As we enter the spring selling season, sellers should be aware of both the positive and negative aspects of today’s market. While the market presents opportunities, that same market may present road blocks to a successful transaction. Understanding both the positive and negative possibilities is vital to finishing the experience with a successful closing. It is important to know that we are no longer in a buyer’s market. The current number of homes in inventory, including the number of foreclosures that are available are down significantly. This shortage of homes, along with a healthy number …

As we all know, the last few years of the real estate market has been a true buyers market. This buyers market was driven by low interest rates, falling prices and a huge inventory. Much of the inventory and low prices came as foreclosures and short sales flooded the market. Buyers could take their time and choose between several homes that fit their own criteria and pricing goals. These conditions made it very hard for those who wanted to sell. Well here is some good news. If you have considered selling over the past four or five years but didn't feel you could compete, now may be an …

During the first three months of the year, I heard a lot of people say they were going to wait until the Spring/Summer to put their house on the market. Well, the first weekend of May has come and gone. For those that want to sell this year, time is running out if you want to be on the market during the height of the buying season. Remember, school starts back August 6, 2012, so those moving during the summer would want to be moved in and settled before the end of July. That means that they would probably need to be under contract before the end of June. That means that in May and June …

As many of you know, I spend a lot of time and energy trying to educate everyone on the differences between short sale, foreclosures and traditional sales. In preparing for this week's article, I noticed some statistics that told a very interesting story. For those of you that hate numbers and statistics, I apologize. However I felt like the information was important enough to share. Currently there are 267 homes in Dacula listed as ACTIVE in FMLS. Of those, 34 of them (13 percent) are short sales and 27 of them (10 percent) are foreclosures. Together these distressed properties represent …

Last week, I discussed the fact that inventory for houses was at a 10-year low. In looking at the sales for the first quarter, low inventory is validated. I have also talked to many realtors and they all say that they have been busy in the first quarter. So, let’s take a look and see what the numbers are. To establish a baseline, let’s look at the number of homes sold in the first quarter of 2011. Last year had 119 closed transactions with an average sales price of $167,044. That closed sales price represented 88.37 percent of the original listing price. These homes that sold were on the …

Over the last few weeks, the talk around the real estate community centers around the fact that inventory seems to be very tight. It seems there is an abundance of buyers, but not enough good properties to satisfy them. Is this a short term seasonal thing, or is this the beginning of the market starting to show a little life? Either way, if you are considering selling your house, now is probably the best opportunity there has been over the last five years. In fact, inventory across Gwinnett County is at an 11-year low. Currently, there are half as many homes on the market as there were in …

Last week my article was titled “What exactly is a Short Sale?" and in that article I said that I would tell you what a seller would need to provide the bank in a standard short sale package. Keep in mind, the bank wants to make sure that they are getting close to fair market value for the home. If an offer is far lower than they believe the value to be, the bank may just consider a foreclosure and then attempt to sell it closer to the market value amount. The banks also likes to know that there is some hardship involved. Examples of a hardship could be a loss of job, a reduction in income, a…

I continue to meet both buyers and sellers that ask me the question, “What exactly is a short sale?” Over the last 14 months that I have contributed to Dacula Patch, I have written a variety of article on short sales. Seeing that short sales are probably going to continue to be a major factor in the market, it can’t hurt to discuss it again. So, “What is a short sale?” By definition, a short sale is when s seller of a house is selling it for less than what they owe the bank. For example, Mr. and Mrs. Smith buy a home in 2005 for $300,000. When they bought they put 5 percent down for a …

As spring approaches, many may be considering selling their home. With that comes the long mental list of things the homeowner would like to do to the house. In many cases the list represents some “to-dos” inside the house. Well, don’t forget about the outside of the house. In fact, now is the time to do much of the work so that your house looks good in the spring. Curb appeal is a very important part of selling a house. Part of that curb appeal is the landscaping around the house. This week Mike Brosofsky, owner of Perfekt Erth Landscaping is sharing his thoughts on what to do now to ensure …

Last week I talked about “The 5 Things Buyers Should Know.” Well in the interest of fairness, this week we will do the same for sellers. Selling a house in this market is a huge challenge. Foreclosures and short sales make it difficult for a traditional sale to compete. That being said, here are five things that sellers should know: 1. “My house is a deal at this price” – Just because you bought the house for $400,000 and now you’re selling it for $325,000 doesn’t necessarily make it a deal. Buyers don’t care what you paid five years ago. Buyers don’t care how much you owe. Buyers care about …

1. A buyer’s agent represents you – If you are looking to buy a home, the first thing you should do is find an agent that will assist you and more importantly represent you in making an offer.  There are several reasons for this. The first and most important is the fact that the listing agent represents the seller. Their job is to get the most money for the seller, not the best deal for the buyer. The commission for the buyer's agent is paid for by the seller during the transaction, so having an agent costs you nothing. The buyer’s agent can schedule showings of any homes listed. A buyer’s …

Its mid-January, so all of the December closings should have made it in the books. Time now to look at 2011 and see how Dacula real estate performed as compared to 2010. Before looking the numbers, realize that the market was driven by foreclosures and short sales. Interest rates near 4 percent also played a huge role in the market as more buyers were able to buy more house and still qualify. In 2011, 613 homes closed. That number represents a 22 percent increase from the 500 closed homes in 2010. The priciest home sold in Dacula in 2010 topped out at $725,000, while a home off Hog Mountain …

Happy New Year Dacula Patch readers. I hope everyone had a great holiday season. The real estate market in 2011 presented a variety of both challenges and opportunities. As we move into 2012, I think we will see more of the same challenges and more of the same opportunities. Opportunities: Today’s real estate market offers some incredible deals for qualified buyers. The upcoming year will continue to produce a high number of foreclosures and short sales, giving buyers the opportunity to buy at a tremendous discount. The fact that interest rates remain at an all time low just enhances the …

A few days ago, I had an opportunity to preview a home in Hamilton Mill that had been foreclosed, but was not yet on the market. When I entered the home, I was surprised to see how much of the personal belongings the family left in the house. And while I work with clients to purchase foreclosures, I have never been involved in a foreclosure so early in the process. It reminded me that this was once the home of a family. That family has now lost their home and has left behind a lot of what they own. Now it is the holiday season and I want to tell homeowners that there are options out there …

For the past two to three years, we have seen more and more foreclosures. The large number of foreclosures hitting the market has driven prices down. Lower prices have created a serious problem for those individuals who want or need to sell their home. The economy has driven incomes down and unemployment up. Many families find themselves unable to afford the home they bought several years ago. Due to the hardships they face and the dramatic drop in housing prices, we have also seen more and more short sales. (A short sale is where the owners of a home sell the house for less than they owe on …

There are currently 320 homes listed as active in Dacula. The highest price home is listed at $619,900, with the lowest being listed at $19,900. Of the 320 homes currently for sale, 30 are listed as foreclosures and 51 are listed as short sales. That's 81 distressed properties, which represents 25 percent of the homes on the market. If you break Dacula up as represented by the high schools, the Archer area has 25 homes for sale, the Dacula High School cluster has 175 and the Mill Creek cluster has 120. As it stands right now, there are 120 homes under contract and listed as pending in MLS. of…

Today’s real estate market is heavily driven by foreclosures. When I work with buyers, it seems I spend as much time explaining the process of buying a foreclosure as I do showing houses. My most recent contract of a foreclosure in Hamilton Mill was no different. With that in mind, I thought I would take a moment and explain the process of buying a foreclosure. Have a question about foreclosures? Ask it in the comments. First of all, potential buyers always seem to mention that buying a foreclosure can be a long and tedious process. It has been my experience short sales can be long and drawn …

I would like to take the time in this week’s article to recommend a great book. I know this is not a book club, but if you are interested in investing in real estate, it is a must read. The book is “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki. I believe the book was published in 1997, but many of the principles discussed in this book should get you thinking. The concept is simple, buy and rent real estate in order to build wealth over the long term. With today’s market, there are many factors that could possibly make this the best time in years to invest in real estate. The first factor is that …

Do you currently have your house listed on the market? Are you considering putting your house up for sale? If you answered “yes” to either of these questions, you should take a long walk around your home. As you walk around, try to look around as if you are a buyer. There is a big difference between how a home should look when you are living there and how it should look when you are trying to sell it. All of your “stuff” and decorations might fit your taste perfectly, but could be too much or of the wrong taste for many buyers. So the goal should be to try and take out your personal taste and…

The third quarter of 2011 has now come to an end and I was curious to see how Hamilton Mill real estate sales were holding up. As I started to look at the homes that have sold this year, I became curious as to how many of the sold properties were foreclosures and short sales. That lead me to wonder how many homes currently on the market were also foreclosures and short sales and what impact the distressed properties have had on traditional sales. As of Oct. 11, there are 49 homes for sale in Hamilton Mill. That is the lowest number of available homes in Hamilton Mill that I can ever remember…