Charlie Ragonesi Big Canoe Realestate's Blog

The Mountain Real Estate report is aired every Thursday on WYYZ Radio as well as being simulcast on the web. In this weeks show we talk about the latest market numbers. We also have some 401K investing ideas. We couple this with some public service messages . So we cover a wide range this week in today's real estate market. Hope you enjoy the show

This week we have a show that might interest many on ActiveRain as well as consumers in general. We interview the current President of our local board of Realtors. Our board is very active in our mountains and gives back t our community. You may find some things we do that could be incorporated locally with you. Enjoy the show

I am a local expert in Jasper Georgia. What does that mean? It means I am part of the local Chamber of Commerce. It means on Halloween our company was on Main Street handing out goodies to school children. It means we do the the Mountain Real estate report weekly on WYYZ Radio Heard through out the mountains. It means we are part of the county board of Realtors. We are active in the community. We also know where to direct clients for local school information as well as churches and stores.

So in the end as well as being knowledgeable about prices and sales in the mountains we as a firm are involved in our community. Being a local expert means more than being good at real estate. It means being a good citizen in your community.

It is sunrise in the Mountains and a new week. The outlines of things are still dark. But the day promises to be a full one. Later today as the light develops we will see what this Autumn day brings. All things we do start with the band of light . As we explore and pursue the light shows us the path we are too take and what awaits us. So we begin the day with shadows and faith that things will reveal themselves.

A lot of folks when they think of gated communities have a very different impression than the photo above. While I do not have the "National Geographic" Wild life camera I was able to take this photo from my front porch. You could hear the clucking sounds and see the Turkeys walk through the area.

Living in the mountains is wonderful. It does not need to be remote. Let the pros at All Mountain Realty show you how you can be in areas like this and still have an active adult life style. It is the best of both worlds

I am just now coming in from a great Octoberfest in Big Canoe. Plenty of good food. Plenty of good beer. And plenty of music and vendors. The best part is it was all free. So you could walk around and see your friends and neighbors for nothing. Many remarked that despite the economy folks seem to have their wallets out for beer and brats.

Big Canoe is one of the premier communities in the mountains. Thinking about the mountains? let the pros at All Mountain Realty be your choice.

Pickens and Dawson counties are at the Southern edge of the mountains.  For Pickens county

2007 sales   2008 sales            price 2007                 price 2008

688 sold     290 (YTD)             166,5000                    150,000

Dawson County

473           268 (YTD)             185,000                      177,000'

These numbers come from our MLS so they will be a little short on actual sales. However the proportions and the trends remain constant.

What this tell us is that sales will be down this year. Even factoring in the last 4 month we in Pickens will be down I think about 30 percent in numbers. Interesting enough Dawson does not show such a drop in price or numbers sold. I think the reason for this is Pickens has a number of gated communities. These communities have attracted 2nd home and retiree buyers. Right now that market is suffering worse than the rest of the market. It is a sign of the current times . We hope 2009 will show improvement. Now is a great time to buy.

As to price the second home and retiree market prices are a lot higher than the outlying areas. So the drop in average price can be explained by lack of homes sales rather than existing sales declining.

The Federal Reserve in a surprise move cut interest rates by 1/2 a point. This leaves the Fed Funds rate at 1 and 1/2 percent.  What this means is that borrowing money should get cheaper. The bailout has made it easier. Lets talk economics.

In the housing market there is the notion that NOW is a great time to buy. Even in the media I am hearing it. Rates may drop some for loans. Our market may start to pick up. We are starting to see activity grow. But all is not great.

In the financial markets the news is not so good Both globally and domestically. The interesting thing about this rate cut is that it was done in co-ordination with International Banks. The liquidity problem remains. Some Markets were seeing a lot of their activity come from non US sources. So in these cases they actually may see a slow down in foregin buying. This may be true especially in the Florida, California and Texas market. 2 of these markets were hard hit in the housing downturn.  So for Florida and California the International aspect of this crisis is not good news. Also the overall ability to ,get a loan, has gotten tougher. So the credit crunch plays a roll in our recovery. Remember almost a year ago my blogs were , this is not a housing crisis but a credit crisis. Well now the crisis is here.

Our economy is not good.  The bail out was aimed at restoring liquidity and hopefully helping companies borrow. But it does nothing for a weak economy. We can talk about great mortgage rates and great housing prices all day but if people do not have jobs and money none of it matters. Our economy is not good . This is the biggest variable in the whole picture in my opinion. I think we have seen and know about the housing situation. I think we know and kind of understand where this credit crunch is, and is going. But we are yet to see where the economy is going. This last issue more than the other 2 right now is why I think you are seeing the sell off on Wall Street. Investors are nervous about the economy. They are worried about credit but they see Governments acting in this area. So in the end it boils down to the economy.

Our bumpy ride in Real Estate is not over yet. Many of us are suffering. Many hvae left the business. The good news is we know where housing is and credit is. If the economy lands softly I believe the worst is behind us.

 

The mountains are a great place to be i the Fall. On Oct 4 and 5 come to Jasper Georgia for the Pickens county Marble festival. The festival is 2 days long and really a lot of fun. If you are into arts and crafts and have an interest in marble then you cannot miss this. As Jasper is the "First Mountain City" It is close to Atlanta as well. For more information visit www.pickenschamber.com/marblefestival.

I will be in the parade this year in the Wells Fargo stage coach. Don't ask how this happened. But it is all in fun and you can have a great day out in the mountains for very little money. This is the first of many of the fall festivals that take place here in North Georgia

This is the last of my posts on Mountain Lakes. The Lake today is Lake Tamarack in Benttree. Tamarack is about 100 acres and again just wonderfully nestled in the mountains.

The community of Benttree offers Golf, Tennis,  Swimming, and an equestrain center. I hope you have enjoyed these photos. The goal was to show how the Southern end of the North Georgia Mountains are a beautiful wonderful  place.  This first Picture shows the expanse of the lake The photo to the Left and below was taken from the boat launch area. You cannot imagine how sweet the grass smelled and how wonderful the breeze was that day. I sat there for a while after the picture was taken. The last picture shows the expanse of the Lake the other way. If you saw yesterdays post you will notice Sharp top Mountain in the back ground. Many of these beautiful lakes are so close together. Come explore North Georgia you will be glad you did