Comments on: Decatur Existing Home Prices Rise 6.6% in '07

By: Steve R

Steve R — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:41:19 +0000

Druid Hills was recently listed by Forbes Magazine as one of the top 15 blue chip real estate investments in the country.

By: Fun!

Fun! — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:05:23 +0000

AJC later published in Homefinder that the only DeKalb County area not to have a drop in number of sales and sale prices is Druid Hills. Is it because it is a historic district?

By: decaturite

decaturite — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:38:35 +0000

Jim, thanks for the article…glad I didn’t buy a house in the Northeast in the past 5 years! And P.S. – Though the CT cities of Hartford and New Haven are labeled as good places to buy, they still have a long way to go!

DEM, regardless of how specific neighborhoods are performing, or whether or not people are holding out to sell, I believe a broad net increase for the city is still a very positive thing.

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:06:18 +0000

Interesting article a friend of mine in Boston forwarded to me.

http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/articles/2008/06/11/some_areas_of_the_us_have_escaped_the_punishment_inflicted_by_housing_bust/

By: DEM

DEM — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:40:44 +0000

I am not sure this data really means much. Many, probably most, of the houses within walking distance of the square are worth at least twice the median price listed here. And from my observations, prices at the higher end have been dropping significantly, whereas the credit crisis has had less of an effect on prices below the median, which of course don’t have as far to fall. The large drop in new houses — which tend to be high-end — pretty much proves this. There is no reason for a 4 bedroom new home to sell for dramtically less than a comparable house on the same street. Those prices are dropping because the sellers have to sell at the current market price, whereas a lot of owners of existing homes would like to sell but (a) can’t afford to at the new market prices, or (b) are deluding themselves about the market and refusing to drop their asking prices. Their losses are unrealized and thus unreflected in this data.