August numbers for Jasper GA real estate showed some improvement over previous months.  Slight as it may be, any improvement is definitely welcome!

Pending home sales climbed from 15 homes placed under contract in July, to 24 in August.  Particularly noteworthy was that the month-to-month declines we'd been seeing in the average price of homes going under contract reversed itself, climbing from the $180,000 it had dropped to in July, back up to $219,000 for August.

It should be noted that in this area, August sales are generally a little stronger than July each year.  But what is significant this year, is that this actually marks a lessened drop from the same time last year, as compared to the declines we've seen in previous months.  July numbers for example were off nearly 45% from 2007, and almost 72% from 2006, August was only off 59% from 2006, and 33% from 2007. 

Obviously, one swallow does not spring make, but, it is good news and so far September numbers are holding to the same pattern, so we'll see . . .

Foreclosures and short sales in the Jasper area (as with most of the country), are still a large variable in the real estate market.  Notices of sale continue to inch upward, ultimately bringing more "distress" properties to market and could have some negative impact.  But, the increased buyer activity we're seeing will hopefully minimize the impact of discounted bank-owned homes on sellers, while offering good buying opportunities for buyers.

Most promising is that inventory of houses for sale in Pickens County GA has not shown any significant change (and in fact is lower than earlier this summer!), which is great for those trying to sell a home.  The number of homes on market as of this writing was a manageable 600, at an average list price of $329,192.

We'll just have to see what September brings . . .