We have a number of new plans outlined, rolled out, presented, with flourish and fan fare. However the toxic assets plan is now being rolled out for the first time. I wonder what this will mean for our market? What I think will happen is that the good deals will start to go away. After all if investors along with Uncle Sam buy these things up aren't they going to sell them for more than they paid? So I am thinking this is yet another way for the rich to get richer.. Sorry for the Cynicism. What it means for regular people is NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY! With interest rates low, inventory high, and good programs out there BUY NOW. You will not see a market like this again in your life time. Yes, we will have booms and busts. But the government is fundamentally changing the economic landscape.... 03/27/2009

The Mountain Real Estate report heard every Thursday on WYYZ radio in Jasper is being Submitted for a GABBY award. Linda Carrig and I are really excited about this. A GABBY is a Georgia Radio award given in many categories for best show in State. The submission is only step one. BUt being recognized for the value we provide as Realtors is very heartening. You can listen to the show on our web site www.allmountainrealty.com or listen live at 1490 AM here in the North Georgia Mountains. I feel like I am in an episode of Frasier. Wish us luck !! 03/25/2009

No matter how tough it gets sometimes looking out my back window and seeing these clouds cheers me up. In a way the clouds are the mountains breathing much in the same way you would see your breath on a cold day. The mountains themselves live and breathe through storms and sunshine. Hope you enjoy the photo. 03/24/2009

There is some new news coming out of our area. In the Atlanta area the inventory of homes is about at 8 months. This is about 4 months below the National average. There is talk about, are you ready,  a potential housing SHORTAGE in 2010!!! We do see in the mountains inventory shrinking in the lower price ranges. I believe this is due to the first time buyer incentives that are out there. Many of the folks we are working with are first time buyers. This should be tempered by the unemployment which is still going up. There are a couple of unknowns out there. Our mountain market is effected by others moving in. Mountain property after ocean property is the most desirable. As North Georgia is very economical a turn around in our feeder markets could greatly boost sales.  So if you are buyin... 03/18/2009

The Obama Administration is moving forward to help home owners. The plans that they have put forward are for the most part encouraging and meaningful. I think the one exception is the cap on the mortgage deduction' But here they are in a nutshell 8,000 first time buyer credit. This program provides an 8,000 credit for first time home buyers. A first time buyer is defined as some one who has not purchased a home with in the last 3 years.  Requirements are maximum income 75,000 for an individual and 150,000 for a family. This is adjusted gross income.  You must live in the house 3 years otherwise you pay back the full 8,000. If you do not use the whole 8,000 credit you get a check for the balance. The program also expires on Dec 31 2009.   Existing home owner help For existing home owners... 03/11/2009

One of the changes in the economic "stimulus" package is the creation of a true tax credit for "First Time" home buyers. The old "credit" effectively was a loan, since it had to be paid back over several years. The revised tax credit for "First Time" home buyers is a little misleading in that a buyer can qualify as a "first time" buyer if he has not owned a home in the last three years (that would include you or your spouse). The credit would be considerably more effective if it applied to all home buyers without all the restrictions, but this is definitely something you should consider taking advantage of if you can qualify.  The tax credit is calculated by taking ten percent of the home's purchase price up to $8,000. Most homes in Pickens would qualify for the full credit, but if you... 02/26/2009

On Tuesday on WYYZ radio we interviewed John Isakson Senator from the State of Georgia. Senator Isakson has been a champion of home owners and a great advocate. He spent 33 years as a very successful Realtor in the Atlanta area. Given what is coming outr of Washington today this interview may be of interest to many of you. It gives you a sense of the FINALLY awakening in Congress to the p[light of the home owner. A As creating and using a link is beyond my ability even with the help of Brad at Active rain I am giving you the link to the interview on our site. Go to http://www.georgiasno1agent.com/radio.php Once on the site Click listen to the mountain real estate report then click show titled Senator Isakson interview. Interview will be up at 9:30AM EST Maybe congress is starting to "ge... 02/18/2009

So what is happening in our North Georgia Mountains? 1 Unemployment has gone up to almost 10 percent. This is rare for us. But key industries like the carpet industry are slow. 2 Tourism on the other hand seems brisk. Folks are not traveling as far as they used to. So people from Atlanta and even North Florida are vacationing in the Mountains. 3 The North Georgia Mountains still remain a great value. You can find 1 acre GOOD buildable lots in excelent loacaions for prices as low as 20,000. Homes declined in value approximately 8 percent in 2008. You can buy a lovely home for 150,000 or less. 4 Specifically in Big Canoe prices have come down. The premium for living in one of the most beautiful, diverse communities has come down. Big Canoe is still beautiful both naturally and with amenit... 02/09/2009

Hello,   I wanted to tell you a little something about a great neighborhood in Jasper, GA.  Arbor Hills is one of the few neighborhoods in Jasper with a community swimming pool and tennis courts.  Another well kept secret is that it has nice sidewalks that many of the residents use everyday. It also has streetlights, it is on public water and sewer. If you are looking for a nice neighborhood where you really have neighbors that get out and meet each other then you need to check out Arbor Hills!     01/26/2009

There is a stream of thought out there that says, "Hey there is the Internet out there Realtors are obsolete. To me it is like saying I brush my teeth, I read on WEBMD I do not need a dentist. Now more than ever you need a Realtor. Why ? Here is why. In these tight times you may be looking to spend as little as possible. So you think I will buy a home that is less expensive, or buy a manufactured home. But if that home is not on city water and on a gravel road, or even a paved road you may find that your insurance for the former eats up any savings you might achieve. It means knowing the difference from a district 9 as opposed to 12 for fire. If you are a senior the county you buy in in Georgia may offer you a significant tax advantage. So In Georgia there is a break for Seniors in Cher... 01/23/2009

The North Georgia Mountains are feeling the effects of the slow down in the economy and the bursting housing bubble. But unlike many other areas we did not have that big a bubble to burst to begin with. While other areas grew at 50 percent a year or better over 3 years we averaged a 10 percent growth in prices. What that means is we saw a 30 plus percent increase in prices for 3 years. Now if you bought 3 years ago and are selling today you are down about 10 percent in price. So if you do the math you are up 20 percent.Not bad going! The key is to work with a professional who can assist you in pricing, staging, and has a solid marketing plan. In a market with a high inventory going on your own is not the way to go! The pro's at all Mountain Realty have a great selling plan. In fact we a... 01/13/2009

All Mountain Realty has added a great guy, Dan Johnson in Atlanta. Dan is on Active Rain as well. What this means is if you have clients moving to Atlanta there are a couple of folks in our organization now able and experienced to help you. Please consider us when you have clients moving to this area. What it means to you as a seller in either Atlanta or the north Georgia mountains is we can help you. In the mountains we see a lot of folks moving here from Atlanta. So we have a direct contact in that market to help you market your property. If you are in Atlanta talk to Dan. You will receive service above and beyond. If I was listing my own House in Atlanta I would list with Dan. 'nuf said!!! 01/06/2009

  In 2008 I felt like a Munchkin. Some one dropped a market on my House !!! The wicked witch had a Wall Street Address. Her minions were not flying Monkeys but Credit Default Swaps and CDO's. So here are the questions . Are lower interest rates the Ruby Slippers ?  Will Buyers come out? I think so. I think the storm is just about over. As Realtors maybe when we get to Emerald City we should be asking the Wizard for some Tums. But regardless, The opportunity is here. It is now . And in the end we will be better Realtors for it. And we will help many get into their dream homes which are now more affordable 12/29/2008

OK take a look at the house below. I did a BPO on it. Here are the problems. The house is great. But it is full of trash. Will the bank clean it out? In this case yes a little. Will the bank bring in some one to make sure things work?  Probably not. The fight over this home is the listing price. It may be listed as low as 125,000. A really great deal for some one other than the lender. This brings me to the point of the post. If lenders will spend a little time and clean up properties as well as work with us in the business we can get them more for their homes. Every body should be happy right? But lenders are dumping, which is good for a buyer WHO CAN LOOK PAST THIS. But the buyer who buys this homes probably will not have a lot of extra money to do repairs. See the problem. So the hom... 12/21/2008

There are a lot of mixed messages in the media today. The big DUH is that we have been in a recession for a year. Tell me something I didn't know!!! One of the other messages is prices of homes are declining. A third, since I said mixed messages, is that interest rates are falling. Lets look at Mountain property and declining prices. It is true that in the mountain counties prices have dropped about 10 percent for homes in 2008. But this number is VERY misleading. First off you have different groups of buyers. You have folks who live in the mountains and work here that are buying. You also have folks who are either retiring here or looking for a second home. The second homes or retiring group are the ones that tend to be more affluent and buy higher priced homes. They are suffereing in ... 12/03/2008

I am a local expert in Jasper Georgia. What does that mean? It means I am part of the local Chamber of Commerce. It means on Halloween our company was on Main Street handing out goodies to school children. It means we do the the Mountain Real estate report weekly on WYYZ Radio Heard through out the mountains. It means we are part of the county board of Realtors. We are active in the community. We also know where to direct clients for local school information as well as churches and stores. So in the end as well as being knowledgeable about prices and sales in the mountains we as a firm are involved in our community. Being a local expert means more than being good at real estate. It means being a good citizen in your community. 11/18/2008

As a Realtor the single most important thing we bring to the table is knowledge. In today's financing climate knowing your lender(s) is key. Do not be sucked in by programs and incentives from lenders you do not know. If you are going to use a new lender investigate them . Find out how they write loans and how they work. Talk to other Realtors that may have used them. If you have a solid mortgage specialist or broker make sure THEY are not shopping your loans to banks they have not worked with before.  We were supposed to see the credit markets open up with the bailout but it has not happened yet as far as I can see. But having said all that remember there are some great programs out there. If you are a first time buyer you may qualify for Rural Development in your area. This is a 100 p... 11/17/2008

With out a doubt this is one of the best buyers markets ever. The next time it may come around is,... who knows. The last buyers Market was in 1987. So it was 21 years ago. But what if you are selling a home and thinking about buying up? Is it a good move? Let's examine the details. You may be wanting to move up for more room, more land, a better location to a job, better schools or a ton of reasons. So let's for the sake of the discussion say you are in a home today that is worth 175,000. Before you read further examine your job and your financial situation. If all looks good or stable you may proceed. Now lets also assume you have some equity in the house, After all you were in it long enough to out grow it. You have seen a great house for 240,000. You have run the numbers and you can... 10/20/2008

Yesterday I attended a meeting of my local board of Realtors. The speakers were bankers and they confirmed a lot of what I knew, hoped, to be true. There is money out there. FHA is alive and well. For those of us in rural areas there is USDA (100 percent financing) . There is VA as well. Conventional loans can be had at 10 percent. So what is the problem? The problem is consumers are shopping on line a lot for loans. They are not working with companies that have track records in their area. They are avoiding local banks. In effect they are buying the sizzle and not the steak. So they are literally be left at the Altar ( the closing table ) high, dry, and non funded. Now more than ever it is important to work with a local Realtor. Will the Realtor make your loan? NO ! But the Realtor wil... 10/17/2008

Pickens and Dawson counties are at the Southern edge of the mountains.  For Pickens county 2007 sales   2008 sales            price 2007                 price 2008 688 sold     290 (YTD)             166,5000                    150,000 Dawson County 473           268 (YTD)             185,000                      177,000' These numbers come from our MLS so they will be a little short on actual sales. However the proportions and the trends remain constant. What this tell us is that sales will be down this year. Even factoring in the last 4 month we in Pickens will be down I think about 30 percent in numbers. Interesting enough Dawson does not show such a drop in price or numbers sold. I think the reason for this is Pickens has a number of gated communities. These communities have attracte... 10/10/2008