With doom and gloom stories about home sales dominating the front pages, it's easy to believe that nobody is buying these days. Turns out, though, that just isn't so.

But what is selling? "Homes priced correctly" is the answer you'll typically hear from agents.

Christopher Oquendo/Special (ENLARGE)

Bob and Judy McMahan moved out of a condo and into the Park at Oglethorpe in mid-December. Judy McMahan says she missed having a house.

Christopher Oquendo/Special (ENLARGE)

Laura Mwirigi bought a one-bedroom unit in Windsor Over Peachtree, adjacent to the Fox Theatre. She says she wanted to make a purchase during the housing slump.

Christopher Oquendo/Special (ENLARGE)

Homes go for $1.3 million to $1.9 million at the Park at Oglethorpe, where Judy and Bob McMahan bought. One real estate agent called that a 'resilient' price point.

TOP SELLERS OF 2007 New properties • Condos: $150,000-$175,000, which represents 13.85 percent of total condo sales • Townhomes: $150,000-$175,000, which represents 17.85 percent of total townhome sales • Single-family homes: $175,000-$200,000, which represents 11.1 percent of total single-family home sales Resales • Condos: $125,001-$150,000, which represents 10.15 percent of total condo sales • Townhomes: $100,001-$125,000, which represents 18.88 percent of total townhome sales • Single-family homes: $100,001-$125,000, which represents 14.05 of total single-family home sales Source: SmartNumbers

We sought to look behind that answer into what specific prices and areas are selling best. Sure, homes in all price ranges are eventually finding buyers, although it may take more work and more time to put up the sold sign for some.

"It's just sluggish," said Van Johnson, broker/owner of Re/Max Executives and president of the Georgia Association of Realtors.

There are hot spots, though. And we uncovered them.

FIVE TRENDS REALTORS ARE SEEING

1. Intown is easier.

Properties inside the Perimeter that are updated are more likely to sell than those in the suburbs, said Muchugia Machua, an agent with Harry Norman, Realtors. He represented Laura Mwirigi in her purchase at Windsor Over Peachtree. He says some buyers are also thinking of the future. "I've run into a lot of investment properties where there's multiple offers in town," he said. "Investors are taking money and putting it in a very safe investment with equity."

2. Giving options draws traffic.

One tactic Judy Crawford with Dream Street Properties is taking: listing homes for rent, lease purchase or lease option. One of those was a 2006 townhome in Cumming's Pinnacle Glen subdivision. It sold last month for $168,350.

3. The $100,000s have been a magic number.

Dianne Stump, an agent with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, has seen that, especially with condos. She sold two units in the $190,000s in the active adult Villas at Stone Mountain in the past year. Another condo property, within walking distance of downtown Decatur, sold for $166,000. "We marked it way down, and it flew off the market," she said. "What I'm seeing is that the younger people are buying. Maybe they're planning on getting their bonuses and using the money as a down payment because the interest rate is so low right now."

4. But high-end homes are finding buyers, too.

Even though they represent a small percentage of total home sales, new homes and resales in the $1 million-plus range are moving, Johnson said. But the prices are being negotiated — instead of fetching $1.3 million, a home might sell for $1.1 million. "A lot of people who buy and sell in that price range save their money," he said, "and then they wait for the appropriate time when their money will buy them more. They live for markets like this. Basically the property is on sale."

5. The middle market is struggling ... but could get better.

Johnson said one problem last year was the maximum amount — $417,000 — that government-sponsored mortgage lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae would back. People were having a "dickens of a time" putting $250,000 down, for example, on a home in the $600,000s-$700,000s. But those programs are increasing their limits under the economic stimulus bill, which Johnson said could help "break that logjam."

THE FIRST-TIME BUYER

• Who: Laura Mwirigi, 33, a civil engineer

• Where she bought: Windsor Over Peachtree, adjacent to the Fox Theatre

• What she bought: One-bedroom, one-bath unit on the 15th floor with views of the Fox and Bobby Dodd Stadium at Georgia Tech, her alma mater.

• When she moved in: Mid-November

• Why she wanted to buy: After Mwirigi moved back to Atlanta from North Carolina 1 1/2 years ago, she decided she wanted to purchase a condo as her first home. She had always liked the Midtown and downtown areas, but she was concerned that the options were going to be too expensive.

• Her budget: $150,000-$170,000. "Most of the people I talked to told me it was impossible," she said. "Most of the things in my price range were lofts. I didn't want a loft. I wanted something with a bedroom."

• How long she searched: Less than a month.

• Why Windsor appealed to her: "I just walked in and I loved it, and it was my price range," Mwirigi said. "I have a fantastic view. I see the Fox looking out my window, which is great because those lights are always on. It makes me feel like the world is going on, even when I'm sleeping." She also was drawn to the exterior architecture and features such as the tile bathroom and stainless-steel appliances in the kitchen.

• Her strategy in this housing market: Mwirigi knew she wanted to purchase a place during the slump. "I wanted to make sure that I had equity in the home."

THE REPEAT BUYER

• Who: Retirees Bob and Judy McMahan

• Where they bought: The Park at Oglethorpe, in Brookhaven

• When they moved in: Mid-December

• Where they moved from: A condo right around the corner, Judy McMahan said. "We lived in a condo for 2 1/2 years," she said. "I just did not like condo living. I love having neighbors and ground and entertaining a lot. I just felt sort of closed in a little bit, even though our condo was beautiful, and we had a wonderful neighborhood. I just needed a house again."

• What their home is like: It's a new home with plenty of room for entertaining, and features such as an elevator. The style and neighborhood reminded her of a home they built in Decatur in 1982. "I feel like I've come home," she said. Judy flipped the layout of the living room and dining room so they could dine in front of a fireplace. "And I also love the keeping room/breakfast room and kitchen. I knew I could have all my family and grandkids, and we could be in one room and not be crowded. The open floor allows us to have a really nice party if we wanted to," she said.

• About the community: The Park at Oglethorpe, which is being developed on land previously owned by Oglethorpe University in DeKalb County, has sold 10 of the planned 48 homes. Prices range from $1.3 million-$1.9 million.

• Why these homes are selling: Emily Lee, an agent with the Park Team at Keller Williams Realty Chattahoochee North, said the inside-the-Perimeter location and proximity to new shopping and dining developments such as a Peachtree Road mixed-used center by Sembler, are attractive to buyers. "That price point is really kind of resilient right now to anything else that's going on," she said.