Life & Real Estate In & Around Athens GA.

June 2010 residential real estate sales volume in Oconee, GA showed sales flat in the 12 month sliding sales volume from May, after being basically flat from April. The volume is holding steadily higher than the same period a year ago. The average Days on Market (D.O.M.)  rose slightly in the same period. The average sales price is down slightly from May while the medial price has risen slightly. Both are down from the same period in 2009. 

Sales volume was up very slightly in both South and West Oconee County, as were the average and median sales prices. Watkinsville had slightly reduced volume and prices. At the end of June there were 39 pending sales of residential property in Oconee County.

The following tables show the sliding 12 month residential sales volume in Oconee County over the last 12 months through June 30, 2011:

If you would like more information on Oconee County, GA, or  you are interested in buying or selling your home there, please call me at 706-207-5290. Or you can click here to email me with your inquiries. To search for homes in Oconee County please visit  The Athens Real Estate Page website.

The following charts show the month to month residential real estate sales volume of the Greater Athens Ga metropolitan area for the months of June 2009 through June 2010. Sales volume of residential real estate has decrease in June after managing increases for the previous 4 months from February through May, with May showing the second highest montly volume in the past 12 months.

The largest drops in volume were in Athens-Clarke County and Oglethorped County, with Jackson County and Watkinsville showing small decreases. Oconee County and Madison County both had increased sales volume.

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 those units. May shows another increase in the sales volume, after increases in February March and April. This is probably due to buyers coming back into the market to take advantage of the extended First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit extension as well as the Repeat Home Buyers Tax Credit.

Chart 1

The total number of residential units sold in June 2010 was 164 units, down 17 units, almost 10%, from May. While volume was down from theprevious month it is still a good showing when comparing with only May showing stronger volume since August of last year. The average days on market did have a very large increase of 24%. Much of this increase, thought, is more than likely due to the extended closing times of homes with contracts signed at the end of April in order to be eligible for the tax credit.

Chart 2

Chart 2 shows that prices have increased since June with an average sales price of $177,893.00. Median prices are also up with a median price of $155,000. The average sales price is the highest it has been in 2010 while the median price is the highest since October 2009. Whether or not this is a trend will depend upon whether these prices remain at this level of higher for July and beyond.

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).

For more information about real estate in the Athens, GA area, or, if you are looking to buy or sell real estate in the Athens Ga area and surrounding counties, please call me at 706-207-5290, or, you can click to email me at athensrealestate@earthlink.net with any questions. To search for homes, land and other real estate in the Athens Ga area please visit my website, www.The Athens Real Estate Page.com .

The following charts show the month to month residential real estate sales volume of the Greater Athens Ga metropolitan area for the months of June 2009 through May 2010. Sales volume of residential real estate has now shown an increase for the last 4 months from February throuug May, with May showing the second highest montly volume in the past 12 months.

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 those units. May shows another increase in the sales volume, after increases in February March and April. This is probably due to buyers coming back into the market to take advantage of the extended First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit extension as well as the Repeat Home Buyers Tax Credit.

Chart 1

The total number of residential units sold in May 2010 was 181 units, up 21 units and more than 13%, from April. While down from the highs of last July it is a very strong showing and well over 200% of the low volume in January. The average days on market had its second consecutive decline to 165 days, down over 27% since the highs in March.

Chart 2

The Greater Athens Metropolitan area, for this report, includes Athens-Clarke County, Oconee County, Oglethorpe County, Jackson County and Madison County. All figures come from the Athens Area Association of Realtors® multiple listing service (MLS)

For more information about real estate in the Athens, GA area, or, if you are looking to buy or sell real estate in the Athens Ga area and surrounding counties, please call me at 706-207-5290, or, you can email me with any questions. To search for homes, land and other real estate in the Athens Ga area please visit my website, The Athens Real Estate Page.

AmericanStyle magazine has named Athens, Ga as one of the top 25 mid-sized city art destinations for the 9th straight year in a row. Rating cities on their visual and performance arts, Athens was rated #18 in the mid-sized city category this year.

While most people might know about Athens because of its contributions to the music scene with bands like R.E.M., Widespread Panic and The B-52's, there is also a strong visual arts environment here.

One the widest spread and easily recognized art displays is the Athens-Oconee Junior Woman's Club project "We Let the Dogs Out!". It is 36 bull dogs distributed all over Athens, each one whimsically painted by a different artist. You can find them scattered about downtown, in front of banks, fire stations, parks, etc. As you wander around town you might run into this handsome fellow out in front of St. Mary's hospital.

Or you may run into Dawg House, by artist Charlotte House out in front of the Athens Visitor Center.

So come spend some time, find all 36 of these pieces of art. And tour the galleries and museums. Take a tour of the classical southern architecture homes which are works of art in themselves. Stop in a some of the clubs and listen to the local music. And, of course, try some of the local cousine which is another form of art that satifies the body.

You can see the entire list of cities, large, small and in-between in the May 2010 issue of AmericanStyle magazine. To find out more about what's going on in Athens, Ga, including visual and performing arts, you can checkout Athens Life Unleashed.

For information on buying or sellingreal estate in the Athens Ga area, please call me at 706-207-5290. Or, you can click here to email me with your request for information. To search for homes and real estate in the Athens Ga area, please visit my website: The Athens Real Estate Page.

The unemployment rate in Athens - Clarke County Ga has dropped for the second straight month in April. It is now at 7.4%, down from 7.9% in March and 8.4% in February. This is well below the national unemployment average of 9.7% and the Georgia unemployment rate of 10.4%, down from a March rate of 10.5%.

While this is excellent news for the Athens area, it remains to be seen whether this is an organic job growth in the private sector or temporary decreases due to hiring of temporary census workers. The Athens area, for BlS employment statistics includes: Athens-Clarke County Ga, Oconee County Ga and Madison County Ga.

For information on buying or selling a home or property in the Athens Ga area, please call me at 706-207-5290. Or, you can click here to email me with your request for information. To search for homes and real estate in the Athens Ga area, please visit my website: The Athens Real Estate Page.

I watched an interview last night with Madeline Sackler, director of the documentary film coming out next month, The Lottery. It is not about winning money but winning a future. It is about the battle between charter and other government schools.

This film follows 4 black families, 4 of hundreds, that have signed up to enroll their children into Harlem Success Charter School. However, there are only limited slots available and the vast majority who enter "the lottery" will not get their children enrolled.

It also follows the attempts by various groups to limit, and even eliminate, charter schools. It was obvious, during the interview, that Ms. Sackler did not expect to uncover what she did during the filming process. And, when pressed for specifics still had a hard time overcoming her preconceptions.

Information that I discovered while watching the interview and then visiting the website:

• The average black or latino 12 grader reads at the same level as the average white 8th grader.
• 58% of black 4th graders are functionally illiterate
• The acheivement gap between low income students and their higher income peers costs the U.S. about $500 billion a year.

Please visit the website http://www.thelotteryfilm.com to find out more about this film, when it will be available in your area, and then go ahead and see it. Read the reviews of the movie, visit the "about the lottery" page. It may open your eyes and want to get you more involved in our schools. It may make you want to question why we spend more money than any other country on education and are falling further and further behind. It may make you look at things differently.

Our education system is damaged, and our usual method of just demanding more money for it is not working to fix it. We have to do more than affirmative action to level the playing field. We have to repair the damage starting with the foundations. This movie may just illustrate one way that can happen. Imagine what our economy would be like with that additional $500 billion restored to it. Imagine if all of our children could read and write, do arithmetic, loved science.... Imagine!

March 2010 residential real estate sales volume in Athens - Clarke County, GA showed flat sales for the third consecutive month. However, this is almost 10% higher volume than the lows of last September.  This appears to be a positive indicater that the Athens-Clarke County residential real estate market is stabilizing.  While the volume remained steady, the average Days on Market (D.O.M.) dropped by 3 days, another slightly positive indicator.

Both the average and median sales price of homes remainded flat from February, with the average price down just over 8% from a year ago and the median price fairing better, down just under 4% during the same period. .This is probably driven by two factors: 1) the number of foreclosures and short sales on the market; 2) first time and repeat homebuyers taking advantage of the $8000 and $6500 tax credits respectively.

At the end of March there were 194 pending sales of residential property in Athens - Clarke County, up significantly from February. Residential properties include single family homes, duplexes, triplexes, condos, townhouses, mobile and manufactured homes.

The following table shows the sliding 12 month residential sales volume in Athens-Clarke County over the last 12 months:

If you would like more information on Athens-Clarke County, GA, or you are interested in buying or selling your home there, please call me at 706-207-5290. Or you can click here to email me with your inquiries. To search for homes in Jackson County you, please visit my website.

Oglethorpe County, Ga 12 month sliding average of residential sales has shown a volume drop of 5 units after being flat or increasing slightly for 6 months. Sales volume is the lowest since June of 2009. Whether or not this month is an anomoly and the volume will pick back up and stabilize again is yet to be seen. However, the higher pending sales numbers than recent reports is positive. 

Both the average and median sales price, while still down from a year ago, are continuing a 3 month trend higher. At the same time, however, average D.O.M., days on market, is at a 12 month high. Residential sales include the sale of single family residences, condos, townhomes, mobile and modular homes.

The Oglethorpe Count pending residential sales at the end of March are 23 units.

The following chart tracks the sliding 12 month averages for Oglethorpe County Ga through Mar 31, 2010.

All figures above are for 12 months and provide a clear picture of year to year and month to month trends in the market. Using annual numbers helps smooth out any temporary spikes or dips from month to month as well as shows the year to year comparisons which is an indicater of how the market is doing year to year.

For more information on Oglethorpe County, GA or if you are interested in buying or selling your home here, please call me at 706-207-5290. Or you can click here to email me with your inquiries. To search for homes in Oglethorpe County please visit my website The Athens Real Estate Page.

Athens Ga has made another list of top places, this year Athens is high up on the Forbes 2010 List of Best Small Places for Business and Careers. Small places, according to Forbes, are those metro areas with a population of less than 245,000 people. Athens, with an area population of 192,000, leads a list of 9 small Georgia metro areas that made the Forbes top 200 small places.

The ratings were based upon a set of 12 criteria that includes:

• cost of operating a business
• cost of living
• job growth
• projected job growth
• income growth
• educational attainment
• projected economic growth
• number of colleges
•  sub-prime lending trends
• crime rate
• culture & leisure
• net migration

Athens regularly makes various "Top" or "Best" Places lists such as Forbes, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, Money Magazine, etc. It has been rated highly as a place to live, to work, to retire, etc. Last year Athens Ga was listed as one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation Distinctive Destinations.

The  Athens Metropolitan area includes Athens-Clarke County, Oconee County, Oglethorpe County, Jackson County and Madison County.

If you are looking for more information about the area, or you are looking to to buy or sell real estate in the Athens Ga area and surrounding counties, please call me at 706-207-5290, or, you can click here to email me with any questions. To search for homes, land and other real estate in the Athens Ga area please visit my website, The Athens Real Estate Page.

The following charts show the month to month residential real estate sales volume of the Greater Athens Ga metropolitan area for the months of June 2009 through Mar. 2010.

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 those units. March shows a large increase in the sales volume, after a small bump in sales in February. This is probably due to buyers coming back into the market to take advantage of the extended First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit extension as well as the Repeat Home Buyers Tax Credit.

Chart 1

The total number of residential units sold in March 2010 was 138 units, up 50 units, almost 57%, from February. While down from the highs of last July it is a very strong showing.  The average days on market did increase to 227 days in February, an increase of 20 reaching new highs for the past year. Most of this increase is due to a longer sales cycle for homes in Oconee County.

Chart 2 is tracking both the average and the median price of residential sales in the greater Athens metropolitan area. The average price showed an almost 15% increase from  $150,278.00 to  $172,622.00 while the median price showed a more modest increase from $143,000.. to $148,350.00. This is continuing a positive sign showing that more buyers are purchasing homes at a slightly higher price.

Chart 2

The Greater Athens Metropolitan area, for this report, includes Athens-Clarke County, Oconee County, Oglethorpe County, Jackson County and Madison County. All figures come from the Athens Area Association of Realtors® multiple listing service (MLS).

For more information about real estate in the Athens, GA area, or, if you are looking to buy or sell real estate in the Athens Ga area and surrounding counties, please call me at 706-207-5290, or, you can click here to email me with any questions. To search for homes, land and other real estate in the Athens Ga area please visit my website, The Athens Real Estate Page.