I keep reading about how the real estate market has tanked, homes don’t sell, buyers aren’t buying, the world is coming to an end, etc. While the real estate market has slowed down, homes do still sell, buyers do still buy and I’m not really qualified to answer the last point.

At SmyrnaVinings.com, we’ve seen explosive growth on the real estate front. While being your Smyrna Vinings information resource on everything from parks, schools, restaurants and local events, we do sell real estate along the way.

In fact, SmyrnaVinings.com is now the #1 local site according to Google and not only is our traffic continuing to increase every month, but so are the number of people who are searching for their next Smyrna Vinings home.

The graph above shows the number of Smyrna Vinings home searches being run on our site each month, from launch in January 2007 through June 2008. For three months running, we’ve had over 5,000 home searches performed each month at SmyrnaVinings.com.

You may ask why this is significant.

Well, first of all this should let you know that there are home buyers out there in the Smyrna Vinings real estate market and there are a lot of them. Home buyers are coming to our site due to the quality of the content we provide on the Smyrna Vinings community, the ease to search for every Smyrna Vinings home, condo and townhome for sale and the ability to get answers to all of their real estate questions.

According to the National Association of Realtors, the majority of buyers actually purchase their next home within 5-7 miles of where they currently live. This statistic is extremely relevant in conjunction with the graph above as you realize people aren’t going to the national sites to search for their next home. They’re going to the local resource, where we provide an added level of experience, awareness and knowledge of the local market.

So if you’re thinking about selling your Smyrna Vinings home, there is no where else that you can get better and more relevant exposure to get your home sold. To learn more about getting your home featured on SmyrnaVinings.com, feel free to contact us. We’ll be glad to meet with you and show you how our marketing plan, community knowledge and real estate expertise will get your home sold. Your home is your most significant asset and you owe it to yourself and your family to make the right decision.

Technorati Tags: Smyrna Real Estate, Vinings Real Estate, National Association of Realtors

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[where: 30339]

We try to offer you the best and most efficient tools to make sure your Smyrna Vinings home search is successful. For years, agents have been using flyers outside of homes to provide buyers with information on the home.

We’ve come up with a better solution for you, the home buyer. Rather than looking for flyers in the flyer box and finding it empty, the flyers soggy or flyers with bad pictures, outdated information, etc., wouldn’t it be better if you could search for all the information from your cell phone.

SmyrnaVinings.com is excited to announce the ability for you to search for all the homes currently listed on the Multiple Listing Service via your cell phone. You will be able to get instant, updated access pulled directly from the Multiple Listing Service via your cell phone. No more having to search for flyers.

And unlike the wireless web or text messaging, HomeSearchbyPhone works on every phone.

With SmyrnaVinings.com’s HomeSearchbyPhone, you’ll get one phone number and you can use that to get information on every home on the market. It can’t get any easier or more convenient than that. How the program works:

1. Send us an email with your Name, Cellphone # and Email address.

2. We’ll register you in the program and send you your exclusive phone number to use for searching for any home on the market. (Tip: Save the number to your speed dial for easy access.)

3. When you’re driving around and curious about a home, simply call your exclusive phone number, enter the street number and street name and you will immediately receive an automated recording of all the details of the home, including any recent price reductions. No more hassle.

4. In addition, you will also receive an email with a summary of any properties that you have called about that day.

This is just another way that the real estate team here at SmyrnaVinings.com is trying to use the latest technological advances to make your Smryna Vinings real estate purchase is a success!

If you have any questions on HomeSearchbyPhone, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Technorati Tags: Smyrna Homes for Sale, Vinings Homes for Sale, Home Search by Phone, Atlanta Real Estate

[where: 30080]

[where: 30339]

Vinings Home Sales Update

As a general rule, I’ve been telling people to ignore the newspapers as many of their stats are usually based on metro, state or even national trends, which can be heavily impacted by factors not relevant in your local Smyrna Vinings real estate market.

Last Sunday, the Atlanta Journal Constitution proclaimed that “Vinings home sales hot in frigid market“. So I’m sure you’re probably thinking I should change my stance on newspapers. Not only was the headline positive about the local market, but it also used local stats.

But I can always poke a whole in their analysis.They do mention that they’re not really talking about Vinings, but rather the 30339 zip code. But that is the last time in the article that they mention this. The article mentions that home prices increased 57% and the number of units sold increased by 21.5%. But the majority of the article tried to hone in on the mystique of Vinings, the allure of Vinings and why it was kicking real estate butt when much of the Atlanta market was down.

In reality, they covered an area much larger than “true” Vinings according to the Vinings Homeowners Association. It was more the general concept of Vinings, that also includes the Cumberland and Wildwood areas of 30339 while also excluding the portion of Vinings that is in the 30080 zip code.

According to the Vinings Homeowners Association, “the northern-most part of Vinings is that area along and south of Stillhouse Road and Ranch Road, west of Cobb Parkway, and east of the railroad tracks. Vinings then includes all of the residential areas in Cobb County down to the Chattahoochee River, and then to the west up to the railroad tracks and then across to include all of the homeowners along Log Cabin Drive between Plant Atkinson Road and Cameron Place“, which is depicted in the shaded area of the following map:

View Larger Map
Given the fact that true Vinings is actually a pretty small area that doesn’t tend to have any new construction, thus making it difficult to have a huge surge in home sales or home prices, I ran the statistics from the First Multiple Listing Service for the actual neighborhoods in Vinings. What I found was that home and condo sales decreased by 6% from 2006 to 2007 and prices decreased 14% on average. This is a stark contrast from the AJC which stated home sales increased 21.5% and prices increased 57%.

The neighborhoods included in “Vinings” as defined by the HOA are:

So what does this mean and why as your local real estate guru am I telling you this?

I simply want you to be aware that Vinings by itself is not immune to the current real estate market as much as the AJC led people to believe. Their statistics were heavily affected not by traditional resales, but by new construction in the Vinings area defined as 30339, with much of the positive impact coming from the wildly popular One Vinings Mountain and other new neighborhoods such as Rivers Call at Wildwood, Greystone at Vinings, Riverwalk at Wildwood, Flats at Riverwalk and Vinings Overlook.

I guess what is most important to realize is if you really want to know what is going on in the local Smyrna Vinings real estate market, ask your trusted local real estate advisor. They certainly understand the local market better than anyone at the national or metro levels.

Technorati Tags: Vinings Real Estate, Wildwood Homes, Cumberland Homes, Vinings Homes for Sale

[where: 30339]

Thinking about buying a Smyrna home or perhaps a Vinings condominium? Then you’ll be excited about this. With the recent addition of some new Smyrna Vinings business partners, the SmyrnaVinings.com Ultimate Welcoming Gift is now in excess of $4,000.

So if you are thinking about buying a home, townhome or condo in the Smyrna Vinings community, you’ll want to contact us pronto to make sure you’re registered for the program. This is a great way for a new homeowner to try out several local Smyrna Vinings businesses and have fun doing it as well.

This program applies to not only Smyrna Vinings homes, condos and townhomes for resale but also new construction. Upon closing, you will receive the Ultimate Welcoming Gift, which includes over $4,000 in gift cards to local businesses. Certain restrictions due apply, so click here to learn more about this exciting Smyrna Vinings homebuyer program.

Quantities are limited, so don’t delay. Here are some of our participating Smyrna Vinings businesses.

Technorati Tags: Smyrna Vinings Homebuyer Program, Smyrna Real Estate, Vinings Real Estate, Smyrna Vinings Businesses

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[where: 30082]

[where: 30339]

[where: 30126]

Well, we recently covered the basis of the advanced Smyrna Vinings Home Search in our last class Home Search 201. We’ve dubbed this class, Home Search 202.

In this class, we’ll cover some of the really cool functionality available to you, which is all accessible under under Search for Homes on the top menu bar, then select Home/Condo Search. We’ve covered the basics in Home Search 201, but here comes the fun stuff.

If you’d like to be more specific or perhaps less constrained by searching by the city, you have the capability with the Additional Settings section. You can choose select any of the following items to fine-tune your search:

• Area of Metro Atlanta
• Name of Subdivision
• Name of Condo/Townhome Complex
• Elementary School
• Middle School
• High School
• Style

You can also make some other selections to narrow your search, including:

• Minimum Year Built

and certain other requirements you’re looking for in your next home, including:

• Pool
• Fireplace
• Foreclosure
• Dock
• Garage
• One Story
• Waterfront

Now, obviously docks and waterfront selections will probably eliminate 99.99% of all Smyrna Vinings homes, but keep in mind that you can use this for any of your metro Atlanta home searches.

Finally, you can also limit your search by using mapcodes.

Now, before you go back and click on Submit, make sure you click on “Narrow my Search with City, Zip, Sub Area…“. Then click on Submit and and review your results.

And if you review your notes from Home Search 201, you’ll remember that we emphasized the importance of registering for the Property Organizer, which will allow you to save your searches, save your favorite Smyrna Vinings homes and receive instant email notification when a new property meeting your criteria hits the market.

And remember, if you ever have any questions on the Smyrna Vinings home search tools or on any Smyrna Vinings homes, condos or townhomes, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re here to help you with your Smyrna Vinings real estate needs.

Technorati Tags: Smyrna Home Search, Vinings Home Search, Smyrna Real Estate, Vinings Real Estate

If you’ve now passed Home Search 101 and Home Search 102, then it’s time to move on to our newest class, Home Search 201. Coming out of the first two classes, you know about the basics of the home search functional availability at SmyrnaVinings.com. We’ll now move into some of the advanced functionality of our home search tools.

To access Smyrna Vinings Home Advance Search, click on Search for Homes on the top menu and scroll down to the Home/Condo Search.

The image above shows your first options, including selecting the city or cities that you want to search, whether you want to search homes, condos or both; setting the minimum and maximum price; and minimum bedrooms and bathrooms. Once you have made these selections, you can select Submit Search and and your home search results will be displayed.

Now the Smyrna Vinings home search tool has lots of nuggets of functionality that easily makes it the most powerful home search tool on the market and certainly the most popularly.

The last bit we will cover today is the ability to search by zip codes rather than by cities. You will notice that this option is located at the bottom left corner of the image above, where it simply states  “If you would like to search by zip codes, click here.” If you choose this option, you will be taken to the Home Search by Zip Code page.

On either the city search or the zip code page, you will still have access to the advanced search functionality that we will cover in our next class, Home Search 202.

But just one more tip, be sure to sign up for the Property Organizer. There is no reason to waste time re-running the same search over again. By signing up for the Property Organizer, you will be able to save your searches, save homes and receive instant notification when a home meeting your criteria hits the market.

Technorati Tags: Smyrna Home Search, Vinings Home Search, Smyrna Real Estate, Vinings Real Estate

For 10 short days, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods will give a lifetime structural warranty and up to $100,000 in savings on new homes in Atlanta, Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C., Charleston, S.C., and Nashville, Tenn.

Dubbed the “Sale of a Lifetime,” the unprecedented offering comes from the same builder recently ranked highest in customer satisfaction among new home builders in Atlanta and Charlotte by J.D. Power and Associates.

The Sale of a Lifetime will take place Friday, Jan. 25 through Sunday, Feb. 3. Buyers can receive $10,000 to $100,000 in bonus dollars on every John Wieland home. Buyers will also get the lifetime structural warranty whether they choose from existing inventory or build from scratch.

John Wieland Homes have been building homes in the Smyrna Vinings area for years. Some Smyrna new homes neighborhoods included in this program include Vinings Estates, The Registry at Vinings Estates, Olde Ivy at Vinings, One Ivy Walk.

Not only can you reap the benefits of this great program, but these Smyrna Vinings neighborhoods also qualify for the Ulimate Welcoming Gift through SmyrnaVinings.com, in which you can receive over $3,000 in gift cards from Smyrna businesses and Vinings businesses. So whether you’re looking for a Smyrna home or a Vinings townhome, you’ll have a great time checking out the local restaurants, shops and businesses. Register for the program now and we’ll work with you to find your new home.

Technorati Tags: Smyrna new homes, Vinings new homes, John Wieland Homes, Smyrna Vinings Homebuyer Program

It’s hard to believe, but 2007 flew by and we’re already in the second week of 2008 and I find myself busy with work. Which you would think is surprising, given that everyone is still trying to recover from the holidays and find ways to stick to their New Year’s resolutions.

The nice thing about Atlanta is that it’s already warm in January, not like there’s a bunch of snow on the ground to keep people from shopping for real estate. But what about all the negativity in the press, doesn’t that stop people from buying real estate. Apparently not.

Perhaps the message is getting out that the Smyrna real estate market and Vinings real estate market are not as bad as what they read about in the paper, which typically likes to cover national statistics and focus on how bad the market is in California or Florida.

There are people out there buying real estate. I think it’s smart to buy real estate in January. Ultimately the buyer competition will heat up as the temperature does, so why not get a head start on your competition. There is a secret rule in real estate: As soon as you want a property– so does someone else. If you are someone planning to buy real estate, don’t wait forever: there are other buyers out there.

I don’t know what is going to happen in the Smyrna Vinings real estate market in 2008. I can only speculate. But as someone who works in the business everyday– I don’t see many changes in this market.

• Interest rates are still reasonably low: a little under 6%
• Inventory of homes is good: there is a lot to choose from
• Sellers still want to sell their homes: people want to get on with their lives

So, what are your plans for your life in 2008? Is this the year you take that step to advance it? Or is it just going to be more of the same. Come on, open the door to the rest of your life.

Technorati Tags: Smyrna Real Estate, Vinings Real Estate

Thinking about buying a Smyrna home or perhaps a Vinings condominium? Then you’ll be excited about this.

SmyrnaVinings.com announces the launch of this unique and exciting program for new homebuyers in the Smyrna Vinings community. We have partnered with local Smyrna Vinings businesses to provide you with the Ultimate Welcoming Gift.

Smyrna Vinings business owners really love this community and want to make it an even better community. Each business has contributed their goods and services to this program as a way of welcoming you to the community. We want you to feel welcome in our community and want to give you an incentive to get out and try the local businesses.

This program applies to not only Smyrna Vinings homes, condos and townhomes for resale but also new homes. Upon closing, you will receive the Ultimate Welcoming Gift, which includes over $3,000 in gift cards to local businesses when you purchase a home in the Smyrna Vinings area. Certain restrictions due apply, so click here to learn more about this exciting Smyrna Vinings homebuyer program.

This program begins December 1, 2007 and quantities are limited. So don’t delay. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Technorati Tags: Smyrna Vinings Homebuyer Program, Smyrna Vinings Ultimate Welcoming Gift, Smyrna Homes, Smyrna Condos, Vinings Homes, Vinings Condos

Avignon at Vinings

Since I covered the project underway at Vinings Main the other day, I thought I should just continue on up the hill out of Vinings. The next project adjacent to Vinings Main, is very impressive. It’s called Avignon at Vinings and will consist of 170 homes in a gated community on 18 acres.

Luxurious Villa homes, priced from $1.2 million, will be built by Atlanta builder Waterford Homes, which is also the builder of Stonecrest Manor and West Haven. The Village town homes, priced from the mid $700,000’s and Village condominiums from the high $400,000’s will be built by Kairos Development. High-end quality finishes will always come standard at this unique, custom neighborhood. Architectural direction is provided by Harrison Design Group.

Kairos Development Corporation recently announced that construction is underway at the clubhouse at Avignon at Vinings. Located in the heart of Vinings Village, Avignon at Vinings is reminiscent of a romantic, European village on a hillside with a grand Chateau as the focal point. The clubhouse at Avignon at Vinings will include a swimming pool, wine tasting room, resident wine lockers and caterer’s kitchen as well as a wellness center, which will include a spa and fitness facilities.

The Avignon at Vinings concept may sound very similar to the One River Place project over by the Chattahoochee River with a “country club” type clubhouse as the focal point for a mixed use community.

In addition to the spectacular clubhouse, Avignon at Vinings will also offer residents a gate house with 24-hour guard and 24-hour concierge. Lovely topography invites homeowners to relax and unwind at outdoor gathering spaces with scenic views of the City of Atlanta.

If you have any further questions about the Avignon at Vinings project or any other Smyrna Vinings developments, feel free to contact us. Should you want to purchase real estate in the Smyrna Vinings community, we would be glad to assist you.

Next up on our tour of new developments in Vinings will be Aberdeen, the high-rise luxury condominiums just up the hill from Avignon at Vinings.

Technorati Tags: Avignon at Vinings, Smyrna Vinings, Vinings condominiums, Vinings townhomes, Vinings new construction, Historic Vinings, Smyrna Vinings Neighborhoods