About Columbia County, GA

The Greater Augusta Association of Realtors covers the counties of Burke, Columbia, Glascock, Jefferson, Jenkins, Lincoln, McDuffie, Richmond, Warren and Wilkes in Georgia and Abbeville, Aiken, Allendale, Barnwell, Edgefield, Greenwood, McCormick and Saluda in South Carolina.

The absorption rate for this entire area was 13.6 months for the month of February. Since I don't cover all of these counties in my business, I thought it would be more useful to point out the absorption rate for the area that I focus on the most: Columbia County. I do work in Richmond and Aiken counties as well, but I really prefer Columbia County because I live there and know it very well.

Columbia County is divided in our MLS into 4 quadrants:

Quadrant 1 centers around the town of Appling, GA and includes the neighborhoods of Windmill Plantation, Riverwood Plantation, Kiokee Ridge, Wood Creek, Lake Cumberland and Keg Creek.

Quadrant 2 consists of Martinez and Evans and includes neighborhoods such as Jones Creek, Knob Hill, Orchard Hill, Chaparral, Stratford, Sumter Landing, Northridge, Heritage Hill, Farmington, River Island, Tudor Branch, High Meadows, West Lake, River Birch Landing, Brookwood Glen, Bartram Trail, Springlakes, Ivy Falls, Rivershyre and Watervale.

Quadrant 3 centers around Harlem, GA and includes the neighborhoods of Cornerstone Creek, Hardy Station, Ansley Place and The Village at Sandy Run Creek.

Quadrant 4 centers around the city of Grovetown, GA and includes such neighborhoods as Main Street, Indian Springs, Northlake, Canterbury Farms, Euchee Creek, Creek Bend, Pamir Place, Pepper Hill and Grove Landing.

When the county is broken down into these quadrants, I came up with the following absorption rates (based on data obtained from the Greater Augusta Association of Realtors MLS, which comes with no warranties and no guarantees):

Appling, GA (quadrant 1) shows a 14.8 month absorption rate. Martinez and Evans, GA (quadrant 2) show a 11.0 month absorption rate. Harlem, GA (quadrant 3) shows a 18 month absorption rate Grovetown, GA (quadrant 4) shows a 13.9 month absorption rate. As a reminder, the absorption rate is the amount of time that it would take all of the active listings to sell in a particular area at the current rate that they are selling. In a future post, I'll tackle the absorption rate numbers for Richmond County...

For more information, please visit my website at www.AugustaGALiving.com.

Thanks!

Stacie Wells
stacie@staciewells.com
706-373-4663
@AugustaGALiving on Twitter

Although we're not quite through the 1st quarter of 2009, I feel compelled to share the current market stats as compared to the 1st Quarter Market Stats of 2008. We've had some big changes during the last 12 months...

We're still deep in a Buyer's Market, with over 13 months worth of inventory. In fact, January '09 had the highest absorption rate that I've seen since I started my real estate career in 2002.

Other statistics worth noting (as reported by the MLS of the Greater Augusta Association of Realtors):

• Average days on market (residential): 128 days
• Average list price: $151,166
• Average sale price: $146,613
• % Difference Between list and sale price: 97%
  

For more information on Augusta, GA, including the Columbia County areas of Evans, Grovetown, and Martinez, visit www.AugustaGALiving.com

This exciting news about the Augusta, Georgia/Central Savannah River Area(CSRA) market was shared by my Keller Williams colleague, Aundrea Goodin. Augusta was recently named as one of America's 25 Strongest Housing Markets by Forbes magazine. They rated metropolitan areas with population in excess of 500,000.

In Depth: America's 25 Strongest Housing Markets

Even in the country's most resilient areas, 2009 prices are expected to fall flat.

Click on the Forbes link to read the full in depth story...

http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/07/housing-cities-realestate-forbeslife-cx_do_
0107realestatestrong_slide.html?partner=email

No worries...just another simple transaction when purchasing a foreclosure & short sale listing!

Some buyers are sooo scared to purchase a foreclosure or short sale. You just need to follow the same steps as you would when purchasing a seller-occupied home...

-In GA...with my offer, I include a due diligence period to inspect the home...usually 10-14 days. This allows plenty of time for inspections, title search, loan underwriting, appraisal, etc. AND...if problems arise, you are given the option of "...terminating this Agreement, for any reason...", per the 2009 GAR Purchase and Sale Agreement, #11.A.#1.("Due Diligence Period")...page 3 of 7. By terminating within the due diligence time frame, you can get your earnest money back!

-Conduct the proper inspections...home inspection, termite inspection, survey(if needed), HVAC(if needed), foundation(if needed), etc.

-Also, during the diligence period, have your closing attorney run a title search...if any problems arise, you can have these corrected before the closing date.

-During this diligence period, your loan officer needs to be underwriting your loan and fixing any problems that will halt the purchase. Truly, this should be done before you put in an offer...you should be totally ready to purchase before submitting an offer.

-Another reason for the diligence period is to guarantee the home will appraise for the contract price..or higher! This will give you time for the appraisal to be completed and allow time for negotiating...in case the appraised amount is less than your contract price.

Once the title search, appraisal & inspections are complete...you then need to get the utility information switched to your name(these need to be in your name the day of closing). After these simple steps...you will be READY TO CLOSE ON YOUR HOME!!!

Best Wishes & Good Luck...Happy Selling!

I gave my first PRC Quiet Heroes presentation in Evans, GA, to Evans Elementary School PTO on November 14, 2008. I would like to thank Mr. Weinand, principal of Evans Elementary School, and Ms. Bobbie Sue Shiffhauer, president of the Evans Elementary School PTO for their support and the opportunity to speak.

It was a brief presentation, and then the kids were more than excited to get on with the festivities of eating pizza, and watching Kung Fu Panda. Nothing like watching a good movie while lying on the floor of the gym.

At PRC, we believe that communities are made up of good, honest people who volunteer their time and resources in their communities. Each, individually, may not seem like much, but collectively, these Quiet Heroes are about the business of building quality neighborhoods and communities while developing responsible young citizens.

Quiet Hero awards are announced quarterly and are broken down into the following three different groups; Teachers, Citizens, and Teenagers. I think everyone can reflect back over their lives to a teacher who said, or did something, at a truly critical point in time, that made a significant difference in our lives. For me, it was my senior English teacher, Ms. Carol June Sublett. Ms Sublett took one such action and made a tremendous difference in my life. Short of my own parents, she has made the most significant impact on my values, my view of the world, and my desire to give back. Thank you Ms. Sublett, wherever you are.

The next group is your normal garden variety citizen. These Quiet Heroes make a similar impact in the lives of those they come into contact with. They might be a soccer coach, a scout leader, a 4-H counselor, or any number of other volunteers in our communities. They are adults, who aren’t teachers, who have put in the time and made a difference in our lives, and our children’s lives.

And who hasn’t heard the bad things that teenager’s do? But what about the thousands of kids who get up every morning, go to school and do what the right thing? You know what they say about the squeaky wheel. But the majority of these teenagers step out Many accepting leadership roles in school athletics and civic organizations that is beyond what we would normally expect of someone with their limited experience and knowledge.

Right here in Evans, GA we have our own example of an Evans senior stepping up to the plate and taking a giant step towards becoming a man of his word. When faced with a challenge to his integrity, he exhibited what I hope any one of my sons would do in a similar situation, …only to be punished for the quality of his character. Although I can’t nominate him for a Quiet Hero Award, someone reading this certainly can!

So there you have it, teachers, citizens, and teenagers, the three categories of Quiet Heroes that PRC is accepting nominations for. Prizes will be awarded like this. For the adult awards, the cash award will consist of a contribution in the winner’s name, donated to the charity of the winner’s choice. There are two awards for teenagers.

The PRC Scholarship Program is given to honor the college-bound student who writes an essay that includes overcoming the stresses of a move / relocation along with academic and school involvement achievements. This award is geared toward the College Bound student.

The PRC Quiet Hero Teenager Award is also given in the form of a scholarship as well. The criterion for this award is 30% based upon the recipient’s academic achievements and 70% is based upon the recipient’s school and community involvement. This award is geared to EITHER a College Bound or Trade School recipient.

If you would like to nominate someone in either category as a PRC Quiet Hero just email me for an application.