Important News and Techniques for Today's Real Estate Market

It's mid-summer and here's a real-life picture on how home sales are going in Coweta and Fayette Counties, at least through the end of June.  Although the overall number of sales has been down, the good news is that so is the number of new inventory coming into the market and active listings available.  Real estate prices, like almost everything, fluctuate largely due to supply and demand, so having less inventory is an important first step towards recovery!

COWETA COUNTY

THE GOOD NEWS:  REAL ESTATE INVENTORY IS DOWN

In 2008, there had been 2,398 NEW listings that came on the market through June, and there have only been 1,597 new listings that came on the market through June of 2009.  Even more importantly, the number of ACTIVE listings is down by over 28% as of June 2009 when comparing with the number of active listings in June 2008.

At the end of June in 2008, there had been 888 closed sales.  For the same period in 2009, there have been 735 sales--that means there were only about 18% fewer transactions with lots less inventory.

Perhaps the best news of all is that the number of actively listed new FORECLOSURES is down by over 33%!

THE BAD NEWS:  SALES PRICES ARE DOWN, MARKET TIME IS UP

The average sales price is down--in some months as much as 24%, but on average by about 15%.  It's also taking longer to sell the properties that are on the market--the average number of days on the market is over 130 days, which contributes to seller's making more concessions to sell the properties they have to move it more quickly.

FAYETTE COUNTY

THE GOOD NEWS:  INVENTORY IS DOWN

In 2008, there had been 1,867 NEW listings that came on the market through June, and there have only been 1,437 new listings that came on the market through June of 2009.  Although inventory is not down as sharply as in Coweta County, the number of ACTIVE listings is still down by over 21% as of June 2009 when comparing with the number of active listings in June 2008.

At the end of June in 2008, there had been 584 closed sales.  For the same period in 2009, there have been 486 sales--that means there were only about 17% fewer transactions with less inventory.

Newly listed FORECLOSURES were up sharply in February and March, but finished down by 51.4% in April, 21.1% in May, and 12.5% in June!

THE BAD NEWS:  SALES PRICES ARE DOWN, MARKET TIME IS UP

The average sales price is down--in some months as much as 23%, but on average by about 12.5%.  It's also taking longer to sell the properties that are on the market--the average number of days on the market is over 150 days, which contributes to seller's making more concessions to sell the properties they have to move it more quickly.