This Mountain Market Minute Edition is for Residential, Single Family Detached Sales covering Fannin, Gilmer, Towns, and Union Counties in the Mountains of North Georgia. The data compiled in this North Georgia Mountain Real Estate Market Report is taken from the Northeast Georgia Board of Realtors® MLS.

If you have any questions or concerns with any information in this Market Report, or if you would like any additional information on any property of interest in the North Georgia Mountains, please Contact Me or simply pick up the phone and call me at 706.994.8686 or email at Chad@TheMountainLifeTeam.com.

]]> http://thefrontporchview.com/2011/11/13/north-georgia-mountain-residential-market-update-october-2011/feed/ 0 http://thefrontporchview.com/2011/10/18/foreclosure-september-2011/ http://thefrontporchview.com/2011/10/18/foreclosure-september-2011/#comments Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:46:58 +0000 Chad Lariscy http://thefrontporchview.com/?p=3909

Foreclosure activity continues to slow throughout the United States, as well as here in the North Georgia Mountains as well.

According to data from RealtyTrac, a national foreclosure-tracking firm, the number of foreclosure filings dipped below 215,000 in September 2011, a 6 percent decrease from August.

A “foreclosure filing” is defined as any foreclosure-related action including Notice of Default, Scheduled Auction, or Bank Repossession.

September marks the 12th straight month in which foreclosure filings fell year-over-year.

There are several reasons why foreclosure filings are down, including an increase in the amount of time it takes banks to move a foreclosure through its pipeline. It now takes a nationwide average of 336 days from the date of initial default notice to bank repossession.

Some states work quicker than others, however, because of a combination of state law and personnel.

Homes in New York take an average of 986 days to foreclose, for example, the longest in the country. Homes in Texas foreclose the quickest, registering just 86 days.

As in prior months, bank repossessions remain concentrated by state. Just 6 states accounted for half of the country’s REO last month:

• California : 16.6 percent
• Georgia : 8.5 percent
• Florida : 8.3 percent
• Texas : 6.2 percent
• Michigan : 6.1 percent
• Illinois : 5.2 percent

Collectively, these 6 states represent just 36 percent of the nation’s population.

By contrast, the bottom 6 states were home to just 192 repossessions last month — 0.3% of the national total. Those 6 states were Alaska, Wyoming, District of Columbia, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont.

For Home Buyers in Blairsville GA, shopping for foreclosed properties can be an excellent way to get “a deal”. Foreclosed homes typically sell at discounts as compared to “non-foreclosed” homes, but are often sold “as-is”. This means that homes listed for sale may be defective or out-of-code.

Before placing a bid on a foreclosed home, make sure that you’re represented by an experienced real estate professional.

Related articles

• Annual Foreclosure Filings Down For 11th Straight Month (thefrontporchview.com)
• Foreclosures Sink To 4-Year Low (thefrontporchview.com)

It is Labor Day 2011, and Real Estate has been good on Lake Nottely this year. There are 5 Homes on Lake Nottely currently Under Contract.  Should they close, we could have more than 20 Homes Sold on Lake Nottely this year. Compared to only 8 all of last year, I would say that is pretty good. There  has been 14 Homes and 1 RV Sold on Lake Nottely year-to-date.

There were 8 Homes Sold on Lake Nottely in 2010. The Median Sold Price was $349,250. The highest priced home sold was $642,396, and the lowest was $137,000. They sold at and average of 76% of the original List Price and was on the market an average of 235 Days. In 2011, there have been 14 homes that have sold and closed. The Median Sold Price is currently $360,000 with the highest sale this year being $660,000 and the lowest being $180,000. Homes have been selling this year at 78% of original list price with an average of 240 Days On Market. So even with all of the Foreclosures and Bank Owned Properties that have plagued not only Lake Nottely Home Values, but all Homes of Blairsville Georgia, we have still seen a rise in Average Sales Prices.

Sales of Lake Front Lots on Lake Nottely have not been as favorable as Residential Sales, at least according to the numbers derived from our Northeast Georgia Board of Realtors® MLS. So far this year there has only been 7 Lot Sales. The Median Sold Price for those lots has been $102,888. The highest priced Lake Nottely Front Lot sold this year was $217,500, and the lowest was $64,286. The Average Days On Market is currently 268 days with Lots selling at 60% of Original Listing Price. There has been many Bank Owned Lake Front Lots that have sold, as well as Investors who have sold Lake Nottely Lots at auction. I do not have the numbers on those sales.

If you would like to see all current Homes For Sale On Lake Nottely, please click the link below.

HOMES FOR SALE ON LAKE NOTTELY

If you are interested in a Lot For Sale On Lake Nottely, please click the link below.

LOTS FOR SALE ON LAKE NOTTELY

If you have any questions about this North Georgia Mountain Real Estate Market Report, please feel free to Contact Me and I will be more than happy to answer your questions. If I do not know the answer, I will find the answer. I hope you have a wonderful Labor Day, and hopefully it is being spent in the Mountains of Georgia.

Related articles

• New Price On Nice Lake House For Sale On Lake Nottely (thefrontporchview.com)
• New Foreclosure For Sale In Blairsville GA Bordering U.S.F.S. (thefrontporchview.com)
• Lake Chatuge August 2011 Market Report (thefrontporchview.com)

Has housing turned the corner for good?

The June 2011 Case-Shiller Index reading posted strong numbers across the board, with each of the index’s 20 tracked markets showing home price improvement from May.

Some markets — Chicago and Minneapolis — rose as much as 3.2 percent.

The rise in values is nothing about which to get overly excited, however. The Case-Shiller Index is just re-reporting what multiple data sets have already shown about the summer housing market; that it was stronger than the spring market, and that a recovery is underway, but occurring locally, at different rates.

For example, the June 2011 Case-Shiller Index shows the following :

• Denver, Dallas, Washington D.C., and the “California Cities” bottomed in 2009. Each has shown steady improvement since.
• None of the Case-Shiller cities showed negative growth between May and June 2011.
• 12 of Case-Shiller’s tracked cities have improved over 3 consecutive months.

The answer to the question is YES. For the past 90 days Home Values are on the Rise. Here in the North Georgia Mountains, our communities of Ellijay, Blue Ridge, Blairsville and Hiawassee has seen Home Values as a cumulative average drop 2% over the past year. However, since June of 2011, our Residential Real Estate Market has experienced a surge of nearly 14% in Median Sold Price. See Full Report Below.

North Georgia Mountain August 2011 Median Sold Price Report

In isolation, these statistics appear promising, but it’s important to remember that the Case-Shiller Index is a backward-looking data set, focusing on just a portion of the national housing economy.

As an illustration, the Case-Shiller Index’s “national report” only includes data from 20 cities nationwide. They’re not the 20 biggest cities, either. Smaller metropolitan areas such as Minneapolis (#48) and Tampa (#51) are included.

Larger ones including Houston (#4), Philadelphia (#5) and San Jose (#10) are not.

In addition, the Case-Shiller index fails to track sales of condominiums, multi-unit homes and new construction. In some markets, including Chicago, these excluded home type can represent a large share of the overall market.

The Case-Shiller Index is a fine data set for policy makers and economists. It describes the broader housing market and shows long-term trends. For the individual home buyer in Hiawassee , however, it’s much less useful. More than “broad data”, you want focused data that’s current and relevant.

The best place for data like that is a local real estate agent.

Related articles

• Home Values Climb Rise Slightly Nationwide In April (thefrontporchview.com)
• Buyer Opportunities Open With Pending Sales Slipping (thefrontporchview.com)

Lake Chatuge is a TVA Lake which straddles the mountains of North Georgia and Western North Carolina. This is a Real Estate Market Report showing data compiled from the Northeast Georgia Board of Realtors MLS in both Clay County, NC. and Towns County, GA.

Year to date, there has been a total of 9 Homes Sold on Lake Chatuge. Currently there are 6 Homes Under Contract or Pending at the present time. In 2010, there were 17 Homes Sold on Lake Chatuge. Prices continue to drop on homes that have sold. In 2010, the average sales price was $563, 853. The lowest price sold was $220,000, and the highest price sold was $1,250,000. The average days on market was 298 days with resulting in 68% of the Original List Price. In 2011, of the 9 Homes Sold, the average sales price has been $42,533. The good news for sellers is that they are taking a little less time to sell and the sales price is holding closer to original list at 77%.  There are currently 54 Homes For Sale on Lake Chatuge.

This data is for Single Family Detached Homes Only

Year to date, there has been only 3 Lakefront Lots Sold on Lake Chatuge. There are currently 5 Lots that are Under Contract. In 2010, there were 12 Lots Sold on Lake Chatuge. In 2010, the average sales price was $222,292. The lowest priced lot sold was $60,000, and the highest price sold was $320,000. The average days on market was 313 days yielding on 67% of Original List Price. There are currently 52 Lakefront Lots For Sale on Lake Chatuge.

Home resales slipped for the 3rd straight month, according to data from the National Association of REALTORS®.

The Existing Home Sales posted a 1 percent drop from May as the number of homes sold fell to a seasonally-adjusted, annualized 4.77 million units. It’s the monthly report’s lowest reading since November 2010.

The report also showed the national supply of homes for sales rising to 9.5 months — also its highest reading since November 2010.

Home Supply is the amount of time it would take to exhaust the complete home inventory at the current pace of sales.

June’s Existing Home Sales data would have been stronger if not for a high contract cancellation rate. As compared to May’s 4 percent rate, June’s cancellation rate was 16 percent; an elevated figure that “stands out in contrast” to what’s typical, according to the REALTOR® trade group.

By region, home resale activity varied:

• Northeast : -5.2% from May
• South :+0.5% from May
• Midwest : +1.0% from May
• West : -1.7% from May

This disparity from region-to-region highlights an important housing market concept. Namely, that all real estate is local. Because just as the Existing Home Sales varies on a regional level, it varies on a state-wide level, too.

What’s true for California housing is not necessarily what’s true for Florida housing, for example. Each of the 50 states has its own trends, and within those 50 states, there are thousands of cities and neighborhoods, each with their own trends, too.

The “national housing market” doesn’t exist, so national data is rendered somewhat useless.

You can take a look at the North Georgia Mountain Real Estate Market Report or simply Contact Your Local Real Estate Professional for a market summary.

The year is half-over. It’s an opportune time to take stock of analyst predictions made at the start of the year, and to recognize that the “experts” can be wrong as often as they are right.

Our Real Estate Market here in the North Georgia Mountains is surprisingly good. Take for instance the Real Estate Market in Blairsville located within Union County. Sales in both Residential and Vacant Lots are stronger than this same time last year. Our Mid-Year Market Report explains the market we are presently experiencing.

For as much experience and authority an expert brings to the conversation, though, nobody can accurately predict the future. As such, there’s often disagreement.

Looking back to December, some housing analysts called for a market rebound this year; while others called for a fall. With respect to mortgages, some said rates had nowhere to go but up; while others expected more dips.

As a layperson, how do you know who will be right?

In short, you can’t.

Predictions are a tricky business because they’re guesses about the future based on the world as it exists today. When the predictions listed earlier were made, the world was a different place.

A lot has changed since January:

• Slowing job growth has suggested to slower U.S. economic growth
• Food and energy costs have spiked, adding inflationary pressures to the economy
• Eurozone debt issues have grown, punctuated by a near-Greek default
• Tsunamis have caused widespread damage in Japan
• Earthquakes, floods and volcanoes have harmed economic output

None of these events had occurred as of December, when the original predictions were made. Yet, each of these developments has made a deep impact on housing, and on the economy.

So, what’s a North Georgia Mountain homeowner to do? Think of the present instead.

First, mortgage rates are low today — extremely low by historical standards. Second, home values have been slow to rebound through most U.S. markets. Combined, these factors have made homes more affordable than it any time in recorded history. It’s not only cheap to buy a home right now, it’s cheap to refinance one, too.

Analysts are saying the home prices will rise this year, and mortgage rates will, too. Those predictions may ultimately be proven true. Until the future arrives though, those predictions are just guesses.

Related articles

• Economy Expected To Have Added 80,000 Jobs In June (thefrontporchview.com)
• What To Know Before You Move To A New Neighborhood (thefrontporchview.com)
• “Homes Under Contract” Surge In North Georgia (thefrontporchview.com)

Maybe homes in the North Georgia Mountains are holding value better than we thought. Ahhhh, you might want to continue reading…

Between March and April of this year, home values rose 0.8 percent nationally, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Home Price Index. It’s the index’s first month-to-month improvement since May of last year. Values are down 19 percent since peaking 4 years ago. Private-sector data affirms the government’s report.

Here in the North Georgia Mountains, our average Median Sold Price year over year from June 2010 has only dropped 4%. This Real Estate Market Report covers Gilmer, Fannin, Towns and Union counties.

Tuesday, the S&P’s Case-Shiller Index also showed home values higher by 0.8 percent in April, on a monthly basis. Led by Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, 13 of the Case-Shiller’s 20 tracked markets showed improvement in April. In March, just 2 markets did.

As a home seller in or near the North Georgia Mountains, it’s nice to see reports of rising home prices after multiple months of “bad news”. However, the data may not be as rosy as it appears to be. National real estate surveys including the Home Price Index and the Case-Shiller Index are flawed for everyday buyers and sellers.

The biggest flaw is “age”. Both the Home Price Index and the Case-Shiller Index report on a near 2-month delay.

This week, the calendar turns to July. Yet, we’re still discussing housing news from April. The housing market of 60 days ago was very different from the housing market of today. Mortgage rates are different, market drivers are different, and the pool of buyers is likely different, too.

We can’t discuss today’s housing market with “April” in mind. The data is irrelevant.

Another flaw is that both reports are national in scope. Real estate, by contrast, is local.

When we cite the Home Price Index or the Case-Shiller Index, for example, and say “home values rose 0.8% in April”, we’re just giving a national average. On the local level, some markets rose by more, some rose by less, and others actually fell.

People buy homes on a specific block of a specific street in a specific neighborhood. Data for homes like that can’t be captured in a national survey.

The group that gets the most value from the Home Price Index and Case-Shiller is Wall Street and policy-makers. The indices do a fair job of reporting how housing behaves as a whole, but for individuals concerned with buying and selling homes, the best place to find real-time, accurate data is from a real estate professional.

The Residential Real Estate Market in the Blairsville area of the North Georgia Mountains are still be dominated by Bank Owned Properties For Sale. The Median Sold Price for Homes Sold in Union County was on a steady climb since September of last year according to the data that this report has been compiled from with help from the Northeast Georgia Board of Realtors® MLS. That all came to a screeching halt in February of 2011. Although there were over 2 times the number of units sold, the Median Sold Price dropped 27% from last month, but only 16% from a year ago. The Median For Sale Price has risen slightly from last month, but dropped about 3% from a year ago. Again, the number of Homes Sold in Blairsville, GA. was up 116% from last month, and 7% from a year ago. I believe that all the snow we had in December and January had a lot to do with why our sales were down so much in January.

But why the decrease so much in Median Sold Price? 27% in one month. Well one word…Foreclosures. Bank Owned Properties make up a very small percentage of the Market Share in Blairsville but dominate the sales. If you take a look at the homes sold in February, 20 of them were Bank Foreclosures. That is 57%  of House Sales in Union County.

The number of Homes Under Contract has actually dropped a little from last month as well. There were 30 Homes Pending in Blairsville Georgia at the end of February, compared to the 41 that were Under Contract in January. Taking a look at the past year, we can see a somewhat steady climb and an overall 67% increase year over year.

New Real Estate Listings continue to decline mostly in part to New Construction Home starts being down so much. The total number of Residential MLS Listings is down 23% from February 2010. The Average Days On Market or commonly referred to as DOM, was down 13% overall, but was up just slightly to 155 days. Also the Absorption Rate for Union County is down overall 57%, but jumped from 12 months to almost 16 months in February 2011. The Absorption Rate tells us how many months under current market conditions it would take to sell all the Homes For Sale in Blairsville, GA.

Thank you so much for stopping by “The Porch” and visiting. you are welcomed back at anytime. If you have any questions or concerns with anything you have read in this report, or pertaining to the North Georgia Mountain Real Estate Market, please Contact Me and I will be grateful for the opportunity to address them for you.

Make it a GREAT day!

Related articles

• Incredible Buy On A Bank Owned Home In Blairsville Georgia (thefrontporchview.idxco.com)
• Lake Houses For Sale On Lake Nottely In Blairsville GA (thefrontporchview.com)
• 2 Year North Georgia Mountain Residential Market Report – January 2011 (thefrontporchview.com)
• Pending Home Sales Up In The North Georgia Mountains (thefrontporchview.com)

Unlike prices for Homes Sold in Blue Ridge, Vacant Lots prices continue to decline. The Median Sold Price for Empty Lots Sold in Fannin County for January 2011 was $17,708. That is a decrease of 61% from the $45,000 Median Sold Price of January 2010. Also unlike prices on Cabins For Sale in Blue Ridge, the Median For Sale Price for Vacant Lots in Morganton and surrounding areas in Fannin County was down 6% to $65,700, a change of $4,200. The number of Vacant Lots Sold in the Blue Ridge Real Estate Market in January 2011 was 13. This was down 7%, but only a change of 1.

There is however some good news! The number of Vacant Lots Under Contract in Blue Ridge is up 50%. There were 21 Empty Lots Under Contract in January, that is 7 more than a year ago. Due to the increase of Foreclosed Land, and the increase of Bank Owned Real Estate in North GA, the number of new Real Estate Listings continues it downward trend by 17%. However in January, we did notice a spike in the number of 89 new MLS Listings in the Blue Ridge Real Estate Market. The total number of Vacant Lots in Fannin County is down 21% year over year.

The Average Days On Market (DOM) for Vacant Lots in Fannin County is down by more than 34%. The Month Supply of Inventory, or the Absorption Rate is also down 50% to 46.1. This is the number of months given at current market conditions that it would take to sell all the Empty Lots within a given Real Estate Market.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to Contact Me. I appreciate you taking the time to review this North Georgia Mountain Real Estate Market Report.

Click HERE to Search Vacant Lots For Sale in Blue Ridge, GA.

Related articles

• February 2011 Fannin County Residential Market Report (thefrontporchview.com)
• January 2011 Sees Single-Family Housing Starts Fall (thefrontporchview.com)