ToodooBuckhead.com: John Howard » People

Mayor’s Race Goes to Runoff

John — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:07:22 +0000

It was no big surprise that there will be a runoff in the race between Kasim Reed and Mary Norwood to become the next mayor of Atlanta. However, there were some surprising facts about the voting last Tuesday. The voter turnout was poor in comparison to the last significant mayoral race. Eight years ago in the election in which Shirley Franklin became the city’s first female, black mayor, 41 percent of the electorate turned out to vote. On Tuesday, only 24 percent showed up for election which might have elected the first white mayor of Atlanta in 34 years. While there has been lots of speculation as to the “meaning” of the results and the low turnout with regard to the pulse of the city about the candidates and possibly the larger political happenings in Washington, the most obvious conclusion seems to be that people don’t seem to care too much about this election. I guess we’ll have to wait until the runoff election in December to learn more.

This Date in Atlanta/Buckhead History

John — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:57:47 +0000

On this date in 1885 nearly ten thousand people gathered in downtown Atlanta to witness the laying of the cornerstone at the site of the new Georgia capitol building. The construction project would take nearly four years before the building opened in 1889.

Buckhead Houses and Condos

John — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:41:59 +0000

Just noticed that Bloomberg has reported that sales of existing U.S. homes have jumped more than forecasted in July to a 5.24 million annual rate. What does that mean? Well that is the highest amount since August of 2007 and the biggest gain since the NAR began keeping this statistic in 1999. On the downside, the median price fell 15 percent as a result of foreclosure sales. So let’s focus on the bright side.

Atlanta, and especially Buckhead, is growing and will continue to do so. Housing value, employment and cost of living are much better here than most places. We must be near a bottom for housing prices and most people are beginning to think that there can’t be much of a downside left in the current housing market. We have incredibly low borrowing costs as a result of the near record low interest rates. The government is giving away money with the $8,000 first time buyer credit (ha, and yes that is nothing new but $8,000 can make a lot of mortgage payments on a first home). However, you must hurry as you have to close by the end of November before the program expires. Finally, houses are priced to move so you can’t help but get a deal. So come on everyone, Buckhead is a great place to live so why not by a house or condo now!