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As reported in Newsweek’s annual ranking of the top High Schools in the nation, South Forsyth High School ranked 199, just behind two other north Atlanta High Schools Walton and North Gwinnett .  There are 19 Georgia high schools in the top 500, with 13 of them being located in North Atlanta. I’ve highlighted those schools below among the list of Georgia High Schools in the top 500 nationally.

Public schools are ranked according to the number of Advanced Placement, Intl. Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school and divided by the number of graduating seniors. All of the schools on the list have an index of at least 1.000; they are in the top 6 percent of public schools measured this way.

Note: Subs. Lunch % is the percentage of students receiving federally subsidized meals. E and E % stands for equity and excellence percentage: the portion of all graduating seniors at a school that had at least one passing grade on one AP or IB test.

** Includes IB. Nearly all other schools use just AP tests.

No, Hedgewood Homes has not been resurrected but some of the same principles from Hedgewood (and an investor) have purchased 50 lots in Vickery and currently have 2 spec homes going up. The lots break down to 14 townhomes and 36 single family lots, most of which are on slabs, with just a 4 basement lots.

What Will Be Built?

One big concern homeowners have when builders buy foreclosed lots and start building again is; what will the homes look like. How big will they be and how much will they sell for. Resident’s won’t need to be concerned with the product planned for Vickery. Homes will have the wood shingle roofs, detached garages and courtyards - much like the homes that currently exist in the community. The builders will be Randy and Brian Schiltz of T-Olive Properties.

The homes will range in price from $268,900 for the 2-bedroom Primrose Cottage up to $452,500 for the 4-bedroom Ridenour with double covered porches. Twelve models in all with the same timeless architecture that makes Vickery such a wonderfully unique community to live in. Interiors will feature open plans with 10′ beamed ceilings, hardwood floors, custom cabinetry and covered porches. Two items that are not included in the base packages, which used to be included, are hardwood floors in the bedrooms and an upgraded kitchen appliance package.

It Takes A Village

Personally I’m excited to know that building will be going on again in Vickery. The community has taken a hit during the downturn but this is a good opportunity for home buyers who want to live there and take advantage of great pricing. Vickery is a unique product that doesn’t exist in too many places outside the perimeter. Crabapple and Downtown Woodstock are the only other options. The 64-million dollar question is what will happen with the Village.

Wachovia took over the commercial property but has managed in the past to do a better job of running retail vendors off rather than pulling new stores in. A failed opportunity to sell last year to an investor was the turning point - but I’m told that it’s all been changed. A new team will be focusing on attracting new business.

There are still a few places to eat; Robin Hood Tavern, Tanners, Cinco’s and Sidney’s Pizza. Most of the stores are gone - but the The Flower Post  is still holding down the fort, much to the pleasure of locals who love the unique flower designs and vintage containers.

As more homes are built and sold that should become easier to do, but make no mistake, the success of the Village is the key to the success of the community. I don’t think it’s a question of if but when. I hope the new team can step up to the plate and make it happen sooner rather than later.

Let us know if you have questions about options, features, lot availability and floor plans. 678.608.2200 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

You may have read recently that the Georgia DOT awarded Forsyth County a Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Grant of $500,000. This will fund the design and construction of a trail system for Vickery Creek Elementary and Vickery Creek Middle school campuses.

The Safe Routes to School programs enable community leaders, schools and parents across the United States to improve safety and encourage more children, including children with disabilities, to safely walk and bicycle to school. In the process, programs are working to reduce traffic congestion and improve health and the environment, making communities more livable for everyone.

What’s more difficult to determine is where will these sidewalks and trails go and what communities in the area will have access to them. I spoke with the Director of Communications for Forsyth County, Jodi Gardner, and she shared some of that information with me. However, please keep in mind that none of this is set in stone, the plans are very conceptual in nature right now. Engineers from the Ga DOT and the school system will work together to identify exactly what the trail systems will be.

The potential opportunities are for sidewalks and trails sytems to tie both school campuses to the following communities: Polo Fields, Vickery, Wynfield and Dressage. Additionally there is a chance that they could tie into the Big Creek Greenway. If it does tie into the Greenway, it most likely would be where the trail crosses Majors Rd. just on the other side of the Polo Fields. As with the trail specifics, the timeframe is somewhat undefined at this point too, but the school system is hopefull that the trails will be in place for the 2012/2013 school year.

I think having walking and biking access to schools is a great asset for parents in the area and will be a plus for homeowners in those communities that will have access to the trails and sidewalks.

3

The number of months worth of inventory available in Forsyth County for Bank Owned properties. 137 are currently available, 531 have sold over the past 12 months. Clearly a sellers market if you are looking for foreclosures.

On the last day of each month I post a “Big Number” or interesting figure related to real estate in our area.

The first time home buyer tax credit is definitely doing what it should be doing as sales for homes in that price range have surged over the past 30 days. A look at the numbers is revealing, there were 150 home sales in March 2009, 170 in March 2010 but at the time of this post, there are 453 homes under contract. 200 of those homes are below $250,000. The numbers for new construction are impressive as well, take a look at the chart below:

Not only has there been a surge in contracts but 22% of all homes pending are new construction. Builders have been able to pick up great deals on developed lots, build in the first time home buyer price range and sell quickly. So quickly in fact that they haven’t really be negotiating on offers. It’s been a few years since any builder has been able to say; “if you don’t like the price that’s fine, the next guy will”. But they might be singing a different song in a couple of weeks.

Their numbers have been driven almost exclusively by the tax credit. Of the 98 new homes under contract, half have been under $300,000 and nearly a third under $250,000. Once that tax credit expires at the end of April, then the buyer traffic in that price range will slow down considerably. Keep your eyes out for new builder incentives starting in May to compensate for that slow down in traffic.

In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb.

I know that phrase usually applies to the weather in March, but we might experience something similar with real estate home sales. It’s what typically happens at this time of year. Home buyers and home sellers start getting the itch, want to move up or downsize, change schools, etc. Activity in Forsyth County has increased at a pretty good rate and unit sales of single family homes are up. All of which is great news, but a breakdown in the figures may expose a little trouble in the coming 60 days.

The good news:

If you look at the following chart you will see that the quarterly number of homes being sold has been increasing year-over-year.

We don’t have the final numbers in for Q1 of 2010, but I’m projecting that to be up approximately 45% over Q1 of 2009. We have a solid trend starting with Q2 of 2009 and it indicates a solidly recovering market. Sales of single family homes in Forsyth County has increased 42% from February to March of this year. March 2010 is up over March 2009 by 34%. Clearly this is all good news. But…. there is always a But.

But if we look at what price ranges made up the March sales numbers, nearly 50% fall under $250,000, which indicates a heavy impact by first time home buyers. I don’t think all of those are actually first-time buyers but clearly it’s weighted in that direction. Also, it’s not a surprise to see more sales in the lower price ranges, that is exactly what the tax credit was intended to accomplish.

My question is this; will we see numbers drop off after April 30th, which is the deadline for tax credit contracts, or will spring and the typical seasonal market continue the trend. If the later is the case, it will support a broader housing market recovery that we are feeling right now.

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The total number of distressed homes available right now on Lake Lanier, with a boat dock. Out of 422 total listings, that is only 4.3%.

On the last day of each month I post a “Big Number” or interesting figure related to real estate in our area.