What’s Going On In Real Estate Right Now?

In the recent Equifax Finance blog article, “Buying a Home? What’s Happening in Today’s Real Estate Market,” industry experts shared their thoughts and insights on what’s going on in real estate right now.

Mortgage interest rates are low, but creeping up: According to Amy Crews Cutts, chief economist for Equifax, today’s interest rates are the best you’ll get, and if you have a low rate, lock it in now. While she can’t predict how far and how fast rates will rise, she doesn’t expect rates to hit 6 percent for years. 

New Single-Family Homes Selling Fast at The Orchards of East Cherokee

Premiere Atlanta active adult builder, The Orchards Group, has seen a drastic increase in home sales over the first six months of the year. To keep up with demand, they recently released six single-family basement home sites, two of which have already sold! With one additional site being used to build an inventory home, this means that there are only three basement sites left at The Orchards of East Cherokee. In fact, they expect the community to be completely sold out of single-family homes by the end of the year.

The inventory home, a Piedmont, is currently under construction with an expected mid-November completion date. This plan offers two bedrooms, two bathrooms and the option to turn the den into a third bedroom. The home features a spacious kitchen overlooking the large family room, a formal dining room, oversized master suite with double vanities and a large walk-in closet, as well as a relaxing screened porch. The homeowner will have the opportunity to complete the basement during construction, which would double the square footage of the home and additional storage space, a media room or even more bedrooms.

In addition to the three basement home sites, there are also three non-basement homes available at The Orchards of East Cherokee. Homebuyers will have the opportunity to select the floor plan of their choice, with non-basement homes priced from the mid to high $200,000s and basement homes priced from the low to mid $300,000s. Just like the popular ranch condominiums offered from The Orchards Group, the single-family homes offer homeowners low-maintenance living with regular landscaping and an irrigation system that is paid for by the homeowner’s association. All of the remaining single-family home sites also have beautifully wooded, private back yards.

The Orchards of East Cherokee’s residents enjoy an active lifestyle with an amazing amenities package, including the grand clubhouse with a fireplace, gourmet kitchen, fitness center and card and game room; barbeque grill; community swimming pool and waterfall sitting plaza.

The Orchards of East Cherokee is located in Woodstock near the Cherokee County library, Sequoyah Park, health centers, shops and restaurants. Homeowners also have easy access to major roadways, including I-75 and I-575.

For more information on the new single-family active adult homes at The Orchards of East Cherokee, call 770-345-5409 or visit their website at www.OrchardsGroup.com. 

Keystone Custom Homes Announces Pin-N-Win Sweepstakes Winner

Keystone Custom Homes is excited to announce that the winner of their Pin-N-Win Sweepstakes is Maggie McDermott. Maggie pinned several inspiring images to her My KCH Dream Home board including photos of their multi-function rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, master bathrooms, kids bedrooms, family rooms, home office and more, and with her prize he plans to purchase a modular home-office system.

“I learned about the sweepstakes on Keystone’s website,” explained McDermott. “We are re-locating to Harrisburg, Pa. in September, and I found Keystone in my Google search. When I saw the contest, I thought to myself, ‘Hey, you never know.’ Plus, I was already looking at their homes on Pinterest anyways.”

The Pin-N-Win Sweepstakes from Keystone Custom Homes asked participants to create a My KCH Dream Home board on Pinterest, and then fill it with images from the Keystone Custom Homes Pinterest account. The contest ran from the end of May through early July, and attracted more than 120 entries with one winner receiving the grand prize of a $500 Pottery Barn gift card.

“The Pin-N-Win sweepstakes was a huge success in many ways,” stated Janette Hawkins, Vice President of Marketing and Information Technology with Keystone Custom Homes. “We were able to spread our brand on Pinterest and interact with its followers along with gaining more attention on Facebook and other social media sites with our updates about the sweepstakes. Also, contestants moving to the areas in which we build, such as Maggie, were able to gain a new vision on what we have to offer.”

This campaign is the perfect example of how companies today can use social media to increase brand recognition, putting their name at the forefront of potential homebuyers' minds. With just a simple, fun campaign, Keystone Custom Homes was not only able to increase their followers on Pinterest and other social media sites, but also make sure that buyers associated their company with their own "dream home."

To learn more about Keystone Custom Homes' communities in Pennsylvania and Maryland, visit www.KeystoneCustomHome.com.

When Can You Buy a Home After a Foreclosure

Many Americans were forced into a foreclosure or short sale over the past few years due to job loss, decreased incomes and declining home values. The market is recovering now and homeowners who did fall victim to foreclosure or short sale may now be wondering when they will be able to purchase a home. The real estate pros at the Equifax Finance blog addressed this question in the recent article, “Can I Buy a Home After a Short Sale or Foreclosure?”

According to the article, when is the right question, not if. Homeownership is a smart idea but buyers will have to demonstrate the ability to pay for a mortgage with proof of sufficient and stable income, the willingness to pay based on credit ratings and the ability to provide a sufficient down payment. But when depends on individual circumstances. In order to buy a home again, “you must focus diligently on improving your credit and saving money.” There are five variables that go into your ability to secure financing on a home:

1. Duration of delinquency – the longer your short sale or foreclosure proceedings took, the worse
2. Deficiency judgments  - how much unpaid negative debt you were left with on your credit ratings after your short sale or foreclosure

Have a Blast Near Woodstock GA Homes This Summer

Have you completed everything on your summer bucket list, and need a little inspiration to keep the family entertained until school starts back? Brock Built has a few Woodstock events that will help your whole family have a blast during these last few weeks of summer vacation!

•  Saturday Mornings- Pick up fresh, local produce at the Woodstock Farmers Market, which is located at the Woodstock City Center parking lot at Towne Lake Parkway and Main Street. Presented by Cherokee Bank, the market is open from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. each Saturday through October 256.
• Wednesday, July 17- Get a sneak peek at Atlanta's newest shopping destination, the Outlet Shoppes at Atlanta, with their VIP Red Carpet Preview event benefitting Elm Street Cultural Arts Village. Beginning at 6 p.m., you'll be able to peruse all of the new stores, and receive exclusive discounts totaling more than $300. Tickets are $10, and concierge tickets with admittance for two plus access to the Elm Street Lounge are $100.
• Wednesday, July 24- Celebrate Christmas in July at The Place Bar & Grille Towne Lake (1105 Parkside Lane). Bring a new toy donation for Toys for Tots, and enjoy a night of dining and dancing with DJ Santa.
• Through Thursday, July 25- Watch a tale as old as time unfold with Elm Street Cultural Arts Village's presentation of Beauty and the Beat. Shows are at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 17 and July 24, and at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, July 20 and 21. Tickets are $10 for those ages two and up.
• Saturday, July 27- Cherokee's Got Talent showcases the best local talent for the chance to win $500, and benefits the Cherokee Association of REALTORS, Habitat for Humanity and the Elm Street Cultural Arts Village. The doors will open at 5 p.m. for a silent auction and refreshments, and the first act will go on at 6 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door and kids five and under are free.
• Friday, August 2- Friday Night Live takes Woodstock residents back to the "Summer of Love." Celebrating the history of the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival, this Friday Night Live will include a Hippie Costume Contest in addition to late-night dining and shopping on Main Street from 6 to 9 p.m.
• Tuesday, August 6- The National Night Out is aimed at heightening crime prevention awareness, generating local support for anti-crime programs, strengthening neighborhood police partnerships and neighborhood spirit and sending a message to criminals that our neighborhood is organized. Join Woodstock and Cherokee County police as they celebrate this event's 30th year with fun and education at The Park at City Center (101 Arnold Mill Road) from 6 to 9 p.m.

With all of these fun summer events and more all year long, Woodstock is the place to be! Make this city your home with Brock Built's brand new Woodstock GA homes priced from the high $200,000s at Oakhurst.

The first of these gorgeous Cherokee County new homes are under construction now, so stop by today to see all of their amazing floor plan options, features and finishes and community amenities, including a clubhouse, playground and junior Olympic pool.

To learn more, please call Lorrie Collie at 770-853-1088.

Easy Home Improvement Projects with the Best Return on Investment

Looking to make some updates to your home without breaking the bank? Many people are putting their homes on the market right now and making improvements to make their homes more attractive to buyers, but even if you aren’t planning to sell in the immediate future, it can still pay off to make some of the cost-effective, easy home updates suggested in the recent Equifax Finance blog article “Inexpensive Ways to Increase Your Home Value.”

• Update the bathroom: Buyers today expect updated bathrooms, both master baths and powder rooms. Creating the true spa experience by installing a steam shower or built-in sauna is probably out of the budget, but you can easily update the bathroom with new tile. Choose a large tile for the floor (small floor tiles are outdated). Small tiles do work in the shower. Many home improvement retailers offer how-to classes on tile setting, so this is something you could save money on by doing yourself after getting some experience in a DIY class. Then, paint the bathroom walls to give the room a pop. If you do the tile installation yourself, you could do new paint and tile in a powder room for less than $200 and in a standard sized bathroom for less than $400.  The article suggests finding substitutes for popular, expensive tiles like Carrera marble with tiles that look like the more expensive types but are half the cost.   
• Update the basement: Buyers are looking for basements that they can use for more than just storage – they want a gathering space for children, friends and family members that they can be comfortable in. Warm up your basement with wood-look tile or luxury vinyl plank flooring, which both start at under $2 per square foot. These too could be done yourself after taking a DIY class. Then, finish off the update with a new coat of paint, new lighting fixtures and attractive furnishings.

Get the rest of the cost-effective home improvement tips on the Equifax Finance blog, where you can find more advice on real estate and personal finance, from saving money, budgeting, investment, insurance, taxes, credit rating know-how and tips for preventing identity theft.

Home Builder Uses Pinterest to Attract Female Buyers

With women making the majority of all home buying decisions, it should come as no surprise that more home builders are concentrating their efforts on attracting the female demographic to their doorstep. In fact, Pennsylvania homebuilder Keystone Custom Homes is taking a female-centric approach to marketing with their latest Pin-N-Win sweepstakes.

While Pinterest's users are 30 percent male, we can all agree that the site predominately appeals to women. And, along the same line, 11 percent of all Pinterest boards are in the home decor category, making it the number one category for pinboards overall.

These factors are just a few reasons why Keystone Custom Homes has seen such great success with their sweepstakes. Since launching on May 29, the builder has attracted nearly 100 entrants, 140 new followers and more than 500 Facebook likes.

Now through July 5, you too can enter to win a $500 Pottery Barn gift card from Keystone Custom Homes. To enter, follow these simple steps:

• Follow Keystone Custom Homes on Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/kchhomes.

• Name a new pin board “My KCH Dream Home.”

• Re-pin the sweepstakes image located at www.pinterest.com/kchomes/my-kch-dream-home to the board.

• Repin at least five images from Keystone Custom Homes’ boards. Images should vary and include exteriors, kitchens, family rooms and master bedrooms.

•  Include #mykchdreamhome in the description of each pin.

• Once the “My KCH Dream Home” board is complete, post a comment with the link to it under the pin located at www.pinterest.com/kchomes/my-kch-dream-home.

To learn more, visit www.KeystoneCustomHome.com or call 877-513-0385.