The gated community of Bent Tree, Georgia is located 5 miles east of Jasper off of IH 575/515.  The community offers 18 holes of golf, 4 outdoor tennis courts, two indoor courts, a horse riding stable and a 100+/- acre lake for boating. They also have 2 outdoor swimming pools and a dog park and hiking trails. The homes in the community range from getaway cabins to luxurious homes high a top its many mountain tops.  You can see Atlanta, Stone and Kennesaw mountains from some of these mountain top homes! (on a clear day!) There are about 100 miles of paved roads in the community, and thankfully NO gravel or dirt roads that we in the mountains tend to end up in during rain storms! Bent Tree is a non-debt community…meaning that all amenities must be self-supporting with the community not in... 03/01/2019

 As the new year begins, the housing market has shown signs of a slowdown, and mortgage rates are rising. What does that mean for those in the market to buy a home?Over the year, many have come to the conclusion that real estate has reached its peak. Meanwhile, millions continue to wait on the sidelines. Housing inventory remains tight, meaning that buying a home is not easy. At the same time, expensive rents and low wages have constrained people’s ability to accumulate a down payment.The coming year appears set to bring more of the same. Nationwide, most people would rather be selling than buying.The Federal Reserve hiked the benchmark federal funds rate at year end, and indicated that it plans to raise rates again in 2019. That can increase mortgage rates. Realtor.com estimated that t... 02/10/2019

Enjoy gracious living in this spacious cabin in lovely Bent Tree golf community! The Great room offers a wall of windows framing beautiful mountain views, while a fireplace keeps it cozy on chilly nights. The kitchen features granite countertops, breakfast bar, and a walk-in pantry. The Master suite is conveniently located on the main floor, while two bedrooms and a bath reside upstairs. The terrace level houses a family/game room, bar area, bedroom and bathroom, and bunk space for the kids. There is room for everyone here! Homes Close to Where You Work Follow This Home! Free Home Values Schedule a Showing/Request Info Presented By: Showing Agent: John Thomas eXp Realty 770-650-9300   01/17/2019

It is the summer active season in our North Georgia mountains. People are in pools . People are hiking. It is tee shirt and shorts weather. But some folks are frozen.  What causes  " the big chill."1 There is an election coming up and I am worried about who is going to win2 There is a potential recession looming around the corner.3 House values are not increasing.4 House values are going to fall.5 Brexit is going to effect the marketAnd on and on it goes.Here is what I know. Mickey mouse in the Sorcerer's Apprentice fooled around with a crystal ball . How did he make out ? In fact after every presidential election the market returned to normal no matter who was elected.House values are in fact increasing. We are growing around 6 percent a year. Some areas in North Georgia have homes hit... 07/07/2016

I once heard a national horse dung salesman (training guru) say that we are idiots for going to closings. Claimed he went to his first closing and deemed it a waste of time. He sends people to get the check.I view it as an opportunity to cement the relationship for down the road. You can also hold the client's hand if there is one of the typical delays. You can demonstrate that it's just as important that they get their money is it is for you to get yours.I also know that we can actually list and sell a home these days without leaving the office or meeting the clients. Caution: clients can play that game too!I will continue to meet them and shake their hand.  05/19/2016

It’s been a rough ride for a long time in the real estate market, but as we peek in the rear view mirror, we can see that almost all parts of the country have completed the recovery. Home values are up. Home sales are up. Distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales) have fallen dramatically. It seems that 2016 will be remembered as the year we drove out of the real estate darkness.The only hiccup in the system is lack of inventory. It’s everywhere. While buyer demand keeps rising, there is not enough supply to keep up.Doug Duncan, Chief Economist at Fannie Mae says, “Several factors point to constrained housing affordability in 2016, particularly for first-time home buyers, including slow single-family supply response and limited inventory of starter homes on the market.”The accompan... 05/07/2016

As we enter 2016, the question of “how are things going?” has been a favorite during the holiday season. We always seem to hear about other counties doing so much better in the real estate recovery than Pickens, so I decided to take a look at some surrounding counties as well as our year over year performance. On county comparisons, it’s obviously hard to compare units or dollars, so I used percentages.  County Comparison December 2014 vs. 2015             Pickens Cherokee Dawson Forsyth           Active Listings -7% -7% -14% -3% Median List Price 14% 16% 24% 8% Days On Market 7% -19% 35% 13% Median Sale Price 36% 7% -17% -54% Units Sold -24% -12% -3% -21%                     Pickens Comparison 2014 vs. 2015           Monthly Average   2014   2015           Active Listings   434   402 A... 01/25/2016

After suffering through what was at least arguably the worst real estate correction in history, most of the surrounding county markets seem to be coming back. For some reason, Pickens is trailing behind. Following are three charts to illustrate (residential listings only): This chart represents the number of new listings in Pickens versus the number of units sold.Over the last year, new listings and the number of homes sold were trending up, then in July both columns starting dropping. This could be for a number of reasons, but my theory is that old inventory is either priced incorrectly or has other issues, and new fresh listings priced correctly sell sooner. While our overall number of residential listings has drifted down, it hasn’t maintained the same pace. The following chart repre... 10/26/2015

 In 2011 I looked at seasonal home sales in Pickens County. It covered the previous eight years of sales, and concluded that Spring/Summer and Summer/Fall were the best selling seasons, with Fall being slightly better.  I decided to revisit those numbers and do it a little differently. This time I divided the year into quarters that represent our seasonal temperatures, so the first quarter starts in December and ends in February. I also went back five years to sort of pick up where we left off. Following is a graph illustrating the results:  This illustrates that real estate is local. While metro markets are driven by the school calendar and relocation, our market seems to be driven by retirement and vacation homes, and the season seems to favor fall colors. These patterns have held up ... 08/31/2015

 The second quarter review of real estate in the metro Atlanta area was very interesting. Everyone raves about how hot real estate is in Atlanta, and most people complain that Pickens is much slower in performance.  Looking at the numbers, we find that listings are up slightly in Atlanta while sales are up about the same percentage, and pended sales are up nicely.   In Pickens, units for sale are down 7.3%, while sales are up 43.9% and pended sales are up 31%! On top of that prices have stabilized.      2nd Qtr. 2015 2nd Qtr. 2014 % Change             Metro Atlanta For Sale 3545 3491 up 1.5% Sold 965 947 up 1.9% Pended 963 879 up 9.6%             Pickens County For Sale 433 467 dn 7.3% Sold 40 28 up 43.9% Pended 38 29 up 31%            I suppose the question is after people have gone th... 08/14/2015

There are currently 296 homes for sale in Big Canoe. This number is down from last year as the economy turns around and there are more buyers out there. The good news is if you are looking to buy in our North Georgia Mountains, including  Big Canoe, prices have never been greater for buyers. Inventory is being snapped up. So if you want to live in Big Cnaoe, and why wouldn't you, now is a great time to buy.Let the folks at All Mountain Realty be your Big Canoe Guides. You can visit us at www.allmountainrealty.com  click Big Canoe and see our video. This great community is still one of the best kept secrets in the North Georgia Mountains or for that matter anywhere as a mountain community  05/21/2015

In Pickens County, Georgia we have heated subject that recycles itself from time to time regarding our lack of school tax exemption for senior tax payers. In fact, most counties in Georgia do not have the exemption.   Before I begin, I will state that I am a senior. I hate taxes. I do not belong to any group seeking or attacking an education exemption on property taxes for seniors. I hope that when you read this you will appreciate the balance of facts. I don’t blame anyone for trying to save money.   When my kids were in the Cobb County School System, there was no property tax exemption for seniors. Someone else helped pay to educate my children, so I personally view the school tax I pay now as giving back to the system, even though I would like to keep the money.   There is no reason... 02/22/2015

There are currently 266 Big Canoe homes for sale. This number is down from the high of 313 during the housing crisis. Last year 139 homes sold in Big Canoe. This is up by 49 homes from the previous year. What does this all mean? It means if you are looking for a great North Georgia destination to live ,work and play in and Big Canoe is on your radar, you need to act soon. More and more folks are escaping to the North Georgia destination of Big Canoe. You can still be in touch with Atlanta, Or Canton and near some of the fastest growing business destinations while mountain living. Let the folks here at All Mountain Realty show you Big Canoe as well as other great North Georgia destinations. Prices are good, interest rates are low, and availability while shrinking is still ample. Call us ... 02/05/2015

Here is a brief overview of the 2014 year end numbers in Pickens County compared to a year earlier.   While there are still naysayers on the return of the real estate market, I think most would agree that sales and activity are much better than a couple of years ago. There are a lot more statistics available than most people care to see, so just focus on these for now:     Current vs. Same Quarter 1 Yr. Ago   Oct. 14 - Dec. 14 Oct. 13 - Dec. 13 % Change For Sale 415 425 -2.40% Sold 41 30 36.70% Pended 38 26 46.20%     December vs. December 1 Yr. Ago   Dec. 14 Dec. 13 % Change For Sale 386 404 -4.50% Sold 49 26 88.50% Pended 29 23 26.10%   Also consider that the months of inventory based on sales in December was 7.9, compared to 15.5 months last year. The rule of thumb is that less than... 01/14/2015

Aside from “how is real estate doing?”, the question I’m probably asked most is “when should I try to sell my house?” The answer is pretty simple … whenever you get serious about selling instead of trying to play games. Make sure you are committed to the process instead of fishing.   Autumn in Pickens tends to be a good selling season, followed closely by spring and summer. Winter tends to slow down. However, houses in Pickens still sell in January. When I first started out, one of the early contracts I wrote was on New Year’s Day at 11:00 AM! There are several theories about selling during the holidays and winter. The homes are usually decorated and inviting. People who would like to move closer to relatives may be visiting during the holidays and want to look at real estate in the ar... 11/14/2014

If you owned a home in Miami, would you call an agent from Atlanta to list it for sale? If you answered yes to this question, you can stop reading this and go to the classifieds or something. If you’re still reading I assume you would not hire an agent from Atlanta to list a home in Florida. Why would you? They probably are no smarter, they probably can’t speak Spanish, which may be important in that area, and they probably don’t know the local market. Right? Now let’s say you own a home in Talking Rock, and you decide to sell it. Would you call an agent in Miami to list your most important asset? Of course not! All the things they offer sellers in Miami have no bearing on the Pickens County market. So, why would you hire an agent from Atlanta? Are they smarter than the local agents? C... 10/02/2014

Jasper Georgia is a quiet great place to live. jasper homes average, outside of the gated communities,  150,000. So you can live on an acre or more in at least a 3 bedroom 2 bath with out breaking the bank. "Downtown Jasper" , I am an ex NYC kid, so I am a bit of a downtown snob, is growing with new and different restaurants. We are experiencing a growth in business and shops. All of these indicators tell me that Jasper is poised for growth .  What makes Jasper unique is that it is called the First Mountain City. We are at the start of the Smoky Mountains that change names along the way as the run to Maine. So Jasper is county and beautiful but offers easy access to Atlanta. There are medical facilities along with a regional hospital in Jasper. We have an airport as well. So you can fly... 07/23/2014

If you were thinking about a mountain home Big Canoe is a great buy right now. There are over 300 homes on the market in Big Canoe. You might say, " Whats wrong in Big Canoe. I am here to say as a resident of this great community nothing.  Circumstances have slowed the growth in our mountains. People used to retire at 55 Now they re 65 or older. So the feed of active Retirees has slowed. Folks are living at home longer and have their children back from college living with them. The issue not being able to sell their current home exists but this issue is slowly getting better as prices rise. So what this all means is Big Canoe homes as a part of our great mountain offerings are priced really really well. You are looking at 27 holes of golf, tennis indoor and , 3 swimming pools one indoor... 07/10/2014

So many of us cast the net of marketing wide and get many different questions. One that I get a lot is are you the listing agent ? Can you help me find the listing agent ? I ask them why. Well ,(in the case of the foreclosure) they represent the bank. Why in the world I think would you want to deal with the bank directly. I do listings. When I am lucky enough to get a buyer interested in one of my listings then I am doing a designated agent. Why do people think they will get a better deal if they work with a bank or seller directly? The pat answer is the commission will be saved on the buyers agent side. But guess what, that is already factored in to the price. So the listing agent will do better or the seller will save money. Will you get a deal ? I HAVE YET TO SEE IT HAPPEN. In fact w... 05/12/2014

You have to take Atlanta out of the equation when you are talking about the North Georgia Mountains. Here is what we are seeing. Homes sales are up. I am even getting stuck behind cement trucks again, which means new construction. Prices in our area are about 4 to 5 percent higher than they were last year. Interest rates remain low and inventory is good. Forget about foreclosures and short sales. Regular homes for sale are priced to sell. In our mountains you can have USDA loans, FHA loans, VA loans as well as conventional. If you are now looking for a mountain retreat, or if you are moving here because of a job transer call us today at 706 579 1098. Visit us on line at www.allmountainrealty.com. From the beautiful gated communities of Big Canoe and Bent Tree to country homes we are you... 04/24/2014