Life & Real Estate In & Around Athens GA. : May 2010

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.