Looking Out From the Garage

Sugar Hill, GA is a suburb of Atlanta in Gwinnett County. The population is 2000 was 11,399, but that only included the area inside the city limits.  The name comes from a bag of Sugar that spilled on a hill while in transit between Cumming and the railroad in Buford.  And while it is actually a big market, it is in the shadows of Lawrenceville, Duluth and Suwanee...

Market stats for Sugar Hill, January, 2010 indicate that there are 199 properties on the market. Overall, there is about an 8 month supply of properties, with sales remaining steady... and fairly strong.  It is one of the few markets to show more strngth in the last three months than in the last six.

In the sub-$200k arena, there are 115 listings, with under 9 1/2 months supply.  This segment has been slowing longer than the last couple of months...

Between $200k and $400k, there are 77 listings for sale, and just under 10 months of supply.  Sales were quite strong in December, and fair in January.

From $400k to $600k, there are 4 homes on the market. The absorption rate is around 6 months, but with only 2 sales in the last 3 months, it is tough to calculate.

Above $600k, the sales are too inconsistent to have a solid read on, but there are only 3 homes listed for sale in that price range.  No sales have been recorded in the last 15 months or so. 

From LaneBailey.com.  I have a page dedicated to Sugar Hill Market Data.

Suwanee, GA is a suburb of Atlanta in Gwinnett, Forsyth and (just a little bit) in Fulton Counties. The population is 2000 was 8,725, but that only included the area inside the city limits, and it had seen tremendous growth since that census.  Money Magazine rated Suwanee in the "Top 10 Best Places to Live" in 2007, and it is one of the wealthiest parts of Georgia. Recently, the City of Suwanee has revamped their old town, adding a large park with a bandshell, condos, town homes and small businesses. It is also home to North Gwinnett High School, Peachtree Ridge and Collins Hill.

Market stats for Suwanee, January, 2010 indicate that there are 529 properties on the market. Overall, there is about an 9 1/2 month supply of properties, with sales matching the pattern set in most of the rest of the county, sales dropped off after November.

In the sub-$200k arena, there are 113 listings, with under 7 months supply. This is stronger than most of the rest of the county, but not as strong as it was in November (less than 4 months supply).  Part of that is because of the increase in listings... and half the sales.

Between $200k and $400k, there are 254 listings for sale, and under 9 months of supply. Sales dropped off dramatically during the Holiday period.  Some slowing is normal, but we'll have to keep an eye on the upcoming data to see if things change.

From $400k to $600k, there are 81 homes on the market. The absorption rate is around 12 months. Sales aren't that bad compared to December/January 2009.

In the $600k to $800k arena, there are 34 listings, with about a 14 1/2 month supply.  Sales are actually picking up here...

The range from $800k to $1m, there are 7 homes listed and approximately 10 1/2 months of inventory on the market.  While it is pretty strong at this price level, the number can bounce around a lot because of the low overall volume of sales.

Above $1m, there are 40 properties listed. The current absorption rate indicated 5 years of inventory, but because of the smaller numbers of sales, this could be significantly impacted by just a couple of sales.

From LaneBailey.com.  I have a page dedicated to Suwanee Market Data.

Lawrenceville is in Gwinnett County, GA, just outside of Atlanta. As of the 2000 Census, there were 22,937 people in Lawrenceville, but that is only including people in the city limits, and there has been a lot of growth since 2000 in Gwinnett County (2008 estimates from the Census Bureau peg population around 29,000). It was incorporated in 1821.  Lawrenceville is home to Central Gwinnett High School, and also has students that the Mountain View and Archer clusters. It is also home to Gwinnett Technical College and Georgia Gwinnett College. Another recent addition to Lawrenceville is that it is home to the Gwinnett Braves, playing at the Gwinnett Stadium on GA20 between I-85 and GA316.  Possibly the most famous resident of Lawrenceville was Oliver Hardy. As a small boy he lived in Lawrenceville with his parents for a short time. LAwrenceville was also home to Junior Samples. Some of its other residents included Jeff Francouer, Brian McCann and Jennifer Ferrin.

Market stats for Lawrenceville, January, 2010, indicate that there are 1441 properties on the market. Overall, there is about an 10 month supply of properties, with a slight deceleration in sales.

In the sub-$200k arena, there are 1028 listings, with about a 7 month supply of homes. Sales accelerated through November, but then fell off as the first tax credit was slated to end... and the Holiday slowdown hit.

Between $200k and $400k, there are 358 listings for sale, and about 17 months of supply.  Sales have slowed dramatically since December.

From $400k to $600k, there are 33 homes on the market. The absorption rate is around 50 months.  However, with the level of sales in this segment, a couple of sales added or subtracted can have a HUGE impact.  

In the $600k to $800k arena, there are 15 listings, with about 45 months of supply.  As with the lower priced segment, a couple of sales makes a big difference.

Above $800k there are 7 homes listed and no sales data to give an accurate absorption rate.  There hasn't been one sale in this range in the last 15 months, according to FMLS. 

From LaneBailey.com.  I have a page dedicated to Lawrenceville Market Data.

Lilburn is in Gwinnett County, GA, just outside of Atlanta.  As of the 2000 Census, there were 11,307 people in Lilburn, but that is only including people in the city limits, and there has been a lot of growth since 2000 in Gwinnett County.  It was incorporated in 1910.  Lilburn is home to Parkview High School, and also has students that the Brookwood, Berkmar and Meadowcreek clusters. It is also home to Killian Hill Christian School, Providence Chrisian Academy, St. John Neumann Catholic School and Parkview Christian School.  Possibly the most famous resident of Lilburn is General Beauregard Lee, a groundhog with a better winter prediction record that Puxatawnee Phil up in PA. Dominique Wilkins, formerly of the Atlanta Hawks also lives in Lilburn.

Market stats for Lilburn, January, 2010, indicate that there are 359 (January 31st) properties on the market. Overall, there is about a 10 month supply of properties, with a slight acceleration in sales during October and November, but slowing in December and January.

In the sub-$200k arena, there are 214 listings, with about an 10 month supply. The same pattrern hold that sales accelerated through October and November and slowed after that.

Between $200k and $400k, there are 128 listings for sale, and about 10.5 months of supply. Even though the tax credit for First time Home Buyers wasn't as important to this segment, it still affected the sales distribution.

From $400k to $600k, there are 11 homes on the market. The absorption rate is around 11 months, and it is definately slowing.  Of course, there is a seasonal dip around the Holidays and the pick-up isn't until March and April.  

Above $600k, there are 6 listings, but too few sales to have any sort of reliable number of months of inventory.  There have been two sales in the last three months, but prior, there had only been one other sale in 2009 (February).  Two of the listings are above $800k, and there is no market activity in the last 12 months for that range... 

From LaneBailey.com.  I have a page dedicated to Lilburn Market Data.

Late in 2008, Gwinnett County, GA, announced the implementation of a new Waste Management Plan.  I wrote about the announcement here...  You can check out the costs and so forth there... 

Just a few weeks later, the plan was killed in court.  The trash haulers that weren't selected successfully sued the county to stop the plan.  The plan was to take effect on January 2nd, 2009. 

It's Baaack...

On March 2nd, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners approved the plan.  It has been slightly modified, but is largely the same plan.  Instead of two haulers dividing up the county, now there are five haulers.  The plan is expected to start effective July 1st, 2010. 

On the plus side, there should be curbside pick-up for more recyclable materials.  Costs are projected to be almost the same as they are for most private contracts. 

Will it hold?  We'll see...

I stopped into Legends at Parkview recently to find out how the new project was coming.  They didn’t have a model ready to go yet, but should have one built out completely soon.  And I’ll be back to visit when it is ready to go.  But, in the mean time…

If you haven’t been following along, DR Horton picked up the remaining lots after another local home builder went belly-up on the project.  Previously, homes had been marketed for as much as $700,000 in the development, with most of the homes they sold selling in the $500K range.

DR Horton was shooting considerably lower… currently starting in the $290Ks.  But there is even a little more to it than that.  When they picked up the project they were advertising in the $260Ks.

It has been kind of interesting.  Every few weeks, while driving by, I would notice that the prices had edged up a little.  First was the $260s, then the $270s, then $280s… and now it is from the $290s. (expect to add about $35k for a basement).

On the good side, these are reasonably comparable.  They are generally slightly smaller than the existing homes.  But they are 4 sides brick with interesting elevations. But they aren’t a custom home builder.  While buyers will have their choice of finishes and colors, they won’t be able to make major changes.

While the previous builder was primarily building with 3 car garages, the DR Horton homes are almost exclusively 2 car garages… but almost all will be side entry.  One of the plans actually calls for a three car front entry garage… but it has been converted to two car side entry.  But it is deep enough for a nice project space at the back of the garage…

Stay tuned, and I’ll be happy to post up when I make it into a few of their homes.

If you just can’t wait, give me a call and we can visit together. They have managed to put more than 20 homes under contract.  When they start getting sales closed, they will have one of the hottest properties in the area.  And who can blame the buyers… these homes seem to have built in equity…

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The Gold Medal match was a great game.  Like many, I would have preferred to see Team USA come away with a victory and a Gold instead of a Silver... 

But I don't think anyone can say that they didn't deliver a great game.  The game tying goal with under 25 seconds left in regulation was amazing!  After I got done yelling, I think I could hear shouts from around the neighborhood. 

Until that very last game, Team USA was undefeated.  They had beaten Team Canada earlier in the Games.  I know that the Canadians came into the game with something to prove... but it still took Sudden Death Overtime to do the deed... 

Congrats to Team USA

The Silver Medal is nothing to be ashamed of... with the level of play in that last game...  I think that you managed to make a lot of new hockey fans!

Marketers and other businesses know that the world has become smaller... but that we stilllike to do business locally... 

There is a national insurance company that has an ad running in at least several states that begins...

Attention Drivers Statewide...

They want to tap into that "local" feeling by inferring that they are only talking to people in one state.  At the same time, they weren't so interested in talking to drivers in just one state that they limited the ad to one state... 

It plays on Satellite TV, on national channels.  If it were on cable, there would be a chance that they could have bought local time, but on satellite, not so much...  That would be why they can't say "Attention Drivers all over Georgia..."  Too many people from Florida, California and 47 other states would ignore the message... 

But they know that we want to deal with someone local when we can...

It doesn't matter if it is insurance, real estate or cars... or anything else.  We would rather have someone that knows the area, understands our needs and lives in the community they service.  We don't want a call center in Fiji... although we might want to VISIT Fiji... 

Attention Home Buyers and Sellers around Lilburn...

We live in Mountain Park...  My kids are in school here in Lilburn.  One of them ice skates at the Duluth Ice Forum.  We swim at the Mountian Park Aquatic Center...  My wife was raised in Sugar Hill.  I have spent most of the last 21 years living in Gwinnett County.  We understand Gwinnett County.  It is where we have chosen to raise our family. 

If you are looking to buy or sell property in Gwinnett County, GA, you deserve a real estate agent that knows Gwinnett County.  Check out the three images just below this paragraph...  Find your Dream Home, Find out what YOUR Home is Worth or Find out about the Market in Gwinnett County.

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During the month of February, as well as the end of January, I spent each Friday afternoon volunteering to talk about business and economics with a bunch of 4th Graders.  This was in connection with Junior Achievement.

It might sound like pulling teeth, but it was really a blast.  The kids were great.  They were engaged and interested.  In fact, by the end of the course, they were greeting my by name as I entered the room…  I was late on the last day, and one of the kids commented that she “was afraid I wasn’t going to be there.”

The whole experience was immensely rewarding.

Just to be clear, these weren’t hand picked students or a special class of high achievers.  These were average kids in an average class…

While the details of the classes aren’t important, there is something else that IS very important.  The important part is that these kids WANT to learn and WANT to have adult come in and talk with them about the larger world.  It helps to be entertaining and to speak to issues and examples to which they can relate.

And there is something else that is important…

As people that are involved in business on a daily basis, we can help these ids understand how business works and how the economic system can benefit them and society as a whole.

It doesn’t matter if you choose to invest your time with Junior Achievement or some other worthy organization, giving to the kids is very rewarding and the payback is exceptional.

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I ran across an article that parses IRS data on which states are gaining population and which are losing population.  GA is doing pretty well on the list... only a couple of states gained more population that we did here in GA.  Texas and North Carolina picked up more households than the 37,000+ Georgia picked up.  The big losers were Michigan and New York.

The information was assembled by the AP from IRS data points.  Here is a link back to the article.

The fun part is figuring out why...  Jobs, taxes and corporate relocation would be the things that would pop to the front of my mind.  Michigan has been getting pounded for a decade on the jobs front.  As the economy slowed down, that wasn't improved.  New York, New Jersey and California have all increased taxes on the wealthy, and there has been a flight to lower tax states like Florida and Nevada as a result.  Texas has also been very business friendly.  North Carolina has become a central point for tech oriented companies, and might even get a bigger reputation that Silicon Valley in CA.

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Georgia has reasonable taxes and a friendly business climate.  Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta connects to the world in a way that few airports elsewhere can... Atlanta is VERY connected.  The climate is mild, but not as hot as FL during the summer...

But there is no question that the I-85 corridor, extending through Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina is one of the best business corridors in the country right now...