As you can see from the Market Report, the Average Median Sold Price for Homes Sold here in the North Georgia Mountains continues to drop….considerably. Over the past 2 Years, the North Georgia Residential Real Estate Market has experienced a 20% decline in Median Sold Price, down $37,750. This data is obtained through the Northeast Georgia Board of Realtors® Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is only for Fannin, Gilmer, Towns and Union Counties. The Average Median Sold Price for the 4 Counties is $153,000.

The Average Sales Price is not much different. It too is down 16%, a drop of over $40,000. This has been a steady decline month over month, with only a few months jumping higher than the sliding average. The interesting statistic is the fact that the Number of Homes Sold is actually up an amazing 36% from December 2008 compared to December 2010. This is due mostly in part to the number of Foreclosures that are being Sold within our Market. There were 117 Homes Sold in December 2010, compared to the 86 that was Sold in 2008.

The Number of Homes Under Contract is up an amazing 70% in 2010 versus 2008. There was 112 Homes Under Contract in December 2010, a change of 46 from 2 years ago. The Number of New Properties hitting the Market was down 33%. There has been a very limited number of Building Permits issued in each of the counties within this North Georgia Mountain Market Report. The Number of Homes For Sale overall is down 22% which in and of itself may not sound like a huge change, but when you say that there are 739 fewer Homes For Sale in December 2010 compared to the same time in 2008, then it puts things in a little more perspective.

The Average Days on Market or DOM is down 15%. According to the Market Data, it is only taking an average of 143 Days to Market and Sell a Home here in the North Georgia Mountains. The Average Month’s Supply of Inventory, or the Absorption Rate is down 59% to only 17.9 months. That is a statistic that is telling us it would take almost 18 months to sell all the homes in this North Georgia Mountain Real Estate Market at current market conditions.

Please Contact Me is you have any questions or concerns with anything within this Market Report.

Towns County surprisingly is the only County in the North Georgia Mountains that I serve that has experienced an Increase in Median Sold Price. Now granted, it isn’t much, but to be the only one of 4 counties is actually saying something. The Media Sold Price for homes Sold in Hiawassee Georgia was up 1% in September 2010, over the previous year. The Median Sold Price was $226,000. The Median For Sale Price however is down 8%, down $20,500 from $249,500. The number of Homes Sold In Hiawassee was up an amazing 56%! There was 14 Homes Sold In Towns County in September of this year. Again with a little good news, comes a little bad news. The number of Homes Under Contract in September of this year was down 17%, only 10 instead of the 12 Under Contract last year.

The number of New Listings hitting the market  in Hiawassee was also down 15%, down to 41 from 48 last year. Also, the total number of listings, or homes for sale in Towns County was down 7%. There was only a total of 494 Homes For Sale as opposed to 533 last September. .

The Average Days On Market was down 7% to 183 Days. This was down 15 Days from 198 in the previous year. The Month’s Supply Of Inventory, or the Absorption Rate was up 14% to 45.8. That is the number of months that it would take to deplete the Inventory at today’s current market conditions.

I hope that you have found this Towns County Real Estate Market Report to be useful. If you are planning on purchasing a home or property in the Hiawassee area, or other areas in the North Georgia Mountains, please Contact Me. I would be grateful for the opportunity to work with you, and to assist you every step of the way.

The information that I am providing to you is taken from Form F-13 Protect Yourself When Buying A Home from the Georgia Association of REALTORS®, Inc.

The Final and Most Important way to Protect Yourself in my own humbled opinion.

10. Choose A REALTOR®

A REALTOR® can help guide buyers through the process of buying a home. REALTORS® typically have valuable knowledge regarding the price at which other homes in a neighborhood sold, and how to negotiate various terms in a purchase and sale agreement and the features of different homes. REALTORS® can also provide buyers with and help them fill out a pre-printed purchase and sale agreement form. REALTORS® routinely work with and, upon request, can provide buyers with the names of attorneys, mortgage lenders, home inspectors, termite companies and persons providing other services relating to real estate transactions. REALTORS® agree to abide by a Code of Ethics in their professional dealings. Therefore, when buyers need help in finding the right home, they should always choose a REALTOR® First!

I do hope and trust that you have found this series of advice to Home Buyers not only in the North Georgia Mountain Real Estate Market, but typically anywhere. Should you have any questions or concerns before then, please feel free to Contact Me, or call me at 706-994-8686 for any Real Estate advice you might be seeking.

If you missed the First 9 Ways To Protect Yourself When Buying A Mountain Home, Please Click below to catch up on those.

#1 Reason; #2 Reason; #3 Reason; #4 Reason;  #5 Reason; #6 Reason; #7 Reason; #8 Reason and #9 Reason.

When a home seller accepts a contract on an MLS-listed property, the property’s status changes from “Active” to “Pending”.

This means the home is scheduled to sell, but not yet sold.

Each month, the National Association of Realtors® tallies the number of pending homes and publishes the data as the Pending Homes Sales Index report.

In October, for the 9th straight month, the index gained. It’s the longest such streak in Pending Home Sales history.

Because a “pending” home sale is just a contract between buyer and seller, it’s not as important to the economy as actual home sales.  However, the Pending Home Sales Index can be a fine predictor of future activity.

Historically, 80 percent of homes under contract “close” within 60 days, and most others close within 120 days. Recent Existing Home Sales data corroborates this.  Home sales activity is at its highest pace in nearly 3 years.

The Pending Home Sales Index does have some shortcomings, though:

1. It doesn’t account for newly constructed homes, a small but important part of the real estate market

2. It doesn’t track For Sale By Owner properties and other non-MLS listed homes

3. Its sample set is small, measuring just 20 percent of all MLS-listed sales

Despite this, however, Pending Home Sales is a terrific measure of real estate market strength.  Homes are going under contract at a dizzying pace. It’s thinning out home inventory supplies and pressuring prices to rise.

This chain reaction is what makes Pending Home Sales Index worth tracking. As the number of homes under contract increase, home prices can’t be far behind.

I am hopeful that these national statistics and predictions will hold true for the Value of Homes in the North Georgia Mountains. If I can assist you with any of  your Real Estate needs in the North Georgia Mountains, please Contact Me or just pick up the phone and give me a shout! My number is 706.994.8686. I would be grateful for the opportunity to assist you with those needs. Should you have any questions or concerns in the meantime, please bother me!

Make it a GREAT day!

Please take a few minutes and look over our latest newsletter. It is packed with a lot of great information and I know that you will find it very informative. Should you have any questions or concerns after reading our Report, please feel free to Contact Me, or simply pick up the phone and call me at 706.994.8686.  As always, thanks so much for visiting me on “The Porch” today. Please come back and visit often.

Make it a GREAT day!

Now for the Bad News which actually isn’t all that bad. We continue to fight against the Banks and the troubles that they are causing as well. Home values continue to be driven down mostly due in part to the Short Sales and Foreclosures. I have mixed emotions about that actually. Some of our local Banks are really working hard to involve the local Realtors, while yet others seem to want to do it all on their own. Either way, they didn’t ask to be in this Real Estate Crisis either. Yes we all know they issued a lot of Bad Loans, but if we all would have had a Crystal Ball, I am sure most of us,  if not all of us,  would be in a different situation. The Median Sales Price of Fannin County Residential Homes is down 15%. That price is $208,000, which is much higher than the neighboring counties such as Union County and Gilmer County. The Average Days on Market is also up 31% to 132 days. This is the average number of days that a Home is on the market before it actually sells. I firmly believe that Pricing is 80% of Marketing these days, and if you are not priced right, and I mean aggressively against the competition, you are likely to see your Days on Market to be even higher than that.

Below you will find detailed Graphs and Charts gathered through our Northeast Georgia MLS. Feel free to Call Me at 706.633.8186 or Contact Me if you have any questions or concerns about anything I have said in this Market Report. If I can assist you with any of your North Georgia Mountain Real Estate needs, I would be grateful for the opportunity to speak with you about that.

Thanks so much for visiting me on “The Porch,” and I hope you come back and visit me again real soon.

Make it a GREAT day!