A Close Look at April Sales Data

May 1, 2007

The local real estate market is continuing to show some signs of recovery.

The AJC recently reported that, on a national level, the sale of existing (resale, not new) single family homes fell 8.4% in March, the largest drop since a 12.6% plunge in January 1989. We did not experience a similar decline in the Fayette/Coweta area. Our results follow:

Recent Sales of Existing Homes:

• Fayette County:

  • February:  77 sales

  • March:  92 sales,  19.5% over February

  • April:  108 sales,  17.4% over March

• Coweta County:

  • February:  124 sales

  • March:  144 sales,  16.1% over February

  • April:  122 sales,  15.3% vs. March

• Fayette & Coweta Combined:

  • February:  201 sales

  • March:  236 sales,  17.4% over February

  • April:  230 sales,  2.5% vs. March

The April sales figures for Coweta County look a bit weak only because March was such a great increase in comparison to February. Adding March and April sales together, the average monthly sales are much better than February, the exact opposite as was reported by the AJC on a national level.

The AJC further reported a 7.3 month supply of available homes nationwide. While our local sales have been on the incline, our local inventory of available homes has increased greatly over the past 60 days. See my March 1 newsletter below for the figures as of 60 days ago. Here is our current inventory:

Fayette:

• Fayette County:  1460 listings,  9.3 month supply (buyer's market)

• Peachtree City:   311 listings,  5.9 month supply (seller's market)

Coweta:

• Coweta County, 2000 listings,  8.6 month supply (buyer's market)

• Summergrove, 162 listings,  6.1 month supply (seller's market)

Peachtree City and Summergrove are cited above because they are significant exceptions to the oversupplied local market. There are certainly a lot more homes on the market now than there were 60 days ago. However, this is a normal seasonal phenomenon, not a sign of bad market conditions.

Finally, the AJC report cited a glut of unsold homes nationally as depressing home prices further, with the median home price dropping for a record 8th straight month, down .3% from a year ago. Also cited was a Standard and Poor's report stating that prices dropped 1.5% in February compared to a year ago, the steepest decline in 15 years. These figures caused me to look at the median home sales prices for our local area for April 2007. Here are the results:

April 2007 Median Sales Price vs. April 2006:

• Fayette: $267,500, 0.9%

• Coweta: $188,550, 4.8%

By all indications, our local market is showing some signs of health. Homeowners may not be experiencing measurable appreciation, but they should be pleased that they do not appear to be suffering any loss of value as has plagued so many homeowners in other parts of the country.