Existing homes sales up!

According to this article on REALTOR.org, pending home sales in April were higher than expected. This is good news you certainly won't hear on the nightly news and if you do, it will be qualified with the dreaded word "but...". Good news just doesn't sell these days so you have to look for it. Great homes are available at excellent prices. Mortgage rates are stable and inventories are leveling out.

If you are looking to buy a new home, now is the time. Call me today and let me help you find the home of your dreams.

Michael Bradford
770-862-8002

Don't miss the bottom!

Interest rates went up this week. REALTOR.com reports (click here for the article): "Following four consecutive weekly declines, Freddie Mac reports a jump in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate to 5.68 percent during the week ended Jan. 31 from 5.48 percent the prior week."



Usually when the Federal Reserve Board meets and lowers the rate they charge banks, interest rates eventually will fall. Due to the high demand for refinances, this time rates have actually risen.



Will they continue to rise or will the demand for mortgages easy allowing the rates to fall again? That is the million dollar question. I think we are at or very near the bottom for now.



Today is a great time to lock in a low interest rate for your new home. Great inventory and low rates together make now one of the best times to buy your new home. Call me today and let's find YOUR dream home!



Michael Bradford

770-862-8002

Foreclosures: It Doesn't Have to Be This Way

I said it yesterday and I'll say it today: you can avoid foreclosure!

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Today's AJC has an article (Click Here) about how Atlanta has a record number of foreclusres. They are up 29% from last year.

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What does this mean?

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First, it means that there are a lot of very inexpensive homes out there ready for purchase. Many people lost their homes to foreclosure. These houses are empty and available to move in. You can buy a LOT of house for very little money right now. You can also enjoy low interest rates. Atlanta has a healthy economy and good jobs. There is no reason for you not to take advantage of the fantastic deals out there right now.

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It also means that there are people out there who do not know how to get the help that they need to stay in their homes. If you are struggling to pay your mortgage or about to default on your loan, please call me today so I can help you stay right where you are. I have a number of tips and helps that I can give you to try and see if you can save your home from being sold on the courthouse steps. Call me today - time is of the essence.

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Michael Bradford

770.862.8002

Southern Prime Realty

"Cyber" Monday

Today has been officially dubbed “Cyber Monday” according to the National Retail Federation. Yahoo reports that today marks the start of the online shopping season. Internet research company comScore estimates that consumers will spend over $700 million online TODAY!

The internet has change so much about how we live our lives everyday. I only know a handful of people who are not online. The vast majority of people in the U.S. are plugged in and using the internet regularly. According to REALTOR.com®, over 80% of people looking for their next home start looking online. Even the way we shop for Christmas is changing as evidenced by today being named “Cyber Monday”. Retail buying has not been as dramatic a change as buying a new home but I believe that more and more of our shopping will be done online.

So how did the retail “brick and mortar” stores do over this past weekend? According to the article, ShopperTrak RCT Corp. reported late Sunday that sales on Friday and Saturday combined rose 7.2 percent to $16.4 billion from the same two-day period a year ago. "This was a really good start," said Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak. "There seemed to be a lot of pent-up demand."

I thought the sky was supposed to be falling and we were heading for economic chaos, fascism and looting in the streets. That seems to be the news we hear lately.

I agree with Mr. Martin and believe there is a pent up demand and it flows into every area of our spending. We are only being prudent with what we have. The main stream media has us convinced that our future is in doubt and we have responded by not spending as much money. But at some point, when we all realize that “I’m doing pretty good”, we will start to spend our money and live our lives the way we can and want to. We will spend money on Christmas and also eventually buy the house or car we want or need. The problem with a pent-up demand is you never know when it will be released.

Currently within the real estate market, it is a buyers market. Interest rates are excellent and we have a diverse, reasonably priced inventory of homes available. When it will change back to a sellers market is unknown but, rest assured, it will. We live in a great area with lots of jobs and low inflation.

If you are one of those people who have a “pent-up demand” for housing, I would encourage you to at least look around and see what is available. I would consider it a privilege to help you find the home of your dreams.

Michael Bradford, 770-862-8002
Cherokee County Georgia Real Estate Specialist

Atlanta: Forbes' Most Undervalued Cities

Forbes magazine recenly published this article by Matt Woolsey about the cities in this country with the most undervalued property. Atlanta was in the top 3 along with Charlotte, NC and Detroit, MI.

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Matt wrote: "Market slumps often result in good buys, and solid investments get tagged with bargain prices due to the volatile market. One place to look for these deals is the housing sector, where worries about a continuing dip in home prices are keeping many buyers on the sidelines, and keeping a lid on prices."

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That is exactly what I tell people everyday when they ask about the market, fearful that they should stay out of it. No! NOW is the time to buy. I firmly believe that the spring will bring a rise in prices and people will not be able to find the deals that are out there today.

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If you are in need of a home, NOW is the time to buy. Call me today so we can get to work. We may even have you in your new dream house by Christmas! 770-862-8002.

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Michael Bradford

Southern Prime Realty

My Newest Listings

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If you would like to see either of these homes, or any others that you've seen for sale, please call me at 770-862-8002 to schedule your private tour.

Michael Bradford
Southern Prime Realty

Georgia Ranked #2 Business Climate

According to THIS article in the Atlanta Journal & Constitution, Georgia moved up 2 spaces from last year to end up in the number 2 position for the nation's best business environment. This ranking was made by Site Selection Magazine.

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According to the magazine editor, Mark Arend, the trend seems to be that businesses are moving into southern areas that are less dominated by unions - the "right to work" states.

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Wonder how they all shook out? Here is the final list:

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THE TOP 20

1. North Carolina

2. Georgia

3. Texas

4. Virginia

5. Alabama

6. Tennessee

7. Ohio

8. Kentucky

9. Florida

10. South Carolina

11. Indiana

12. Michigan

13. Illinois

14. Pennsylvania

15. Oklahoma

16. Iowa

17. Mississippi

18. Missouri

19. Nevada (tie)

19. New York (tie)

• Source: Site Selection Magazine's 2007 Top 20 Business Climate Rankings

To Fear Or Not To Fear...

With all of the news out there about the real estate market, one thing is clear to me. We have a significant pent up demand for housing. If you look at the statistics and trends for the last 5 years and compare them with the overall economy, you will realize that alot of people should be moving who are not. Why?
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A buyer's worst fear is that they overpaid for the home they bought and could be "upside down" in their home (owe more than it is worth). The dominant media in this country is in need of headlines that will cause people to read, watch or listen to the reports. It's like the accident on the highway; we can't help but drive by and look. The same is true with a story of doom and catstrophy. We tend to believe bad news before we believe the good. The problem is that often these reports become self fullfilling prophicies.
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There is no hard evidence that now is not the time to buy real estate. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Price reductions are stablizing and interest rates are low. In fact, the Federal Reserve is schedualed to meet today and are expected to cut key rates by at least another quarter point!
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Loans are excellent, the market is a buyer's dream and our local economy is looking fantastic! There is absolutely no reason to fear buying or selling in this market. Let me show you how to even make money during this dip. Call me today at 770.862.8002 and let me tell you how to succeed either as a buyer or a seller.
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Michael Bradford
Southern Prime Realty

DON’T WAIT UNTIL SPRING TO SELL YOUR HOUSE!

As an active agent in Cherokee County, I talk to people everyday whose house did not sell the first or even the second time they listed it. Almost everyone I talk to that had not re-listed their house after a couple of weeks of it expiring tell me they are going to wait until spring before they try again. I know the market is soft now, but will it be that much better in the spring? I wish I had a crystal ball but I don’t. What I can tell you is when spring comes in Georgia, not only will the Dogwoods and Tulips start popping out but there will probably be hundreds more houses for sale signs popping up as well. Many economists say that it will be 2009 before we see a substantial turn around in the housing market. My point is you should take your chances in today’s market instead of speculating on what the market could do in the future.

Here is a case in point: A homeowner wants to move to a bigger house. They have been in their house for awhile now and want to take the equity they have built up and put it into a new, bigger house. The problem is they couldn’t sell it for what it was worth last year in today’s market so the listing expired. Let’s say as an example that the house was worth $200,000 last year but in today’s market they have been or would be selling for $180,000. They don’t want to “lose” $20K so the house sits on the market until the listing expires and they are trapped in a house that is too small.

What are they to do? My advice would be to price the house to sell today, take the perceived “loss” and move on. Why would I call it a “perceived” loss? Because the opportunity to buy the bigger house now, while prices are flat, will more than offset any loss they may have in selling their current home.

Let’s say they are able to buy that new, bigger house last year for $450,000. Today that same house could be bought for $410,000, a savings of $40K! They are already starting $20K ahead. If you also consider the appreciation which may start to climb late next year or early into 2009, getting the appreciation on a $410,000 house would be more than the appreciation on the $180,000 house. Plus you get to enjoy your new, bigger house now! Next year or even 2009 when your $180,000 house will be worth $200,000 again, the $410,000 house will be worth $450,000. Do you want to "save" $20K only to "lose" $40K when you buy the next house?

If this makes sense to you, please call me and let’s talk about your specific situation. If you still want to wait until spring, please keep my contact information and when spring comes, let me show you my internet marketing system that will have sold houses all winter long. I will do my best to make your house stand out against the hundreds of others available then and we can take our chances.

I do hope you will reconsider waiting until spring and call me today. Let’s face it, the market has slowed down but it has not stopped. Everyday people have to move for one reason or another. Let me put your house in front of hundreds of people a week online, holding a “virtual open house” 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Let’s sell your house now so you can move on with your life!

Michael Bradford

770-862-8002

You Know You're Growing Old When...

• You've come to the annoying realization that your parents were right about almost everything.


• The bag boy volunteers to help load groceries into your car-in the "ten items or less" lane.


• You've stopped supporting your children, and started supporting your parents.


• You've found yourself discussing the weather.


• You remember your kid's names, just not always the right one.


• You have nightmares about forgetting to move the garbage cans to the street for the garbage collector.


• Your high school yearbook is now home to three different species of mold.


• You buy "age-defying" makeup and "anti-wrinkle" creams and believe they work.


• You've realized that all those geeky people in Bermuda shorts walking around Disney World include you.


• You recognize Led Zeppelin songs that have been turned into elevator Muzak.


• You've had three opportunities to buy every single Disney Animated Classic-"for the last time in a generation" Wal-Mart and Target seem to share your fashion sense.


• The only way you know to stop a virtual pet from beeping involves the patio and a sledgehammer.


• You can pack two suits, Five shirts, five ties, five pairs of underwear, five pairs of socks, a pair of shoes, and half of your bathroom into a carry-on bag-in less than five minutes.


• You know what Earth Shoes are.


• You think if you hear "Stairway to Heaven" one more time your head will explode.


• Your weight-lifting program seems to have no effect on your muscles, but the veins on the backs of your hands are bulking up quite nicely.

To "Open House" or not to "Open House"? That is the question.

I am asked at almost every listing appointment I go on how many open houses I plan to have. Most sellers are surprised when I tell them that I don't hold traditional open houses at all. I then go on to tell them I wouldn't want to put them or their home through all that for mostly my benefit. Do agents sell the homes that they hold open house for to people attending the open house? I am sure that it does happen. Would that same buyer have bought the home even without an open house? Probably. Buying a house is not an "impulse purchase".


Traditional open houses are great for agents looking for buyers leads. It used to be the number 1 way of finding buyers. But things have changed. The internet is where buyers are going and I want to have my listings as "Virtual Open Houses" 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! Between having virtual tours, multiple photos (25-50), plat drawings of the lot and soon, floor plans of each of my listings posted on the internet, I believe that both my time and yours is better spent leveraging the most powerful tool available today to market your home.

Research by REALTOR® Magazine Online reports that “while 80 percent of home buyers use the Web to search for properties, only 42 percent visited open houses last year”. They also reported “serious buyers tend to view properties online and make appointments to tour the specific properties that truly spark their interest”.

While an open house make’s it look like the agent is working hard for the seller, in most cases, it will only benefit the agent with new buyers leads. I want to sell your house, not use it to generate buyers leads. If you are ready to sell your house, let me show you how marketing on the internet will get thousands of people touring your home in a “Virtual Open House” every week, not just a few between 2 and 4 on Sunday.

Michael Bradford
770-862-8002

Local Investor Offers Solution to Many Buyers With Credit Issues

Howard Brummel is a man who can think outside of the box. This local real estate investor has found a way to put people into houses that they love even when they would not be able to get traditional financing because of credit or income verification issues.

Howard, and other investors like him, offer their houses (he has over 40 right now to choose from) for sale through the very popular Lease/Purchase program. This method of selling a house is proving to be quite popular with the tighter restrictions that mortgage companies are putting on their borrowers now.

HERES HOW IT WORKS:

A buyer has some credit issues but needs a house to live in now. Instead of the traditional 10% down on a house, Howard only requires an initial 3 - 5% down. They have 1 year to clean up their credit while they pay rent on the house as if they were leasing it. As they make their payments on time, they are establishing a record of being able to make payments on the house for the future lender to see.

If they buy the house within the first 3 months, 100% of their on-time rent is credited towards the final purchase price of the house. If they close within 4-6 months, it's 75%. 7-9 months is 50% and 10-12 months is 25% rent credit. After 12 months, 10% of their rent is credited. By credit, I mean that that percentage of their rent will go, along with the down payment, towards to purchase price of the house.

A buyer can know that at least some portion of his rent is working towards the purchase price of the house. He is also buying time to work towards establishing better credit so that he will qualify for traditional financing and lower interest rates.

To read more about Howard's Lease/Purchase plan, you can visit his site by clicking HERE. You can also reach him at 770-591-9492.

Solar Decathalon = Green Ingenuity

U.S.A. Today had a great story on an event that's taking place on the National Mall in Washington D.C. this weekend. It's a competition between 20 teams of students from all over the world that focuses on harnessing the energy of the sun to meet the energy needs of homes.

Many of the solar homes have sustainable materials in them such as "pressed wheat and sunflower hull cabinetry, recycled glass tiles and fly ash countertops made from the ash of incinerated garbage. Bamboo floors replace pine or oak because the durable, fast-growing grass yields four times as much material on the same amount of land."

There will be a team from Georgia Tech to represent us and the results of the hard work should be very exciting. To learn more about how solar cells work, CLICK HERE.

My Newest Listing

I am so proud of my newest listing. I know a lot about the neighborhood, Hidden Branches, because I used to own a house on the same street. The neighborhood homes are all on approximately 5 acre lots so everyone has plenty of privacy and plenty of space to do their own thing. I really hated to sell my house and move.

The owner of this house has done some amazing things. First of all, his house is very unique in style and floorplan. It's a European/Bavarian stucco house on 5 acres with a creek and a pasture. The house is a passive solar design to take advantage of the sun in the winter for heating but shade in the summer to keep it cool. Everything (from windows to fireplaces to HVAC systems) are all high efficiency and designed to keep your energy usage low.

If you would like a private showing of this house, please call me today to schedule an appointment. I can be reached at 770-862-8002.

Holocaust Survivor Tom Reed Speaks at Reinhardt

As part of Reinhardt College’s “Year of Eastern Europe and Russia, the public is invited to to hear a first-hand account of the Holocaust from Thomas Reed, a native of Poland who now lives in Milton, Ga. On Oct. 15, at 11 a.m., on the top level of the Hill Freeman Library and Spruill Learning Center, Reed will speak about his experiences as a Holocaust survivor.

“I will tell people what I have lived through,” Reed said. “I will say, ‘Think about what it would be to be a 12-and-a-half year old boy. Close your eyes and let’s get going.’ Then I tell them my story, what I saw and experienced.”

In 1944 when the Germans occupied Hungary, Mr. Reed was the oldest of five children in his family. They were forced into a local Ghetto along with the 500 other Jewish inhabitants of their small town of Mezocsat. They were then transported to a central Ghetto and sent to Auschwitz in Poland. There his family, except for him and his father, was immediately murdered. Reed pretended to be 17 years old and, along with his father, was selected for work in Germany. He and his father survived the concentration camps of Munchen-Allach, Mulhdorf-Mettenheim and Mittergars and a massacre in Poing, Bavaria.

He was liberated by the U.S. Army at Tutzing, Bavaria. He lived for several years in a displaced persons camp in Bavaria and for a short while in Munich prior to coming to the U.S. in 1949. He served in the U.S. Army, married an American girl, and they have three children and five grandchildren. He earned a B.S.E.E. and J.D. and retired after 42 years in the defense industry.
For more on Reinhardt's Year of Eastern Europe and Russia, please see www.reinhardt.edu/Yeer/index.htm

Active Adult Communities

They're becoming quite popular with the huge number of baby boomers!

These are communities of homes that are built with a 55+ resident in mind. They usually have minimal steps, wide open spaces, a lot of recreational activities in the community and smaller yards (for less maintenance).

Here is a snip from THIS ARTICLE in yesterday's Atlanta Journal & Constitution:

"Two other national home builders have rolled out a strategy in metro Atlanta aimed at another group of transient buyers, retirees. Both Pulte Homes, through its Del Webb division, and Levitt Corp. brand Levitt & Sons have launched a series of communities designed to appeal to "active adults," affluent retirees over age 55 who want to live in a community designed around recreation and leisure activities.

Pulte, in particular, has invested heavily in metro Atlanta with Del Webb communities at Lake Lanier and Lake Oconee and its signature Sun City design in Spalding County south of Atlanta. When first introducing Del Webb in the Atlanta market, Pulte executives predicted that Georgia will become as strong a magnet for retirees as Florida.

With the looming retirement of the baby boom generation, Del Webb is positioning itself as a leader for housing designed to appeal to the healthiest, most affluent generation of home buyers in history."

Cherokee County has such communities and I have seen the beauty and benefits of older adults moving into them. As the boomer generation begins to reach retirment age, the value of the homes in these active adult communities will continue to rise and the demand will be steady.

If you are interested in looking at some of these communities or would like to position yourself to be ready to sell your current home in order to relocate to an active adult community, give me a call today and we'll talk strategy. 770-862-8002.

Michael Bradford

Southern Prime Realty

Good Morning

The first day of a new year at college, the Dean came in and said "Good Morning" to all of the students. When they echoed back to him, he responded "Ah, you're Freshmen."

He explained.

"When you walk in and say good morning, and they say good morning back, they're Freshmen. When they put their newspapers down and open their books, they're Sophomores. When they look up so they can see the who's talking over the tops of the newspapers, they're juniors. And when they put their feet up on the desks and keep reading, they're seniors. "And when you walk in and say good morning, and they write it down, they're graduate students."

Pawcasso art show to benefit Cherokee Animal Shelter

I wanted to let you all know that today, an art show/sale called "Pawcasso" will be opening at the Cherokee Arts Center (located in historic downtown Canton behind the Justice Center). An excellent variety of animal art by several local artists will share the gallery space with art created by the very talented paws of some of The Cherokee Animal Shelter residents. Each original ‘Pawcasso’ painting will be matted and will have the picture, name and story of each animal artist attached to the back of every painting. Proceeds will benefit the Cherokee Animal Shelter. A must see for all animal lovers. If you can only attend once, try to go on Saturday, October 13th for a "Meet the Artists" from 1-3 pm.

Over 600 property views in 1 week!

The real estate market has changed. We have all heard that and for those of us involved with it on a daily basis know it to be true. As with any business, when your market changes, you have to change with it or risk the chance of being left behind. With that said, I was amazed at the response of a new marketing tool that I have been using with one of my listings. It is called the "Featured Home" on Realtor.com, the worlds' largest real estate web site.

When someone does a search on Realtor.com, they usually start the search by city or zip code. The results of the search "30188" are detailed on this page. It then asks you to choose a search option - either a map or a list. But before you see the list or map, there are 4 homes (of the 8 spots for the zip code) with pictures on the left side which are the "Featured Homes" for this zip code. One of these spots is now mine which I rotate my Woodstock, Georgia, 30188 listings in and out of. But as a test for this first week, I left only one listing all week to see what kind of response I would get. My listing at 204 Whistle Wood Court got 612 property views in the week ending 9/23/07!

Even I was impressed with the results! I may be easily amused, but I am not easily impressed:)

I plan to use the "Featured Listing" on Realtor.com for all my listings. In the age of the Internet where 80% of all home buyers start their search for their next home, it only makes sense to use the tools that will reach this massive audience. If you would like to see your home get this kind of exposure in a "slow market", call me and let's get lots of people seeing your home in a whole new "Featured Home" light.

Call me today and let's talk about real estate. It's one of my favorite things to do! Michael Bradford, 770-862-8002