Savannah Real Estate Blog

When my friend Jim and I were sent a copy of the December issue of the Journal of Architectural Historians (http://www.jstor.org/pss/10.1525/jsah.2011.70.4.512) , I was so excited to see that a thorough scholarly report on this topic had been done and I wanted to be the first to share it. Living on Calhoun Square for 17 years showed me how wonderful these public spaces are to Savannah. Now that I stay in Savannah’s SOG (south-of-Gaston St.) neighborhood on the West Side, knowing why these three Squares to the north of my new neighborhood were lost in the 30s intrigues me as it has affected this area to this day. In my opinion what happened then probably gives some indication of why, in 1962, city fathers allowed further damage to the integrity of our city by demolishing one of our finest buildings, Savannah’s Union Station, circa 1902-1912. This is now seen as a mistake although at the time it probably seemed like a perfect gateway to Savannah for re-using the land and to give way to the modern automobile. Savannah was clearly not the only city in the 60s to destroy one of these beautiful Edifices. They were costly to maintain and the whole world seemed to be moving beyond what was at that time seen to be a soon-to-be outmoded form of transportation. New York City for example tore down Pennsylvania Station in 1963 and one could say we were just in step with what was going on in other parts of the country.

But in Savannah’s case, this move in the 60s was made in conjunction with the installation of ramps for I-16 (our important main road to Atlanta) that bisected our community and merged with Montgomery Street sending more traffic through the same missing squares we lost in the 30’s. The damage was further done by tearing down the earlier City Auditorium that had replaced several important residential buildings (click here for a 1916 view from the Sandborn Fire Maps) on the lots facing Orleans square with a modern new expanded Savannah Civic Center oriented onto the old Elbert Square leaving Orleans square with several parking lots where prominent buildings had once stood. History is often a story of layer upon layer and this is a good example.

The JSAH article emphatically states that, along with Depression era economic stresses, racism was a big factor in the 1930s when the feds re-routed the highway onto Montgomery Street. I would say though that the author may have misinterpreted what was probably Savannah just “choosing between the lesser of evils” vs. southern racism and drawing a line between white and black areas as the author states. In the interactive Sandborn map link above, if one zooms in and looks closely, in 1916, most of the two trust lots soon to become the City Auditorium, are already Vacant. For whatever reason, Savannah was sacrificing sacred ground in that area, an area that was considered expendable even back then. My guess is that the location of the Federal road construction project in the 1930s probably had a lot more to do with the geography of the area and how the city of Savannah was positioned in terms of where the Highway was coming from and where it had to go after leaving.

For Savannians, drawing lines was likely more to do with planning for future growth and saving what they could. And also, lets not forget the Federal Courthouse now located prominently at the Northern end of Montgomery Street and adjoining the one square that will be most difficult to save aptly named Liberty Square. It seems likely to me that the attorneys and judges in Savannah and Atlanta at that time would have had influence over federal funding and the folks that make decisions on the federal level. In the 60s it was all about I-16 and the connection to Atlanta, a city that, at that time, was not particularly fond of “The Great State of Chatham”. And while I have not researched this, it would not surprise me if Atlanta and the feds and local judges and attorneys were already planning in the 30s for a new courthouse where our current courthouse sits adjoining the site of the former Liberty Square. What ever was being planned at the time, these sorts of construction projects not only threatened our squares, but as or even more importantly, the very Oglethorpe plan itself. This was a disturbing trend even back then and by taking what should be two trust lots and combining them to build one large mass on them, Savannah’s most important asset was slowly being threatened. This history of Savannah’s west side and all the complex things going on including the relations between the races which did occur here (Jazz clubs and bars, the train station itself, the roaring 20’s, prostitution, drugs, and hundreds of small wooden cottages designed after the first settlements built here in 1733 which were often dependencies for the wealthier areas to the east) is complex in Savannah and worthy of additional in depth research.

Moving beyond the past, we now enjoy the possibility of a future where these scars can be healed back. Our city, all of us, would like to see these mistakes erased. And what an exciting time that will be when the I-16 ramps are gone and that area is opened up for re-development, when the civic center is altered to allow the return of Elbert Square, leaving only one square still damaged, When the parking lots facing Orleans Square are replaced by suitable buildings, and Savannah’s City Plan can be restored as much as possible to it’s original design increasing the value (like a damaged antique) of Oglethorpe’s plan to Savannah’s abused west side and our city as a whole. And if my experiences the past 20+ years living in beautiful Savannah is any indication, these changes will help move us closer to a more ideal balance and harmony between all the various parts and people of this great city. I hope I live long enough to see it!

Until Next Time,

Ron Melander

Keller Williams Realty Savannah Downtown

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The trust lot at 427 Barnard Street was being used as a playground for children by a nearby nursery school when philanthropist Mills B Lane IV purchased it in 1997 and gave the children a new lot with all new equipment a few doors to the west. This was a time when Mr. Lane was concerned about Savannah’s squares and single handedly redeveloped any appropriate vacant property he could obtain so that suitable looking buildings would occupy these prime parcels on the squares. He then turned around and sold them creating his own personal revolving fund to fuel this campaign for the betterment and preservation of Savannah and her famous town plan. In this rare case, having agreed to the basic look and feel of the new house, the family who just sold it were allowed (I believe) the freedom to develop the interior to their own needs and tastes. Mills usually did his project first and looked for a buyer after it was built. Not everyone agreed with Mills’ concept and some of his kitchens were smaller than ideal but Mills did a really good thing for Savannah at a time when only he could or would and many people are enjoying his new homes made to look old. Savannah and her city plan has benefited tremendously. Here is the view of the house at 427 Barnard from our MLS system:

Made to look like it was built of Savannah Grey Brick, it has nice porch spaces, a one car garage, and a potential shaft for an elevator (a good thing for anyone thinking ahead and a key ingredient to future resale value). As is a trend today in the high end downtown market, the new owners are planning to keep it as a second home. I hope we will be able to welcome them and invite them to partake of some of the great things Savannah has to offer. I know they will make a good contribution to Savannah’s Landmark Historic District. And what was this price per square foot we talked about? At the size of 3,284 feet (from our tax assessor’s web site), that comes to $563.34 PSF. Prior to that there had only been one other house to ever sell for more than $400 a square foot and that was 518 E Bryan Street which sold on June 25th, 2007. Interestingly enough, it was also new construction made to look old. At 2,824 Square feet (from our tax assessor’s web site) it sold for $1,410,000 or $499.29 PSF. 518 E Bryan sold again on November 30th, 2009 for $915,000 or $324 PSF because the person who bought it in 2007 did not sell a larger home nearby and was not able to downsize - quite a financial hit for sure.

The seller of 427 Barnard had had their home on the market for almost exactly a year (according to our Savannah Multi list corporation records) when the offer came in. The original asking price was $2,390,000 so at a final sales price of $1,850,000 it would appear that everyone on both sides of the transaction should be happy. After all their option would have been to wait for another year and another offer and that can be quite stressful. Indeed, this special home in a very special location fully occupying one of only a very limited number of trust lots on one of a limited number of Savannah’s squares is priceless and will be enjoyed for many years to come.

Until Next Time,

Ron Melander

Keller Williams Realty Savannah Downtown.

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When the call came through last week from one of my favorite clients, I really was not prepared for the empathy that poured out of me as we worked our way through another phase in her tough real estate battles. Being a seller in today’s market is not easy by most standards but this is a case that has been extra challenging. Like a switch that was turned on, as soon as she told me that Fannie Mae sent her a letter saying they would accept her loan modification request, we both shared an unexpected moment of grief and I told her how unfair it all seems. You see, they had been foreclosed on earlier that month by a bank that was not willing/able to wait for any alternatives. So after her waiting on Fannie Mae for over a year for a response about a loan modification, when an answer finally came it was just too late. And having known my client for several years, this is not the first hurdle she has had to overcome. I have watched her battle many other issues including health related ones and I have deep respect for her. This is one amazing strong person. The house is now sitting empty and will be re-listed at a foreclosure price, a “deal”. Not good for the rest of the sellers out there. But the comparables speak volumes about the current marketable price for this historic home.

Back in 2010, when we first began talking about listing the house for sale, we paid for an appraisal and I did a CMA (comparative market analysis) and of course we had the tax assessed value as well to consider (which has since dropped further) and everything pointed to a value of somewhere in the mid to slightly upper 400s. But this was about a year ago and optimistically, after the recent long cold winters, they felt someone from somewhere else would pay the price. We had lots of showings and many of the lookers did buy in the neighborhood, just not our home. Pricing is everything in today’s market and in hind-site, I should have pushed harder to lower the price sooner. We might have exposed it to more buyers and sold it. But I can understand my seller’s perspective. At a price in the mid 400’s, after paying off the over 400K mortgage, a commission and other expenses, there would not really be much left - it would be a wash. So no point in her mind.

Looking forward, this house will be sold to someone who will probably live in it and do some upgrades and contribute to the community. It will be lived in and loved and perhaps some children will grow up in it with their own fond memories. Taxes will be paid and one more unneeded house will again be needed and enjoyed. The cycle we are going through will come back around to prosperous times. Thankfully we are in Savannah, Georgia where things are not as bad as some areas of the country.

I read a very well thought out article last week in Bis by Robert B Brannen, Jr. that is worth reading if you want a better understanding of why some values in Savannah have dropped so far off our peak in 2006/2007. I am a subscriber to both Bis and Savannahnow but I cannot see anyway to link directly to this article. Luckily, they have given me permission to share it. Here is a link where you can download a PDF of the article which I have posted to my website. Read this article, think about it and let me know your thoughts.

This family is doing the right thing for themselves considering the circumstances. Other properties they own are secure and this is probably the wisest choice they could have made and it was made with legal council and plenty of soul searching. Nothing was done without a lot of thought and advice about the present circumstances and the future.

Until Next Time,

Ron Melander

Keller Williams Realty Savannah Downtown.

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Savannah’s City plan has been talked about many times and is revered by urban planners for it’s repetition for 150 years after it’s inception of a simple ward plan as seen here (Image from Housedrone.blogspot.com).

While most residences were planned for the Tything lots with a North/South orientation and the trust lots were intended for public buildings, some of Savannah’s very best homes do occupy these rare enviable prime lots facing a square. Having moved from a north/south oriented home on East Taylor Street to the 500 block of Tattnall Street a few years ago, I have become very fond of our new east/west orientation. We were fearful, having given up a southern exposure facing a square, to move to the North end of a newly built row. But as it turns out, we actually get sun throughout the day with the early morning and late afternoon rays passing all the way through the house. The other thing I have grown to appreciate is the movements of the moon and the stars. The past several nights in the eastern sky, there has been an amazing display with the little and big dipper and other constellations. These are things not easily observed from a south/north orientation as these views are blocked by adjacent buildings.

Finally, one aspect rarely mentioned in works on Savannah’s plan is the slight south east tilt that Oglethorpe placed us on. I think it has more to do with his knowledge of the movement of the sun at different times of the year at this latitude rather than just facing us on the river. This is particularly noticeable on the longest days of the year when the sun sets squarely in all of our streets and lanes providing a quality of light at a most pleasant time of each day, sunset. The way that light streams down any bit of street without a lot of tree canopy (especially the lanes) is amazing. Just one other nice thing about living in Savannah, Georgia!

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In Savannah, Georgia, as goes Downtown, so goes the rest of Savannah. It is the heart and soul of our community ……

2007, prior to the downturn, was a great year to be selling a home in Downtown Savannah (although I would say our peak was 2006). Those that sold prior to the middle of 2007 have now taken a sigh of relief that they sold at a good time. Personally, my partner and I downsized that year and moved slightly off the best location we had facing Calhoun square to a spot a few blocks west of the north end of Forsyth Park with a two car garage and elevator and we have been enjoying it tremendously ever since. I have watched the properties that lingered on the market beyond when we sold and the price drops the past few years have sometimes been frightful.

But here we are in 2011 and there are currently, as of this writing 6-17-2011, 65 properties in the landmark Historic District that either sold in the past 60 days or are contingent or under contract. Ranging in asking prices of 2.7 million to $45,000, there literally is something for everyone. This diversity is one of the nice things about our Landmark Historic District.
Of the 26 properties that sold, the most expensive to close, 102 East Gaston Street, with an asking price of 2.7 million dollars, sold “with third party approval” at a whopping discount at $1,775,000. Having paid 1.25 million in 2007 for this property which was badly in need of updating, and with lots of improvements made since then, it seems a fair price for someone who needed to sell. It is also easy to believe they walked away with negative equity. Here is a photo taken from our MLS of this freestanding home situated on a 61 x 120 foot lot with a 4 car garage. Built in 1928, It was designed using our Historic 1820 Pink House as a model.

Another interesting property to sell recently is 11 East Gordon Street. Sold in 2009 for $995,000, it sold last month for $925,000. Beautifully restored, it was sold to a beautiful lady who will take great care of it. That is the wonderful  thing about what is happening now, properties that in many cases have sat on the market sometimes for almost 4 years, will once again be occupied by people who will contribute to our city. Here is a photo, from our MLS, of 11 East Gordon Street which faces Monterey Square.

On the low end ….. Wondering what you can get for $45,000 in our Landmark District? 534 Huntingdon Street is a 2 bedroom one bath Historic Cottage row house with just over 600 Square feet. Not bad! You would never have seen this sort of thing in our MLS just a few years ago. Bargains, in all price points, abound!

And what about those 29 properties either under contract or contingent right now? Some of us know the inside scoop and there is one significant property sale widely being talked about right now not listed that I will look forward to telling you more about in the future! I expect a lot of sold signs will be going up in the next several weeks!
Until Next time,

Ron Melander

Keller Williams Realty Savannah Downtown.

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Downtown Savannah properties continue to sell although at a slower pace than years past. On the high end, the bright spot is the sale this year of what most of us who have been downtown awhile know as “The Sprague House.” It was sold for $3.4 Million Dollars to Robert Duffy, president of Marc Jacobs International. This property is a classic freestanding circa 1870 town home with side porches and gardens facing Monterey Square - what I would call quintessentially Savannah. It is about as good as you can get in the Landmark Historic District. The sale is not yet on the Chatham County website and since it wasn’t officially listed for sale, it is not in our Savannah MLS. A Google search took us to Zillow.com which shows the sale took place on May 17^th, 2010. The square footage puts it at about $380 a square foot, pretty much at the top of the price point for single family homes in Savannah’s Landmark Historic District. And it has had quite a face lift since then, which it needed.

Further research turned up a posting on the Huffington Post website on April 23^rd referring to Mr. Duffy’s April 20^th wedding, so perhaps the house was bought as a wedding present! Folks do fall in love with Savannah and the Marc by Marc Jacobs Store on Broughton Street has cemented this corporate fashion giant’s relationship with The Hostess City, once known as the best-kept secret on the East Coast.  This transaction also involved a trade of 3 West Gordon Street across the square which Mr. Duffy had purchased when they first opened the Savannah store in 2007. To complicate things further (to the casual observer), the Sprague family had done some estate planning a few years earlier and had put 10 E Taylor in their children’s names. So the traded property (which Mr. Duffy paid 1.5 million in 2007), was listed for $1.5million and sold for $1.175,000 a few weeks ago on October 14^th, 2010.

What with the SCAD film festival underway, the Savannah Music Festival every spring, Major movie shoots like Miley Cyrus and Robert Redford’s recent filming of “The Conspirator” driving interest in Savannah, and so many other factors, it is not surprising that a person like Mr. Duffy with an international awareness would choose to make Savannah a home base. It truly is one of the world’s most beautiful cities.

Until Next Time,

Ron Melander

Keller Williams Realty Savannah Downtown

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Following the success of the Auction of the News Place condos in the west building of this beautiful project last fall (and then the release and sale right after the auction and again about a month ago of the remaining units in the historic east building at similar prices), the remaining developer-owned units at another one of Savannah’s luxury condo buildings, Jones Square, were also auctioned off on May 6th, 2010. Two bedroom Units 102, 103, 108 & 202, and penthouse unit 304 all had suitors and assuming the winning bidders do not get cold feet (they have 7 days to change their mind), these units are scheduled to close in 30 days.

Although the newspaper reported slightly different prices last week because they added the fees which are tacked on by the auctioneers, I sat there and took notes (I was also at the News Place Auction) and the numbers I heard and saw written on the auction board for the two bedroom Jones Square units were a low of $275,000 (a STEAL) and high of $320,000. Unit 104, also originally scheduled to be auctioned, was sold abut 3 weeks before the auction took place. It is interesting to note that all but one of these buyers (including the one who bought unit 104 for $385,000) were SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) dads wanting the comfort and security that this property had to offer for their daughters attending the nearby school. Additionally, penthouse unit 304 sold for $700,000 to a nice lady who appeared to be thinking about retirement. The developer pulled the other penthouse unit #302 as it was not the kind of money he wanted to get for these top floor units. Not surprising as three of those had sold for around $1.5 Million in 2006.

So where do we go from here? Well, as one of the sellers/developers of the news Place project said to me at the end of the most recent auction at Jones Square when referring to her own experience, “it was epic”, and that is really a true statement. Because unless Mr. Kessler wants to liquidate his holdings at Columbia Square, there are no longer any luxury developments of this caliber in this situation for sale in Savannah. Now we can all look forward to see how things go in the next few years as Savannah River Landings tweaks its own development plans for this amazing development adjacent to the east side of Savannah and including six new public squares. And perhaps some of the other smaller in town developments that had been approved and were just shy of turning shovels prior to the downturn will resurface in a few years.

As a friend of mine who likes to quote his ancestors says “Those that live the longest will see the most!”

Until Next Time,

Ron Melander

Keller Williams Realty

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Well, for those of you reading this “up nowath”, as we say down here is Sunny Savannah, you too are probably finally getting some relief from this long hard winter we have all had. Here it is actually in peak and about to tip over into Summer. I've been having a wonderful Spring business wise and things are actually moving well here but we still have way too much inventory on the market. and for every property that sells or goes off the market, they are way outnumbered by new listings. In the greater urban Savannah market though, the quality of what is on the market is not always great in the neighborhoods and price points where people are looking to buy. So for those looking for that perfect house, it can be frustrating to encounter sellers who are not nearly as negotiable as one would have thought considering all the hype about it being a buyers market. Enjoy these recent pictures of our Savannah Spring Flora! These are mostly in Savannah’s most prestigeous Square, Montery Square

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Contrary to the word on the street, selling a condo in today’s real estate environment is still possible, although it is not always as easy as it used to be. I am constantly surprised to hear from neighbors and even some real estate professionals that “banks will not finance condos anymore”. That is just not true! Not to toot my own horn too much but last month was a great month for my clients and me, as we successfully closed three transactions and of those three, two were condos. One was at the gardens on Jones (pictured below) and my buyer got a good deal at an even $300K. She is planning on retiring here and decided the time was right to buy and rent it for a couple of years until she can make her much anticipated move to Savannah from New York City, where she works for The New York City Library.

I have blogged this project before and this sale marks another turn around for this project which has always been a favorite of mine but had hit another slow patch recently as it had when I blogged it before. When we wrote our contract there had only been one sale (in July) the entire past year at a price that was quite a bit higher. One other closed in late November for $312,500 making for a total of three sales the entire year. The Auction which had just taken place at News Press Place helped justify our attitude about its value. A big thanks goes to Chris Vogler and the team of Michael Caputo at Bank of America Home Loans here in Savannah who helped make this sale go very smoothly. The key to successfully buying property in today’s market is to ALWAYS use a good real estate agent and get a GOOD local lender who understands condo financing like Chris does! I have one out-of-town lender horror story I will be glad to share with you, just ask me.

More about the recent condo sale at 302 Lorch Street and Savannah Area 2009 sales coming in my next blog! One of my new year’s resolutions? To blog more frequently!

Until Next Time

Ron Melander

Keller Williams Realty Coastal Area Partners

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Here is the latest activity report from our local MLS system. It is a tremendous amount of data that is continuously being collected and is compiled monthly and usually available around the 9th of every month. In time, as the information accumulates, comparing the month-by-month numbers helps to indicate the trends in things like DOM (days on market), List price to sales price ratios, dollar volume and number of closings, average sales prices and the (usually) additional inventory as a result of new listings versus sales and expired listings. The data is broken down by area and property type so if you are interested in a particular part of town, the numbers are there for you. Please feel free to view the data and if you like what you see, please let me know or have any suggestions and I will continue to post these reports as they become available. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any specific questions! As I was not able to load the data directly here, I have included a link where you can download or just view all 9 pages:      RonMelander.com 

Until Next Time,

Ron Melander

Keller Williams Realty

Savannah Downtown

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