January 2003 Archived Columns
1/27/2003
“The Sin of Brown Bagging”Last week’s weather was very cold, and we about another inch of snow Thursday morning. It was so cold that the snow wasn’t much of a problem. Instead of melting and making things slick, it tended to just blow off the roads. I saw zero on the porch thermometer twice last week, which is unusual, and the wind chills were sharp. This morning (Sunday), we had another inch of snow, with temperatures in the twenties and (thankfully) no wind. It wasn’t bad on the main roads, but it was a challenge getting down off the mountain this morning.
I was locked in the box for required training all day Friday and Saturday, so I’m not sure what the level of office activity was for the weekend. I had two sales this week, but my general impression is that we’re at normal activity levels for this time of year, and that the snow and cold have discouraged some buyers from visiting. It’s probably a good time for bargain hunters to see what’s out there.
I’ve been asked for my take on the great “beer and wine by the drink” war. Basically what happened is that the county held the second of two public hearings. The attorney for the three restaurants that have requested pouring licenses was allowed to speak. No others were allowed to speak. The commissioners retired into a closed session, and when they came out of closed session, they voted against beer and wine licenses. According to the News Observer, Commission Chairman Richard Vollrath refused to say how he voted. Randy Collins and Steve Morris voted against pouring licenses.
At the same time, the Blue Ridge City Council approved an ordinance that not only refuses beer and wine licenses to restaurants but also attempts to make brown bagging and the sort of wine and cheese parties sponsored by the Arts Association and the Chamber of Commerce illegal. It explicitly names a number of types of downtown businesses suspected of being sympathetic to the wets, including art galleries, framing shops, and so forth. These regulations, if legal, would apply only inside the city limits. Two of the three restaurants who requested licenses (and currently allow brown bagging) are clearly outside the city limits. I’m not sure whether Mama Rosa’s is in the city of Blue Ridge, because I’m not clear about the status of the annexation of their location.
This is, of course, a holy war for the local Baptists. For most of the people who are in favor, it is simply a matter of maybe getting some more decent restaurants. One man told me that when he wanted to eat out, he goes “down to Exit 20.” That’s Canton, where you find some of the national chains.
I’ll admit I was surprised by the County Commission’s action. Vollrath ran on a platform of keeping Fannin moving forward, but the heat from the local holy men was indeed intense, so much so that I’m sure that some who were convicted of their sins were unsure whether that burning sensation underneath their shirt collars was real fire and brimstone, or only the rhetorical kind. It’s possible that the commission acted cynically, knowing that the threatened lawsuit would succeed. I’m not sure about the actual merits of that lawsuit, which seem to rest on certain provisions of state law that allegedly mandate the issuance of pouring licenses in the absence of regulation to the contrary. Since the commission’s action was taken after such request, it may be open to challenge on those grounds, or on the grounds that it discriminates against specific businesses. The city ordinance seems to me to be on shaky ground, because it defines businesses like framing shops as places of public accommodations when they do not in fact offer public accommodations.
To the best of my knowledge, no one has given any thought to where the city ordinance leaves the two downtown catholic churches. As I am writing on a Sunday morning, I’m pretty sure they are both flagrantly breaking the law at this very moment. In fact, I’ve heard that the newspaper has stationed a photographer in the bushes outside the Anglican Church, in the hopes of getting a shot of Victor Morgan being led away in handcuffs. If this actually happens, no doubt the police report will state that the officers broke up a wine and cheese party in progress.
All in all, it’s been rather glorious, and if you missed it shame on you. It’s all part of the romance of the mountains. Y’all come see us, hear?
1/20/2003
We had about two inches of snow Thursday. At least, that’s the story up on top of the ridge where I live (about 2000 feet). It started about 1:30 PM, and it came in faster than anything I’ve seen for a long time. I was showing property on My Mountain when it started to snow hard, and by the time I got back to the office to drop off my customer, it was all I could do to get home. I think we got about an inch and a half of that snow in about an hour.It’s remained fairly cold. The porch temperature was 4° Saturday morning, but the sky was clear and it was warm enough to take a nice hike by early afternoon. There was a good deal of melting from the sun, but there is still snow in the shady areas. By late Saturday, all the main roads were fine, although there were still icy patches on some of the side roads. Getting to higher locations was still dicey. I imagine there are still some people up on top of the ridges who haven’t been able to get out yet. It’s sunny and somewhat warmer today (Sunday). We’re expecting temperatures above freezing on Monday, which should lead to more melting (followed, of course, by freeze-up after dark).
We’ve had some interesting bird sightings lately. Cynthia saw Buffleheads about a week ago on the river at Horseshoe Bend Park, and I saw three Hooded Mergansers (a drake and two hens) on Hemptown Creek a few days ago. These are not our usual ducks, and there have also been quite a few Mallards on the river. Some of this is probably due to the freeze-up of some of the smaller ponds, and perhaps to colder temperatures in Tennessee causing the ducks to ferry a little further south.
We had an incredible burst of activity at the office in the week after New Year’s. Almost all of the folks I saw were looking for investment property, and most of my colleagues had the same report. I expect the activity to level out to more normal winter levels for the next few weeks, especially with the cold weather. It might be a good time for bargain hunters to take advantage of relatively slow time in our market. As I’ve discussed in previous newsletters, disenchantment with the stock market continues to be a common theme with our buyers.
Hope everyone stayed safe and warm during the snowfall. I know of at least one kid who experienced her first snow, and there was definitely some sledding and snowboarding going on during the warm part of Saturday afternoon.
1/10/2003
Well, the column for this week is a little late, because we’ve really been slammed in the office since New Year’s. The past nine days have probably been busier than any two-week period during the last two months. We’re hearing a lot of talk about rentals and investments, which indicates to me that we’re still seeing people who want to invest in property rather than in the stock market. We were slow all fall because of the rain, so we still have a pretty good inventory of property, especially for this time of year.The weather has been variable, but we’ve had some beautiful days. Yesterday was sunny and almost 60°. Despite the fact that we’ve been busy, I left the office at about 3:30 to sit on the deck and enjoy a little sunshine.
The talk of the town continues to be the public hearings over beer and wine by the drink in Fannin County. We’ve already had one public hearing on the subject, and another is scheduled for Tuesday (1/14) at 5:00 at the Senior Center. It should be another very interesting meeting.
There was an interesting article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently reporting on home sales in Atlanta. The news is mixed. Compared to 2000 (not last year, which was atypical because of the 9-11 attack), the inventory of houses for sale is up 10,000 homes. This would seem to indicate a sluggish market. On the other hand, “Historically low interest rates have turned renters into first-time home buyers, spurred new construction, initiated a wave of refinancing and encouraged growing families to move into larger quarters.” The softest spot in the market is the high-end, above $700,000.
If you read my column of 12/23, you will remember that the New York Times concluded, mostly on anecdotal evidence, that sales of resort homes over $1 million were soft. However, they also pointed out that the second-home market was a strange one, because sellers are rarely very motivated and are often willing to wait until market conditions improve. Some light is shed on this by a recent study sponsored by the National Association of Realtors, the first major stand-alone study of the second home market. Among their findings was that the second-home market accounts for roughly six percent of all homes sold annually and that the median age of the typical second home buyer is 61. (This is a marked difference with our market, because our typical demographic is 35-55.) The study also found that recent buyers were motivated by a desire to diversify their portfolio assets, which is in accord to what we’re seeing with our buyers.
The real shocker, however, is that the median price of a second property rose nearly 27 percent between 1999 and 2001, vs. 7-8 percent in the primary home market. This goes a long way toward explaining the kind of appreciation we’ve been seeing in our area, and it’s interesting to us to know that it’s been a nationwide phenomenon. Perhaps the many people who we’re seeing recently who want to buy mountain property as an investment are paying attention to these trends. As I say in my article in the “Inside Mountain Real Estate” section on “When is the bubble is going to burst,” our prices are also supported by a very strong rental market, which does not seem to have been affected by the events of 9-11 or by other economic events. All I can say, from the perspective of this office, is that we haven’t seen a downturn in our market yet.
In real estate news, I still have three great lots listed on My Mountain, one of the most desirable addresses in the mountains. We also still have Kingfisher Lodge available, probably the premier property on Lake Blue Ridge. For those who want a little seclusion along with great mountain views, I recently listed two fantastic lots and a home with detached garage on Picklesimer Mountain. Finally, for all of you who wanted a lot in the sold-out Phase I of Riverwalk on the Toccoa, I just listed a good lot in this river-access development. If we haven’t gotten these last three on the website yet, please call me for details.
