For May 2009, the number of homes listed for sale in the Jasper GA area that were placed under contract of sale came in at 24 . . . 26% higherthan May 2008 (but still well below 2007's numbers). While this is actually a slight decline from the previous month's home sales, this dip is not unusual. A look back at 2007 & 2008 would show a similar month-on-month decline from April to May -- a trend is likely to continue into June, before picking back up for the peak months of July & August.
Only 13 of the 24 sales have actually closed, so there are still some pending sales to account for, which is likely to alter the numbers somewhat once all data is in, but, as of this writing, the average closed sale price was $219,930. With an average list price of only $154,627 for the remaining 11 however, the average sale price for May is once again likely to fall a good bit below $200,000, and well off of 2008's average of $221,876. One point of concern in the otherwise good news is that the average list to sale price ratio for those transactions that have already closed fell below 90% -- suggesting aggressive discounts on at least some of the sales.
As has been the case for several months now, bank-owned foreclosures, short sales and other distress sale scenarios played a significant part in house sales for Jasper last month as well. Nine of the 24 home listings were foreclosed REO's (37.5%), with another three listed as "short sales", bringing the total of distress sales up to 12 . . . or a full 50% of all transactions for the month. New construction homes in Dogwood Trace and Madison Ridge made up five of the nine lender owned properties under contract.
Another slight, if expected, damper on the good news, is a continued increase in overall inventory. Home sellers are more likely to enter the market at this time of the year, so listing inventory usually does increase, but, unless sales numbers pick up significantly, while homes continue to be added faster than they are selling, it is going to be difficult to absorb what is now more than two-years worth of available inventory in Pickens County GA. The percentage of these properties listed as foreclosures or bank owned is still hovering around 7%, but a review of foreclosure notices for homes being auctioned on the courthouse steps in Jasper next month (July), points at possibly 35 or so homes being foreclosed. This could create a noticeable shift in listing inventory (particularly with a number of already foreclosed properties still not yet on market, but out there somewhere). Good for buyers looking for good prices and great deals . . . not good for sellers.
To end on the positive note with which this post began . . . it appears that June 2009, is at least on a pace to match June 2008's numbers, and with a few more days to go, the numbers may in all likelihood come in higher year-on-year for a third month in a row, and fourth month of improved month-to-month sales. If this trend continues, it may signal that at least a bottom has been reached in declining sales. It may take a little longer to see improvement in pricing, as existing inventory will have to be worked through, but we have to start somewhere, and hopefully this is it . . . .
Feel free to Contact Me for specific information about sales data in your neighborhood, or one in which you are interested, (including foreclosure info).
A gently winding mountain road, shaded by arching trees . . . cool air wafting through open windows . . . the moist scent of thick foliage rustling in the breeze overhead. For the first time visitor to Bent Tree, there is sense of something different, something special, that sets in long before the main gate is ever reached. A sense of leaving the hustle and bustle of the city, a flight from noise and traffic . . . a return to nature's magnificence.
Inside the gate awaits a comforting world of lush greenery in spring and summer, rich amber hues in autumn, and misty melancholy in winter. An escape to tranquil days swimming, fishing and boating on the sparkling, spring fed lake; balmy afternoons with friends on the green, and silent evenings under a starry sky at 3,000 feet above sea level. Here is a step back in time to a less hurried existence, where neighbors greet neighbors, and deer and wild turkey have the right of way.
Being overshadowed by its larger neighbor, Big Canoe, has possibly benefited the unique personality of Bent Tree to some degree. While it has many of the same, or similar, types of amenities and features as Big Canoe (albeit to a lesser degree), it has remained something of a pleasant little Pickens County secret, largely unknown to the outside world, other than through word of mouth -- which has kept prices from soaring out of control, and prevented over-development.
Average prices of both lots and homes for sale in Bent Tree GA have remained well below that of Big Canoe, as have property owner's association (POA) and amenity fees. With great fishing on the 110-acre Lake Tamarack, long range mountain views, hiking trails, golf, tennis, 2 swimming pools, stables, a clubhouse, 24-hour gated security, a beach with pavilion, and other community features, Bent Tree has much to offer. Probably as much or more than the average person would effectively utilize anyway . . .
Close to Jasper -- and smaller in size overall than other similar gated mountain communities in North Georgia -- Bent Tree is a convenient option for those seeking this lifestyle choice, but also wanting to commute, or wanting to be closer to schools, shopping choices and medical facilities (Piedmont hospital isn't too far away and is surrounded by a growing medical community). For those interested in a weekend getaway, retirement home, or vacation rental, this ease of access and affordability certainly make Bent Tree worth consideration.
With homes available from the mid $100's and the average sale price in the low to mid $200's, yet with some very nice homes in the higher price ranges also, as high as $800,000+, there is opportunity for most budgets. For those looking at mountain lots for sale in North Georgia on which to build (or land to buy as a long term investment), Bent Tree has some very competitive pricing on lots of all sizes and features -- lakefront, lake view, mountain, golf view, level, sloped, creek . . . something for everyone.
One very attractive program currently available to potential buyers of lots in Bent Tree, is 100% certified buildable lots, offered with 95% financing possible. These lots all come with a new survey, level-3 soil test, and a refund guarantee if the lots prove to be unbuildable for some reason. The 95% of purchase price loans are offered at competitive rates, and are based on a number of factors other than just credit score or debt ratios. For more info on land for sale and financing through this program, you can visit their website HERE.
While Big Canoe certainly has a great deal to offer anyone looking for a vacation home, permanent residence, or land for sale on which to build a home in North Georgia, Bent Tree has perhaps not received enough recognition for what it has to offer, resulting in some great opportunities for those willing to look elsewhere for that perfect mountain property, without paying for image or branding.
One of the many things I enjoy about Twitter is the exposure to things about which I might never have otherwise known, (yes, I admit, I use social media for purposes other than simply to "lead generate" or "drive business" . . . shame on me!!!).
A recent Tweet by @Mashable (Pete Cashmore) alerted me to the Summer of Social Good campaign, running from June through August of this year. This initiative is a push to use the power of social media (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, blogs, Twitter, etc.) to raise significant funds for four worthwhile charities.
100% of all funds raised will be divided evenly among four charitable organizations:
The Humane Society of the United States (www.hsus.org) - Animal protection and defense
LiveStrong - Lance Armstrong Foundation (www.Livestrong.Org) - Cancer support
By spreading the word virally, the goal is to reach as many people as possible, so that regardless of the size of the contribution, even just a few dollars, the sheer volume could generate a substantial sum in a short period of time. It will be interesting to see how effective the program is.
I know it worked for me. I followed the Tweet link to the Summer for Social Good site, clicked the "donate" button (via Paypal, but credit card and check are also accepted), and was then able to Tweet what I had done . . . encouraging others to do the same! Pretty painless.
So, let's see how it works here . . . to make a single contribution to be divided between these four worthy efforts, CLICK HERE, and then be sure to tell others. And, even if you choose not to donate, please help spread the word by sharing the link. http://www.globalgiving.com/socialgood.
Both potential buyers and local residents have commented to me on the pleasant setting and overall appeal of the fairly new Madison Ridge subdivision in Jasper GA, but expressed concerns that few homes had sold. Well, that has changed.
In the past few months, there have been four homes sold . . . with another four houses currently under contract of sale, scheduled to close within a few weeks! That is eight, out of a total of about 12 new construction homes for sale in Madison Ridge, already gone! And, most of these houses were purchased at bargain prices, ranging from $150,000 to $242,000, versus previous list prices in the high $200's to low $300's.
These aren't the only bank owned foreclosures in Pickens County being snatched up by buyers . . . there are recently closed and pending sales of foreclosed bank REO's in Wild Timber, Jordan's Crossing, and Dogwood Trace as well, but not such a flurry of activity as has been seen in Madison Ridge recently.
With only a handful of homes remaining for sale in this neighborhood, it shouldn't be long before all available inventory at these great prices is gone. Certainly a positive development for the excess of new houses that we previously had on the market competing with resales and restricting future development . . . and maybe just one more sign of improvement in our local housing market.
As hinted at in last month's Jasper Georgia home sales report, it appeared possible that we would see a slight improvement in the number of houses placed under contract of sale in Pickens County for April 2009. Sure enough, both in prior month AND year-on-year comparisons, April '09 performed better than both. This is definitely a positive sign, but still a way to go before announcing a major turn around.
A total of 26 homes* were entered as either pending / contingency sales or closed transactions, which is a significant improvement over March '09 numbers and a 30% increase in sales over April 2008! Still trailing 2007 posted data by more than 25%, but an improvement is an improvement and I'll take it.
Now for the bad news . . .
The average list-to-sale price of those transactions that have already closed dropped down to just over 90.5% . . . almost a 10% hit on properties that are often already listed at a reduced price! This may change slightly once all closings are accounted for, hopefully coming in a little higher, but is something to watch.
Likewise, average sale price in Pickens County GA for transactions already closed (10) is only $169,280, and the remaining 16 under contract have an average list price of only $187,598, suggesting that average sale price for April 09, despite a pick up in sales numbers, will still come in lower than last year's average sale of $189,950.
The obvious factor in all this, one that pops up whenever we discuss falling prices, is the ongoing issue of short sales and foreclosures in Jasper GA. Twelve of the 26 homes placed under contract were listed as foreclosures or bank owned "REO" properties. Forty-six percent! By comparison, sales of lender owned foreclosure houses in April 2007 & 2008 came in at only 3 & 4, respectively. These low-priced properties likely account for both the drop in average sale price, and our increased sales numbers, as some buyers are jumping into the market to snatch up the best deals (a trend not restricted to the local market).
Inventory continues to inch upward toward 550 homes for sale in Pickens County. Approximately 7% of these are foreclosed homes, and that number is likely to continue to climb as sales aren't keeping up with repossessions.
Back to some good news . . .
Early data for May indicates that the positive move in April's numbers are likely to be repeated for this month. I look forward to being able to provide more encouraging data in next month's post (unless my monthly report is preempted by someone else before I get to it, but hey, good news is hard to contain!).
As I was finishing up my previous post on the future of information and communication, and having just read a number of other posts, such as Jeff Belonger's very poignant post on the current $8,000 tax credit / downpayment controversy and the rapid dispersal of misinformation, I wanted to follow up the thought with some commentary on the position we find ourselves in today in terms of the speed and ease with which we can disseminate information.
When I take a listing, I can spread the word like wildfire through email, blogs, Twitter, real estate websites, syndication, social networks, and other such resources, which can be a good thing. In the same way, news (good or bad) ignites the Internet (and our cell phones / PDA's) with the latest. In the fast moving world of micro-blogging and SMS, there is no "proof" from the publisher to review before publication day. Word travels as fast we can type and hit enter. Even spell check is a thing of the past . . . in fact we deliberately mangle the English language and spelling to shorten and speed up what we are doing even more!
Unfortunately, once we hit "send", take-backs are hard to do. The initial comment, report or . . . rumor, is forwarded, re-blogged, and re-Tweeted. It is now a fact . . . distributed around the world. Even a simple joke or disparaging remark on Twitter or Facebook can be picked up and repeated before there is time to hit delete, and regardless of the original intent.
It is imperative that we exercise caution. If we are going to relay information, we need to be sure to at least verify, or offer a caveat that it has not been verified, before passing it on. Even when we are the originators of such information (such as our own listings), we need to double-check before submitting . . . once it is out there, we lose control and are unlikely to be able to track down (or remember even), all places on the Internet where it can now be found. And we need to be careful in what we say publicly AT ALL TIMES.
Like many of you, I am dealing with retracting my hasty announcement to buyers regarding the $8000 tax credit (fortunately, this is a defensible position as I simply forwarded a link to the announcement on the REALTOR.org media page itself, and didn't try to explain or elaborate, but still . . .). I have found myself deleting comments on FB and blogs to try to head off a potential issue . . . yet sometimes it is too little, too late.
As mentioned in my earlier post, the future trend appears to be swift, direct communication from source to targeted end user, without a middle man. We now have the power of self-publishing in our ends. We need to ensure that we also fulfill the role of self-editing.
Came across an interesting blog post on baekdal.com the other day entitled "Where is Everyone?". The article explores the historical trend in information sharing from local community, through newspaper, radio, and TV, to the Internet and our current social networking trend. What was interesting was the author's theorization that we will very soon see a point where all communication moves directly from source to end target, elimating the "middle man".
I'm sure the phenomenal growth of Twitter had a lot to do with this notion . . . as we are now able to obtain information directly in real time from eyewitnesses, manufactures, retailers, professors, doctors, city hall, or our favorite rock star -- whatever our interest is -- without a lot of digging or waiting.
Baekdal's accompanying diagrams show to what extent, and for how long, each media form has dominated over the years. A noteworthy trend for me was that each successive form of media seems to hold its position for a shorter period, and to a lesser degree, as technological advances leap forward and render the earlier form less significant.
I think the theory is on the right track in terms of a trend in information sharing being more toward direct distribution, but as many of the commenters pointed out . . . few have been able to predict the future of communication or the "next big thing", for the simple reason that we are always basing our assumptions on current knowledge of existing technology. We don't know what technology will exist ten years from now and can't begin to foresee it or prepare for it. We just have to closely track what's happening around us and respond to it as best we can . . . as has happened with the swift transition from websites to blogging to social networks to micro-blogging, and whatever's next.
While I don't necessarily agree with all the conclusions reached in the article, (for one thing, I don't see all current forms of media becoming totally obsolete within the next 5-10 years), I support the idea that the information we receive will be far more highly targeted and customized to our individual needs than at any time in history.
Agree or disagree, for me the piece certainly helps stimulate thought on where we are headed with the information revolution we are experiencing, and how it is likely to affect the real estate industry in years to come.
Any other thoughts on how information will be relayed in the next 5-10 years?
Don't miss out on this three acres of lightly wooded, level to sloping, land for sale . . . close to Jasper Georgia.
Located in the well-established neighborhood of Hickory Cove in Pickens County GA, this acreage for sale is an excellent opportunity to own a serene, semi-private residential lot at a below market price. With soaring shade trees and minimal underbrush, a huge level expanse along the front of the property, and easy access to the cul-de-sac street frontage, this is an ideal lot for building that dream home, whether on a basement, crawl space, or even a slab.
In a subdivision of estate-sized lots, with a small community lake available to residents, the location and setting of this land has much to offer. Just 3-miles from Jasper off Cove Road, and backing up to the gated resort community of Bent Tree, it is in a convenient and popular area of the county, without the restrictions found in many similar developments.
A quiet side street. A pristine, level to sloping tract of land. A small, unpretentious subdivision of private homes on wooded lots. A great price. Take advantage of this opportunity before it's gone . . .
A tennis tournament in support of Vision Atlanta / Camp Grace will be held Wednesday, May 13th, 2009, at Bridgemill Tennis Club in Bridgemill community, Canton GA. Sponsors, players, volunteers and donations are very much needed, with all proceeds going to support Vision Atlanta's work with at-risk and disadvantaged youths.
There will be morning and afternoon sets from 9-12 (A Team), and 1-4 (B Team), at a cost of only $35 per player, which price includes lunch. Not a bad deal . . . a couple of hours of tennis, food, good fun, and support of a worthy cause, at minimal cost. Call or email to sign up as a player or sponsor today. Everybody welcome!
For more information, see below flyer, or contact Terry Hyde / Wilma Hebrank at Keller Williams Realty - Select Partners, 678-493-2100. Thanks for your support!
While the number of homes placed under contract in the month of March improved over February's numbers (which is to be expected at this time of year), in my opinion, the number fails to indicate a significant turning point in the local housing market.
Out of 500+ homes for sale in the Jasper Georgia area, eighteen pending sales is a relatively small number, and is still almost 36% below numbers posted in March 2008 -- an already declining market. When compared with March 2007, the number of houses sold last month reflect a drop of greater than 50%, so certainly nothing worthy of note.
With the average list price of homes placed under contract falling between $195,000 - $200,000, here too we see a shift from prior periods where average sale prices were greater than $220,000. Only one of the eighteen homes to find a buyer in March was priced over $300,000 . . . a sure concern for sellers of higher-priced homes, who are having a harder time selling at this time. A fact reflected in the growing number of price reductions seen in this price range.
Of the 18 sales, seven were listed as foreclosure, lender owned, or corporate owned . . . nearly 40% of the total, not counting short sales and other must sell situations. The impact on sellers not in a distress sale situation is obvious. While there are those in the industry locally who argue that foreclosures are a minor matter, unlikely to have an impact on pricing, the facts speak for themselves . . .
Inventory of houses for sale in Pickens County GA reached 549 homes on market, marking a steady climb back up after having dropped below 500. At current sales levels, this corresponds to 3-years worth of inventory! Forty-four of these are bank-owned REO homes -- making foreclosures roughly 8% of all available homes for sale.
Despite the lack of positive news in this update, it is not all as bleak as it seems . . .
Aside from previously mentioned government efforts, low interest rates, and lower housing prices, March showed a sharp uptick in consumer confidence (essential to any correction), first time home buyers began making their presence felt in greater numbers around the country (important, as these buyers have no home to sell and buy the lower-priced homes of potential move-up buyers, creating a chain reaction), and . . . a review of April's numbers are looking somewhat promising.
I am going to be very cautious in trying to call a "bottom" or turnaround in the housing market in the North Georgia area, but am certainly keeping an eye out for anything that might represent good news or a sign of improvement, and April may be it . . .
Feel free to contact me for specific info about your street, neighborhood, or town!
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
hiking trails, golf, tennis, 2 swimming pools, stables, a clubhouse, 24-hour gated security, a beach with pavilion, and other community features, Bent Tree has much to offer. Probably as much or more than the average person would effectively utilize anyway . . . 
The 95% of purchase price loans are offered at competitive rates, and are based on a number of factors other than just credit score or debt ratios. For more info on land for sale and financing through this program, you can visit their website 
Don't miss out on this three acres of lightly wooded, level to sloping, land for sale . . . close to Jasper Georgia.
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