About Jackson County, GA

Anyone remotely interested in the real estate market has undoubtedtly heard that we've been on a bit of a roll lately.

Well, this month, the trend continues...Pending home sales index (calculated on contracts signed in July) rose another 3.2% this month. As I have said before, we're not out of the woods just yet. As the expression goes, "One month does not a trend make," but we have definitely seen a consistent trend in the market since early 2009.

For some perspective...

- Our current index is 12.0% higher than the level experienced last July

- The index has not been this high since June of 2007
(which is the month prior to activity really starting to drop off a few years ago)

"How are things locally?" you may ask. Quite well...
Here are the statistics on the Pending Home Sales Index by region:

- The Northeast declined 3.0% but is 4.7% higher than July 2008

- The Midwest slipped 2.0% but is 8.1% above a year ago.

- The South rose 3.1% and is 12.0% above July 2008.

- The West jumped 12.1% and is 20.0% above a year ago.

If you've been waiting to buy towards the end of the year in order to take advantage of the tax credits that expire at the end of November, (NAR estimates that b/t 1.8 - 2.0 million first-time buyers will take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit - resulting in around 350,000 additional sales that would not have occurred w/out the credit), you better get going...

As reported by RISMEDIA, "Buyers have little time to act because they must complete the transaction by November 30, 2009 to qualify for the credit. Unless extended, contracts signed but not completed by that date will not be eligible- it is taking approximately two months to complete home sales in the current market."

For the full article by RISMEDIA, click here

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In Jackson County, GA, for the week ending Aug 30, 2009 the real estate market looks like this:

There are 308active listings of which 167are residential, 11 are farm and land. The listing number is down 4 from the previous reporting period.

There are 49 listings under contract, down 2 from the previous period.

During the week of Aug 24 - Aug 30, 2009 there were 4 closed residential transactionss and no closed farm & land transactions in Jackson County.

For more information on Jackson County, GA or if you are interested in buying or selling your home there, please call me at 706-207-5290. Or you can click here to email me with your inquiries. To search for homes in Jackson County please visit my website www.theathensrealestatepage.com.

Note: All data is taken from the Athens Area Association of Realtors MLS system and accurate as of one day after the reporting period.

First, let me be clear...everything is relative in this market.

Good news isn't exactly what it used to be, but considering the L O N G, steady decline in home prices over the last 3 years, any mention of news about an increase in home prices is music to the ears of most homeowners/sellers.

Again, it's important to note that home prices are still in decline when compared to last year, but the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices (the leading measure of home prices in the United States), actually reported that the U.S. National Home Price Index improved in the second quarter of 2009.

There's still a 14.9% decline in the 2nd quarter of 2009 versus the 2nd quarter of 2008, but last quarter's decline was over 19%.

As you know if you've read my previous blogs or watched the news lately, home sales have increased each month for the last 5 months. Are we at or near the bottom? Maybe. Maybe Not. However, there's no denying that this is a good sign. If this continues for a few months, and the economy continues to steadily improve as it appears to be doing, there's no question that it will be a very positive step in the direction of recovery...

Click below to read the full artice...

Here are some recent articles of interest (click on the artice title to see the full story):

Existing home sales rise for fourth straight month

5 Months in a Row...Pending Home Sales Rise Again

Treasurys down after home sales top forecasts - Bernanke says economy leveling out

Home sales rise as housing market tries a comeback

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In Jackson County, GA, for the week ending Aug 23, 2009 the real estate market looks like this:

There are 312 active listings of which 170 are residential, 11 are farm and land. The listing number is down 10 from the previous reporting period.

There are 51 listings under contract, down 2 from the previous period.

During the week of Aug 17 - Aug 23, 2009 there were 6 closed residential transactionss and no closed farm & land transactions in Jackson County.

For more information on Jackson County, GA or if you are interested in buying or selling your home there, please call me at 706-207-5290. Or you can click here to email me with your inquiries. To search for homes in Jackson County please visit my website www.theathensrealestatepage.com.

Note: All data is taken from the Athens Area Association of Realtors MLS system and accurate as of one day after the reporting period.

In Jackson County, GA, for the week ending Aug 16, 2009 the real estate market looks like this:

There are 322 active listings of which 179 are residential, 11 are farm and land. The listing number is down 13 from the previous reporting period.

There are 53 listings under contract, up 8 from the previous period.

During the week of Aug 10 - Aug 16, 2009 there was 1 closed residential transaction and no closed farm & land transactions in Jackson County.

For more information on Jackson County, GA or if you are interested in buying or selling your home there, please call me at 706-207-5290. Or you can click here to email me with your inquiries. To search for homes in Jackson County please visit my website www.theathensrealestatepage.com.

Note: All data is taken from the Athens Area Association of Realtors MLS system and accurate as of one day after the reporting period.