasure of visiting. We hope your family is enjoying Arizona, and we hope we made the process of selling your Smyrna home an easy one!  Thank you for the amazing review you left for us on Kudzu.com, where we are still the top rated real estate agents in Atlanta!

The statistics from the 2nd quarter of 2012 indicate that prices have hit bottom and that homes sales are on the rise. If you are about to list your house and you think packing is months away, well think again, because The Peters Company is about to tell you how to sell your Metro Atlanta home in as little as two weeks…

You are going to need us to repeat this, because you won’t believe what you are about to hear. This is a seller’s market, yes, a seller’s market! Sellers have the strongest selling position for the first time in five years since the thriving Atlanta real estate market of 2007. For the first time in years, the Months of Supply is 4.0 (6-7 months being a balanced market). To give you a point of reference for how drastic this change is, the Months of Supply last year (2011) was 14 months. This leap reveals that homes are in high demand, and it is no wonder since resale home sales have jumped by 6%. Your home is in high demand, and you can use this information to your advantage if you keep reading.

Contributing factors to the strengthening seller position are that median rental prices are at the highest they have been in years, home resales are beating new home sales by 6% and active resale listings have decreased steadily over the past year. This has caused buyers to act quickly since there is less to choose from. The current median Days on Market is 80 days, and this includes homes that are not priced properly. Sellers also have a stronger selling position because quantity supplied of distressed property has slowly increased while quantity supplied of non-distressed property has decreased making non-distressed property a sought after commodity due to their favorable condition over distressed homes. The chart below shows that the median sales price of non-distressed homes has jumped to $222k, while median sales price for distressed homes has dropped to $87k. Homes that appear to have a higher value (non-distressed homes) have been selling for more because there are less active listings and this has pushed up the median price. Homebuyers in general are willing to spend more money for a non-distressed home.

The YELLOW bar is Non-Distressed property and the RED bar is Distressed property.

Reasonable  and realistic pricing.  As highly rated Atlanta real estate agents, we know the value of pricing property with precision, and we will show you how. According to 2nd quarter 2012 statistics, if you price your home correctly, you will get about 98.1% of your Sales-to List Price and you will likely only spend a median of 21 Days on Market. On the flip side, if you are not realistic about the current state of the real estate market, then you will only get 87% of your Sales-to-List Price and you will spend a whopping 99 Days on Market. The chart below will walk you through what a difference listing your house properly will make. Even if you price your home for $30,000 less than you want to sell it for, you can still make $7,200 more in profit and spend 78 less days trying to remind your three year-old the importance of constantly keeping their toys off the ground.

Don’t compare your pricing with other homes. It is easy to do; your neighbors are listing their home for $50,000 more, but they do not have your curb appeal and you know for a fact that their choice of colors will send any homebuyer running. When it comes down to it, if you price your home realistically and according to the market, your neighbor’s overpriced home will help you sell! According to recent statistics, 32% of all homes listed failed to sell altogether, and this is likely due to overpricing. Out of the listed homes 68% sold, and 37% of that 68% (55.1% of homes sold) had to have their price adjusted. The chart below shows that 55.1% of homes sold required a price reduction, and homes that were previously listed could have failed to sell because they were not priced properly the first time. A total of 69% of homes listed have been unrealistically priced, and this will cost them both in carrying costs during unnecessary Days on Market and lower Sales-to-List price ratios. If you price your home correctly and if you have the right agent, then your median Days on Market will be 21 days and your median Sales-to-List ratio will be 98.1%. Currently 22.5% of all homes listed have received more than 100% of Sales-to-List Price, mainly due to multiple offer situations, because it is accurately priced. This is what you want!

S/L =Sales-to-List. DOM=Days on Market

Let your home play dress-up. During an interview with our profession home stager, Tasha Moody, she reveals of the homes she has professionally staged, 85% have a contract within 60 days. “Do I have to empty my house and refurnish it in order to sell it quickly?” Absolutely not! The Peters Company recommends that you stage your home if it is vacant because it will appear to have a higher value and it will also be even more appealing than vacant distressed homes. Keep in mind, your home doesn’t have to be vacant to stage it! A home stager can still come to help stage your already furnished home. Tasha gives us all incredibly valuable and cost effective staging tips for occupied homes here in one of our more recent blog posts. Simple things such as fresh paint and new bedding can go a LONG way! Don’t put off staging your home and rearranging furniture in order to make it feel more welcoming and appealing.

Appraisals – Don’t guess the value of your home. The Peters Company uses a professional appraiser from D. S. Murphy before we list a home. We recommend pre-listing appraisals for several reasons. First of all, it is good to have an objective opinion about the market value of your home to make sure that you can afford to sell. This ensures that you are not wasting your time or money listing your home and anxiously waiting for a buyer who will give a good enough offer. Remember, an appraisal is different from a home inspection, and appraisers do not evaluate the structure or mechanical systems of your home, like HVAC, plumbing, electrical, etc. They only tell you the current market value. Secondly, the buyer’s lender will always require an appraisal of their own before they approve a loan or mortgage. You don’t want to be surprised by what your home appraises for. We don’t look at the appraisal as the final stop for pricing property, but it is just another buoy that helps us establish value and hopefully improve your position through quality staging and world class marketing. Finally, we use D. S. Murphy because their appraisers specialize in neighborhoods, such as Dunwoody appraisals, Buckhead appraisals, Brookhaven appraisals, and other Metro Atlanta appraisals. This specialization gives their appraisal the most accuracy. Don’t throw a dart at a dart board hoping you understand what your home is worth. The decision to sell your home can be a costly one in more than one way if you guess wrong.

If you are looking to sell your Atlanta home, please call The Peters Company. We are one of the top rated real estate groups in Atlanta on Kudzu.com, and it’s no wonder our 2012 YTD Sales-to-List Price is 98% and our median Days on Market is 13 days! If you compare us to the median averages of all Atlanta real estate agents then you will see the dramatic difference. Currently, the median Sales-to-List Price is 91% and median Days on Market is 80 days. If you are looking to sell your Metro Atlanta home then you want The Peters Company. Call us today at 404-419-3619.

The home-buying statistics from the 2nd Quarter of  2012 have revealed that  it is a good time to be a Metro Atlanta home-buyer!  If you’re currently on the fence about purchasing this year, keep reading.  The Peters Company is here to provide the most accurate and up-to-date statistics so you can make the most informed buying decision.

Getting into the home-buying game? The current stats on the Atlanta real estate market are showing that is a spectacular time to buy your first home or upgrade your home if you are hoping to inch up into something more luxurious or spacious for you needs. For the first time in 5 years the metro Atlanta real estate market is shifting from a buyer’s market into a seller’s market, and this will change how Atlanta home buyers should approach purchasing a home. Don’t panic! Even though the trend is shifting to a seller’s market, interest rates and prices are still at record lows and are far from being in full-swing like the booming 2007 Atlanta real estate market.  The median sales price rose from $120K in the first quarter of 2012 to $151K in the second quarter of 2012. Have we hit already hit the bottom on prices?  Maybe so…

The Atlanta, Sandy Springs, and Marietta housing markets are projected to grow by 7.9% from 2012-2017 according to Business Insider. The median price is being progressively pushed up by the increase in sales (i.e. increased demand).  This chart shows the cumulative monthly sales history from 2010 – today. Year to date 2012 sales rose above those of 2011 by +13.1%. Year to date 2012 sales are also +19.0% above those of the same period in 2010.

What to keep in mind to be a savvy home-buyer in this increasingly competitive housing market ::

This is a seller’s market! The chart below shows that the Months of Supply, also referred to as the Absorption Rate, is currently 4.0 months. Months of Supply is the amount of time it will take for all of the homes currently on the market to sell if no other homes are put on the market as of today. At this 4.0 months supply, if no other home is put on the market as of August 13th, then all homes will be sold by December 13th. Again, this is the first sign of a full fledged “Seller’s Market” we’ve seen since 2007.

*The RED bar is YTD 2012 and the BLUE bar is YTD 2011.  Pay special attention to the changes at or below $500,000.

While the Atlanta real estate market is possibly years away from the price point that peaked in 2007,  we’re definitely seeing signs of a recovery!

How to win a home in a “Gimme! Mine!” situation. It will not be uncommon for you to compete against multiple buyers to win the home of your dreams. So here are some suggestions if you find yourself in a multiple offer situation…

• Serious offers and quick decisions are vital  Sales-to-List (S/L) median ratios are 91% and the Days on Market median is 80 days, which is the lowest it has been in years. With homes selling quickly and close to the list price, it is important for the relevance of a buyer’s offer to mirror the value of the home. Know what you are looking for in a home and make realistic offers.
• Tighter/shorter contingencies with shorter time frames. Last year it was not uncommon for Due Diligence (buyer’s right to terminate) to last 14 days, but today it is becoming common for Due Diligence to last as briefly as 10 days! Sellers are looking for serious buyers who will make it to closing. Buyers who are trying to secure a property, then trying to use Due Diligence to decide if they actually want it are being weeded out many times.
• Right To Request Repairs instead of Due Diligence to increase seller confidence. Buyer’s agents may start suggesting that the home-buyer request repairs vs. a due diligence period so that the offer will be more appealing and stable for the seller. Right to Request Repairs may make a comeback in the future as we hover in a seller’s market.
• Want to purchase a damsel in distress? Distressed property supply has decreased significantly, so to get a property that has the best value, you must also make realistic offers while there are still desirable distressed homes on the market. For instance, the Metro Atlanta market at large had 16.4% median foreclosure sales in the 2nd Quarter. Sandy Springs foreclosures were 0.00%, Buckhead was close behind with 2.9% and Brookhaven followed with 4.6%. These stats show that Brookhaven, Sandy Springs, and Buckhead will continue to be HOT AREAS to live and buy a home.  If you are waiting for a foreclosure in one of the these three areas, you may not like how long of a wait you have in front of you. If you have questions about other specific areas, then feel free to ask us. This low foreclosure ratio is further proof that the Metro Atlanta housing market is making a recovery.

Here is what we are preaching if you have been sitting on the fence about buying a home. Buy now! If you are a homebuyer and you are looking for the home of your dreams, call The Peters Company today at 404-419-3619 to schedule an appointment.

Final votes will be cast in a July 31 referendum and voters will have to make a final decision about whether to approve a new city for Brookhaven. The proposed city will span from DeKalb County hemmed by Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Chamblee and a portion of I-85. The schools will continue to be DeKalb County, so the public schools will not create any transition, but the new city must build their own police services. The months leading up to the July 31 vote have been full of turbulence and heated debates.

The Yes Gang :: In a nutshell, they propose that a new city will result in better local representation, and a lower tax burden while simultaneously refining the quality of service residents will receive.

• Better Representation :: Since the city will be 1/10 of the current size of DeKalb County, everyone will be able to build personal relationships with their city’s representatives.
• Lower Tax Burden :: Property taxes will decrease because the millage will be capped at 3.35 mils, which is decreased from 6.39 mils.
• Improved Services :: Since the city will be smaller, the focus will be more precise and efficient.

The No Gang :: To sum it up, they claim the tax savings will be non-existent, the size of the new police force will be inadequate, and true local control will be improbable because more politicians could result in more bureaucrats.

• Franchise Taxes :: These taxes will add 2% to your electric bill and 3% to your land-line telephone bill. It could offset any savings on property taxes.
• Insufficient Budget :: The city is predicted to have a risky start because the first year revenue will be about $25.2 million and expenditures will be $25.1 million.
• City Safety :: The proposed police service will have 53 officers, but the current DeKalb police service has 1.7 officers per 1,000 resident. To maintain these standards the new city needs 83 officers.

Regardless of your stance or fervor on this issue, The Peters Company encourages everyone to vote tomorrow and take an active part in deciding the fate of the new city. What are your thoughts about the new city?