Alpharetta Real Estate Homes for Sale

With Spring Break over, all attention is back to the classroom and CRCT testing which began this week.  I’m sure our students will keep our scores in North Fulton the highest in the county and among the top in the state.

As students sharpen their No. 2 pencils, new classrooms are under construction to house the continued influx of children into North Fulton school districts.  The growth that we experienced in 2004-5, when 2,236 new students enrolled in North Fulton schools, has subsided somewhat.  However, we still have over 1,000 new student each year.

By the 2011-12 school year, projections show that there will be almost 50,000 students in North Fulton public schools, up from about 45,000 today.  Growth pains, as they say, are a good problem to have, but we have to find a way to have classroom space for these students.  Currently we have some elementary schools that were designed for 850 student packed with over 1,000 students.

As one insider at Alpharetta HS told me:  "Johns Creek High is going to be an academic powerhouse.  It is going to get the best of Northview and Chattahoochee High Schools."

Johns Creek High School Principal Appointed

Johns Creek is also getting Buck Greene as its first principal.  Greene is transferring from Alpharetta High Schools, where he has served as principal since opening in 2004 and which won the Governor’s Cup this year for most improvement in SAT scores.  Alpharetta HS was ninth in the state last year for SAT scores with an average score of 1647.

Birmingham Elementary School Planned to Open August 2009

In contrast to the visible progress on Johns Creek HS, is Birmingham Elementary School.  You can’t tell by looking at the land - because no disturbance has been done at all - that in a little over a year there will be a new elementary school at Wood Road and Birmingham Highway, in Milton.  The School Board is completely committed to this school, the plans are selected and the Board says construction should start soon.  It takes about nine months to build an elementary school, they say.  Looks like they are going to take it down to the wire.

Planning sessions with the community will begin this fall to discuss the new attendance zone.  I’ve received a number of inquires from people about my opinion of who will go where.  My OPINION - and it is only that - is that all neighborhoods north of Providence Road and west of Freemanville Road will attend the new school.  Some scattered other neighborhoods like Fieldstone Farms, Wood Valley, The Oaks at White Columns and Highland Manor will also likely be zoned to Birmingham ES, but again, this is only a guess.

Just as Johns Creek HS stands to be very good academically because it is drawing from a good base, Birmingham ES will be a quality school academically no doubt because it is drawing from the same population as Summit Hill, Crabapple Crossing and Cogburn Woods, all excellent schools.

 

Freemanville Road High School

 

The Board of Education maintains that it is still committed to building a new high school on Freemanville Road, dispite the community opposition.  The only thing that has changed recently is that they have pushed back the scheduled opening date a year to the 2012-13 school year.

The Board of Education also has mentioned building a Middle School adjacent to the Freemanville HS that wouldn’t open until 2014.  Some private individuals who are opposed to any school development on Freemanville have paid to have an environmental impact study done which has revealed that, due to septic system demands, at best only one school could (or should?) be built on the proposed site just south of White Columns.

It remains to be seen how this will play out.  I still maintain the the best solution is to redevelop the "old Milton High School" site with a multi-story design that work on the smaller land parcel while still providing all the amenities of a modern school.  Obviously, many well designed high schools are built around the country in urban settings on far fewer acres.  We shouldn’t rule out redeveloping the old site just because we have a templated model of how we build high schools in Fulton County. 

This case calls for breaking the model because the alternative is to build a (sprawling?) high school on a piece of land that (1) is not well suited for it and (2) will definitely impact the character of the area.  Will it "ruin" the area?  No.  Is there a better option in my humble opinion? Definitely.

http://www.alpharettarealestatehomes.com/00391C

JOHNS CREEK - You won’t see this reported in the mainstream media:  Over the weekend, buyers were literally throwing deposit checks at the onsite sales agent at Jaden Woods. 

The agent put TEN lots under contract and had to ask buyers to leave and come back for scheduled appointments.

It seems that not all builders are hurting for home sales. 

Jaden Woods is a new home community by Ashton Woods of 66 homesites.  The price for a four bedroom, three and a half bath home starts at a little over $400,000.  Over the weekend, Ashton Woods opened phase two at Jaden Woods.

The community is located off McGinnis Ferry Road east of Hwy 141.  Being in the Northview High School district and close to the new Emory Hospital are two of the main selling points of the location.

http://www.alpharettarealestatehomes.com/0038FD

Click on Map to Enlarge

I’ve said on this blog before that you can lie with statistics - or at least mislead by not telling the whole story.  I find this often with the current housing crisis.

The headline of the most recent Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) report, referenced on the front page of the USA Today today, reads:  "House Price Weaken Further in Most Recent Quarter, First Quarterly Price Decline in U.S. since 1994."  That sounds scary, doesn’t it?

While this is technically correct, if you looked at the report in more detail, you would probably not be so scared.

I’m not saying the housing market is a bowl of cherries, but it is certainly not all gloom and doom as most media outlets would have you believe.  Frankly, I’m growing a bit weary of hearing about how bad the market is.  I hear it from other agents, usually the ones who aren’t selling anything, and I hear it from frustrated sellers who can’t sell their homes because they are overpriced, and I hear it every day on the news.

Personally, I prefer to look at it this way:  Atlanta is a growing metro area with steady job creation; Alpharetta and North Fulton have some of the best public and private schools around; people want to live in the South because of the weather, jobs and because it is cheaper to live here than other regions; people want to live in Alpharetta and the surrounding cities and they appreciate the informed, professional real estate services that we provide them.  My business is up over last year.  Can the market be that bad?

Housing Crisis Centered in Four States, Not Georgia

If you dig into the actual report, which no one ever does because it is 89 pages long, you’ll see that the housing crisis, in terms of negative appreciation, is isolated to California, Florida, Michigan and Nevada, with Massachusetts and Rhode Island, playing a small role.  There are still twenty states that have experienced 5% or better appreciation from Q3 2006 through Q3 2007.

Yes, that is a drop from the double digit appreciation of 2004 and 2005, but do home owners expect the market to continue like that for ever?  To me, it has sounded like some homeowners thought they were in some way entitled to double digit home appreciation and now when they are trying to sell they say, "Well, I’m not gong to give the house away."  If I had a nickel every time I’ve heard that in the last six months ;->

If you zero in on the Southeast, home appreciation has been respectable in the last year given the overall economic climate:  Tennessee 6%, North Carolina 6.5%, South Carolina and Mississippi 5.1%, Alabama 5.3%.  Georgia is the low man on the totem pole at 3.5%.

Atlanta’s Housing Appreciation is Average for the Country

If you look at just Atlanta, it ranks 139th out of 287 metropolitan statistical areas.  Atlanta has had 2.61% growth over the past year but a -.56% drop in the last quarter.  Over the past 5 years, Atlanta real estate has appreciated 20.18%.

Looking at other cities in the U.S., seventeen of the twenty cities leading the the DEpreciation were in Florida and California.  The other three were in Michigan.  Surprise there!  My reading of the OFHEO report is that while certainly appreciation has come down across the board, that this problem is mostly concentrated in a very few states.

Alpharetta Real Estate Continues to Appreciate

Even within Atlanta, there are pockets of variance in the real estate market.  While the city as a whole may be relatively flat price wise, I wrote on this blog back in September that average sales prices have continued to increase in North Fulton (Alpharetta, Milton, Roswell and Johns Creek) on both sides of GA-400 by $30,000 over last year.  People want to live in North Fulton, that is obvious - and we are here to help them accomplish that goal!

It is a great time to buy real estate in Alpharetta.  Sellers who have remained on the market are truly motivated to sell.  But buyers, don’t think that Alpharetta is a fire sale.  Yes, it is a good time to buy.  Yes, you can find a lot of house for the money.  But good houses still sell quickly, so my advice to buyers is not to get too high on the hog.

I don’t know about you, but my glass is half full and I don’t subscribe to gloom and doom in Alpharetta.  Looking at the details of the housing data tells the more complete story.

http://www.alpharettarealestatehomes.com/0038EB

When was the last time that you walked to get ice cream after dinner at home?  When was the last time that you walked home from the bar after happy hour on Friday evening? If you answered “Absolutely Never”, I’d believe you.  Around Alpharetta and the other cities in North Fulton – and around most of suburbia for that matter – we drive everywhere, usually because we have to.  We live in neighborhoods with one road in and one road out and the only way to the grocery story is via Chevrolet. We are starting to get some options, though.  “Mixed use” developments are all the rage and starting to make their way onto the North Fulton real estate scene.  Let’s not kid ourselves:  As quaint as the idea sounds we aren’t going to get rid of our cars anytime soon and all of a sudden start walking and biking everywhere as if this were Manhattan or someplace in Europe.  However, the occasional walk to a restaurant or shop would certainly be a move in the right direction and one of the aspects of life that is lost when you move from “in town” to the suburbs, or as we say in Atlanta, “outside the Perimeter.” One of the best new examples of mixed use is Johns Creek Walk  at State Bridge and Highway 141 being developed by Atlantic Realty Partners.  While of Phase 1 is still underway, the finished product will consist of a mixture of single family “Manor Homes”, townhomes, apartments and retail/restaurant space.  There are also resident amenities that include a nice pool, a 24 hour lounge/cyber cafe, meeting space and an exercise room.

Single Family Homes and Townhomes

In Phase 1, there are seventeen single family lots and currently only one Manor Home available, while two others are under construction at the mid $600k price point.  There are six unsold vacant lots still available. Thirteen of the 44 townhomes are sold.  These are Artisan and Craftsman style townhomes with sloping roof lines, stone and brick exteriors and shake accents.

Apartments

There are also 210 units of apartments, which is the first apartment development in the Johns Creek area in 10–12 years.  Local residents resist apartment buildings because of “the clientele” they attract, but the fact is that a mature real estate market needs to offer housing solutions for all segments of the economy and with the completion of the new Emory Hospital in Johns Creek and all the peripheral medical offices that are developing, there is a greater need for apartments.

Retail Space

My favorite part of Johns Creek Walk is the combination of the retail space to the residential space, which puts the “mix” in mixed use.  There are clothing, children’s and computer stores; framing and art shops, a small grocery, a real estate office and a couple restaurants and bars.  The sports bar has a TV in each booth so you can watch exactly which game you are interested in.  Plus, Johns Creek Walk is catty corner to Super H Mart  where you could easy walk to the grocery to to get your dried octopus and some kim chee. Best of all, there is a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream store which I can only hope stays open late for those end of day chocolate issues.  Image how easy it would be for a man if he lived in Johns Creek Walk with his pregnant wife.  He could walk around the corner to fulfill her ice cream craving and would be only one mile from the hospital when the moment of truth arrived. From a retailer’s perspective, the greatest thing about the retail space is that there are apartments in the back of the retail shops.  This can either be used as a “back office” or for a true apartment for someone who wanted to actually combine their work and residential space or for someone who lived further away but found it convenient to literally sleep over at the store during the week, for instance.

Crabapple

Elsewhere in North Fulton, Crabapple has a chance to become more mixed use.  I’m hopeful, but cautiously optimistic.  As part of the new Crabapple Crossing development, there is some retail planned, but nothing other than an Italian restaurant, a dry cleaners (like we need another one of those!) and a women’s fitness studio has opened.  I’m waiting for the ice cream store…or better yet, a gelato store.  Then, I’ll actually park my car and walk around, but until then I’m still just driving through.

Vickery

Just north of Alpharetta, in Cumming, is another good, new example of mixed use, the Vickery community that includes awesome parks, amenities, retail and even a YMCA.  It also has gelato! In Alpharetta, Prospect Park, which is under construction at Old Milton and GA-400 will be mixed use and the Roswell East development at Holcomb Bridge and GA-400, which is currently “in hibernation” was also proposed to be mixed use with a lot of actual office space included in the design. Mixed use is clearly a development model that is here to stay and making headway in North  Fulton.  Developers see it as a way to build higher density, which is necessary given the higher land costs and lack of any remaining large parcels of land.  Politicians like it because more new development means more tax base and mixed use potentially means less car trips.  Anything to alleviate traffic is good for politicians and the public alike.  I’d be curious to know what you think of mixed use.  Would you prefer to live in a “traditional neighborhood” or do you like the idea of being to run out for Ben and Jerry’s without the car keys?

http://www.alpharettarealestatehomes.com/0038DA

Recently there was an article in a local newspaper about a Milton resident who found a lost dog.  No big deal, right?  Well, the resident wound up bemoaning Milton as a “sorry town” because he couldn’t figure out how to contact the dog catcher.  He went on to say: “I don’t know where I live…Where is Milton?” 

I don’t agree with a newspaper editor using one resident, who in my opinion doesn’t fairly represent the general population because heck, this guy doesn’t even have a computer, to characterize an entire city.  And, I don’t agree that Milton is a “sorry town.”  However, I do agree with the general point that was trying to be made.

Where Are Milton and Johns Creek?

Milton – and Johns Creek for that matter – are suffering from identity crises and some growing pains as new cities.  However, I also believe that residents of these cities have a responsibility to inform themselves.  If you have a computer, it is not that hard.

I’ll make the point slightly differently.  We should all know where we live.  Period.  We might not know exactly where the city lines are as we drive around, but we should know if our house is in Milton, Alpharetta, Roswell or Johns Creek.  There are only four possibilities – it is not that hard.  And we should know the general location of the cities. 

For instance, Johns Creek is the eastern most portion of North Fulton County, mostly east of Jones Bridge Road.  Milton is in the northwestern corner of North Fulton, etc.  This is simple geography and basic civic responsibility.  Here are some maps for reference:  Map of City of Milton, GA    Map of City of Johns Creek, GA

Emotional Centers Are What is Missing?

My point would be that while the physical boundaries of the cities should be well known, the emotional centers of the new cities, Milton and Johns Creek, are missing.  Roswell has its Roswell Square and Old Mill historic areas.  Alpharetta, at least, has its Main Street in “downtown” Alpharetta, although that is admittedly stretching the definition of “emotional center”.  It is a physical place, though, and the Alpharetta City Hall is located there.  Milton and Johns Creek don’t even have that.  They are more a state of mind and a physical affiliation.  Both new cities currently have their “city halls” in office complexes and Johns Creek’s City Hall and Municipal Court are not even in the same complex. 

As far a service offerings by the new cities, some residents understandably still don’t know where to turn when they need help.  Remember that we still all live in Fulton County and the County still is responsible for certain important functions:  water and sewer service; judicial services; health and human services; and, some environmental services including animal control.

The cities are now responsible for public safety (police and fire), community development and land use planning and some local public works like parks, traffic engineering, road maintenance.  The major impetus to incorporating as cities was to have control over local land use and to improve the service levels for public safety.

The challenge now is to communicate to residents who to call for what.  My experience with both cities is that they have done a good job making information available via their web sites (www.cityofmiltonga.us and www.johnscreekga.gov) and they have main phone numbers where you can speak to a person or the call is quickly returned.  I left a voicemail on the City of Milton’s main number early one evening and at 9AM sharp the next morning someone called me back with the answer to my question.

What is in a Symbol?

The larger challenge is creating literal and symbolic “hearts” for these two cities.  Even little Crabapple has the silos.  What do Milton and Johns Creek have?  If you look at the masthead on Milton’s website, the graphic is of a playground and concession stand at Hopewell Baseball field, some horses and the clubhouse at White Columns.  When the concession stand is a good as it gets, there is a problem.

Johns Creek’s graphic symbols are just as allusive:  a strip mall, twisted tree trunk, golf carts, street sign (saying Johns Creek Parkway) and a girl on a slide.  That could be anywhere.

While the question posed by our Milton resident, “Where is Milton?”, seems simple on the surface, the real test of the new cities is whether they can carve out an identity of their own and create local symbols to reinforce that identity.

[Credit for dogcatcher graphic to Dean Yeagle.  Thanks.]

http://www.alpharettarealestatehomes.com/0038DB