real estate report, april 2016
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Appen Media Group
April Special Section
Real Estate Report
2 northfulton.com SponsoredSection•real estate report april 2016
2 | NorthFulton.com | April 2016 Sponsored Section
The importance of great images Brought to you by: BIll raWlINGsVice President/Managing Broker, North AtlantaAtlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty
In today’s market, nearly 100 percent of consumers begin the home search process online. There are now apps, virtual tours on listing websites and tools for comparing homes on the market. It is the easiest and most ac-cessible way for buyers to narrow their search before taking the action of going to physically view a home.
Pictures say a thousand words, and this is true. With today’s technology, there are so many options for how to display your home through photog-raphy. It is important for the image of your home to be professional and appealing because this is how it will be reflected to the market and any poten-tial buyers. The newest trends in the
market for images are aerial views, 3D imag-ing and twilight views.
Choose a great REALTOR® who will be able to assist in mar-keting your home in the best way. Statistics indicate that profes-sional photography sells a home 50% fast-
er and 39% closer to the original listing price. The most important images to capture are the most significant pieces of a home, such as the exterior of the home, kitchen, master bedroom, master bathroom and any unique feature that sets the home apart from others.
Remember, it will take much more than incredible photos to sell any home. Professional photography will showcase your home in its best light, but it will also help to have a REAL-TOR® assist you in navigating through-
out the home-selling process. Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s Inter-
national Realty agents deliver results. Allow one of our dedicated profession-als to assist you by visiting atlantaf-inehomes.com or calling our office at
770.442.7300.Adapted from an article that ap-
peared on Realtor.com http://www.realtor.com/advice/
sell/why-you-might-need-professional-photos-to-sell-your-home/
rawlings
4 northfulton.com SponsoredSection•real estate report april 2016
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Promotions in this ad are available only for homes in the Atlanta Division being marketed by Ryland Homes.* Promotion is available to Buyers of To-Be-Built New homes for purchase agreements written between March 15, 2016 and April 30, 2016. “$15,000” can be used towards Design Center Options, lot premiums, finished basement, and other structural options. Offer not valid in the Arbors II at LakeView and Woodbury Preserve communities. **Buyers of both To-Be Built homes and Quick Move-In homes that are written between March 15, 2016 and April 30, 2016 are also eligible to receive “Up to $5,000 towards closing costs”. Promotion is available only to buyers financing through CalAtlantic Mortgage® Corporation and closing through a Ryland Homes preferred closing attorney. Incentives available may vary by community, product and home. Prices, plans, and terms are effective on the date of publication and subject to change without notice. CalAtlantic Homes and CalAtlantic Mortgage® Corporation reserve the right to modify or cancel this offer at any time without notice. See a CalAtlantic Mortgage® Corporation loan office for more details. CalAtlantic Mortgage® Corporation, NMLS ID #203897, holds a Georgia Residential Mortgage License #24225, 8660 E Hartford Drive Suite 200a, Scottsdale, AZ 85255 and branch location 1000 Mansell Exchange West, Suite 210, Alpharetta, GA 30022 License #68278. Homes under contract prior to these offers are not eligible. Promotions may not be combined with other offers. Photographs are for illustration only. For complete details on restrictions and limitations, please contact a Ryland Homes Sales Counselor. © 2016 CalAtlantic Group, Inc. RA 2064
Ryland and Standard PacificNow One Company CalAtlanticHomes.com
By: Kathy WeeKsManaging Broker, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage,
Today's housing market presents considerable opportunities for both sell-ers and homebuyers. The demand for homes is high and now that prices are stabilizing, and in many cases increas-ing, across much of the country, it may be the right time to consider taking ad-vantage of the market and selling your home. While potential homebuyers are aware of the positive impact of histori-cally attractive low interest rates, we're seeing many sellers who are confused and concerned whether now is indeed the right time to put their home on the market. If this is the fence that you're sitting on, here are five questions to help you decide if now is the right time make a move:
1. Have you built equity in your home? Home equity can be defined as the value of a home, minus the amount of outstanding debt. Although equity does not generally develop in the first few years of home ownership, five or more years of home payments may cre-ate significant unrealized gains. Any eq-uity you may have can be used to move
up to a larger home or as a comfortable nest egg if you're nearing retirement and consid-ering downsizing.
2. Has your income or financial situation improved? You should consider your overall financial situation, including current and
future expenses, in order to make an educated decision on a price range for a new home. For example, an increase in salary may allow for an increased mortgage.
3. Has your lifestyle changed? Life-style changes are one of the most com-mon reasons people choose to move. Starting or adding to a family may require an extra bedroom or additional square footage. A desire to live closer to work or family may provide the motiva-tion for a home in a new town. Or now may be the time to downsize to a home that requires less up-keep.
4. How is the housing supply in your neighborhood? Demand for homes is high and there are currently not enough sellers for potential buyers. Have you noticed there is only a spat-
tering of for sale signs in your neighbor-hood? And more importantly - have you noticed how quickly those sale pending signs are posted? With fewer homes on the market, there is more competition for yours, which could mean more of-fers and potentially more money.
5. Are interest rates attractive? A low interest rate means lower mortgage payments on your next home, even if it is in the same price range.
Coldwell Banker Residential Bro-kerage’s Alpharetta office has affiliated sales associates who are experts in At-lanta’s communities and can help you quickly turn your dream into reality. If you’ve been thinking of putting your house on the market, now is a great time. We have buyers searching for properties right now– we’d love to sell them your home! Contact our office today by calling 770-642-0399.
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
weeks
april 2016 real estate report•SponsoredSection northfulton.com 5
C O L D W E L L B A N K E R R E S I D E N T I A L B R O K E R A G E
2015 Top Performers – Individuals and Teams
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage | Alpharetta Office
Anita BrydeInternational President’s Elite
Listing Agent of the Year
Alpharetta 770.642.0399 | 3800 Mansell Road, Suite 100 | Alpharetta, GA 30022
Administered by American Home Shield
Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of the Company. ©2016 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Operated by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker, the Coldwell Banker logo, Coldwell Banker Previews International and the Previews logo are registered and unregistered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. 12083ATL_3/16
CO L DWE L L B A N K ERHOMES .C OM
Top Individual Sales Associates
Judy LindermanInternational
Diamond Society
Leslie HawkinsInternational
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Julie BarnesInternational
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Beverly YounkinsSteve Caster Jane Turner Susan Craig Sue ForsytheInternational
Diamond Society
Top Sales Team
Dean & Michelle Chapman
Outstanding New Sales Associate
Linda Hall
6 northfulton.com SponsoredSection•real estate report april 2016
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© MMXVI Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated.
AtlantaFineHomes.com 770.442.7300
ARTFULLY UNITING EXTRAORDINARY HOMES WITH
Cumming. 6133 Menlow Court 3BR/2BA FMLS: 5659832 Eleanor Nadal 678.524.8379
Cumming. 2416 Ballantrae Circle 3BR/2BA FMLS: 5650264 Melissa Frantz 404.791.3686
Duluth. 8370 Colonial Place 6BR/5.5BA FMLS: 5642475 Trudy Provo 770.331.0540
Spring landscaping can increase home valueBrought to you by: Jody WhIte
Curb appeal is essential when selling a home. It’s the homeowner’s opportu-nity to make a great FIRST impression. A home with lackluster landscaping or an exterior in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint will likely be unappealing to prospective buyers and ultimately could affect the home’s potential value.
Landscaping is typically associated with lawns, trees, bushes and flowers. But today, other items such as fire pits, decks, patios, waterfalls, swim-ming pools and outdoor lighting…are all large factors that could add to the resale value of a home. Big factors here in Alpharetta, Milton and Roswell!
According to a recent study by Lawn and Landscape magazine, about two-thirds of homeowners say they’ll get less than 60 percent of their landscaping investment back when they sell the home. Thus, homeowners need to consider how long they’ll be in the home and whether to make short-term updates (for sales appeal) or plan for the long haul (enjoyment for themselves).
Homeowners should ask themselves several questions when it comes to the quality of their home’s green space.
• Isthelandscapingattractiveenoughtogettheprospective buyer to walk through the door? Keep the design simple and contemporary.
• Couldthelandscapingprovidecostsavings?Landscaping that requires little or no water to maintain is very desirable here in the south.
• Isthelandscapingenergy–efficientforthehomeoverall? For example, it’s a good idea to plant trees in a place where they block the sun while adding beauty to the home.
• Aretreesplantedasafedistancefromthehomeand are they healthy and well maintained? Really im-portant when we have had so much wet weather. Weak, old or damaged trees planted too close to a home need to be removed BEFORE the home goes on the market. Just one less thing a new homeowner will have to do and shows that the present homeowner has taken steps to ensure safety around the home.
Jody White’s team provides access to the best teams in the industry to assure your home is ready to show, inside and out! Jody White, Atlanta Fine Homes, 404-966-7992.
Crye-leike leads in real estate internet marketingBuying and selling real estate could
be a daunting task, but Crye-Leike makes it easy. Crye-Leike sales associates and their customers are backed by the most up-to-date technology tools in the indus-try to make any real estate transaction the smoothest and quickest it can pos-sibly be. Tools like Crye-Leike’s website, Crye-Leike.com, and its mobile app create a welcoming and engaging experience.
Every 12 minutes, Crye-Leike updates over 400,000 property listings on Crye-Leike.com to ensure the most accurate
real estate information available. Over 55 percent of Crye-Leike’s total web traffic is now mobile available (app available on the App Store for IPhone or Android).
Crye-Leike’s mobile app and web site display real-time real estate listings that come from numerous member Multiple Listing Service agencies in nine states where Crye-Leike has a market presence. Crye-Leike.com generates over 12,000 visitors per day and 30 million hits per month, statistics that appear to come easy for the nation’s fourth largest pri- |
© MMXVI Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated.
white
april 2016 real estate report•SponsoredSection northfulton.com 7
Spring landscaping can increase home value
Crye-leike leads in real estate internet marketingvately-held residential real estate firm but are definitely earned. Cry-Leike recently won the 2015 Most Effective Search En-gine Optimization (SEO) Strategy Award for outstanding web site marketing of its Crye-Leike.com web site. This coveted SEO award was presented by Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (LeadingRE), a global community of more than 500 high-quality independent real estate firms.
As a full service real estate company, Crye-Leike takes pride in offering its cus-
tomers convenience, reliability and effi-ciency for the past 39 years. While ranked the nation’s sixth largest residential real estate brokerage firm among the nation’s top 500, Crye-Leike is making its mark in Georgia to join its rank of being the largest real estate company in Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and the Mid-South.
Crye-Leike has a network of over 231 sales associates located in nine branch offices in Georgia to serve you. To find a Crye-Leike location nearest you, visit www.Crye-Leike.com.
8 northfulton.com SponsoredSection•real estate report april 2016
Mythbusting the adjustable rate mortgageBrought to you by: KareN pate Broker, SVP Harry Norman, REALTORS®1664 Market Place Blvd, Cumming, GA 770-497-2000.
In pop culture, myths can some-times be mistaken for truth. Common ones, like, "don't swim for a half hour after eating," or "we only use 10 percent of our brain," are false even though they're widely taken for fact.
The adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) earned a bad rap after the 2006 hous-ing crisis. The problem was, before the crisis, many borrowers were able to qualify for more home than they could actually afford by using interest-only, No Income Verification or No Ratio ARM products. When the housing market tanked and many houses lost value, some homeowners with rising mortgage payments either foreclosed or walked away from their properties.
Fast forward 10 years to today. The ARM is back to show potential home-buyers it's not the villain of the housing market. It's time to debunk the myths that give ARMs the "bad guy" reputa-tion it doesn't deserve.
MYTH: ARMs are unstable and aren't a good option while the Feds are
raising rates.This myth stems
back to the days of the 2008 recession. It's like saying, "dial-up is the fastest way to ac-cess the Internet," it's just not true anymore. All ARM loans have annual and lifetime caps, so there's built
in protection. If stability is what you're concerned with, consider an ARM with a longer adjustment period. For ex-ample, Navy Federal Credit Union's 5/5 ARM adjusts only once over the initial 10-year period.
Interest rates rise and fall in cycles. Even if rates are increasing now, that doesn't mean they won't be on the downturn when you arrive at your potential adjustment point. Many ARM mortgage holders never refinance to a fixed rate because the many ups and downs of the market happen in-be-tween their adjustment points. Refi-nancing is always an option for those with ARMs. Just remember to calculate closing costs on your refinance to make sure you're actually improving your situation. Research and the guidance
of a trusted lender will be the winning combo for saving money over the life of your mortgage.
MYTH: ARMs are only for people who want to be in a home for a few years.
Not true. ARMs have fixed intro pe-riods that can vary from one to even 15 years. If you think you'll own that home for five or six years, a fixed mortgage rate may have a higher interest rate over that span. So why spend the extra money associated for the added secu-rity of a fixed rate?
"The potential savings on an ARM, can range from $10,000 to $20,000, compared to a 30-year, fixed rate jumbo mortgage," said Katie Miller, Navy Fed-eral vice president of Mortgage Lending. "That's enough money for a down-pay-ment on a car, or part of your child's college tuition."
Again, it pays to plan for various scenarios based on how long you plan to own the home.
MYTH: Rates only rise when you have an ARM.
The term "adjustable" gives the misconception ARMs are unstable. The ARM is very similar to a fixed-rate mortgage; both offer a 30-year term
with no prepayment penalty and early payoff options, among other similari-ties.
The intro rate period (usually a lower rate) and potential rate changes (up or down) over the life of the loan is what makes an ARM unique. Know-ing your cap and what the difference in payments are over the life of the loan protects you, even if rates are on a roller coaster. Knowledge is power as an ARM holder. That "power" helps you make necessary calculations to figure out a yearly breakeven point should your interest rate increase and your introductory rate savings begin to decrease. Check out an ARM vs. Fixed-rate Mortgage Calculator to see if this type of mortgage works for you
Like any myth, do your research before accepting it at face value. If you add up the ARM's initial savings plus the cost to refinance, an ARM is hard to beat from a financial standpoint, and that, is the truth.
*Rates are based on an evaluation of credit history, so your rate may differ.
**Navy Federal is federally insured by NCUA
Navy Federal is an Equal Housing Lender
Kris HarrisonREALTOR®, CRP®
Certified Relocation Professional [email protected]
NORTH FULTON OFFICE 7855 North Point Parkway, Suite 100
Alpharetta, GA 30022
770-330-2450 cell678-461-8700 office
My focus is on you, assisting you with integrity, dependability and experience.
Let me put my experience to work for you.
Corporate relocation is my specialtyBrought to you by: KrIs harrIsoN, Harry Norman Realtors
I understand the excitement as well as the stress that relocation can bring to a family from firsthand experience. Our family moved multiple times fol-lowing my husband's career and our children had to face the daunting task of making new friends and going to a new school in a new and different envi-ronment. Now that they are older they look back on those transitional years and recognize that the moves made them more confident, self-assured and quicker to accept and embrace change.
My career includes 25+ years in real estate and corporate relocation industry, beginning as a Licensed Realtor in Midland, Michigan. In 1993 my family moved to the Atlanta area, where I began working in the corporate side of real estate. Marketing proper-ties, handling contract negotiation,
legal/closings, achiev-ing high list to sales ratios. I recognize that each family's situation is unique and I listen carefully to your needs and concerns through-out our time together. Providing my clients and customers a high touch level of customer
service striving to exceed your expecta-tions.
As a Certified Relocation Profession-al, I know the processes of a corporate relocation. I’ll work with your reloca-tion consultant and company, to make sure that your benefits are protected and all aspects of your home sale are monitored closely to avoid any unnec-essary delays or problems.
My focus is serving my clients with dependability, integrity and experience. Give me a call, I’ll put my focus on you.
pate
harrison
10 northfulton.com SponsoredSection•real estate report april 2016
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