Is Real Estate Slow?

Well, not so much at the moment! After a bit of a break this Spring, during which I planted gardens, started taking classes and started my blog, business is picking up!! Being fairly new to the business, I am still susceptible to the seasonal ups and downs of the business, but my mentors in the office have found that they didn't have any of the usual drop off in business during the heat of the summer which we usually predict.

Atlanta never experienced the run-up in prices which many markets still making the news did. Also, our in-town market continues to see demand as people continue to move to Atlanta, and those in the suburbs see the benefit of re-claiming time and gas money by moving into town. And life continues--people get married, divorced, have kids, send kids to college--all kinds of transitions which mean that their housing no longer meets their needs anymore.

That being said, there are some really attractive prices because we have had fewer buyers confident enough to take the leap into home ownership. Higher supply equals lower prices as we recall from Economics 101. But guess what is happening? People who don't really need to sell are taking their homes off the market and the supply is starting to get back to a more reasonable amount. That should create some upward pressure on prices.

Thinking of making a move this fall? It's not too early to contact me so that I can help you plan your best strategy for making it happen!

Beautiful and Practical!

Sorry, this isn't the best photo but you can get the general idea. I've got four okra plants in one of the containers in the pots downstairs. I went for the "fancy" okra which has red pods instead of the green. They turn green when you cook them, so no worries, and they sure look pretty while they are growing! The blossoms on the plants look like small hibiscus flowers--amazingly beautiful for such a strange looking vegetable.

Anyway, I've always combined my flowers and vegetables as gardening space has been limited and I had to be crafty about using whatever space I had available. This often meant sneaking the vegetables into the front yard so that they would get enough sun, hence hiding them amongst the flowers so the neighbors wouldn't complain. The flowers bring more bees and other polinators, often help keep the pest bugs away and just make it all look prettier. These tall okra plants (currently 5 feet tall in the pot and growing) would be great to have even if we weren't harvesting food from them, too!

We've also picked the first batch of Serrano peppers and they are in the freezer (peppers are easy to save as you just wash them, dry them and pop them in double freezer bags or use freezer boxes--no need to do any other prep!) And I've got almost enough ripe Roma tomatoes to roast them on the grill before putting them in the freezer. A touch of Summer tucked away for those dismal Winter nights to come!