Vol. 5, Issue 3 | December 2012 BEACHAM Your Monthly Market Update From 3284 Northside Parkway The Best People in Real Estate™ Suite 100 Atlanta, GA 30327 404.261.6300 Insider www.beacham.com Atlanta home price inflation kicks in; fiscal cliff not seen as a threat to housing

tlanta’s real estate market gained steam as 2012 Light also quoted Keith Gumbinger of mortgage progressed and is now ending the year on a huge research firm HSH.com, who said that “with the Federal Aupswing with the average home sales price up 12% Reserve pledging to buy mortgage-backed securities for from September to October compared to the same period a the indefinite future, mortgage rates are likely to stay low at year ago. By comparison, the national average home sales least through the beginning of next year (2013).” price increased just 7.6% in the third quarter according to Dac Carver, Vice President and Managing Broker for the National Association of Realtors. Beacham & Company, believes double-digit home price Atlanta home prices have now increased on a year- appreciation is likely to continue into 2013. over-year basis for seven consecutive months (see chart “Atlanta had an enormous oversupply of homes just a below). couple of years ago, Trending With the November but we are at the While most of the real elections out of the Atlanta Home Prices Have Increased opposite end of the estate market is enjoying way, the focus for many Seven Consecutive Months spectrum now with a nice rebound this year, has turned to the “fiscal 25% a historical under- luxury real estate is going cliff” and the fiscal 22% supply. Meanwhile, backward. Sales of $2 tightening associated 20% demand continues million-plus single family with dealing with the to increase as a re- detached resale homes are national debt in 2013. 15% 13% sult of population down 33% from 2011 (33 However, a Nov. 9 gains in Atlanta, new 10% sales in 2012 vs. 49 during article in The Wall 7% household forma- first 10 months of 2011) Street Journal article by tion, and an improv- 5% 3% while sales of $3 million- Joe Light suggested that 2% 2% ing job market. This % INCREASE FROM 2011 1% plus homes are down 67% real estate would be 0 demand is aided by (5 sales in 2012 vs. 15 in “relatively protected” Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct historically low in- 2011). The average sales from the fiscal cliff “in SOURCE: FMLS. Residential detached only. terest rates. The only price for $2 million-plus part because banks thing really holding homes is down 11% from have sold enough of their inventory of foreclosed homes the real estate market back are tight lending standards.” 2011, while the average that they will present less competition to other homes on Some in the local mortgage lending community say that for $3 million-plus is up the market,” Light wrote. He cited a Commerce Department until banks are able to work through rulemaking generated 1%. There are 112 single report that it would take only 4½ months to sell through by the Dodd-Frank Act passed by Congress in 2010, tight family detached new and August’s entire inventory of new homes at the current rate lending standards will prevail and hold the housing market resale homes in of purchases. “That is below the 5½-month level considered back from a faster and more robust recovery than we are currently on the market that “normal” and similar to levels seen before the housing bust,” already experiencing. are priced more than $2 Light wrote. Still, there are many areas of Atlanta that put up million, which translates at In Atlanta, housing inventory is at a 12-year low. The impressive increases over the last three months compared the current rate of sale to a months supply of inventory - or number of months it would to the same time period a year ago. Some of them include: nearly four-year supply of take to sell all the homes on the market at the current rate of (sales up 58%, prices up 45%), Buckhead North inventory. sale - is just four months. (sales up 180s%, prices up 25%) Cont. on page 2

Beacham Mobile www.beacham.com Atlanta’s #1 Selling Office Since 2007 Cont. from page 1, “Atlanta home price...” In Buckhead, Ansley Park, Brookhaven, Morningside/Virginia-Highland/ Buckhead Northwest (sales up 40%, prices up Midtown, and Sandy Springs (combined) 31%), and Morningside/Virginia Highland (sales January - October 2012 up 20%, prices up 23%. ALL PRICE RANGES $1 MILLION + SALES “For many areas of Atlanta, we expect

$85.7M double-digit appreciation in average home sales $175 $174.3M $86 $172 prices in 2013,” Carver said. “The supply and $169 $83 demand forces that are in play right now will $166 $165.1M $80 create that kind of environment, while continued $163 low interest rates will keep the velocity of the $160 $77 $158M recovery going.” $157 $74M $74 $154 $71.6M ATLANTA MARKET SUMMARY $151 $71 • Average home sale price increasing faster $148 than the national average $145 $68

$142 • Average home sale price increase between $65 $139 DOLLAR VOLUME SOLD DOLLAR VOLUME August and October of 2012 was 12% for

$136 $62 detached homes, 15% for condos

DOLLARS SOLD IN MILLIONS $133 • Housing inventory at 12-year low $58.9M $130 $128.9M $59 • Months supply of inventory (amount of $127 $56 time it would take to sell every home on $124

$121 the market at the current rate of sale) Beacham & Dorsey-Alston, Harry Atlanta $53 Company, ® Beacham & Harry Atlanta Dorsey-Alston, REALTORS Norman, Fine Homes/ ® stands at 4 1/2 months REALTORS® ® Company, Norman, Fine Homes/ REALTORS REALTORS Sotheby’s International ® ® (E. Paces) (Buckhead) REALTORS REALTORS Sotheby’s International (E. Paces) (Buckhead) *SOURCE: Realvaluator. Single family detached home sales. MLS Areas 21, 22, 23 and 132. Factoid The truth about WINTER the 3.8% tax ISSUE NOW Recent reports of a new tax on real estate set to begin in 2013 are false according to AVAILABLE! the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The new tax (3.8%) is on investment income for those taxpayers who exceed capital ATLANTA’S gains allowances and have annual income PREMIER of more than $200,000 AGI (single) or $250,000 AGI (married filing jointly). Capital REAL ESTATE gains allowances on the sale of a principal MAGAZINE residence (currently $250,000 AGI for an individual and $500,000 AGI for married To receive your copy, couples filing jointly) remain unchanged for email [email protected] holding periods exceeding two years. or call 404.261.6300

Preferred Service Providers For home and auto For mortgage financing or loan pre- insurance, qualification, contact Mike Fitzmeyer. contact 678.458.5901 John Lanigan, Jr., [email protected] For home warranties, contact For title services or 404.261.8942 Wellborn Price, 404.550.8106 Carol Bolka, 678.468.4432 property tax appeals, [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] 404.504.8700. www.lanigan.net

www.beacham.com • 404.261.6300 2 Real estate activity on internet explodes in January ore than 88% of homebuyers use the internet to search for homes Maccording to a 2011 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Among purchasers, 40% of “THE JANUARY EFFECT” them found the home they purchased online - up from 8% just ten years ago. A real estate firm’s online presence is more important than ever. 20% Real estate websites experience the greatest Beacham & Company’s award-winning consumer-rated website is con- 18% month-to-month increase of the year in nected to hundreds of other real estate websites around the world includ- 16% January, showing the importance of listing a ing those of the more than 500 international affiliate firms of Leading Real 14% home for sale early in the year. Estate Companies of the World. In addition, the Beacham site can be found 12% at the top of search results for key Atlanta real estate terms when searching 10% Google, Yahoo and other search engines. 8% Getting home buyers to your website is not enough however - 6% websites must be compelling when the user arrives. The same NAR study 4% found that the most important website feature for home buyers was 2% photography. Consumers consider photography more important than Jun Jul Apr Dec Nov Sep detailed information about the properties for sale, including the price. 0 Jan Mar Feb Oct Aug May Photography is a key differentiator for Beacham & Company, which has -2% two on-staff photographers. Our photographers are credited by our -4% agents with selling many of our listings with their photography. -6% The question is, when is the best time to list? Most homeowners -8% have heard about “the spring market” but wait until the spring to list. -10% However, the “spring market” is the result of buyer activity that begins -12% in January. The accompanying chart shows that the greatest increase in -14% real estate activity online occurs in January of each year. We call it “the Previous Month from Traffic in Website % Change -16% January effect,” and sellers who list early in January avoid the increased -18% competition of sellers who wait until the spring. It’s the best kept secret in the business and one of the reasons Beacham & Company continues to -20% SOURCE: ST outsell the competition every year. Only one company connects Atlanta listings to more than 600 websites around the world

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REAL ESTATE

*RELO Home Search includes placement of Beacham & Company listings on more than 500 national and international websites www.beacham.com • 404.261.6300 3 BEACHAM BELLWETHERS SINGLE FAMILY HOME SALES AUG-OCT 2012 VS. AUG-OCT 2011 ABOUT THE 2012 Units Sold 2011 Units Sold Diff % Change BELLWETHERS Alpharetta West of GA-400/Roswell/Milton (30004, 30022, 30076) 353 308 45 15% Alpharetta East of GA-400/Johns Creek/Windward (30005, 30022, 30024, 30097) 435 356 79 22% The accompanying Ansley Park/Midtown/Sherwood Forest/south of the Brookwood split (30309) 19 12 7 58% Brookhaven - City of Atlanta (30319) 7 6 1 17% statistical grid labeled Buckhead East - //Piedmont Heights-East (30305) 22 18 4 22% “Beacham Bellwethers” is Buckhead Central - Argonne Forest, Haynes Manor, Piedmont Heights-West, Tuxedo Park (30305) 9 10 -1 -10% Buckhead North - /Mt. Paran Road/Warren T. Jackson Elementary School (30342) 14 5 9 180% a tracking index devised Buckhead Northeast - High Point/Lynwood Park/Murphy-/Peachtree Golf Club by Beacham & Company 30342 east of Roswell Road, 30319) 135 110 25 23% Buckhead Northwest - Castlewood, Chastain Park, Kingswood, Margaret Mitchell, to chart the sales activity Ridgewood Heights, Warren T. Jackson Elementary School (30327) 28 20 8 40% of metro Atlanta’s most Buckhead South - Park///Loring Heights// E. Rivers Elementary School (30309 north of the Brookwood split) 6 5 1 20% popular neighborhoods Buckhead West - Castlewood/Hanover West/Memorial Park/Springlake/Wildwood/ Morris Brandon Elementary (30327) 21 23 -2 -9% and to compare their Decatur North/Briarcliff/Oak Grove Elementary (parts of 30033, 30345) 20 20 0 0% sales activity to the metro Druid Hills/Briarvista/Emory Village/CDC/Fernbank Elementary (30307, 30030, 30033) 29 13 16 123% Dunwoody (30338, 30350) 113 90 23 26% area as a whole. East Cobb (30067, 30068) 164 136 28 21% The term “bellwether” Morningside-Virginia Highlands (30306) 48 40 8 20% Sandy Springs - South of I-285/Heards Ferry Elementary/Riverwood High School (30327) 25 23 2 9% is used to describe Sandy Springs - North of I-285 (30328) 61 57 4 7% something that serves to Smyrna (30080) 93 82 11 13% Vinings (30339) 7 2 5 250% create or influence trends BEACHAM BELLWETHER TOTALS 1584 1313 271 21% or to presage future FMLS TOTALS (Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dekalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding and Rockdale) 11575 11256 319 3% happenings. In the stock 2012 Avg. Sale $ 2011 Avg. Sale $ Diff % Change market, a bellwether is Alpharetta West of GA-400/Roswell/Milton (30004, 30022, 30076) $361,510 $363,704 $(2,194) -1% Alpharetta East of GA-400/Johns Creek/Windward (30005, 30022, 30024, 30097) $369,106 $355,172 $13,934 4% the stock of a company Ansley Park/Midtown/Sherwood Forest/south of the Brookwood split (30309) $788,481 $543,458 $245,023 45% that is regarded as a Brookhaven - City of Atlanta (30319) $919,286 $940,892 $(21,606) -2% Buckhead East - Garden Hills/Peachtree Park/Piedmont Heights-East (30305) $508,647 $503,300 $5,347 1% leader in its given industry. Buckhead Central - Argonne Forest, Haynes Manor, Piedmont Heights-West, Tuxedo Park (30305) $838,056 $900,425 $(62,369) -7% Buckhead North - Chastain Park/Mt. Paran Road/Warren T. Jackson Elementary School (30342) $945,914 $759,000 $186,914 25% The performance of a Buckhead Northeast - High Point/Lynwood Park/Murphy-Candler Park/Peachtree Golf Club bellwether stock is said to (30342 east of Roswell Road, 30319) $473,323 $424,465 $48,858 12% Buckhead Northwest - Castlewood, Chastain Park, Kingswood, Margaret Mitchell, reflect the performance Ridgewood Heights, Warren T. Jackson Elementary School (30327) $1,191,854 $911,688 $280,166 31% of the industry in general. Buckhead South - Ardmore Park/Brookwood Hills/Collier Hills/Loring Heights/Peachtree Hills/ E. Rivers Elementary School (30309 north of the Brookwood split) $697,217 $456,600 $240,617 53% For the most part, Buckhead West - Castlewood/Hanover West/Memorial Park/Springlake/Wildwood/ we compare sales data Morris Brandon Elementary (30327) $757,160 $830,260 $(73,100) -9% Decatur North/Briarcliff/Oak Grove Elementary (parts of 30033, 30345) $409,673 $391,755 $17,918 5% year-over-year instead Druid Hills/Briarvista/Emory Village/CDC/Fernbank Elementary (30307, 30030, 30033) $483,156 $452,625 $30,531 7% of month-to-month Dunwoody (30338, 30350) $401,108 $418,963 $(17,855) -4% East Cobb (30067, 30068) $382,279 $367,608 $14,671 4% because the real estate Morningside-Virginia Highlands (30306) $607,033 $495,398 $111,635 23% Sandy Springs - South of I-285/Heards Ferry Elementary/Riverwood High School (30327) $879,940 $998,978 $(119,038) -12% market experiences Sandy Springs - North of I-285 (30328) $419,733 $379,146 $40,587 11% seasonal fluctuations that Smyrna (30080) $262,186 $264,641 $(2,455) -1% Vinings (30339) $668,125 $523,250 $144,875 28% make month-to-month BEACHAM BELLWETHER TOTALS $425,261 $395,981 $29,280 7% comparisons misleading. FMLS TOTALS (Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dekalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding and Rockdale) $200,803 $176,403 $24,400 12% For instance, June is the CONDOMINIUM SALES AUG-OCT 2012 VS. AUG-OCT 2011 busiest closing month of 2012 Units Sold 2011 Units Sold Diff % Change the year but February is Buckhead (30327, 30305) 99 96 3 3% traditionally one of the Midtown (30309) 138 131 7 5% Perimeter/Sandy Springs (30328) 64 61 3 5% slowest. By comparing Smyrna (30080) 32 22 10 45% Vinings (30339) 32 26 6 23% productivity from the same BEACHAM BELLWETHER TOTALS 365 336 29 41% month a year earlier, a FMLS TOTALS (Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dekalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding and Rockdale) 2,391 2,337 54 2% more accurate measure of 2012 Avg. Sale $ 2011 Avg. Sale $ Diff % Change the health of the housing Buckhead (30327, 30305) $274,511 $222,935 $51,576 23% market can be obtained. Midtown (30309) $199,334 $174,702 $24,632 14% Perimeter/Sandy Springs (30328) $120,916 $133,631 $(12,715) -10% Smyrna (30080) $245,632 $183,296 $62,336 34% Vinings (30339) $219,400 $276,657 $(57,257) -21% BEACHAM BELLWETHER TOTALS $211,793 $189,479 $22,314 12% FMLS TOTALS (Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dekalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Top Performing Market Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding and Rockdale) $143,128 $124,042 $19,086 15% www.beacham.com • 404.261.6300 4