About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2023)
Arrest made in killing of Catholic bishop in Los Angeles. INSIDE, 3A Tuesday, February 21, 20231 GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com Biden declares ‘Kyiv stands’ in surprise visit to Ukraine, inside, 4A Honestly Local Gainesville ‘urbanized’ population No. 4 in Ga. BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Hall has Lake Lanier, pas tures and mountain views. But it also has a rapidly growing urban population, defined by the federal gov ernment as a “densely settled core,” stretching from Gaines ville south to Gwinnett County. The Gainesville “urbanized area,” taking in South Hall County and parts of Forsyth and West Jackson counties, has grown from 130,846 people in 123 square miles in the 2010 census to 265,218 in 252 square miles in 2020. Gainesville’s urban popula tion is now fourth highest in the state, behind Atlanta, Augusta and Savannah. Based on the 2020 census, it has surpassed Columbus, Macon and Warner Robins in population, accord ing to the U.S. census. Atlanta’s urbanized area includes crowded cities such as Alpharetta, Roswell, Marietta, Lawrenceville and Decatur. In defining an urbanized area, the U.S. Census Bureau says that “urban areas rep resent densely developed territory, and encompass resi dential, commercial and other non-residential urban land uses.” Also noteworthy is that Gainesville’s numbers don’t take into account North Hall and East Hall, which aren’t ■ Please see URBAN, 3A Traffic flows through the intersection at E. E. Butler Parkway and Jesse Jewell Parkway on Friday, Dec. 14, 2018. Times file photo Blaze in Lula kills one Photo provided by Hall County Fire Rescue Firefighters worked to extinguish flames at a home and nearby barn and apartment on Forrester Road in Lula Sunday, Feb. 19. One victim was reported dead. Man found dead in Hall County apartment fire BY BRIAN WELLMEIER bwellmeier@gainesvilletimes.com A man was found dead in a Lula apart ment fire Sunday, according to officials. Hall County Fire Rescue responded at 11:30 a.m. Sunday to a report of a resi dential fire in a single-story residence on the 8800 block of Forrester Road in Lula. After extinguishing much of the blaze inside the home, firefighters were dis patched to another fire on the same property. About a mile behind the home, fire crews fought to extinguish a fully involved barn with an attached studio apartment from the outside. During a search of the structure, first responders located a “deceased victim” in the apartment attached to the barn. The barn was a total loss, according to county officials, and the residence was partially damaged. During the blaze, firefighters brought in one tender from Habersham County and two tenders from White County for additional water due to limited hydrants in the area. Both the Hall County Sheriff’s Office and Fire Marshal’s Office are investigat ing each of the fires. No further infor mation is available at this time. Teenager shot at Flowery Branch apartment last month has died BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A 19-year-old shot at a Flowery Branch apartment last month died Friday, Feb. 17, but police have still not released any information regarding a suspect. Flowery Branch Police Chief Chris Hulsey said Mateo Rizo died Friday morning, turning the shooting into a homicide investigation. Officers responded just before 9 p.m. Jan. 10 to the 1400 building of the Tree Park Apartments in the city, where Rizo was found lying in the kitchen with a gunshot wound. The preliminary investiga tion led Hulsey to believe the shooting was drug-related. “Investigators have got phone records and social media platforms subpoe naed, and we’re just waiting on all those results to come back,” Hulsey said. The chief previously told The Times the suspect, who was wearing all dark cloth ing, was driven away from the scene by a second person in a dark-colored four-door car. But Hulsey did not disclose any new information Mon day regarding the suspect. Anyone with information is asked to contact the police department at 770-967-6336. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers of Greater Atlanta at 404-577-8477 or stopcrime- atl.org Cash buyers for homes rise in Hall BY BRIAN WELLMEIER bwellmeier@gainesvilletimes.com The amount of people making all-cash pur chases for homes is on the rise across Hall County, compounding an affordability crisis driven by low inventory, rising cost of building materials and home prices soaring to unprec edented highs. Together, the combination of factors has pushed the prospect of homeownership further out-of-reach of most first-time home buyers. Recent data released by realty company Redfin indicates, on average, that cash sales increased from 47% in 2017 to 54% in 2022. That figure in Hall County in 2022 was around 47 % — an almost 20% increase since 2017. The Norton Agency’s CEO and President of brokerage services Tommy Howard has seen this trend in the local housing market firsthand, reporting a fluctuating percentage of between 40-45 % of individuals buying homes with all cash and no mortgage in the post-pandemic era. He attributed this trend to a range of market factors, like the amount of cash sitting in Ameri cans’ savings accounts and equity held in the homes they once owned — which they were able to “cash out” amid a rapid rise in property and home values seen throughout the nation. “In 2018, pre-COVID, there was about $4 tril lion in savings accounts in the U.S.,” Howard said. “Today, we’re at $10.9 trillion, so there’s a lot of people who’re sitting on cash ... if they were selling their house at a 45%-50% increase (in value) during those years, then they were just dumping that right back into a new home. In some cases, if they were downsizing, they could pay all cash for that. ” Around 40% of homeowners nationwide have no mortgage payment, according to Howard, leading to speculation that a significant num ber of people buying up houses with cash across Hall could be retirees from outside the county - seniors who’ve paid off homes they’d owned, sold ■ Please see HOMES, 3A BRIAN WELLMEIER I The Times Realtor Brenda Burke escorts a prospective buyer through a home in Hall County. Man accused of killing pregnant woman arrested BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A man accused of strangling a Gainesville pregnant woman to death has turned him self in to authorities, police said. Max Rocael Calel Sanic, 20, turned himself in Mon day, Feb. 20, at the Gaines ville Police Department headquarters for the death of Juana Jose, 22. Jose was found uncon scious in bed at her Cooley Drive home Jan. 29. Sanic faces charges of malice murder and felony feticide.
