There are 141 condos, lofts or townhomes on the market in the 30316.

You may be the only buyer who is interested in one of them.

You will not make any appreciation on that property for a long time, without a serious undermarket purchase, sweat equity and at least 10 years of ownership.

Jolley Development built Eastland Gates, and their product is a pretty good one - I've helped buyers buy the same type of property from Jolley - they've built a similar community in Grant Park and in Sandy Springs. They build nice communities.

Can't say that for the curb appeal effect at Hillcrest Park. Don't know who built it, but it is not as appealing as Eastland Gates, is it?

Get your real estate on.

Tue Jul 22 2008, 12:57

Darryl,

Why a condo? In that zip, there are some amazing foreclosure deals to be had. If it's maintenance issues or taking care of the yard, I'm sure that you could get a decent house for such a deal that the costs of maintenance and hiring a good yard person would far be outweighed by what you save on the house.

Sun Jul 20 2008, 08:36

Darryl,

Don't expect a condo to appreciate any. You will be lucky to break even or not take a loss on one unless you purchase it at a large discount.

Sun Jul 20 2008, 07:59

Darryl, A lot depends on the price point you are purchasing in.

The intown condo market overall has seen a annual depreciation for the past 5 to 6 and the condo market continues to struggle. The condo market like the single family market is experiencing a high level of foreclosures. Why? It is simple supply and demand! Because developers continue to build new or continue to do conversions which keeps the demand on the new giving resale the backseat which holds prices down. Supply far outweighs demand.

What does this mean for condo consumers? For one thing you need to purchase a intown condo for the long term. Intown condos are not for flipping or living short term. I have seen many live in a condo for 5 years and not make a dime... and even bring money to the table to close the property. So my question to you is how long to you plan to live in the condo and intown area... if it is long term then there are great deals to be had.

When buying condos you need an experienced and aggressive agent to negotiate a fabulous deal. A fabulous deal provides you with some confidence against huge losses. It is important to note that no one can truly predict the future but I believe it is safe to say that we will not see any huge improvements for some time to come.

This is the best buyers market on record and I certainly hope that you will hire a great agent (which is free to you) to help you take advantage of the opportunities in the marketplace for you! Trulia offers you some great choices to start interviewing for the right agent for your personality and needs.

Happy Hunting!

Sun Jul 20 2008, 06:19

Hi Darryl, This zip code encompasses a few differnt areas/neighborhoods, so I think the answer to your question really depends upon which area you have in mind. As a general rule, most of the city's "intown" neighborhoods are good areas to invest for future appreciation.
In general, a condo investment is one that I am not highly recommending to my clients since the current market is so saturated with condos at this time. Certainly if you are looking to hold on to this property for at least 3-5 years then you stand to benefit from more positive appreciation. If you are considering a "new" condo development, I would check to see how many units have already sold and in what timeframe, as well as whether the entire development is already complete in its construction or not. I would not recommend that you be one of the first people to purchase in a new complex as market conditions may very well force future new sales prices downward and you would risk overpaying"at this time and be negatively affected in the "future value" of your property.
However, if you are looking at a community which is selling well, then this could be a nice investment at this time. There are so many great builder incentives being offered to buyers at this time which make it easy for people to purchase: paid closing costs, paid HOA fees, mortgage buy-downs are a few examples.
I would make sure that you have a Realtor represent you in such a purchase, as they should make sure to research what these condos are actually selling for and what kind of concessions have been made recently by the builder. And definately negotiate, negotiate, negotiate on sales price and incentives -- it is a Buyer's Market right now!!
Good Luck, Linda

Sat Jul 19 2008, 18:36