Where Are Home Values Headed For Metro Atlanta?

It can be very confusing these days to filter through all the news about the housing market. The sensationalist national headlines may sell advertising but are often wrong or misleading for Metro Atlanta or your local market. To further complicate matters, the typical metrics used to track real estate trends do not tell the accurate story in the current market.

• Did you know that over 50% of all transactions in 2011 have been under $125,000? That has historically been around 10-15% of the market.
• Did you know that approximately 60% of all transactions are foreclosures or short sales? That is also normally 10-15% of the market.
•  Did you know that many bank-owned properties are selling above their list prices?

These changing trends make the traditional metrics for real estate unreliable. Ratios like average sale prices, median sale prices or list-to-sale ratios can be very misleading. One metric we like to track is the “previous sold price” to “current sold price” ratio. We believe that is a more accurate approach to considering home values. This is the method used by the Case-Shiller Index. Each month, we write a detailed article which explains the latest Case-Shiller results for metro Atlanta.

Click here to see the most recent article

The Case-Shiller index is a good indicator for Metro Atlanta home values. But real estate is local and every market is different. I have access to proprietary information resources and can help you determine the most accurate value for your property.

Contact Me For Own Free Market Analysis Today!

Woke up with Beauty on my mind

I woke up this AM, thinking out my neighbor's beloved pet, Beauty.

Here's the message they sent out to Ruby Forest:

Please help us find Beauty who went missing yesterday afternoon! Beauty is a small mixed breed dog who lives at 4045 Magnolia Leaf Lane. She is very shy so please call us if you see her (678-482-7133). We miss her very much! Thank you! - - Penny and Mina Cruise

One neighbor thinks she may have this dog crossing over Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road into Suwanee Town Center.

Please keep a look out for this beloved pet, Beauty, and help her find her way home.

If the Crepe Myrtles are bloomin'..it's July in Suwanee

Every July in Suwanee, I am treated to rows of these beautiful ornamental trees, called crepe myrtle's. They are often used in the medians of two lane roads like you see here. People love the way they look....I love the way they taste!

They come in lots of different colors...white, pink, rose, purple and lavender. I don't know the official names of the colors, but white, pink and red are the most common. I just saw a color a new color....a very deep, but bright red. I haven't tried that one yet, but white tastes the best. Beverly's favorite color is one I don't see often either. A rich vivid purple.

Birds like them too!!

They are also used as landscape accents like here:

If you see blooming crepe myrtle's, you'll know it's July in Suwanee!!!

Enjoy! I sure do.

Suwanee Did it Again

Suwanee showed up again on Money Magazine's Best Places to Live List.....#35

I'm guessing, if you have to be on a list, this is a good one. Yep, #35 on Money Magazine's Best Places to Live. I'll vouch for that. Acutally, it's #1 on my list.

Can you see me in that famous Suwanee Town Center picture? I was there! Were you?

Suwanee's North Gwinnett Top of the Class!

Georgia had a total of 51 high schools that made Newsweek Magazine's "Best U.S. High Schools" list for 2009.

And, North Gwinnett High was at the TOP of the Georgia List at #212.

Yet another great reason to live in Suwanee, GA!!

Twelve of the 51 Georgia schools were in Gwinnett County. They are Berkmar, Brookwood, Central Gwinnett, Collins Hill, Dacula, Duluth, Grayson, Mill Creek, Norcross, Parkview and Peachtree Ridge.

Click here to learn more about the Challenge Index, the rating system used to determine the rankings.

D Day

As we really enjoyed our beautiful, mild Spring day in Suwanee, we were compelled to call our favorite WWII veteran in Suwanee. As a matter of fact, it's the ONLY WWII Veteran we know in Suwanee, Mr Harold Humphries. Not only that, he's the ONLY WWII Veteran we know personally, anywhere. He's a special, fine man that Beverly has respected for many years, long before she realized he was a WWII Veteran.

We asked him what he was doing on D Day in 1944. We were excited to learn that he was safely back in the U.S., for about 30 days, while the USS Hornet, which he was stationed, was being cleaned and repaired, before she was sent back to her honorable duty. Thank you, Mr. Humphries, for your service. And, thank you for sharing your stories with us. It's truly an honor to know you.

You Might be a Suwanabee too!

Ok...you don't have to look like me to be a Suwanabee. As a matter of fact, most people don't.


Beverly Hart, REALTOR who specializes in selling Suwanee real estate dreamed
me up about three years ago. I remember it clearly. She was sitting at her desk, thinking of marketing to people who want to live in Suwanee. Because if you wanna live in Suwanee, then you wanna BEE in Suwanee, so you're a Suwanabee. Remember, Beverly speaks Southern. I know, it's a little complicated, but that's how I was born.


And, if you already live in Suwanee, You're a Suwanabee!! Simple, right? Click here to see what makes Suwanee so special.

What's a Suwanabee???

I get this question a lot. Most people think it's me...THE Suwanabee.


There's a difference between THE Suwanabee and A Suwanabee.


Clearly, I'm THE Suwanabee....cute, huh?


And, I love Suwanee, GA!!