Savannah home sales jump in December

Some good news on the local front. Savannah has shown decreasing inventory for 9 straight months, which will help prices rebound. We’re also seeing out-of-state buyers, which has been an important part of our market in Historic Downtown Savannah.

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Realtors cautiously optimistic heading into New Year
Posted: January 12, 2011 - 3:18am | Updated: January 12, 2011 - 5:34pm

By Adam Van Brimmer

Finally, a glimmer of what a local housing recovery looks like.

December saw an unexpected uptick in home-buying activity, Savannah Multi-List Corporation statistics show. The 305 sales in the Savannah area, which includes Chatham, Bryan and Effingham counties, marked a six-month high.

Another 466 homes were under contract as of Tuesday, promising a rarity: A strong January.

The December sales numbers paralleled those of December 2009 when the extension and expansion of the federal homebuyer tax credit drove sales. That credit expired in April 2010.

"There are going to continue to be some problems, but you are starting to see the turn now," said Monica Spillane, president of the Savannah Area Board of Realtors. "I'm encouraged by that."

Even more encouraging than the sales and pending sales of single-family homes, townhouses and condos locally was the continued contraction of supply.

The inventory of homes for sale fell to pre-recession levels and is down 14 percent from mid-2010 levels. Pushing the inventory down was a drop in new listings, which fell for the ninth consecutive month.

Realtor optimism is tempered by concerns over what those in the industry call "shadow inventory." Shadow inventory includes homes owners who would like to sell but haven't listed, because of market conditions as well as those in foreclosure or that have been repossessed but not yet listed.

Market improvement could prompt would-be sellers to put a "for sale" sign in the yard. Foreclosures, meanwhile, have yet to abate in the Savannah area.

"Unfortunately, foreclosures are not over," Spillane said. "But in terms of shadow inventory, I don't think there are many of those out there, here, as in other parts of the country."


Active buyers

Credit the U.S. Army and real estate investors for driving December's sales volume.

More than 20 percent of the homes bought in the month were financed by Veteran's Administration loans. Another 23 percent were bought with cash, traditionally the purview of house-flippers and landlords.

The jump in military sales is not surprising considering the Army's Third Infantry Division, based out of Fort Stewart, returned from a year-long deployment to Afghanistan in late 2010.

Plus, those soldiers remain eligible for the federal homebuyer tax credit, worth $8,000 to first-time buyers and $6,500 to those who have owned another home within the last three years.

Given the military influence, December sales were predictably strong in West Chatham and Southside Savannah - areas in close proximity to Interstate 95 and the base. The Pooler/Berwick/U.S. 17 South neighborhoods saw their second best sales month of 2010.

Close to half - 42 percent - of the VA purchases were on new construction homes, good news for home builders.

As for investor activity, the end of the year typically sees an uptick in purchases because of tax reasons. Interestingly, investor activity in December was not as focused on distressed properties as in previous months.

Optimism on the islands

The coastal regions appeared to be building momentum going into the New Year.

The Islands/Beach area of multi-list statistics - Tybee, Wilmington, Whitemarsh, Talahi, Oatland and Dutch islands as well as Isle of Hope and Isle of Armstrong - saw the most sales since April at the highest average price since June.

Prices climbed despite close to 40 percent of those sales being on foreclosure and repossessed homes.

The activity on distressed properties bodes well for the spring, Realtors said, because it takes those homes out of the inventory and will firm up prices.

"The islands held their own, relatively, for most of (2010)," said Re/Max Savannah's Cheryl Klein. "Where sellers have been taking a beating is on price, and it's encouraging to them and for the market to see that pop up."

Skidaway Island real estate agents share that optimism. The island had 12 sales in December, the most since August.

But it's the renewed interest from out-of-town buyers, particularly retirees from the Northeast and New England, that has Realtors encouraged.

Bill Houghton, president of The Landings Company, credited a number of factors, such as impending bad weather in the Northeast, pent-up demand, the November election results, continued low interest rates and depressed values, for the uptick in activity.

"New England, New York, Washington, D.C., their prices and sales have increased," said Bob Diamond of Skidaway Island Properties. "Once they sell their house up there or even just get it under contract, they start to look down here. As activity increases up north, so will ours."

View original article: http://savannahnow.com/news/2011-01-12/local-home-sales-jump-december

A defining moment for green roofs in Savannah

This is very encouraging news to have a local standard for green roofs. It's something I've had on the radar for a while and while it wouldn't make sense for any of our current projects, there's certainly opportunities for it in the future. There's a house that I've had my eye on (not giving the address, thank you very much) which, if I did buy, I would definitely consider a green roof, provided, of course, the cost is not prohibited.

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Posted: January 12, 2011 - 3:18am | Updated: January 12, 2011 - 7:17am

By Mary Landers

Already known for its lush canopy of trees, Savannah is poised to nurture a previously overlooked garden space: Rooftops.

City Council will vote Thursday on a green roof ordinance that standardizes the design, installation and maintenance of roofs covered or partially covered with plants. The practice, widely accepted in Europe and more recently popular in Chicago (where City Hall sports a green roof) and Portland, Ore., is making steady inroads in Atlanta. Along with their aesthetics, green roofs can reduce heating and cooling bills, decrease stormwater runoff, improve that runoff water's quality and decrease a city's heat island effect.

Savannah is contemplating the ordinance in part because it already gave builders a reason to try green roofs. When City Council amended the Historic District Ordinance in late 2009, changes included an incentive in which incorporating a green roof into a building could qualify the structure for an additional story of height.

But city staffers saw a catch: Green roofs weren't well defined enough in the ordinance to make sure they'd thrive.

"We were concerned that a permanent incentive for something could be a fleeting amenity," said Pete Shonka, head of the development services department.

The ordinance would give detailed requirements for green roofs and provide for fines of up to $1,000 a day if they're not properly installed or maintained.

Even before the incentive was in place several local attempts at green roofs failed, most notably at the downtown Frog Town development and the southside Abercorn Commons shopping center.

It was likely poor soil that contributed to those failures, said Laura Walker, environmental administrator for the water and sewer bureau. Green roofs can be tricky to get started, said Walker, who researched the ordinance along with Shonka. They've developed an educational guide for citizens interested in green roofs.

Bill Hodgins, environmental administrator for the city's stormwater department, is interested in green roofs because they could help builders meet new stormwater regulations expected in 2012, he said. Those regulations will require that new developments (or redevelopments) with footprints larger than 5,000 square feet keep the first 2 inches of a rainfall contained on their own property.

Hodgins set up a demonstration green roof outside his office at Laurel Grove Cemetery North. Using a commercially available modular tray system, he planted several species of sedum, a succulent plant, in the brick ruins of the cemetery's hothouses, where flowers for nearby graves once grew. The sedum's fat leaves grow close to the ground, creating a carpet-like effect. A gravel path down the middle provides access for weeding and irrigation, though these plants are drought tolerant and haven't required much watering.

The demonstration roof provides easy access because it's not actually on a roof - no climbing or ladders are required to take a look. But plants from the same lot are also thriving in a similar system atop the bathrooms on Ellis Square, Hodgins said.

View original article here: http://savannahnow.com/news/2011-01-12/defining-moment-green-roofs-savannah

Blogger Matthew Allan is a specialist in Savannah Real Estate, focusing on Savannah's downtown historic districts, including the Landmark Historic District, Victorian Historic District, Thomas Square Historic District, Starland Historic District, Baldwin Park, and Ardsley Park Historic District.

The March of Progress

The foundation is complete at 528 E. Duffy. For those of you fascinated by foundations, this particular type requires the plumbers to do some rough in at the same time the concrete is being poured. Note the white PVC drain lines. At 414 E. Duffy we used a slightly different foundation system, but as there's very little difference in the finished product, we thought we'd try this to see how it compared. One difference with this slab is that there is no flooring system. In other words, for hardwood floors a subfloor needs to be glued down then solid hardwood floors would then be nailed into the sleeper system subfloor. You could also do engineered floors simply by gluing them directly to the slab. Next we'll start framing.

Over on 521 E. Charlton the back yard has been cleared for the parking.

BEFORE:














AFTER:















The backyard has now been leveled for the parking. This also gives us a place to put our dumpster. We'll be moving inside as soon as the permits are finalized.

An Idea from Ikea

I spent Christmas week in Atlanta attempting to relax (naturally, work crept in). We did make a stop at Ikea, naturally, for ideas and a few odds and ends (may I recommend the Expedit bookcase at $39 http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60135299). While I didn't see this kitchen in the store, it's featured in the catalog and it has some appeal to me.

Ikea Kitchen:





























The kitchens at 313 E. Park and 528 E. Duffy are not dissimilar in layout, but have full cabinets in the front of the kitchen, whereas this kitchen has more of a open bar effect. I kind of like how it opens the space even further and it also seems a little easier to eat at, as well as being a great prep space. There's no lack of storage space because of the walk in pantry. I'd be curious to hear any thoughts on which option you would prefer in your kitchen. Keep in mind that there is a powder room in the rear of our kitchens and somehow a variation of the Ikea kitchen would need to incorporate space for the powder room.

313 E. Park Kitchen:

Project(s) Update

The good news is the foundation is being poured at 528 E. Duffy Street. You may or may not find the attached photos interesting, but it's all we have at the moment. Faithful readers will remember 313 E. Park Avenue which was always meant to be 528 E. Duffy's sister project. It was tied up due to some closing issues with the seller, but it looks like we should finally be able to start next week.















One project that, unfortunately, we won't be starting is 102 W. 31st Street. This came into play while we waited for the closing issues on 313 E. Park. Unfortunately, after we put it under contract we found out it had it's own closing issues (see my earlier post about title issues). Apparently these title issues will be protracted as it appears the quiet title action that the seller paid an attorney to perform was not properly recorded in the public records. The seller's not too happy about that and I wouldn't be either. If you pay someone to do a job and find out years later that they didn't do it correctly, that would be annoying, especially if it prevents you from selling your property. As for me, I still think it's a great property and we hope to build on it if the title issues can ever be rectified.

510 E. Waldburg is waiting for permits. There is a slight snag at the permitting department (notice how there is a number of "slight snags" happening at this particular time) but we expect to begin next week.















At 521 E. Charlton we'll be clearing and leveling the yard to create the off street parking this week.