Everybody makes mistakes. It is how you own up to them that makes a difference. Atlanta Magazine made a big mistake in quoting Decatur housing values in their May issue. They used data from all addresses with a “Decatur” mailing address rather than just those located within the city limits of Decatur. Yet, in the other information, including school data, they used the correct information from our independent school system, city population and crime statistics. It was both incorrect and confusing.
Kudos to Editor Steve Fennessy for calling to alert us to the error before we saw it in print and for correcting the information in a “Department of Corrections” paragraph online (although the chart itself is still incorrect). Steve says there will also be a correction in the June issue.
The good news is median sales prices have held relatively steady in the City of Decatur over the past three years, dropping by only 0.6 percent since 2007 to around $350,000 (rather than the -40.6% to $113,610 reported in the chart). Many thanks to Sean Dammann, Decatur real estate agent and President Elect of the Decatur Business Association for helping Atlanta Magazine cull these numbers.
Thanks to Atlanta Magazine for owning up to the mistake and attempting to mitigate the damage quickly and professionally.
