Cabbagetown: A small intown neighborhood that started transitioning before the boom and now offers an affordable historic home market with unique artsy homes, renovated homes with Victorian features, and value-priced fixer-uppers

[caption id="attachment_358" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Row of Historic Homes in Cabbagetown"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_354" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Renovated Historic Home with Victorian Detailing in Cabbagetown"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_360" align="aligncenter" width="449" caption="Artsy Historic Home in Cabbagetown"][/caption]

 

Cabbagetown is located just east of Downtown Atlanta, approximately 1 mile from the city's Central Business District.  The neighborhood is relatively small and bound on the north by Dekalb Avenue/ Decatur Street, the south by Memorial Drive, the West by Boulevard, and the East by Pearl Street.

Cabbagetown is predominately historic, with most of the homes populating the neighborhood built in the early 1900's.  Cabbagetown was one of the hot intown neighborhoods receiving both public and private investment and rehabilitation as the Atlanta real estate market was booming from 2004-2008.  Investors and enterprising first-time home buyers were purchasing and renovating run down shot-gun style homes, small bungalows, and larger Victorian-style homes.  In the meantime, the neighborhood was the benefactor of public revitalization funds and efforts, including the significant improvements completed at Cabbagetown Park which resulted in an asset that is now widely used by its residents.

Evidence of the boom and (lesser) bust in Cabbagetown real estate is provided by the Zillow.com home value change over the past decade for the neighborhood.  According to Zillow.com, the estimated Cabbagetown median home value  in 2001 was $123,500.  Just six years later, the estimated median home value in Cabbagetown peaked at $222,500 representing a total appreciation of 80% and an average annual growth rate of 10% from 2001 to 2007. 

As with most transitional intown markets, prices have since reset.  The estimated median home value from Zillow.com for first quarter 2010 is almost exactly mid-mark of 2001 and 2007 at $178,700.

The current listing price of homes for sale in Cabbagetown varies widely as the housing stock, although similarly aged for the most part, varies dramatically in size and quality. 

For instance, a superiorly renovated 5 bedroom, 4 bathroom home with Victorian features is priced at $600,000.  This would represent, however, the top of the Cabbagetown market.  A similar quality 3 bedroom home would list for between $250,000 and $350,000. 

Some advantageous value plays ripe for the opportunistic buyer can be found in Cabbagetown amidst the current real estate downturn. 

Examples of such deals actually closed are:

• Historic home with 3 bedrooms  and 2 baths sold for $37,000 in October 2009.  The last prior sell of the home was for $178,000 in August 2000 and the county tax assessor appraised the value of the home at $209,000 in 2009. 


• Historic shot-gun style home with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths sold for $82,000 in 2009, the same year it was appraised by the county tax assessor to be worth $130,800.

Examples of current foreclosure properties that present a great return on investment opportunity are:

• Foreclosure property with 2 bedrooms and one bath listed at $89,000.  This property was last appraised by the Fulton County tax assessor for $221,000 (2009 value).


• Foreclosure property with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths listed at $174,000.  This property last sold for $291,000 in 2006 and was appraised at $273,000 in 2009 by the Fulton County tax assessors office.

For a virtual tour of the Cabbagetown neighborhood, please see:

http://atlanta.homespace.com/2010/02/12/cabbagetownvirtualtour

Atlanta Home Buyers: There is still time to take advantage of the $14,000 incentive for foreclosure home purchases through the Georgia Dream Homeownership Program

 

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs is currently offering a $14,000  incentive for purchasing a foreclosure home through the Georgia Dream Homeownership Program.  The program is targeted at reducing the inventory of foreclosure homes in counties were foreclosure levels have been severely elevated.  The foreclosure property must be located in counties that have been selected for the program - Counties of Need - because of the large volume of foreclosure properties.    The $14,000 may be used either for necessary repairs to the property or may be applied towards the mortgage down payment. This is not a first-time buyer program, previous homeowners also qualify.

All Atlanta area counties are included in the program, so any homebuyer in the Atlanta market could potentially qualify for this program.  The program commenced in April 2009, but prospective buyers still have six months to take advantage of the program until it ends in July 2010.   Buyers must qualify against a number of criteria.  However, the most significant criteria is the income limits by county because it is a HUD-funded program administered by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

Program specifics

• The property purchased must be a foreclosure property located within the designated counties of need (all Atlanta metro counties qualify);


• Short-sales or homes in pre-foreclosure do not qualify;


• Home buyers must have an annual income within the defined income limits (for a table of income limits: http://www.dca.state.ga.us/housing/Homeownership/programs/downloads/NSPIncomeLimits.pdf); generally an annual income of less than $69,000 for a two-person household and less than $86,000 for a four-person household in the Atlanta area;


• Home buyers must attend at least eight live (in-person) hours of homebuyer counseling and education from a list of approved providers;


• A home buyer may also qualify for the US First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit; however, they may not receive other forms of down payment assistance nor may they use the tax credit towards a down payment;


• The mortgage will be originated and held by a private lending institution;


• Currently 13 mortgage companies or lenders participate in underwriting mortgages for this program;


• A buyer must stay within the home purchased under this program for at more than five years, because a lien placed on the home for this program is not released until sixty-six months after the closing date.

 

For more information, see:

http://www.dca.state.ga.us/housing/Homeownership/programs/gadreamnspdownpayment.asp

Atlantic Station in Atlanta, GA: Work, Play, and Take Advantage of Foreclosures

 

Atlantic Station's The District

[caption id="attachment_166" align="alignnone" width="234" caption="Twelve Hotel & Residences at Atlantic Station"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_179" align="alignnone" width="293" caption="Townhomes at Atlantic Station"][/caption]

 

 

Atlantic Station (www.atlanticstation.com) is a mixed-use development north of Georgia Tech and west of Interstates 75 and 85 featuring millions of square feet of retail, residences, office, restaurants, entertainment and hospitality space. Named for the Atlantic Steel Mill that used to occupy the 138-acre site, the scale of Atlantic Station has warranted the designation of its own zip code by the USPS: 30363 (“Cracking the Zip Code of Atlanta Cool,” Atlanta Constitution Journal, April 25, 2008).

Real estate at Atlantic Station has been on a bit of a roller coaster ride since sales commenced, translating into substantial discounts and advantageous pricing for buyers in the market today relative to original pricing at the project. Trulia (www.trulia.com) indicates that prices peaked early 2007 at a median home sales price of $356,000. Prices have since dropped $100,000 to a median sales price of $256,000 in early 2009. A closer look at current listings, recent sales, and property records confirms the story told by the data.

• Twelve Hotel & Residences is a high-rise condo and hotel tower offering luxury amenities and unit finishes. Currently units at Twelve are listed and selling for less than 50% of the original sales price. (Based on data from the Fulton County Tax Assessor.   A recent transaction closed in June 2009 for $115,000 on a unit that originally sold in 2004 for $240,000. Similarly, a unit currently priced at $115,000 sold for $240,000 in 2006.


• The Element, a mid-rise condominium building, offers roughly 325 units and luxury amenities (www.elementatlanta.com). Element condos still have not sold out, despite creative sales tactics by the developer, including an auction that sold 40 units in just 90 minutes (“Bargain hunters snap up condos at auction,” The Atlanta Journal Constitution, February 28, 2009).  The developer is currently offering “auction pricing without the auction,” with a 35% price adjustment on four new units.  A two-bedroom, two bathroom condo foreclosure sold in April 2009 for $172,000 – more than $100,000 below the original $280,000 sale price in 2007. (Based on data from the Fulton County Tax Assessor.)


• Townhomes are now were selling for as much as 60% below list price. A two-bedroom, 2.5 bathroom townhome sold in October 2009 for $155,000, 63% below the $415,000 original 2006 sale price. (Based on data from the Fulton County Tax Assessor.) Another townhome originally sold for $535,000 in 2006 resold in August 2009 for $240,000, 55% below the original purchase price. Several similar townhomes are currently listed for $155,000 to mid-$200,000.


• Other condominium foreclosures in other projects at Atlantic Station are listed as low as $55,000 for a one-bedroom, one bath.

For buyers unsure of their appetite for urban mixed-use environment, there are many highly-amenitized apartment communities within Atlantic Station for prospective buyers to choose from before committing to a purchase. Rents are from $1,100 a month (www.atlanticstationapartments.com).

For a virtual tour of Atlantic Station, please click the following link: http://ericamchampion.wordpress.com/2009/12/10/atlanticstationvirtualtour/