Real Estate in Numbers: Butts, Clayton, Coweta, Fayette, & Henry Counties

 

Real Estate in Numbers:
Butts, Clayton, Coweta, Fayette & Henry Counties

 

We're noticing a change in the local real estate pattern ... for the past few years it seemed that we were on a steady decline in home values; however, 2012 has been a much different market and in some ways, even more challenging than the previous years because of low inventory. If you're in the market for a new home, you may have noticed that every home seems to have multiple offers and goes to a "highest and best" situation in which buyers bid over the asking price for the property. These competitive situations are pushing the average sales prices up little by little. I guess it all goes back to basic economics - supply and demand. In our current market place, there doesn't seem to be enough inventory for the amount of buyers that are out there. Not such good news for buyers, great news for sellers! If we can hold this new pattern, we may just see an improving real estate market. It's hard to predict what the future will hold and there's still talk of banks releasing their "shadow inventory." While none of us hold the crystal ball to the real estate future, we can study trends and patterns to and make our best prediction as to where the market is heading... here's the scoop:

2012 Christmas Events on the Southside of Atlanta: Coweta, Fayette, Henry, Rockdale Counties

2012 Christmas Events on the Southside of Atlanta:
Coweta, Fayette, Henry, Rockdale Counties
(Conyers, Fayetteville, Hampton, Locust Grove, McDonough,
Newnan, Peachtree City, Senoia, Stockbridge, & more!)

 

 

Looking for holiday events on the southside of Atlanta?
We've got you covered...

COWETA COUNTY: 

Light-Up Senoia, Parade and Tree Lighting

December 1st at 4p (parade begins at 5:30p) at corner of Travis & Main Street
Entertainment, music, food court, parade, meeting of Santa & Mrs. Claus, and Secret Santa Workshop so that children can do their Christmas shopping early! Santa will light the tree immediately after parade and stay to hear from all of the boys and girls!

 

Senoia's Candlelight Christmas Tour of Homes

Sunday, December 9th from 5-8p, tickets are $12 in advance/$15 at door (sold at Senoia Welcome Center or at various downtown shops)
Tour 6 historic homes along with the beautiful santuary of the Senoia United Methodist Church. As a special treat, the featured homes on this year's tour will include the 2012 Southern Living Idea House. The Church's Chancel Choir will present mini concerts of holiday music between 5:15-7:30p.

Newnan's Annual Christmas Parade: "A Merry Musical Christmas"

December 2nd at 3p beginning at the city park at the corner of Temple Ave & Jackson Streets and will continue down Jackson, through the court square, and out on LaGrange Street to Newnan High School.

Newnan's Candlelight Tour of Homes
December 7th at 4pm, call 770-400-2380 for more info.
Piedmont Newnan Hospital Auxiliary welcomes visitors to its annual tour of stately homes decked out for the holidays.

 

Christmas Tea with Santa, Madeline & Winnie-the-Pooh & More!

December 8th and 15th beginning at 9:15a at the Newnan Theatre Compamy.
$15/tea party only or $25/tea party + performances (newnantheatre.org for tickets)

Each ticket includes a staged photo, snacks, drinks, games, take home crafts, and more! Tea party begins at 9:15a and is followed by an 11a performance of Madeline's Christmas  & A Winnie-the-Pooh Christmas Tail

 

FAYETTE COUNTY: 

 

Fayetteville Christmas Parade and Lighting of the Tree

December 1st, festivities begin at 5p at gazebo on the Fayetteville Square
Parade will begin at 5p with lighting of the Christmas tree immediately afterwards. Enjoy free hot cocoa and popcorn along with carriage rides with Santa from 6-8p.

Peachtree City's Hometown Holiday

December 1st from 5-9p at City Hall Plaza/Drake Field
The lighting of the Peachtree City Christmas Tree along with Santa's arrival! Enjoy music by Rising Starr & JC Booth Middle Schools' choirs and McIntosh High School's band! Hot chocolate and popcorn will be available along with a craft station where kids can create Christmas ornaments for a nominal fee.

Pet Photos with Santa at Peachtree City PetSmart
December 1st from 11a-4p, $9.95 with PetPerks card
No appointment necessary, you will receive a photo in a holiday frame. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Fayette County Humane Society.

The Nutcracker Tea in Fayetteville
December 15th at 5p at Bennetts Mill Middle School, 210 Lester Rd, Fayetteville  $15 tickets available at gadance.com or call 770-631-3128Celebrate the holiday season with excerpts from the classic Nutcracker. Special treats and goodies will be served along side a full tea buffet. Little girls are encouraged to wear their favorite party dress and bring their favorite doll. Boys and girls will have the chance to help battle the Rat King and Saint Nick will also make an appearance.

HENRY COUNTY:
 

Lighting of the Locust Grove Christmas Tree

November 22nd at 7p
Singing groups & choirs with arrival of Santa at the closing. Visitors are encouraged to bring their cameras for photos with Santa

Lighting of the Hampton Christmas Tree
November 22nd at 7p
Lighting of the tree along with holiday carols at the Hampton Depot Park

Stockbridge Holiday Festival
November 27th from 5-9p at the Merle Manders Conference Center & Clark Park
Meet Santa and Mrs. Claus, see live reindeer, entertainment and more!

Atlanta Motor Speedway’s Gift of Lights
December 1st-31st at the racetrack in Hampton
Hours/Costs:    Sunday-Thursday: 6-9p $15/car   Friday-Saturday: 6-10p $20/car
More than 1 million LED lights dazzle visitors in the 15-mile drive through display at AMS.

“Christmas … In the Grove”
December 1st from 10a-2p in downtown Locust Grove
Christmas parade, stage entertainment, food, train rides, rock climbing wall, craft vendors, and the arrival of Santa in a firetruck! Parade begins at 10a.

McDonough’s Annual Christmas Parade, “The Magic of Christmas”
December 1st, 2012 beginning at 5:30p around the McDonough Square
Enjoy live entertainment on the McDonough Sqaure, the lighting of the tree and a parade to delight children of all ages.

Hampton's Christmas at Home Parade
December 6th at 7pm in Downtown Hampton
 Piedmont Henry Hospital’s 10th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting
December 6th, 2012 from 6-8p on the hospital’s south lawn
Refreshments, hayrides with Santa, music from local choirs, & more!
More info by calling 678.604.1026

ROCKDALE COUNTY:

Conyers Hometown Parade & Tree Lighting: "A Star Spangled Christmas"
December 1st, Parade begins at 4:30p and is followed by tree lighting

Parade will begin at Rockdale County High School and will wind its way down to Olde Town Conyers ending at Rockdale County Courthouse.There will be music & performances and guests are encouraged to bring canned good for donation to the Rockdale Food Bank

 

Short Sale Review: Chase Bank

Sweet success! With every short sale approval and closing, we let out a sigh of relief because that means that we've successfully taken some stress away from one of our clients! As of Friday, we closed a short sale with Chase. There are some banks that make us roll our eyes when we even hear the mention of their names (ahem, Bank of America) but Chase is NOT one of them. Although it was somewhat of a lengthy process to obtain the initial "approval to participate" in the short sale program, once we were pre-approved, it was a piece of cake. Of course, we realize that a short sale experience can be determined by the negotiator you end up working with -- some are awesome, some are just okay, some are horrible and some are beyond horrible! After all was said and done, I would rate our short sale experience with Chase as a B+ (I'd rate each of the Chase staff but that would be a blog post for another day - whew!). My clients even received a cash incentive for participating in the short sale program! If you or anyone you know needs assistance with a short sale, please call or email us! Even if you just have questions, we're here to help!

Kitchen Renovations/Makeovers = $$$

Have you ever noticed how one can almost identify the decade in which a house was built by checking out certain features .... cabinets, fixtures, paint colors, tile, etc. Some things specific to time periods are charming such as archways and hardwood flooring; however, there are some things you won't find on a buyers "must have" list (i.e. pink/mint green countertops or tilework, dark green shag carpet, etc).

Check out these cabinets and their time periods:

There's nothing wrong with having these types of cabinets but if you're looking to sell, many buyers prefer an updated kitchen. Remember that the kitchen and the master bedroom are often deciding factors for buyers and upgrades/renovations in these rooms can get you an awesome return. Kitchen renovations can be expensive though and new cabinets may put a dent in your bank account. If you're looking for a budget friendly way of updating your cabinets, check out these ideas:

(Source: Photo via)

So how did they do it... here's the secret:



Who would have known? What a budget friendly and easy way of giving your kitchen cabinets a face lift. Sometimes all it takes is a little creativity to update your home! To view the entire kitchen makeover along with other neat ideas by clicking the following link: Kitchen Makeover

Looking at the before and after photos, which kitchen do you think a buyer would choose? Which one do you think would add value to the home?

Here's another example of a budget friendly makeover. This blogger spent less than $3500 for her awesome makeover and that included brand new Bosch appliances! She simply painted the cabinets, switched out the cabinet hardware, added a tile backsplash (that came from Costco), changed the faucet and lighting, and a few other small things. Amazing!

To read more about this kitchen makeover as well as additional photos, click on the following link: Kitchen Makeover

What a difference!!




(Selling homes in Fayette County [Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Brooks, Senoia], Henry County [McDonough, Hampton, Locust Grove, Stockbridge], Coweta County [Newnan, Sharpsburg, Moreland], Clayton County [Jonesboro, Lake Spivey, Morrow, Forest Park, Rex, Ellenwood], Rockdale County [Conyers], Butts County [Jackson], etc)