News Archives

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News for the week of Jan. 30-Feb. 5, (Click Here)

• Panel frowns on 'McMansions' ban 2/2/06
• $125 Million Trump Estate Tops List of Country's Most Expensive Homes for Sale
• Melba Franklin Named 2006 President of the Atlanta Board of REALTORS®
• BB&T announces eminent domain policy
• Levitt plans third metro Atlanta development
• Landmark Midtown office tower up for sale & Weekly RE Notes
• Gwinnett County Postpones $25 million Shelter Project Vote
• The Anti-Development Boom, Nimby-ism
• Marietta OKs $80M Clay Homes Redevelopment
• Development Groups Seek Head Start on Proposed Beltline Projects
• Brokers Plan Multimillion-Dollar Urban Village
• Land Development Forecast for 2006, LandDevelopmentToday.com
• www.smallbutsmart.org
• Why We Need Suburbia, Planetizn.com
  

News for the week of Jan. 23-29,

Urban Land Institute Weekly News Roundup (Click Here)

Online Marketing: Google Enhances Filters Once Again - How will it affect you?

RIS Media article about how certain activities could get you taken out of googles search results

(Click Here) -If you are paying someone to boost your rankings, you better pay attention to this article.

Study Finds Builder-Buyer Disconnect

New home buyers start their research much earlier and take far longer to sign a contract than builders tend to think, according to new research. by Lew Sichelman (Click Here)

Sembler to buy Peachtree Garden Apartments in Brookhaven

By Giles Stevens

The Atlanta Business Chronicle announced Friday the 23rd that the Sembler Co. has put a 49.57 acre site under contract and has plans to continue operating the apartment for now and  redevelop the site in the future. The site is located near Oglethorpe University. Here is the location on Google Maps.

Jeff Fuqua, the president of development for Sembler, was quoted in the Business Chronicle saying, "We're buying it for investment purposes, but we don't have a plan for development yet." Sembler is Also redeveloping almost a billion dollars worth of product here in Atlanta, check out a few of their recent or current projects: Lindbergh Plaza, The Prado in Sandy Springs, Edgewood Retail , Perimeter Place

The Business Chronicle stated that the site was 40 acres and had 523 units.  Our research shows that the site is actually 49.57 acres. (Click here for Plat)

Land Development Forecast for 2006, LandDevelopmentToday.com

(Click Here) Great site...Great article!- Giles

Infill fight hits where we live (Click Here)
It's home values vs. people's sense of community
By DAVID PENDERED The AJC

Get up to speed on the changes in the infill housing debate here in Atlanta-Giles

Don't Forget to read the Q&A on the debate & What readers have to say about issue

Also check out www.truthaboutinfill.com to hear the other side of the debate!

Keeping Your Commission High in a Down Market RISMEDIA, Jan. 23

(Click Here) Ris Media's Daily news email is great-Giles

IT reshaping the real estate landscape, Science Blog

(Click Here) It seems more and more blogs are producing great articles.

ARTchitecture, The revolution has begun, Creative Loafing, By Michael Wall (Click Here) This is from last week, if you are interested in architecture or the atlanta skyline it's a good read-Giles

Report: U.S. commercial real estate market healthy,

Atlanta to see 'gradual improvement' ATL Biz Chronicle

(Click Here)

News for the week of Jan. 16-22,

 77% of Buyers using the internet (Click Here)

Letter from a Birmingham Jail for MLK day (Click Here)

Its a long read... but a good one,

Atlanta Housing Market Roaring into 2006

Lisa R. Schoolcraft Staff Writer

Several of Atlanta's top housing experts remain optimistic about the.....Full Story

News for the week of Dec 12-18,

First American Launches New MLS Solutions Division

(Wondering how real estate companies are advancing their technologies to compete with the next generation of online offerings coming available? Well this article might give you a clue-Giles

Full Story...

Realtors Need a Paradigm Shift

RISMEDIA, Dec. 13 — According to a recent article in Entrepreneur Magazine, more that 70% of consumers say that they are unlikely to purchase from or return to a site after encountering “register for more information” log-on pages that block access to promised content. Let’s apply that statistic to real estate Web sites. Often, Realtors require their potential customers to login in to get access to MLS listings and “free” information.  Full Story......  (Definitely a good read for RE Agents- Giles)

Duke, Novare Join Team on Pope & Land’s Buckhead Project  by Matt Gove, Costar News For months, market watchers have been speculating about which developer... full story (Northwest corner of Peachtree and Peachtree Dunwoody Road... Click image to view)   City OKs office/condo towers Biz Chronicle

Realtors stick with New Orleans

The National Association of Realtors has voted to stick with New Orleans rather than to seek an alternative site for its convention and exposition, scheduled for November 8-13, 2006. Full Story....

Keller Williams Realty Raises More Than $4 Million for Katrina Survivors

The amount is not far behind the collective fundraising efforts of the National Association of Realtors®, which has raised $5.8 million for hurricane relief. Full Story....

News for the week of Dec 5-11,

Builder killed in dispute with new homeowner, Dec. 8th AJC

A builder shot and killed by a homeowner in a Kennesaw subdivision has been identified as Brian Gregory Epp, Cobb County police said.  Epp, 35, of Powder Springs died Tuesday after being shot during a dispute with a new homeowner in a subdivision off Due West Road near Harrison High School, said Off. Wayne Delk.

According to investigators, Epp, a builder at Carriage Gates subdivision became engaged in a dispute with a new homeowner," Delk said. "The dispute escalated and ended when the homeowner shot Epp with a handgun."

Bobby Smith, who was working in the yard of a home across from the shooting, said he looked up when he heard a pop. "I first thought it was a nail gun from one of the houses being built, but I saw smoke between the two gentlemen," Smith said Wednesday. "Then I saw the taller gentleman back up and raise a gun and shoot the builder."  Smith said he didn't try to intervene.

"I grabbed my pistol [from my truck] and ran inside," he said. "I told the ladies inside the house to lock the doors and call 911."

Epp died at the scene from a single gunshot wound about

1:30 Tuesday, Delk said. The homeowner, who remained at the scene and was questioned by investigators has said he fired in self-defense, Delk said.
No charges had been filed as of late Wednesday, he said.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/08/05

If you would like more information please contact Giles@DevelopingAtlanta.com

December 7th, The commission deferred nine ordinances until Feb., 2006. This will allow time for further study, which is necessary. Thanks, From Patrick Dennis, Governmental Affairs Director, For more info please email Patrick at ABRActionCenter@abr.org

On Dec. 7, 2005, Fulton County Commissioners may vote on ten new real estate ordinances.  At least three of these merit further study:

• 1.     Steep Slopes/Mass Grading - this proposal prohibits development on land with 40% slope or greater and severely restricts development on land between 33 - 40% slope.   This ordinance could lower land value and make some land unavailable for any development.
• 2.     Big Box (2005Z-0104) - this proposal restricts the size, number and location of stores that can be built, potentially eliminating retail businesses over 60,000 square feet in some developments.
• 3.     Inclusionary Zoning (2005Z-0103) - this proposal mandates construction of affordable housing units as opposed to offering builder incentives.  This could raise the cost of market rate for new housing units.

Please send an email message today to your Fulton County Commissioner, asking them to DEFER the VOTE on these proposed ordinances on December 7, 2005. To take action NOW, please click below.
Click the link below to log in and send your message:
http://votervoice.net/target.asp?id=abr:7291925

Atlantic Station Office Sale Closes at $170.5 Million   The sale of Atlantic Station’s first office building has closed with the second highest per-square-foot price ever paid for an Atlanta office building. As first reported by CoStar's Atlanta Property News in early November, an affiliate of JPMorgan... full story

Widespread Materials Inflation Demands Industry Attention, American General Contractors
Contractors, project owners, budgeting and planning officials, and reporters often ask AGC why construction costs in the past two years seem to be rising so much faster than the general rate of inflation, or whether the disparity is real. Click here to read more.

Rising construction costs could spur slowdown, Joanna Soto Carabello

http://www.bizjournals.com/industries/real_estate/construction/2005/12/05/atlanta_focus11.html

Housing Price Appreciation Cooling Slightly , RealtyTimes.com
The latest federal home price inflation study reveals key shifts underway in the market, with former hot-spots in California and New England now cooling off significantly, while home buyer and investor attention shifts to Florida and Arizona. Ken Harney reports. FULL STORY->

Brokers Roundtable: Commercial Real Estate Atlanta Biz Journal

WORKING, AND LIVING, IN THE CITY

Some builders say mixed-income housing is necessary -- and profitable, Terrell Johnson

http://www.bizjournals.com/industries/real_estate/construction/2005/12/05/atlanta_focus7.html

Developers paving way for smoother traffic flow

Lindbergh area revitalization spurs solutions Ray Glier

http://www.bizjournals.com/industries/real_estate/construction/2005/12/05/atlanta_focus7.html

Streetcar gets on track, Biz Journal
Mayor Shirley Franklin on Nov. 21 launched a new private-public partnership to coordinate the creation of a streetcar that would run up and down Peachtree Street, which advocates say could make transit a viable way for many Atlantans to move between their homes and jobs

News for the week of Nov. 21-27,

AMERICAN GENERAL CONTRACTORS ECONOMIST WARNS THAT CONSTRUCTION COSTS OUTPACE CONSUMER PRICES

Prices in 2006 Will Be Volatile, with Some Items Scarce, Ken Simonson Says

http://www.agc.org/galleries/pr/pr_05-102.doc

ATLANTA SEEMS TO BE A SAFE BET FOR HOUSE PRICES, Realty Times

http://realtytimes.com/rtcpages/20051031_pricebloat.htm

Home builder buys Atlanta foreclosure firm

http://www.bizjournals.com/industries/real_estate/residential/2005/11/21/atlanta_story7.html

SANDY SPRINGS TRANSITION HOME PAGE

http://www.sandysprings.org/city/index.html

News Links

Realty Times

Residential realty news, updated daily

Do you know what Dekalb County is up to?

Find out at www.TruthAboutInfill.com

and if you live in Dekalb, please write your County Commissioner!

Atlanta Business Chronicle
The Business journal provides a wealth of knowledge about current events affecting the real estate development world. Also be sure to check out the news by industry section of the site.

Atlanta Journal Constitution