Trent Cluley -- Pickens County Georgia Real Estate

Coming on the heels of a somewhat positive report for third quarter home sales in Pickens County, GA, the numbers for fourth quarter 2011 are equally promising.

The number of homes sold in Jasper, GA, for the three-month October to December period, climbed again to 99 sales -- beating third quarter volume of 83 sales, and fourth quarter 2010 volume of 78 homes. However, average sale price declined from 2010's $203,552 to $167,531 (while showing a slight improvement against third quarter's $162,169). Median price likewise beat out third quarter 2011, while dropping noticeably from 2010's data, with a median sale price of $127,000 (versus $151,000 in Q4 2010). While it is clear that housing prices in the North Georgia area have continued to suffer year-on-year, it will be interesting to see in first quarter 2012 whether the slight quarter-on-quarter price strengthening shows as a trend, or as just a one time anomaly for the period.

Foreclosures and short sales continued to dominate, with roughly 61% of all houses sold being designated as some form of distress sale. (Average sale price of bank-owned and pre-foreclosure sales ran counter to overall price improvement, showing further weakness year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter, averaging only $119,138 for a total of 60 homes). Foreclosures and short sales account for approximately 12% or more of current active listing inventory.

Inventory appears to be holding steady as of this writing at around 390 homes for sale in Pickens County. This is well off highs of years past, where at times there were 600+ homes on market, however, at current sales volume, inventory is still high for what would be considered a "balanced market". And, we are coming out of the low point in the sales cycle. As more sellers enter the market in the spring, inventory is likely to increase as well. What remains to be seen is if there is a corresponding increase in buyer interest. Based on anecdotal evidence and my own present level of buyer contact, there are signs that this may be the case, particularly if reports that lenders might be easing up somewhat on some of the more unreasonable lending criteria and making credit more available to more buyers.

Overall, the data seem to point toward a more (cautiously) optimistic outlook for real estate in coming months, but only time will tell.

Data compiled from sales activity as reported in First Multiple Listing Service.

Talking Rock GA, Heritage Days Festival This Weekend: 10/15/11 & 10/16/11.

Don't forget to come out and support this annual Pickens County event, in the quaint rural setting of Talking Rock, GA. Crafts, antiques, food, live music, rides, and more. Free parking and entry. The Heritage Days Festival is this Saturday & Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days . . . and it's pretty easy to find. Just go to Talking Rock, GA, and there you are!

For more info you can visit the Talking Rock Heritage Days web page here.

Looks like the weather is going to be great, the leaves are changing up here in the mountains, and it's just a great excuse to get out and grab some fresh air and exercise.

Pickens Georgia Real Estate Report: Home Sales Data for 2nd Quarter 2011.

Some good 2nd quarter news on the real estate front for Jasper, GA. Home sales volume for the three-month period was up notably over both the previous quarter and against the same period in the prior year. The number of houses sold jumped to 85, versus 65 in the second quarter 2010, and only 53 for first quarter 2011.

On the downside, (unfortunately there is one of those), median and average prices continued to fall, and in all likelihood contributed to the increase in sales. Average sale price of homes in Pickens County fell from $206,250 in Q2 of 2010, to around $160,635 in Q2 2011. Median sale price declined from $156,000 to $118,700. These numbers are lower than for Q1 2011 as well.

Also noteworthy is the surge in the number of homes sold that were listed as either foreclosures or pre-foreclosures / short sales. These REO and other distressed property sales accounted for approximately 61% of sales -- well above for any prior period.

Inventory dipped from my previous market report, coming in at 488 homes for sale in Pickens County, GA, at this writing. There is currently only a trickle of homes coming to market that aren't bank-owned, as more sellers move to the sidelines hoping to wait out the storm, (more on that in another post).

It's great to see some positive movement in Jasper home sales, now it is a matter of watching for some stabilization in prices. . .

Feel free to contact me for specifics on your neighborhood, or to check comps on your home.

(All sales data obtained and compiled from First Multiple Listing Service records and is believed accurate, but is not warranted.)

The number of Pickens County, Georgia, homes, land lots, commercial properties, and other real esate, reported as being scheduled for foreclosure action and sold at auction on the courthouse steps in Jasper on the first Tuesday in September, after appearing to pull back in August, surged back up for September.

The number of properties of various types listed as facing foreclosure next month alone, here in Jasper, Big Canoe, Talking Rock and surrounding areas, climbed back up to 55, (after dropping to 38 in August), which seems like a lot for a small county like Pickens. As has been the case for the past several months, not all are home foreclosures, with land and commercial real estate working their way into the mix as well, and in some cases there are multiple actions against a single party.

Regardless of property type or the number of parties involved, it is hard to escape or ignore the impact of these bank repossessions on the community and the families that live here. We can only hope to see some relief in months to come.

Jasper GA real estate data -- home sales stats for 1st quarter 2011.

Note: Due to the relatively low number of monthly home sales in Pickens County GA, I am switching my monthly sales reports to a quarterly format, which might hopefully provide a less volatile reading of what's going in terms of home sales volume and prices.

No real surprises for first-quarter 2011. Flat sales volume, with declines in median and average sale prices. While our number of houses sold came pretty close to matching that of 1st quarter 2010, with 53 home sales, just one shy of the prior year's 54, the median sale price dropped for that period from $164,900 to $130,000. The average sale price dropped from $184,430 to $162,182.

Foreclosures and short sales were a big factor in the pricing pressure. Again, no surprises there. The number of pre-foreclosures and bank-owned properties sold rose from a total of around 37% of sales, to 43% of total sales.

With 516 homes for sale in Jasper, GA, and surrounding Pickens County communities, as of this writing, we are faced with a challenging 22- to 24-months worth of inventory to liquidate. On the positive side, the fact that sales volume doesn't appear to be declining might help keep this inventory manageable. Unfortunately, the inventory level, and with the percentage of REO's and short sales climbing to almost 14% of total inventory, prices coiuld remain soft for the short term, at least.

There are some signs that the low prices and rates are starting to attract homebuyers, (and yes, even investors, particularly as rental demand increases), so perhaps we'll see begin to see some stronger buying to help offer price support, but expect that support to be concentrated more in the lower price points, where first time homebuyers and real estate investors are more likely to be focused.

(All sales data obtained and compiled from First Multiple Listing Service records and is believed accurate, but is not warranted.)