News Archives -

Baby Boomers are Not Moving

June 25, 2019 by Thom Abbott

Were you born between 1946 and 1964? Then you are a Baby Boomer and Baby Boomers are Not Moving!

What does that mean? In an article that appeared in Housingwire, and according to the Chicago Tribune, these Baby Boomers are a stick in the spokes of the homeowner cycle. And that clog equals some 1.6 million homes that are NOT coming on the market because they have chosen to “age in place” vs. selling and moving to a retirement community or some other community. As a result, these homes are not coming to market for those first time home buyers that are currently looking in the market. It is a form of housing gridlock if you will.

Baby Boomers Not Moving

In January, Chase released a study which found that 76% of Baby Boomers own their own homes. Some 66% of those homeowners think that home values will soon rise and an even greater 88% of them have renovation plans within the next 3 years! And while Baby Boomers think their home is “just right,” a Millennial might look at an older home as a place to throw money as systems, and more, need updating.

Consider Resale When Remodeling

And as the Boomers make changes to their home, the need to keep resale in mind for the future. You can affect the market appeal of your home with weird changes you make make, to fit your lifestyle. You may be looking at “undoing” some of those changes when you do look to place your home on the market. That wheelchair ramp from the carport, or a retro-fitted bathroom with grab bars may not be quite what today’s buyer is looking for! But hey….if you have historic details…be sure to keep them and not remove! Millennials will get into history and such and overlook the functional issues a home may have.

But you also have to think long term in the upkeep and if you can afford it…or afford someone to clean house and mow the lawn. Sure, you might enjoy it when you are 55, but when you are 65, or even 70 it could be a real challenge. At least at the homes where you have a large yard to take care of, or lots of space to air condition that you don’t really need…or can’t physically take care of.

If you have been thinking about “aging in place” or maybe downsizing to a smaller home or even a condominium, why not give us a call and we’d be happy to sit down with you and talk about some of your options.

StreetLights Residential Proposes 26-story Tower at Juniper and 5th

June 12, 2019 by Thom Abbott

Another corner of Midtown seems to be headed to the winds of change…..StreetLights Residential Proposes 26-story Tower at Juniper and 5th!!

First, to give you your bearings as to where we are talking about, take a look at the map to the right….

There may be one house in the blue square (at the bottom) that may not be part of the site.

This building will rise up some 299 “market-rate” residential units (would this mean a potential change to For Sale inventory would be possible?) over a seven-level parking deck to house some 568 parking spaces. It’s worthy to note that 150 spaces will be assigned to the adjacent St. Mark Church. There will also be a very modest 4,000 sq. ft of retail space.

The project went through the Midtown Alliance’s Midtown Development Review Committee this week. The DRC has some recommendations…

Moving the retail space to the corner of Juniper and 5th to take advantage of the pedestrian traffic along 5th Street
“strengthening the exterior design features” and work with the Atlanta City Design Studio due to the size of the building and the location next to the church.

Here is the initial drawing of the building….(dwarfs the church for sure!)

Currently on the site you will find….

The DRC report indicates the applicant will be back for another review after the above items have been addressed.

Stay tuned!

You can read the Midtown DRC report HERE!

Anthem to take Second Midtown Tower

April 19, 2019 by Thom Abbott

The kinda-giant in health insurance, Anthem, Inc. is going to occupy a bigger part of the Midtown Atlanta office landscape.

Anthem to take Second Midtown Tower

740 West Peachtree is currently under construction for the company, next to the almost complete Coda mixed use development. The addition of 712 West Peachtree and the creation of the Anthem Technology Center mean hundreds of Anthem workers will call Midtown Atlanta home by 2021. The second building is expected to start construction in a few weeks.

In an email quoted in the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Anthem confirmed this expansion:

“We have announced some future changes to our Atlanta-area office locations that will enable us to provide improved worked environments for our employees and enhance our strong collaborative culture, as we focus on creating a better healthcare experience for the communities and customers we serve. We have recently agreed to lease a tower as part of the new Portman Holdings development in Midtown Atlanta at 712 West Peachtree, and plan to consolidate our offices currently in Buckhead and downtown Atlanta to this new location when construction is completed in 2021.”

As stated above, this consolidation of offices in Midtown and Buckhead may, or may not mean additional new people looking to move into Midtown Atlanta to be closer to the new offices. But there are certainly many choices for just that. Just 4 (or so) blocks away, the new conversion, Harper on Piedmont will offer new condominium residences. Headed North from the site you will find buildings like Cornerstone Village, Viewpoint Midtown, Spire and MidCity Lofts. All of these buildings are an easy walk to the new Center. And these are just a few of the many options! The stars on the map below indicate the location of these buildings.

Anthem employees needing to travel are just a couple blocks from the North Avenue MARTA station for easy access to Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The location of the new building to MARTA, would also open up areas like Assembly Doraville and Chamblee with transit access to work.

We look forward to helping Anthem, Inc. employees call Midtown Atlanta HOME! For more information on the living options available in Midtown Atlanta, just contact us at 770.713.1505 or complete the form below!

5 Organizing Mistakes You Could be Making

April 5, 2019 by Thom Abbott

Most of us wish to keep our homes organized. That’s a piece of cake. Yet many individuals have a hard time to maintain their home this way. This is due to the fact that there are some typical actions that can be making it tough for you to remain organized. Here are 5 Organizing Mistakes You Could be Making!

Not Arranging by Feature

Lots of individuals like to sort by shade or group things by their physical similarities. Nevertheless, this could really be making areas such as your closets even a bigger mess. If every one of your shirts are organized by color yet you use specific t-shirts during the week and also other ones on the weekend, this will create you to have to sift with every t shirt you have to find one that is work-appropriate or laid-back enough for the weekend break.

Rather, group things by feature. Maintain all your shoes and also garments organized in a way that makes good sense for your lifestyle and also you will have a better chance of staying arranged.

Organizing Things You Do Not Need

Before you organize your kitchen area or bathroom, sort out what you have and ask yourself if each thing is still essential. For instance, if you are reorganizing cabinets in the kitchen, take every item out of the cabinet and also lay it out before you. Examine each thing and also choose if you must keep it, toss it or give it away!

Now, you only need to organize the products you have left. Organizing items you do not use is a waste of time and will just add to the clutter you are trying to get rid of.

Purchasing Too Many Storage Space Containers

Do you acquire boxes and also baskets with every purpose of getting organized by using them, but they wind up sitting in the garage or your storage unit with a wide variety of unassociated things? Before you invest in storage containers, eliminate anything you don’t really need or use anymore. After that, decide how many and what kind of containers you need, on a list. This way, you buy the right containers for the things you are keeping.

Using Bookshelves as a Storage Unit

It’s easy to transform your shelves into a disposing ground for knick-knacks and also various items you do not have a place for. Actually, the bookshelf should have a really thoughtful design of carefully curated products. Bookshelves are open and also become an eyesore when they’re jammed.

Also the books you display on your bookshelf ought to be the best of the best! Those paperbacks you need to keep…they go in one of those containers.

Furniture Overload

If you stay in a condo or a smaller house, make sure you have the right furnishings for the space you have to work with. For example, just because houses commonly have a formal dining room doesn’t mean you HAVE to have a dining room table. This could make a great home office or theater room! imply you have to. If you condo has a breakfast bar, and you don’t entertain much, consider not having ANY dining table. It just depends on your space and your lifestyle. Save room for that special piece that came from family or as some other meaning to you!

Looking for even more methods to maintain your residence clutter-free… especially if you are thinking about selling … Give us a call today! We are happy to help you with this process, or give you some resources!

NEW! Fulton County Homestead Exemption

March 27, 2019 by Thom Abbott

NEW! Fulton County Homestead Exemption NEW!

There is a NEW Senior Homestead Tax Exemption available for homeowners who are 65 or older, regardless of income, if your primary residence is in Fulton County.

This new age-based exemption was passed in November 2018 and is in addition to base homestead exemption but it requires an application (by April 1) to take effect in most cases to increase the amount of your homestead exemption and effectively lower total property taxes. The deadline to file for this new Senior Homestead Tax Exemption (or for any homestead exemption) is Monday April 1, 2019, to qualify for property tax relief in the current year.

Standard Rule: If primary residence then owner may qualify to exempt up to $30,000 of their home’s assessed value.

NEW IN FULTON – Homeowners over the age of 65 are now eligible for a new senior homestead exemption. It increases the base homestead exemption from $30,000 to $50,000. All homeowners over the age of 65 qualify, regardless of income.

ACTION NEEDED: If Owner already has another 65 and older homestead exemption, this will automatically apply. If not, they must apply online, in person, or by the April 1 deadline.

The following steps will help you file your homestead exemption online:

1. Go to: https://fultonassessor.org

2. Click on “Property Search”

3. Click on “Address Search”

4. Key in the property address, but leave off the suffix (ex: for 123 Main Street, you would enter 123 Main)

5. Click “Search” 6. When results are returned, click on the property owner’s name to be directed to the property profile.

7. On the Profile page, in the lower right-hand corner, the page will provide the Fulton County exemption code (FUL Exep Code).

8. If the FUL Exep Code ends in “S”, the property owner does not need to file (ex: HF01S), but if it does not end in “S,” the property owner will need to file by April 1.

9. To file, visit the following: https://fultonassessor.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2019/01/2019-HomesteadApplication-Revised.pdf to print out the form to take to the Assessor’s Office.

10. To file online, visit: https://iassmartfile.fultoncountyga.gov/

11. Either “Create an Account” or “Login”

12. Click “Homestead Exemption”

To file, the property owner will need the following information:

a. Georgia Driver’s License or valid Georgia identification (Owner and Spouse)

b. Social Security Number (Owner and Spouse)

c. Registration for all vehicles owned (vehicles must be registered to Fulton County)

d. Recorded Deed (for new owners only)

e. Trust Document and Affidavit (if the property is held in trust).

For further assistance, call (404) 612-6440 x 4 or visit:

Peachtree Center North Tower (Main Office) 235 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 1400 Atlanta, GA 30303

Fulton County Government Center 141 Pryor Street, Suite 1018 Atlanta, GA 30303-3487

Alpharetta Service Center 11575 Maxwell Road Alpharetta, GA 30009

North Service Center 7741 Roswell Road NE, Suite 210 Atlanta, GA 30350

South Service Center 5600 Stonewall Tell Road, Suite 224 College Park, GA 30349

Atlanta Real Estate Market Brief — February 2019

March 19, 2019 by Thom Abbott

The Atlanta REALTORS® Association has released their Atlanta Real Estate Market Brief — February 2019.

This market brief examines sales and prices in an 11-county area consisting of Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Fayette, Henry and Paulding Counties. ( So take note…this is a really, really BROAD look at the real estate market in Metro Atlanta!)

Overall residential sales were at 3,464 which is a decrease of 7.4% from the previous year. When you look at price (both average and median) you see they continue to gain traction and are ahead of 2018 numbers. The median sales price in February was $264,000, an increase of 5.6% from February, 2018. The average Sales Price was up by 5.3% to $319,000.

What’s The Atlanta Inventory Like?

Inventory increased by 15.7% from February, 2018 with 12,806 active listings. (Remember those MetroBrokers digital signs back in the day that had 80,000, 90,000 and even 100,000 homes For Sale? Shreeeeek!) New listings were up by 15.4% from February, 2018. The month’s supply over a 12-month period decreased to 2.6 months.

Is This A Normal Real Estate Market?

A normal real estate market has 6 months of inventory. Less than 6 months (as indicated above) is a Seller’s market, and more than 6 months is a Buyer’s market. More inventory means buyers can probably get the Seller to negotiate more on price or other concessions. In a Seller’s market, we find homes selling for list price, and even above list price.

My word of caution in a report as broad as this…..real estate is all about location, location, location. These average sales numbers are just that… an average and what you may see in your neighborhood, city or specific condominium building may vastly differ from these numbers. This is why it’s always best to get a real estate professional to give you a market picture for your home and neighborhood/building.

If you have questions about the value of your home, give us a call, or just fill out the form below and we will be in touch with you!

Baby Boomers Not Moving

Consider Resale When Remodeling

Anthem to take Second Midtown Tower

Not Arranging by Feature

Organizing Things You Do Not Need

Purchasing Too Many Storage Space Containers

Using Bookshelves as a Storage Unit

Furniture Overload

NEW! Fulton County Homestead Exemption NEW!

What’s The Atlanta Inventory Like?

Is This A Normal Real Estate Market?

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