Introducing 'Providence' - A 67 acre lakeside Monticello inspired estate designed by Stephen Fuller.

I'm absolutely excited to bring this property on the market. The classic symmetry, attention to detail, proper scale and careful proportion combine to create a one of a kind, timeless yet comfortable home.

You enter the property through a tree-lined winding road that provides glimpses - hints of what you are approaching as you exit each turn down the private drive passing while you are flanked on both sides by green equestrian pastures enclosed by 4 board fencing.

The interior boasts 12 foot ceilings on the main level, quarter sawn hardwood floors, gentleman's study, a formal dining room that seats 16, master on main, screened porch, breakfast room, keeping room, a kitchen built for entertaining including a second kitchen and more...here are some interior photos:

Outside and From Above

850 feet of lake frontage, walking trails, a pool, tennis, basketball, multiple equestrian pastures, guest cottage along with an additional 3 bedroom 2 bath caretaker home with barn on 5 of the acres, Providence is a rare example of quality craftsmanship and attention to detail.

Please contact me for more information or to schedule a private viewing.

By Phone: 404-630-3187

By Email

Every month in 2010 has seen a higher number of sales of homes above $750,000 than the same month in the previous year. See the chart below for some specifics:

The sales chart looks strong for the luxury market as well:

What has yet to come back in line in the Atlanta luxury real estate market is the same thing that is still out of balance in the rest of the market - inventory. There are currently 1,658 active listings above $750,000 with another 130 properties under contract and 202 sales in the first 4 months of 2010. That's an average of 50.25 sales per month yielding an absorption rate of 33 months. In other words, it would take approximately 33 months for all homes listed for sale above $750,000 to sell if no new homes came on the market based upon the sales rate of the last 4 months.

There are 130 properties under contract, but the time that it takes to close these homes and the number of homes that won't actually close make it difficult to project forward at higher price points based upon pending sales. 33 months of inventory is high, but must not be compared directly to the overall market which currently has an absorption rate of about 10.5 months.

Looking at sales volume from the first 4 months of this year does shed some light on where the market is heading especially when you also consider the large number of pending sales and the outlook is good. The Atlanta luxury market is showing the same signs of rebound as the rest of the market. What this means is that prices have begun to stabilize although some homes will still sell for much less than they would have in the last few years. I think it's a good time to buy since prices have come down and from the numbers, others are beginning to agree.

If you have specific questions this or about a smaller segment of the luxury market, please don't hesitate to ask and I will be happy to help.

The Short Sale Listing Process

If you have found yourself in a situation where you aren't sure that you can continue making payments on your home or you or someone you know has suffered a hardship that will make it difficult to continue living in their home because of a physical or financial hardship and continuing to pay the mortgage is not or will not be feasible, you (or they) may be eligible for a short sale.

The definition of a hardship is somewhat subjective and you will need to meet certain eligibility requirements from your lender, but you may have options that don't include foreclosure and sometimes include staying in your home. Foreclosure is not your only option.

Taking the First Step

Take action. If you or someone you know needs help, the first thing you need to do is find a real estate agent professional in your area, such as myself, who is trained and who is an expert in handling the short sale process. Look for someone who has the industry standard designation known as CDPE. CDPE stands for Certified Distressed Property Expert. When you work with someone who is a CDPE, you get someone who is looking first to help you. That may or may not mean that you have to sell your home. For some, there may be an option to stay in their home, but, without a consultation and a look at all of the facts involved, there is simply no way to know for sure.

Call Us - Confidential Consultation - 404.630.3187

I am an Atlanta short sale agent and I may be able to help you if you are currently behind or will soon find yourself in a situation where you are over your head and need help. Don't let your home go into foreclosure without reaching out for help. You may have options and we are here to help.

This 4 bedroom 3.5 bath home has hardwood floors and granite counters as well as a master on the main and upstairs as well. The bonus room could easily be a fifth bedroom and all in the convenient and popular Crabapple Crossroads neighborhood.

Because it's located in the Crabapple Overlay District, it's within walking distance to all of the great sidewalk shops and restaurants.

I don't want to sound like an alarmist, but, if you want in on a great deal, you better hurry. Get more details here...

So, I tossed around the idea and tossed it around a little more and then decided to leave it alone. I felt I had exhausted most of what I thought were good ideas and was about out of new ones. If I came across the next great idea in some dream that woke me up at 3:00 in the morning or I otherwise was struck by an idea, I would pursue it at that time. So many things happen this way. No sooner did I let the idea go than I stumbled across an unused domain name which I immediately purchased. I liked the idea of the name as it conjured up a descriptive context for which I want us to be thought of. It makes my marketing easier, it leaves an impression of what we are on consumers and it meets the goal and direction I envision for us in the Atlanta real estate market. The name? PremierAtlantaRealEstate.com.

From now on, we are: Premier Atlanta Real Estate

I'm now working on a logo to reinforce our brand now as well. This is what I have so far:

So to answer the question of when it's a good time to re-brand...I don't really know. I guess when the re-branding reinforces and strengthens your long term vision and goal and when it is cost effective to make the change. For real estate, December is a great time.

Grand Veridian is a swim/tennis neighborhood that was built by Fairgreen with the first homes being finished in 2001. When you drive through Grand Veridian it doesn't take long to see that the neighborhood itself was thought out with more detail than many of the suburban cookie cutter neighborhoods. Street lights and sidewalks line the streets like most, but, it's clear that green space was given a greater consideration. Besides being built around a small lake, the cul-de-sacs are not circular and they are not filled with asphalt from the curb to the center. Instead, these are turned into something of mini parks landscaped with trees and benches.

Value is More Than Price

I realize many people have forgotten that in this market price alone determine value, but, I think it's worth repeating and in this case is enough to elevate Grand Veridian above the value mark offered by most other nearby neighborhoods. I am of the opinion that Grand Veridian may offer the most house for the money in Roswell High School district and when we were doing our market analysis for this home we had to go quite far north to find the amenities combined with quality and size of a home.

3 of the 75 homes in Grand Veridian are for sale right now with one under contract (it went under contract before ours was listed) and there have been 5 sales this year ranging from about $550,00 to $750,000.

If you are looking for a home on the west side of 400 in this price range and especially if you are looking for homes in Roswell, you need to look at Grand Veridian. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

The FMLS shows 43,799 homes for sale (active only) and the last month of complete sales data is April where there were 3,477 sold homes. Simple division gives you an absorption rate, or, months of inventory of 12.59 months. I have no idea how the AJC gets 8 months of inventory reported recently. Many people will argue that you need to also look at pending and contingent sales. If you do that, we are at 14.9 months of inventory and that means that what we have is an inventory problem. We simply have too much inventory for the sales rate.

The truth is we will see a significant change in the numbers, but, that wont actually show up until late July after June sales are closed and counted. I would not be surprised if we see a temporary inventory level of under 10 months - maybe, but, by then we will be moving back out of the selling season so it may actually mean that 2010 will be better than I think it will, but, its not possible to predict with the current economic conditions, unknown inventory levels for next spring, etc. I guess it also should be said that it won't have to do all that great to "do better" than I think it actually will anyway. Besides, other factors that remain unknown and quite capable of influencing the market are factors like “herd mentality” and how the news media continues to portray what is happening. Nobody knows for sure, but, unless homes stop coming on to the market, there is no way out of this any more quickly than 2011. I just don't see how.

The bottom line is this - with inventory levels where they are, traditional market forces are the only “knowns” in the equation and that means a further general price decline as supply and demand dictates will happen. There will be more foreclosures coming on the market and they are now part of the price equation in most sub-markets so they do affect values. Now, if you are still reading, you probably thing I have painted a pretty grim picture of the Atlanta market, but, if you are searching for homes for sale in Atlanta right now, you should know that there is more to this story. I'm talking generalities right here and there are sub sections of the Atlanta market that are showing the early signs of stabilizing. Most are on the north side in areas that are more desirable like Sandy Springs, Roswell, Alpharetta and the other northern suburbs of Suwanee and Cumming.

Anyway, I have just heard too many people recently talk about this market like the bottom is behind us. There is nothing to indicate that this is the case and if I were to breakdown submarkets, you would see it more clearly. I'll try to post some of those breakdowns in more appropriate posts, but, this one was just to get on my soapbox for a while. I just can tow the line about how great of a time it is to buy right now - at least not without some realities thrown in as well. That doesn't mean I think you should wait to buy becasue there is affordability risk in waiting as well, but, that too is for another post that have to do with interest rates, monthly payments at current rates vs. possible future rates and the difference if prices changes. We need to be smart about the market. Not follow the herd mentality.

You can check out Crooked Creek's website for more information, but, it's a little thin right now. In fact, online information about all of the projects isn't very easy to find. I'll try to post the full list of upgrades in detail when I can find the time and if your interested, you can view our single property website, homes for sale in Crooked Creek where we are marketing our listing or view all homes for sale in Crooked Creek here. Now to the statistics....

As of the beginning of June, there are 45 homes for sale. They range in price from $999,000 to $349,000. The median price is $549,900 for all active and pending listings, but $425,000 for pending listings. This year, there have been 5 sales. The average price of those sales is $525,580. Of course, prices do vary widely from around $400,000 to over $600,000 and the ceiling is certainly much higher for new larger homes in the neighborhood and lower if you can scoop up a foreclosure, but, like foreclosures in other neighborhoods, prices may not be a good indication of value as you are likely going to be sinking in quite a bit of money to bring it up to the standards of the non-foreclosure homes. There just haven't been any higher sales in the neighborhood yet this year. There have been a number of sales in the higher price range found in Crooked Creek in the surrounding areas and more specifically in the zip code, but, what we are really seeing is the bloodletting of many new homes - some finished and other unfinished in areas like The Manor where the market slowdown has demolished home values and other areas like White Columns and Triple Crown where there are more homes newer than those found in Crooked Creek.

I didn't play the course while I was out here taking photos - it was just actually after we did an open house at our new listing, but, from the road, the course looked great. I just wish that the pool and some of the other new facilities were moving along at a faster pace. I believe that the pool is supposed to already be open. As pretty as it was, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get some pictures for my website and for the single property website I'm using to market our listing.

A couple of things make Crooked Creek a little more attractive than some of the other gated communities and while I realize that it isn't yet gated, it will be so it's time we start comparing it and looking at value in Crooked Creek compared with other gated golf neighborhoods in the Alpharetta/Milton area. When we do that, Crooked Creek very well may be the best overall value and that should bode well for homeowners and may help to shore up prices more quickly than surrounding areas. I don't have a crystal ball and only time will tell if the improvements coming in Crooked Creek will pay off, but, it does place them at a competitive advantage in terms of price and in today's market, that may be enough to make Crooked Creek once again one of the most popular neighborhoods in the area.

The Foundation helps foster families across the state of Georgia through donations of clothing for infants, toddlers and small children who then have an opportunity to "shop" at the warehouse during the course of the year. It is a non profit that is 100% funded with volunteers and donations.

18 agents, brokers and owners from our office showed up to help prepare the new location or meet at the old location to organize new orders to be delivered to deserving foster families across the state.

In a time where the depreciating real estate market is causing negative effects for people across the country, times like these offer charities and non profit organizations an opportunity to find much better locations to operate and help those they serve for a lower cost.

On behalf of our Keller Williams Roswell office, I would like to thank Rachel, who founded the organization and allowed us an opportunity to help. Click here for more information or to make a donation to The Foster Care Support Foundation.

(I'm in the Keller Williams Realty Consultants office in Roswell, GA)

Saturday

I arrived in Orlando earlier today and finally got a chance to meet Cal Carter from the Gulf Shores outside of the exhibits and registration entrance at the Orlando County Convention Center. He's going to be sitting in on one of the panels so I'll definitely try to make that one. The city is jam packed with multiple conventions and traffic is a bear, but, I already feel energized and we have yet to really begin the event. I just finished scheduling the first two days of classes. I struggled a bit with whether to take this opportunity to invest some time in areas that I consider the weakest or to utilize the time to enhance my strengths. After thinking on it for a while, I've decided to spend most of my energy on what my goals are for 2009. That means lead conversion, anything internet and social media related, team building and leadership. It will be a very full 4 days.

My Sunday and Monday classes will be based on the following:

• New Technology
• Effective CMA's
• What it takes to close 100 Transactions in a year
• Build a high performance sales team
• Catch people in your web
• An effective prelisting package

I'll work on Tuesday after I get a full day in tomorrow and if I can, I'll try to get a couple of pictures up with Cal and some of the people from my office and anything else of interest.

That's it for now, it's going to be a busy few days with lots of homework so I'll try to post some interesting things tomorrow during the day if I have time.

Sunday

Here are some photos from Sunday:

I took this one on my way out of the hotel. I thought it would be nice to catch the sunrise as it was really the beginning of the event.

This was my first class on Sunday. What I'm looking for is just a few extra nuggets to bring back to our team in Atlanta. The Class was taught by Ben Kinney. Overall a good class and a serious lead follow up plan. We are doing most of it in one form or another on our team right now, but, started with it within the month - things are looking up from it. My biggest takeaway (for me personally) was that since we are primarily a web based lead generating machine, it is essential for all of us (on our team) to have access to email from our phones. It seems quite clear that immediate follow up is needed when someone inquires about a home. There were a few other items to note, but, I can't recap each class totally - there just isn't enough time.

Before breakout classes began, we were all able to catch up in the lobby by group texting (and through twitter). Below is Sara and Jack from our office.

Left to right: Betsy King, Denise Buchanan and Sara Cresci (sp?).

After the first class at 8 this morning, we all headed over to the opening ceremony which was quite an event in itself where Gary Keller spoke at length about the economy, what our mindset should be and what we need to be prepared for - especially over the next six months. Here are a few shots I took:

The Theme

Gary Keller beginning the speech.

Interesting.

All of the values above the trend line basically represent lost equity from homeowners/banks.

Far reaching.

Self correcting (just the absolute very beginning), more bad to come.

Tough times demonstrate that we add value.

Lunch at The Peabody.

KW Family reunion really will be helpful to my business...I'll post more tomorrow. Actually, the full post on Keller Williams Family Reunion is here...