North Georgia Blue Ridge Real Estate Market Highlights

Blue Ridge Real Estate Market Report for North Georgia Mountains, National and Local Real Estate

National Level  (May through June 2010)
Source: National Association of Realtors (NAR)

Pending home sales index dropped by 30% based on numbers in May compared to April after three months of strong gains.  The federal tax credit which ended April 30th, created a big bubble of buyers.  Whether the housing market can stand on its own depends critically on private sector job creation.  If jobs come back (as expected), we think we will see sustainable home sales by the end of the year. 

Expectation:  Will see a notable decline in existing home sales in July and August

North Georgia Mountains Local Market Highlights
Source:  Northeast Georgia Board of Realtors (NEGA) serving:  Fannin, Gilmer, Union, Towns GA; Polk TN; Clay and Cherokee NC 

Foreclosures are still becoming a larger percentage of our closings making up 32.5% of the total closed in June.  
Market prices continue to ratchet down a bit.  Banks are pricing properties to sell within 90 days! Our normal days on market (DOM) is far greater than 90 days making it challenging for homeowners to compete.

Closed Sales
June 2010
206 (67 closed were foreclosures = 32.5% of the total)

Expectation: Foreclosures will continue to rise for several more months, won’t level off until the end of this year or early 2011



Actual Units Closed  (Year to Date 2010)
5 out of 6 months this year out performed the same time last year 

Pending Closings  (Year 2010)
Locally, Same level as last year; Nationally, sales decline 30%

Expectation:  Continue along at this pace until the end of the year and hope to see real recovery in 2011


Active Listings 
June 2010
Total # Active Listings:  12,238        
Lower than last year which spiked around 15,000 active listings

Residential Homes = 4036 with 295 foreclosures   

Land = 7859 with 412 foreclosures
Lower than last year which was almost 10,000)   

 

Actual Closings  (Residential Homes)
June 2010               
206     144=were residential  and  67=foreclosures (land and commercial included in 206 closings)

Jan 1 through June 30 2010
729 residential sold   Median Price $151,500 (Down $38,500 since 2008)

Year 2009 same time:  670 residential sales  Median Price $169,000

Year 2008 same time: 792 residential sales   Median Price $190,000

Actual Closings (Residential Land) (Jan 1 through June 30)
June 2010   
  314   Median Price $37,000       

Year 2009 same time:  257  Median Price $31,400

Year 2008 same time:  391  Median Price $51,000

Prices have dropped $38,500 since 2008

Price bumped up a bit but not in value per acre – avg. price per acre is dropping.  As the time of this report, average price per acre is $8800 down significantly from the past. 

Biggest Challenges with Land Sales: 
Glut of inventory and buyers are still waiting for prices to go lower 
Not building many spec homes so builders are not buying land 
Banks are not lending on speculative building

 

 

 

Coldwell Banker High Country Realty
706-632-7311 x252 office