Duluth Real Estate Taxes Going Up?

Duluth, GA - After the county said, "no new taxes," they promptly adjusted the millage rate - the percentage used in calculating your property taxes - to increase tax revenue. Following in line appears to be the city of Duluth. An increase in taxes won't necessarily impact the residents greatly but could push some over the edge and force them to look at doing a Short Sale, like the proverbial straw.

In its fourth 2 1/2-hour meeting Thursday night, committee members debated before agreeing to a tax hike of up to 1 mill to help stem an expected $2.27-million revenue shortfall for fiscal 2011.

A one-mill increase would equate to $60 a year on a $150,000 house and would provide a boost of $1 million to the city's coffers. Duluth's rate is 5.191 mills, compared with Suwanee's 5.77 mills and Norcross' 6.104 mills.

"Duluth's taxes are minuscule," resident John Bell argued. "I don't understand the problem. No one's going to notice."

What most residents don't realize is that 3 years ago, the property tax rate could be estimated to be between 1% and 1.5% of the value of the homes. Now that number is closer to 3% in many cases.

"The person who consumes the service ought to pay for it," retired businessman Harry Andrews, who opposed the tax increase, said after the meeting. "The truth of the matter is I can pay the taxes. Some can't."

Andrews favored pulling more out from the city's reserves. However, city leaders noted that doing so would put the fund in jeopardy for fiscal 2012. The city's policy is to maintain a minimum of four months in reserves.

Source: AJC

Buford Gets Competitive with Suwanee and Duluth

Buford, GA …by inking a deal on a new Community Center designed to out do Suwanee’s own city center.  This development should also keep more locals, well, local instead of feeling like they need to go to Duluth’s Gwinnett Center to host reunions, conferences or just large birthday parties.

"It'll be something similar to Suwanee's Town Center, but we hope to improve on it and make it bigger and better," said Phillip Beard, chairman of Buford's City Commission. "We've got the old downtown and now we're going to have the new downtown."

The 40,000-square-foot, two-story community center will feature a ballroom, playhouse theater and public meeting space to rent for events such as birthday parties and anniversaries. The seven-acre site also will include walking trails, a park and children's fountain.

Buford isn't the only Gwinnett municipality investing in downtown development. Sugar Hill this year will break ground on a new 19th century-style, half-mile district. Suwanee continues to grow its Town Center, a mixed-use development envisioned in 2002 to embody a live-work-play-shop environment. And Lilburn has plans to overhaul its urban core.

All signs are point to a revitalization of all things local

Search for Buford Homes For Sale

Buford Homes For Sale Real Estate Market Conditions

As January 2010 came in it'd be useful to look at what sold and what's for sale. I can tell you when you look at the numbers, everything comes into perspective, for better or worse.

Currently there are 598 Homes For Sale in Buford. 66 of these are Short Sales. The average home for sale in Buford is priced at $281,997 with 4 bedrooms and 3.5 baths.

There's 110 properties identified as "Under Contract" with an average price of $264K

Finally, for the most important number, the number of buford homes for sale that sold in January. 29 Buford homes for sale sold in January 2010, with an average list price of $179k and an average sale price of $175K. They all featured about 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths.

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