The number of homes for sale in Pickens County, GA, for September 2008, showed a slight decline over last month's numbers, down to 589 houses for sale, with an average list price of around $332,000, in a range from $27,900 to $1,950,000.   Twenty-one of these homes were listed as REO's (foreclosures) or short sales.

Twenty-six homes were placed under contract in September, versus September last year's thirty-two, and 2006's forty-one home sales, (average pending sale list prices have stayed consistent in the low to mid $200's).  Eight of the twenty-six homes under contract are listed as bank-owned foreclosures -- more than 30%! While Big Canoe accounted for five of the home sales.

As noted in August's sales update, while sales are still off over prior years, the numbers reflect some improvement percentage-wise over year-on-year declines seen earlier in the year.

One number I am keeping an eye on is the list-to-sale ratio -- the price for which homes in Jasper, GA, are selling against their list price.  This appears to be sliding down to the vicinity of 93.5%, which reflects increasing price concessions by sellers (often against an already discounted list price).  While this reflects the softness in the market, it may also be part of the reason for the increased buyer activity.

Stay tuned . . .