Atlanta Real Estate Statistics for October
If you didn’t happen to notice…
…the Economy SLAMMED on it’s brakes in October and just sat there for a bit. ~~ sorry to be dwelling on the past, but MLS (Multiple Listing Service) Monthly Statistics for October just came out and they’ll just about make you cringe. Gah, I’m glad it’s behind us.
With unemployment rising, potential future taxation plans, ridiculously high gas prices & and an unstable international financial environment – weren’t we all a little freaked out? Our business was certainly a bit slower through October - so we definitely took notice.
There was a 28.8% decline in home sales vs. Oct 2007. Of the 3,387 October home sales 2,901 were residential detached homes (a decline of 26.9% vs. Oct 2007) and 486 were condos & townhomes (a 38.4% decline vs. Oct 2007).
The Avg Sales Price for all residential did actually increase from September 2008, coming in at $216,085 for October vs $202,935 for Sept. That said, this is still a bit lower than October 2007 #s at $237,419, showing a 9% decline vs. Oct 2007 – mainly due to the increased # of foreclosure sales under $200k as touched on in our last newsletter.
We DO, however, have a POSITIVE TREND to report – the # of Expired Listings (those that failed to sell or relist and hence came off the market) declined for all residential housing in October 2008 vs Oct 2007 and is the 2nd consecutive positive decline for this area statistic. This basically means we’re seeing a reduction in inventory in what has honestly been a saturated market.. Whether it’s due to fewer homes coming on the market or because homes are actually selling faster (more on that in a moment), this is definitely good news. This will allow some of these foreclosures to be absorbed by buyers looking for a steal of a deal – and there’s NO DOUBT that this is the ONLY way we’ll start seeing home values once again rise to more “normal” levels.
And another positive trend…yep, there’s another one…is that Days on Market, or DOM, (how long it takes a home to sell) was only 88.4 days – a decline of 3.1 days from Oct 2007. This is the 1st year-to-year monthly decline of DOM for all residential since Aug 2006. Woohoo! What’s underlying that you might not recognize is that FMLS (one of the 2 major listing services in the metro Atlanta area) requires at least a 90 day initial listing period…which means if you’re going to put your home on the market with a Real Estate Broker, you’re signing a contract for at least 90 days. The fact that the DOM has reduced now to 88.4 keeps homes selling during their initial listing period, therefore reducing the # of expireds & offering an optimistic perception to many who feel like all they notice is that same home in the neighborhood that has just sits, and sits…and sits on the market. There is hope, and it’s just around the corner. And if a home is priced right (i.e. not needing a price reduction), statistics still show that it WILL SELL in approx 37 DAYS!
With all that has gone on in recent months (increased negative consumer confidence, a declining stock market, etc), it will be a while before we see any significant upswing in housing…however, experts believe (ref: Steve Palm of SmartNumbers – Real Estate market stats guru) that we will see major incentives starting January that will result in year-to-year % increases (though not very large) for sales #s starting around July 2009.
In the meantime – BUYERS HAVE THE BUYING OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME!! (Rates were predicted to go below 5% today). Check www.KellySellsAtlanta.com daily for updated mortgage rates through these volatile times.
Click here to search metro Atlanta Real Estate listings.
Aaron & Kelly Allen | Real Estate Consultants | www.KellySellsAtlanta.com | 404-606-2219
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