From my location in the northern part of 30054, it takes me twenty minutes to drive south to I-20; I can also reach downtown Atlanta or Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in just under one hour. If you drive north to US-78, you can reach either Downtown Atlanta or Athens to the West in about one hour. If this commute fits with your work situation, you will find that you get excellent value with a home purchase in 30054, along with a lot more countryside!
30054 includes part of the City of Oxford. Oxford College is located on Emory’s original campus in Oxford, and is the historic heart of the University. Oxford is located just North of Covington, and is a little to the west of both Social Circle and Jersey. Two popular ways to enter 30054 are to drive East from Conyers along Centennial Olympic Parkway passing the International Horse Park, or North from Covington through the historic City of Oxford.
Home prices range from under $100,000 to over $1,000,000. There are single-family homes of all types available in 30054, some in well-established subdivisions and others in much newer communities. Many homes are situated in larger wooded, more private lots. In between the various communities, you will find a patchwork of open fields, often with grazing cattle, and several wooded areas. Many horse lovers live in this area, and there is at least one community where each home comes with a fenced pasture large enough for several horses.
I will be further spotlighting the 30054 area, along with several of the area’s desirable subdivisions, over the coming weeks.
After generating and reviewing a number of reports available from the GAMLS site, as well as a Fannie Mae Report, I have made a few observations and a series of conclusions below, concerning the sale of homes in this area over the past two years. The MLS reports looked at both 2009 and up to 11-06-10; the Fannie Mae report looked at the 12-month period up to 11-06-10. Any resulting discrepancies based on these reports were unintentional and are due entirely to my interpretation of the facts.
Observations for 30054
Total Home Sales per month almost doubled for the second half of 2010, as compared to the first six months. The estimated Months of Housing Supply took a corresponding reduction of approximately 50 percent for the same periods of 2010.
During 2010, sellers increased the amount they contributed to buyer’s closing costs from 3.00% to 3.28% of Sales Price (in cases where concessions were given by the seller).
Nearly half of the 88 homes sold during 05-06-10 through 10-06-10, were priced under $100,000 and took an average of 2.5 months to sell. As of 10-07-10, there are only 15 active listings in this price range.
30 of the homes sold were in the $100,000 to $200,000 price range, and took an average of 4.5 months to sell. The remaining 16 homes were in the $200,000 to $350,000 range, and took an average of 4.1 months to sell.
The prices of homes in 30054 do run up to over $1,000,000, but no homes that were listed for sale above $350,000 actually sold during 2010.
99 homes sold between 02-01-10 and 10-31-10, as compared to 64 home sales for the same period in 2009. This represents a 35 percent increase in home sales year-to-year. However, the average sales price of $126,000 in 2010, compared to $155,000 for 2009, represents an 18.7 percent drop in home sales price year-to-year.
For the period 01-01-10 through 10-31-10, the average number of days homes remained on the market [DOM] before selling dropped from 187 days in 2009, to 144 days in 2010. This represents a drop of 23 percent year-to-year for DOM.
During the period January through October, the number of new foreclosures has increased from 35 foreclosures in 2009 to 65 foreclosures in 2010. This represents a 46 percent increase in foreclosures year-to-year.
ConclusionsIt is a great time to buy in this area, as sellers seem more motivated to price their homes correctly for current market conditions, and some sellers are offering a little more than the traditional 3 percent of the sale price, towards buyer closing costs.
The number of foreclosed properties coming on the market has nearly doubled in this area when comparing 2010 with 2009, giving the potential buyer more opportunities to purchase bargains.
The number of days homes remain on the market [DOM] before selling has dropped significantly, meaning that homes are selling faster. Traditionally, the longer the DOM, the more leverage a potential buyer has over negotiating the purchase price; therefore, a reduction in the DOM can be interpreted as potential buyers having less leverage in negotiating a sales price that is much lower than the listed price.
Homes available for the first-time buyer or investment buyers in 30054 are in short supply, with only 15 active listing available to date. This is especially true in my recent experience helping investment buyers in and around the 30054 area.
It is not a great time for sellers in 30054 with homes priced in the $350,000 and above range. There were no sales in this price range recorded for 2010. On the other hand, it may be a good opportunity for prospective buyers in the same price range. To date, there are only 8 homes listed in this price range ($350,000-$1,500,000).
For homes listed in all price ranges for 30054, there has been a 35 percent increase in completed sales over the past 8 months when compared to the same time last year; however, there has also been an 18.7 percent drop in final sales price over the same 8-month period. With the 46 percent increase in foreclosures for the first 10 months in 2010, compared to the same period last year, the reduced average sales price is not entirely unexpected, but this would appear to benefit potential buyers in the 30054 area.
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If you are thinking of relocating or buying a home in the Atlanta Metro East area, you might want to consider looking in Oxford, GA 30054. It is still very much a buyer’s market in this area, although homes priced under $100,000 are harder to find. However, there are some real bargains available in the $100,000 to $350,000 range.
If you would like to learn more about the 30054 area, look for my articles over the next few weeks, or feel free to contact me to request further information.
Ian Gray
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