The following charts show the month to month residential real estate sales volume of the Greater Athens Ga metropolitan area for the months of Apr. 2010 through May. 2011. Sales volume of residential real estate was up again in May over April marking the fourth consecutive month of rising volume. The May 2011 volume, is up just under 5% from Apr 2011 but is still down more than 16% below April 2010 sales volume. This increase in volume can no longer be attributed the bad winter of earlier this year. It is the strongest sales volume since June 2011, when buyers had to close on homes in order to qualify for the federal, and some state, first time and move up home buyer tax credits. This is definitely positive news, especially since there are no tax credits that have influenced the increasing sales. It is propably more driven by the number of bargains on the market and a slightly positive increase in perception of the economy.
Chart 1 shows the trends for both the number of residential units sold and the average number of Days on Market (D.O.M.) for residential units sold. May 2011 volume had a 7 unit increase over April. If fuel and food costs have not been rising significantly this might have been higher. Also, while there are jobs being created, the unemployment rate is not dropping significantly. And only a strong increase in employment will really be able to sustain and grow the real estate market.
Chart 1
Residential Units Sold and Days on Market in the Athens MSA
The total number of residential units sold in May 2011 was 151 units, up from the 144 units in Apr. 2011. While Athens-Clarke County had a slight decrease in volume after its very strong performance in April, the rest of the areas all showed an increase in volume. The average days on market did increase 8%, from 175 days in April to 189 in May. However, only Athens-Clarke County and Jackson County showed an increase in D.O.M while the other areas had decreases.
There were 240 residential properties under contract and pending closing in the area at the end of May, upslightly from the 233 under contract at the end of April. Residential properties include single family homes, condos, townhomes, mobile homes and modular homes.
Chart 2
Residential Average & Median Sales Prices in the Athens GA MSA
Chart 2 shows a recovery in both the average and median sales prices from decline April 2011. All areas experienced increases in Average price except for Athens-Clarke County and Oglethorpe County. All counties showed an increase in Median sales price except for Oglethorpe County. Madison County recovered slightly from it sharp drop in both Median and Averager Prices in April. As stated in previous market reports, sales prices going forward, both average and median, continue to be dependant upon the recovery of the economy and an increase in jobs and employment and are subject to the same risks from increasing fuel prices as sales volume is. They are also going to be affected by the number of REO (bank owned foreclosures) and Short Sale properties on the market.
The Greater Athens Metropolitan area, for this report, includes Athens-Clarke County, Oconee County, Oglethorpe County, Jackson County and Madison County. All chart information is derived from data in the Athens Area Association of Realtors® multiple listing service (MLS).
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