Declining home values leave owners where they were a decade ago

The National Association of Realtors recently reported the median sale price had fallen 16 percent since November 2009. The S&P Case-Shiller Index released last week shows home sale prices have reverted to what they were 10 years ago.

“This is shocking,” said Marie Burgess, a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty Consultants in Roswell. “And what makes this really surprising is Atlanta has always been considered a place where you could invest in real estate and turn a profit if you hung in there a couple of years.”

No property owner is immune from the effects of these historically low sales prices, said H. Jerome Russell, president of Atlanta-based Russell New Urban Development.

Russell bought his home off Cascade Road in southwest Fulton County for around $750,000 in 1999. He’s not sure he could sell it for much more than that today.

“If I just had to sell, I’d like to list it at $825,000,” he said. “But realistically, and knowing the area like I do, if I got an offer for around $760,000, I’d take it.”

Many homeowners are in the same situation as Russell.

Here are the stories of three such families across metro Atlanta.

Jenni and Robbie Hilton, Forsyth County

Bought in March 2000

When the Hiltons bought their home on Lake Lanier in March 2000, they knew this would be where they raised their family.

It was their second purchase and they knew exactly what they were looking for, Jenni Hilton recalled. The Hiltons, who have been married 15 years and have two daughters, paid $250,000 for their home in 2000.

“When we bought the house we did go a little above the amount we set, but we were looking at it as an investment,” Hilton said. “We now know our investment didn’t perform quite like we’d hoped.”

The couple is fairly certain they could sell it for at least what they paid, but not much more.

“We thought that the lake would help the property hold its value, and at this point we think the lake is the only reason we could get that much for the house,” she said.

Forsyth County’s appraisal of the property came in at $320,000, Robbie Hilton said, but the husband and wife think that is too high.

“We’re pretty sure we couldn’t sell it for that much,” Jenni Hilton said. “We’ve got a neighbor who has been trying to sell for a few months now with no luck.”

Jeff and Denise Dalusky, Cobb County

Bought in the summer of 2000

Buying a larger house was part of the Daluskys' pre-retirement plan.

“We’d been in what I’d call a starter house for many years and it was time to move,” Jeff Dalusky said.

So in the summer of 2000 the couple, who have been married for 28 years and have one adult son, packed their boxes.

“We used all of the profit from that house and put it into the new house,” he said. “That was part of the investment plan.”

But that was the last part of the plan that went as expected. Ten years later, Dalusky thinks he could get around $300,000 for the home -- which is what they paid when they bought it. The county appraised the house at about $330,000.

“Our first home functioned like you would expect real estate to,” he said. “It not only served as a place to live, but it also appreciated in value. It really was a good investment.”

Dalusky, who works in transportation systems, is an economist in his spare time. He keeps up with several economic indicators, including real estate. That’s why he knows 2006 was the pivotal year for his real estate investment.

“The online tools I use told me the value of the house had increased around 30 percent in the early part of 2006,” he recalled. “But then, in late 2006, things changed dramatically and by 2008, well, we all know what happened then.”

Dalusky said while he and his wife no longer have a mortgage on the home, for investment purposes he’d need to sell it for at least $370,000 to “have the same purchasing power as I did in 2000.”

Sylvester and Joan Mitchell, Fulton County

Bought in 1964

Ten years ago, the Mitchells were feeling good about the value of their 36-year-old home.

Of course, when the Mitchells bought the home in 1964, the $17,000 they paid was considered a lot of money. So the fact that it was worth nearly $200,000 in 2000 was better than good news.

“This was our move-up house,” Sylvester Mitchell said. “My father wanted to know why we needed another house, because we already had one. But we had four kids and that house was small. So we looked to move.”

The couple, who recently celebrated 59 years of marriage, settled on a split-level house on a tree-lined street in southwest Atlanta.

With no mortgage on the home, the couple took out a small line of credit in 2008, Joan Mitchell said.

“At that time, the bank told us the house was worth $185,000,” she said. “And that was just fine.”

But all of that would change literally before there eyes over the next two years.

“A lot of our friends were either dying or moving to live closer to their grown children or other family,” Sylvester Mitchell said. “And some of the houses were being rented and others were foreclosed.”

“And we’re surrounded by so many foreclosures,” Joan Mitchell added. “That’s why our values are so low.”

How low? While the county appraised their house at $128,000, the Mitchells say there are homes selling for less than $20,000 on their street.

“So I guess we could get $17,000 for it now,” Sylvester Mitchell said.

“But it's worth more than that to us,” his wife said. “Besides, we won’t sell. This is my dream house.”