As hoped for and expected, July 2009 saw a notable improvement in house sales in Jasper GA, as compared to both prior year numbers, and prior month home sale numbers, for the Pickens County area.  And not by a small amount either.

Reported pending sales for July jumped 43%, to 30 homes placed under contract, from 21 in June '09 . . . and doubling from only 15in July 2008.  Equally significant is the fact that average sale price for those transactions that have already closed falls close to $226,000, versus an average sale price in June of closer to $184,000, and $187,000 for July 2008.  This suggests activity from some buyers looking in higher price ranges, which is good news for sellers. July's sales in fact top even sales volume for July 2007, which came in at 27 homes sold, but still trail the average sale price of $234,348. Sale price to list price ratio improved slightly as well, up to 91.5%. Still not a great ratio, but a good sign of improvement.

Bank-owned foreclosure homesaccounted for 11 of the pending sales (37%), while almost half of all houses under contract of sale were located in either Big Canoe or Bent Tree, GA.  These numbers highlight the difficulty for a non-institutional home seller in Pickens County that doesn't live in Bent Tree or Big Canoe -- particularly at the above $200,000 price point.

Anecdotally, some of the increased activity can be attributed to heightened interest from first time home buyers looking to take advantage of the federal and state tax credits, but exactly how much is attributable to this, is difficult to say.  Low home prices and interest rates are just as likely to have played a role.

Inventory is again up above 550 homes for sale, with the uptick in sales doing little to keep up with listings coming on market.  Foreclosure homes continue to account for around 7% of homes on the market, despite the high percentage of these REO properties that are sold each month relative to other sales.

So long as foreclosures keep inventory up and prices down, it is going to be a challenge to support any argument that a solid bottom has been reached, or a turning point found, but, even just maintaining where we are now -- with no further deterioration in volume or value -- can be viewed as something of a positive.  So we'll just have to wait and see where August's numbers come in and what they might tell us...

For more info about your local market, neighborhood or a specific home, feel free to email or call with your request.

[Data used herein obtained via First Multiple Listing Service and is believed accurate, but is not warranted.]