announces a cruise getaway for 2!

We will announce more details next month, but we would like you to be the first to hear about our great cruise contest.  In short, every referral we get in next 6 months will go into a drawing for a 5-day, 4-night Carnival cruise.  As usual, if you know of any friends or family that want to buy or sell a home in Atlanta, drop us a line and your name will automatically go into the September Drawing!

Atlanta's Housing Market Roars On

Many Atlanta housing experts remain optimistic that the city's housing market will remain hot in 2006, citing a healthy housing market with a healthy median value and appreciation. In 2005, the number of homes sold in metro Atlanta increased by 9.5 percent over 2004. In 2005, the average sales price of a metro Atlanta home was $204,581, compared with $191,891 in 2004, according to Georgia Multiple Listing Service.

From January through November 2005, metro Atlanta counties authorized 66,926 housing permits, making Atlanta the top metro area in the nation for home building (New York City ranked second). But unlike other hot housing markets like Las Vegas, whose housing prices have appreciated by more than 20 percent over the past two years, Atlanta's market grew at a steady rate of 7.2 percent last year.

Inspirational Story for March

This is a great story. In the last game of the season a head coach let his autistic team manager suit up and play. What happens next is awesome, he scores over 20 points in under 4 minutes.

Now they are talking about Jason McElwain the autistic basketball player coming to a theater near you. The family of Jason McElwain, the autistic 17-year-old who scored a whopping 20 points in four minutes on the court for his high school's basketball team, has been approached by Disney, Warner Brothers, and more than 20 other production companies interested in bringing his inspirational tale to the big screen.

Click here to watch the video.

March Neighborhood Spotlight - Kirkwood

Click here for location map.

Just South of Dekalb Avenue and north of Memorial Drive, Kirkwood is still very much a part of Atlanta and Dekalb County. An inner city community located just five miles from downtown, this area has been the focal point of gentrification issues in the city.  Born on the streetcar line, Kirkwood continued to rely on this transportation mode until as late as the 1950's. Kirkwood was incorporated as a municipality in 1899 and was annexed into Atlanta in 1922.

To view homes for sale in the Kirkwood neighborhood, click here.

March New Listing Preview

Each month we will showcase a home that is coming on the market, but is not in the multiple listing servcies yet.  This month I have a 5 bedroom, 4-bath brick home in North Buckhead that will be on the market in the coming weeks. This home was built in 2004 and features a grand master on main and a truly state-of-the-art kitchen. The list price of this home will be $1.1 million. If you are interested in more information, please e-mail me at ianmarshall@kw.com

Mortgage Rates Make Biggest Jump in 22 Months

Mortgage rates boomed this week. The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 18 basis points to 6.45%, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders.
(Source: Bankrate.com) More Information...

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