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Kelly Lee and Eugene James join us on this week’s episode of Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio.
Kelly Lee is a principal with Front Porch. Originally from Australia, Kelly has a background in hospitality most notably with the Ritz Carlton company. Six years ago she got involved in the construction industry and is now an owner with Front Porch Custom Homes and Renovations.
For buyers looking to build a custom home, Kelly recommends that they really research and decide what they want before they find a builder. As a design/ build firm, Front Porch has set up a process to walk the custom buyer through the process of building a home. The team approach gives the buyer access to an architect, interior designer, custom kitchen cabinet maker, project manager and a sales person. This makes the process easier and allows the customer to relax and really bring their personality into the project.
Figuring out how you want to live in your home and what you want in it is a big part of the process. People are looking for smaller homes that live the way they do. It is the sustainability, the comfort and the design that they are thinking about.
Remodeling is a great time to employ cost savings green practices for a great return on investment to make your home more comfortable and reduce your energy bills. You could insulate your attic or your crawl space as part of the remodel.
Front Porch is building the HGTV Green Home at Serenbe. www.HGTVRemodels.com/greenhome
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Today’s Deal of the Day is from Traton Homes. They have brought back their popular Realtor programs for 2012. The Second Sale Bonus pays agents $5,000 for the second sale of a Traton home and all subsequent sales. The Relocation Referral Rebate offers agents a 1 percent bonus on the purchase price for relocation sales during 2012. To quality, agents must provide the relocation document at time of contract. These rewards are good on contracts written on or before December 31, 2012.
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Our next guest is Eugene James with Metro Study. Eugene has been in the real estate industry for 25 years, he was an appraiser with Fulton County before joining Metro Study.
Lots of home builders had a good fourth quarter of 2011. This is a sign that we have hit the bottom and that some areas are starting to turn around. We are definitely seeing signs of recovery, but it is not going to be global here in Atlanta due to the size of the metro area. There are parts of Atlanta such as South Forsyth, East Cobb, parts of Gwinnett, Coweta and several neighboring areas.
Struggling areas are faced with foreclosures, including strategic foreclosures, but that is slowing down. As the job market starts to turn around we are going to see the market improve. Many forecasters are stating that we are going to see dramatic recovery in Atlanta in the first quarter of the year.
The oversupply of new homes is gone. Eugene is predicting that we will have an under supply of homes by the end of this year or at least by 2013. As consumer confidence comes back and they start to buy, they are going to find that their is not much to choose from in some areas. Of course, this is going to drive prices up.
Existing home prices have stabilized and prices don’t seem to be dropping any further in the resale market or in the foreclosure market. It is a great time to buy or sell right now. Resale inventory levels have normalized to a seven month supply.
Eugene’s advice to young people thinking about buying, “Look at your house as a home and a place to make memories, not as a piggy bank.”
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Special thanks to this week’s show sponsor DMD Studios. To see how they can help you with all your model home merchandising needs, visit the website or call 678-730-6005 ext. 11.
For more information on how you can feature your Atlanta new homes news, communities, products and services on Atlanta Real Estate Forum or Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio, call 770-383-3360.
You can download all of the Atlanta Real Estate Forum radio podcasts from iTunes.