Diamond Dwellings announces 1991 Regalview Drive in Hamilton Mill. New to the market and (as of this writing) listed at $664,000 (recently reduced to $570,000 ) For updated pricing, check out the full listing by clicking here.

Here’s some more details…

This gorgeous 2 Story Home is in the prestigious Coventry section of Hamilton Mill. Finished terrace level also has storage, full kitchen, pool table / pool room, exercise/fitness room and more. Kitchen has granite counters, tile backsplash, stainless appliances and is open to vaulted keeping room. Master bedroom has a sitting room with fireplace and giant closet – even enough room for his clothes!

Pebbletech saline pool with infinity/disappearing edge with spa. Covered patio and covered deck. Don’t forget the deep view of the #3 fairway on Hamilton Mill golf club. (memberships are available at a discount)

We are getting ready to add another awesome Hamilton Mill home to our inventory. Tomorrow we will put on the market an awesome 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath home on a level lot with a screened porch, granite kitchen counters and so much more.

Sellers loss is your gain!

Sale price to be only $234,900.

Call or email for more details.

Do not miss this opportunity to own your new Hamilton Mill home.

In the last 8 weeks, we’ve added a whole bunch of new Hamilton Mill listings to the Gwinnett Real Estate Listings.  None finer than the gem we listed today over on Heathermoor Way in Windridge.  This house is immaculate AND really well priced – not the usual combination

It’s got one of the best back yards anywhere in Hamilton Mill with well groomed bermuda grass and great fence around the entire perimeter.  The basement is fully finished – professionally done – with all the details covered.

They’ve also added lots of upgrades on the main floors, including lots of trim upgrades in the dining room, etc.

It’s initially priced at $315,900 (call for latest pricing if you are reading this post and it’s been a while).

I am looking forward to having my mom and oldest brother visit Gwinnett County and Hamilton Mill this weekend. My mother, Patricia Hermes, has written over 50 childrens books over the past 25+ years and has been invited to have a book signing at the Mall of Georgia Borders bookstore this Saturday at 2pm. Come out and say Hi. She has also being interviewed on Fox 5 Atlanta on Monday morning.

If you have kids in the 8-13 year range, chances are you have a book or two of hers on your bookshelves.

Here is a little more about mom: Patricia Hermes is the author of almost fifty books for readers from early middle grades through young adult, as well as two nonfiction books for adults. Her books have won many awards and recognitions: American Library Association Best Book, Smithsonian Notable Book, C.S. Lewis Honor Book, Ira Children’s Choice, as well as many state awards, four of them for the novel, “You Shouldn’t Have to Say Goodbye”.

As a lecturer and speaker at schools and libraries, she engages her audience with her lively presentations, underscoring key qualities of good writing, and, of course, good rewriting. (She has been known to revise her books ten times!) She has researched and written six historical novels in the Scholastic Dear America series.

Here is a brief list of some of her books:

The Starving Time

Westward To Home

A Perfect Place

The Wild Year

Our Strange New Land

Kevin Corbett Eats Flies (one of my favorites)

And many more. Check out a number of them at:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/bookSearch/results.asp?ATH=Patricia+Hermes

In the past month or so we have seen a number of homes go into foreclosure in Hamilton Mill which are now being marketed for sale in the local listing systems.

What is going on here? Life, that is what is going on. As the United States economy struggles to gain its footing and jobs are being eliminated in many sectors, tough times are falling on some of our neighbors and friends and you know what, you may not even know it is happening around you.

Just the other day I was talking to someone in Hamilton Mill and he made the comment to me that he was totally unaware of “John Doe’s” financial problems and wished that John had talked to him about it. He had a feeling something was going on. John always used to keep his home and yard very well kept and then 6 months or so ago he noticed things seemed to be a little different. John lost his home and now is looking for alternative housing and a decent paying job.

Here is something to think about.

The real estate market struggles as well as the mortgage crisis is hitting so many different areas of our economy that most of us do not even think of, but take a look at who is being effected.

If new or resale homes do not sell:

Loan Officers do not write new loans, Appraisers do not appraise homes, closing attorneys do not close loans, moving companies do not move you into your new home which means furniture stores do not sell furniture which is sold to them by salespersons for the factory, lighting stores do not sell lights, painters do not paint and landscapers do not put out new landscaping products which they buy from the nursery who hire people to plant and care for the beautiful plants you planned to landscape with. Also, since you will not be doing all the home projects you wanted to, Home Depot and Lowes and other stores are not selling the products they were a couple of years ago. If sales are down there, what about all the people that were selling their products to them.

Wow, that seems like quite a little list do is not. Wait there is more.

If new homes are not selling then the Builders are not selling homes which means that they are cutting back on their Project Managers and of course they are not buying building products like wood, brick, sheetrock, lighting, paint, and so on. By the way, all the homes that are not being built effect the plumbers, electricians, roofers, masonry guys, framers and so on. Also the builders cannot hire the grading companies to move the dirt which means a loss of jobs and if that is the case then the tractor companies do not sell new equipment which means that the factories have no orders which means they do not need to hire people, rather they need to lay them off.

Need I go on. I could for a very long time but I won’t. Know why, I am optimistic we are getting out of this mess and will be a better, smarter people for it. I hope we save more (I know I need to), are smarter with our buying decisions (do we really need the biggest of everything or most expensive this or that), and realize that this mess can and probably will happen again and we need to plan for it.

Now go out and make it a great day. I plan to.

By the way there are a number of really great deals in Hamilton Mill right now. Prices have never been better. Give me a call and I will email you a list of Hot Properties. Gotta go show one now.

Matt Hermes

Have you been by the new Gwinnett Braves stadium lately? I drove by today and things are starting to come together. If you are not aware, the Richmond Braves, the AAA farm team of the Atlanta Braves is moving to Gwinnett County to open play on April 15, 2009. This is a very exciting time for baseball fans in the Gwinnett County area. Personally I cannot wait. I have been to numerous minor league baseball games and there is just something different watching the minor leaguers play versus the big boys.

The site is being prepared for the baseball field as well as restaurants, shops, residential living and more. If you know anyone that is looking for a “hot” place to open a business give us a call to get additional information on what is coming available.

There is a lot going on in preparation for the upcoming season. Take a look at the following links for more information.

Name the mascot: http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/Formlayout.asp?formcall=userform&form=31

Merchandise: http://gwinnettbraves.com/4951cap.html

Season Tickets: http://gwinnettbraves.com/tickets.html

For more information on the new Gwinnett Braves, give us a call and we look forward to seeing you at the ballpark

Diamond Dwellings is pleased to welcome a new neighbor to Hamilton Mill. We just sold another Hamilton Mill home yesterday. This home is located in the Ashebrooke section and sold for 98% of list price.

Why did the home sell? It was priced right ($299,900, Five bedroom, four full baths). The home was in immaculate condition, and word of mouth was important in the sale of this home as well as our internet marketing were all key factors to getting this home under contract and sold.

There are over 120 homes for sale in Hamilton Mill as of this writing, and to get the traffic and ultimately offers that get homes sold all of the above mentioned items are crucial to selling success.

Why are these factors important to you as a seller and buyer?

1. Pricing: With so many homes on the market in this local area of Hamilton Mill, the buyers have numerous choices and if your home is overpriced both buyers and agents will not even look at the house. We get a lot of Sellers that say they want to price their home at a price over and above the current “market value” and tell us that they will sell at a lower price and they want someone to make them an “offer”. Well this is a good thought process but it is not realistic in the current market conditions. Buyers look at homes in specific price ranges and if a home is priced above market they will go by them without even looking. You need to price a home properly from the start to get the activity needed to sell. Showing traffic is usually highest in the first three weeks of listing a home. After that point, if the home is in good condition more than likely you have a price issue. You have to price the home properly to get Buyers in the door.

2. Immaculate Condition: When we were sitting at the closing table yesterday the Buyer made a special point to tell our Seller that one of the things she liked about the home was that it was in “move in condition”. A buyer in today’s market does not want to go into a home and have to do any work to it. This client said that she is a neat freak and wanted a home that was well taken care of.

Exterior condition goes a long way to Buyers impressions as well. The first impression of a home or person for that matter is crucial. If the yard and home are well maintained it gives the Buyer the sense that the home has been well taken care of. Make a great first impression and you have a great shot at selling your home if the price is right. Price it wrong and first impressions do not mean a thing because no one will come inside.

3. Word of Mouth: They say that word of mouth and referrals are one of the keys to business success. At Diamond Dwellings we are constantly being called on as a resource from Buyers, Sellers and other agents who are looking for homes in the area. Why are they calling us? Well, one reason is that they know we are a local, highly trusted resource for real estate. We know what is on the market, what is coming on the market, and where the good deals. I am currently working with a number of clients that came from word of mouth and referrals. As a seller, help yourself and get the word out to friends and co-workers to let them know you are looking to buy or sell a home. You never know what you might find.

4. Internet Marketing: Over 80% of all Buyers start their search for their new home on the internet. Of those 80%, 92% look for homes with multiple pictures on the internet listing. We as a company post 25 photos on Realtor.com, as well as numerous photos on the local listing services. We also have over 100 internet sites that Buyers can find our homes. Why is this important. See above. The internet has changed the way we as Realtors do business. Blogging (you are reading one right now), internet listing services, video marketing, podcasts are all a vital part of our internet marketing program.

If you have any comments or questions please feel free to call on me to answer any additional questions you may have.

Cirque du Soleil is coming to the Gwinnett County area early in the New Year with a new show called “Kooza.” The signature blue-and-yellow Grand Chapiteau (Big Top) will be erected at Atlantic Station from Jan. 2-Jan. 18.If you did not get a chance to see the show last time, (I did not) this year is a must see. I am planning on bringing the Bride. Hmm, maybe a great Christmas present.

Tickets are on sale now on the Cirque website.

“Kooza” is described as the story of The Innocent, “a melancholy loner in search of his place in the world.” It will emphasize the Montreal-based company’s love of clowning and acrobatic traditions.

Let’s hope “Kooza” will be as impressive as “Corteo,” which played Atlantic Station during the 2006 holiday season.

If past experience is any indication of the shows success, you can bet that Cirque will extend its Atlanta run beyond Jan. 18. Stay tuned for more details later.

Home sales contracts signed in June unexpectedly rose across the country, but still were well below year-earlier levels, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.

The trade group for Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in June, was up 5.3% to 89.0 from a downwardly revised 84.5 in May.

It was the highest reading for the index since October 2007, when it was at 89.8. But the index was 12.3% below year-ago levels.

The pickup in June signings was sharply contrary to forecasts by economists polled by Reuters, who had expected home sales contract signings to decline 1%. This news comes as a surprise to some but there are numerous reports that the overall market has eased and sales will continue this upward trend.

The association’s senior economist, Lawrence Yun, said the swings in monthly signings “indicates a housing market in transition.”

“This is welcome news, because a rise in contract activity is necessary for an overall housing recovery,” Yun said.

Contract signings rose in June by 9.3% in the South, by 4.6% in the West, 3.4% in the Northeast and 1.3% in the Midwest.

The realtors said the improvement in contract signings “appears to be broadening” and expressed hope that housing legislation signed into law last month will further encourage buyers. The legislation offers a tax credit to first-time home buyers and aims to ward off some foreclosures.

For more information on this article or discuss the current real estate market please contact me at 678-279-4717.

Matt Hermes

Gwinnett County Schools Back in Session August 11th.

Well, another summer has passed and the kids will be heading out bright and early Monday morning to start another year of school in Gwinnett County. My wife Carmen, headed back to school this Monday to get her room ready for the arrival of students and there is a sense of excitement in the air as school approaches for our Gwinnett County Students.

With the start of school, there is a lot to look forward to. Numerous new schools in Gwinnett County are set to open. The newest school closest to my subdivision, Hamilton Mill, is Puckett’s Mill Elementary. As many know, this past spring there was a huge debate as to how the Hamilton Mill neighborhood would be effected by the new school. At one point, the neighborhood was to be divided and half the kids would continue to learn at Duncan Creek Elementary and the other half travel to Puckett’s Mill. This sent the neighborhood into action and after a few months of negotiations, letter writing, and presence at the school board meetings we were able to get all of Hamilton Mill into the new school.

On a personal level, for me the start of school means I can get back to working on a more productive level out of my home office. Can anyone say “peace and quiet”. Ahhh, I can start to think again without the constant interuptions from my the elementary school age kids. For those stay at home mom’s it is a chance to get back into the gym, play some tennis, relax and have some well deserved free time again.

Have a great school year Gwinnett County, and keep us in mind if you or someone you know is looking to buy or sell real estate in Gwinnett County.

Matt Hermes