Life & Real Estate In & Around Athens GA.

Greater Athens Area Residential Real Estate Sales Volume Drops in June After 4 Straight Months of Rising Volume - Residential Real Estate Montly Statistics Charts, July 2009 - July 2010

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:50:02 -0400

The following charts show the month to month residential real estate sales volume of the Greater Athens Ga metropolitan area for the months of July 2009 through July 2010. Sales volume of residential real estate has decrease in July for the second consecutive month. The July decrease of 37 units is a drop of over 22-1/2% from June and a decrease of over 41% than the same period last year.

The largest drops in volume were in Athens-Clarke County, accounting for almost 75% and Oglethorpe 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 residential units sold. After peaking for the year in May, sales volume has declined in June & July, more steeply in July. These declines are probably due to buyers accelerating their purchases to close before June 30 in order to take advantage of the federal income tax credits available. How long this impact will last remains to be seen and is probably going to depend more upon a recovery in employment than anything else this year.

Chart 1

The total number of residential units sold in July 2010 was 127 units, down 37 units, over 22-1/2%, from June. The average days on market did have a very large increase of 24%. Much of this increase, though, 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. At the end of July there were 220 units under contract to sell.

Chart 2

Chart 2 shows that average prices have remained virtually flat with June at $177,684. However, the median sales price has shown a drop to $141,500 or almost 9%. The average sales price is still at the highest levels of tghe year. 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 .

Athens Ga Unemployment Rate Drops in July

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:06:42 -0400

The unemployment rate in Athens GA dropped from 7.9% to 7.7% in July according to the Georgia Department of Labor. The state rate also dropped from 10% to 9.9% during the same period while the national rate has remained at 9.5%.

The Athens MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) consists of Athens-Clarke County, Oconee County, Madison County & Oglethorpe County and it has the second lowest rate in the state with only Warner Robbins MSA at 7.6% being lower. Oconee County continues to have the lowest unemployment rate of all the counties in Georgia.

Annual AFLAC Cancer Center Care -a- Thon! Can You Help?

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:12:34 -0400

Today and tomorrow the annual Children's Health Care of Atlanta AFLAC Cancer Center and Blood Services Center Care-A-Thon is taking place. Atlanta radio hosts will be broadcasting all day, both days, donating their time, money and other things in order to raise money for this wonderful organization.

You can go to WSB Radio www.wsbradio.com and listen live to national and local radio voices such as Clark Howard, Neil Boortz, Elyze Glink and others as they interview both patients and providers as well as provide information and entertainment. If you don't want to listen, or are unable to, you can go directly to the Care-a-Thon website and make a donation.

I know, times are hard and money is scarce, but please contribute what you can to this terrific cause. Some child you know may have to use these services someday.

On Aug. 19, 2010, Eat for a Cause in Athens Ga - Dine Out for Kids

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:35:43 -0400

On Aug. 19, Whatever It Takes Athens will have its Dine Out for Kids Event. Participating restaurants in and around Athens will donate a portion of their receipts to Whatever It Takes. WIT is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to fighting poverty by helping students, especially low income students, get a quality K-12 education.

As the name states, the volunteers will do Whatever It Takes to make sure this happens. Please visit the website and watch the video about the organization, introduced by Michael Stipes (R.E.M.). And then eat one, or all of your meals, on Aug. 19, at one of more of the participating restaurants.

There will also be various prizes such as gift cards to Krogers and other places that will be given to some of those who eat at on the the participating restaurants. All Atlanta area Longhorn restaurants are participating. You can get a list of participating restaurants here.

Dine Out For Kids will take place in cities throughout Georgia as well as Charlotte & Rocky Mount, NC.

HUD TO INVESTIGATE MORTGAGE LENDERS WHO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST EXPECTANT MOTHERS AND NEW PARENTS

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:48:42 -0400

Earlier today I read a post by Lenn Harley about discrimination by mortgage lenders against pregnant women. This was triggered by a pst by Erica Ramus: Newest Discrimination: Pregnancy & Your Mortgage App.

I was pleased to find out the HUD is on top of this and is taking steps to investigate those lenders that are being accused of this kind of discrimination. Even Vice President Joe Biden had something intelligent to say about this, without inserting foot in mouth.

"Denying a mortgage to people just because they're having a baby is flat wrong. Mothers on maternity leave have jobs, they have income, and they shouldn't have to lose their deal to close on a house because they had a baby. I applaud HUD for taking action on this practice that could potentially affect untold numbers of families."

Whether this happenned only once (although from the reponses it appears to have been a bit more widespread) or is systemic this practice needs to be put to a halt and those who have been doing it prosecuted.

Here is the HUD press release regarding its position on this kind of policy.

I Am Pretty Sure the House Wasn't Built That Way, Why Is Your Picture Like That

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 11:10:49 -0400

I am always amazed by what agents provide as pictures of a property that they place on the MLS. Probably the biggest problem are blurred photographs, followed by bad lighting. Or maybe bad lighting is followed by blurred photographs.

None of these are excusable, but there are some that really standout as very poor practices. While going through expired listings yesterday, I try to see what the agent of the expired listing has done so that I can differentiate myself, I came upon a listing where the main photograph had a portrait framed picture in landscape mode. Yes, the house was on its side. No, the picture here is not the listing photograph, I don't really want the agent to be embarrassed, after all, his listing already did not sell. One of the unfortunate things is that the photo is actually a well framed, well lit and well focused photograph.Unfortunately, this was also the only photograph included with the listing.

No big deal, right? Except for this is the photograph that gets uploaded to all of the sites that the MLS syndicates to. You know, Realtor.com, Trulia, Yahoo, etc. etc. etc. The places where all of the lookers, prospective buyers, prospective clients go. And with only one picture, and that picture mis-aligned, just what will the looker think. Not only that, what will prospective clients think? They will think that maybe this agent does not pay attention to details. If he/she misses the problem with the picture, what else will the agent miss.

And what about the sellers? Did they not ask to see the listing? Did the agent not show them copies of the listing?

Ok, maybe the picture did not have that much influence on the non-sale of the home (we won't go into the uninformative remarks here), but, I am pretty sure that it sure didn't help.

For information about buying or selling real estate in Athens, Ga and the surrounding communities, give me a call at 706-207-5290. Or email me with inquiries at athensrealestate@earthlink.net. You can search for and view properties in the area at my webpage, The Athens Real Estate Page.

June Home Sales Slide After 3 Months of Gain - Athens Clarke County, GA Residential Real Estate Market Report & Stats for June 2010

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 15:33:20 -0400

June 2010 residential real estate sales volume in Athens - Clarke County, GA slid 3% in June from May 2010 sales volume. However, this is still 2% higher volume than the the same period last year and 13% higher than the lows of last September. While down, this is not a indicating a negative trend nor a major weakening of the Athens-Clarke County housing market. However, the July volumes, which will come out later this month, will be a better indicator of the market. A positive indicator is that the D.O.M. (days on market) remained the same, 192 days, which is the low for the last year.

Both the average and median sales price of homes were down slightly from May .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 June there were 126 pending sales of residential property in Athens - Clarke County. 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:

Athens Date DOM Average Median # sold 1-Jul-09 203 $168,160.00 $143,000.00 848 1-Aug-09 203 $161,929.00 $140,000.00 818 1-Sep-09 204 $163,222.00 $139,500.00 787 1-Oct-09 205 $162,882.00 $139,900.00 772 1-Nov-09 201 $162,511.00 $140,000.00 794 1-Dec-09 202 $162,693.00 $141,500.00 837 1-Jan-10 203 $160,095.00 $140,000.00 828 1-Feb-10 202 $159,115.00 $139,500.00 846 1-Mar-10 200 $157,909.00 $140,000.00 847 1-Apr-10 197 $158,290.00 $140,250.00 846 1-May-10 195 $157,089.00 $139,900.00 884 1-Jun-10 192 $154,271.00 $137,700.00 893 1-Jul-10 192 $154,169.00 $137,000.00 869

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.

St. Charles - Country Quiet & City Elegance Minutes From Downtown & UGA

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:57:40 -0400

Just a few miles and a few minutes from downtown Athens and the University of Georgia is the quiet neighborhood of St. Charles. Executive homes of quality construction lie on attractively landscape lots. The homes are from 2500 to over 4000 square feet and sit on lots from just under an acre to several acres.

The homes and lots have been developed leaving mature trees in there natural settings provide a look of maturity to the neighborhood. You can have a pleasant walk through the neighborhood, sometimes coming upon a deer or two that will quietly slip back into the bordering forestland.

Lot's are still availble. Select yours now and have your home built in this desireable community.

For information about homes available in this neighborhood, or, anywhere in Athens-Clarke county and the surrounding communities contact me at 706-207-5290 or click here to send me an email.

Oconee County, GA Residential Real Estate Market Report & Stats for June 2010

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:37:30 -0400

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:

Oconee County Date DOM Average Median # sold 1-Jul-09 217 $293,272.00 $ 239,450.00 300 1-Aug-09 223 $284,824.00 $ 245,000.00 316 1-Sep-09 226 $291,198.00 $ 245,000.00 303 1-Oct-09 234 $292,215.00 $ 245,000.00 303 1-Nov-09 234 $296,288.00 $ 253,000.00 294 1-Dec-09 233 $287,728.00 $ 245,000.00 305 1-Jan-10 228 $283,674.00 $ 240,000.00 319 1-Feb-10 232 $283,077.00 $ 239,250.00 318 1-Mar-10 229 $284,813.00 $ 239,750.00 310 1-Apr-10 242 $282,785.00 $ 239,500.00 337 1-May-10 232 $282,285.00 $ 236,850.00 341 1-Jun-10 223 $279,644.00 $ 232,000.00 342 1-Jul-10 226 $273,325.00 $ 236,000.00 342

South Oconee Date DOM Average Median # sold 1-Jul-09 226 $281,749.00 $233,950.00 50 1-Aug-09 226 $264,332.00 $210,600.00 51 1-Sep-09 223 $267,070.00 $210,000.00 49 1-Oct-09 220 $257,823.00 $206,000.00 49 1-Nov-09 230 $252,230.00 $206,750.00 42 1-Dec-09 224 $254,025.00 $210,600.00 45 1-Jan-10 225 $249,662.00 $211,750.00 48 1-Feb-10 231 $246,973.00 $212,900.00 49 1-Mar-10 227 $245,934.00 $211,750.00 50 1-Apr-10 235 $260,150.00 $235,000.00 46 1-May-10 185 $268,313.00 $243,500.00 38 1-Jun-10 188 $281,712.00 $252,850.00 36 1-Jul-10 216 $286,918.00 $252,850.00 38

West Oconee Date DOM Average Median # sold 1-Jul-09 253 $254,959.00 $ 210,000.00 99 1-Aug-09 253 $256,298.00 $ 218,500.00 102 1-Sep-09 259 $256,160.00 $ 212,500.00 98 1-Oct-09 267 $254,906.00 $ 212,500.00 100 1-Nov-09 273 $258,186.00 $ 215,000.00 95 1-Dec-09 270 $252,530.00 $ 209,400.00 97 1-Jan-10 241 $251,078.00 $ 212,500.00 104 1-Feb-10 239 $247,448.00 $ 208,403.00 106 1-Mar-10 239 $251,270.00 $ 212,200.00 102 1-Apr-10 231 $246,957.00 $ 207,203.00 108 1-May-10 230 $251,635.00 $ 207,405.00 108 1-Jun-10 220 $238,394.00 $ 200,000.00 104 1-Jul-10 217 $242,616.00 $ 204,900.00 106

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.

Greater Athens Area Residential Real Estate Sales Volume Drops in June After 4 Straight Months of Rising Volume - Residential Real Estate Montly Statistics Charts, June 2009 - June 2010

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 11:56:25 -0400

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.

Greater Athens Area Shows Real Estate Sales Volume Growth for 4th Straight Month - Residential Real Estate Monthy Statistics Charts, June 2009 - May 2010

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:19:29 -0400

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

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.

Athens Ga Named to the Top 25 Art Destinations in the United States

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 20:51:12 -0400

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.

Athens Ga Unemployment Rate Drops for Second Straight Month

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:50:29 -0400

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.

The Lottery - A Must See Film. No It is Not About Powerball.

Sun, 23 May 2010 09:32:03 -0400

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!

Home Sales Flat for 3 Months - Athens Clarke County, GA Residential Real Estate Market Report & Stats for March 2010

Mon, 10 May 2010 10:32:02 -0400

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:

Athens Date DOM Average Median # sold 1-Apr-09 190 $172,330.00 $145,000.00 1009 1-May-09 194 $172,007.00 $145,000.00 961 1-Jun-09 200 $171,810.00 $145,000.00 901 1-Jul-09 203 $168,160.00 $143,000.00 848 1-Aug-09 203 $161,929.00 $140,000.00 818 1-Sep-09 204 $163,222.00 $139,500.00 787 1-Oct-09 205 $162,882.00 $139,900.00 772 1-Nov-09 201 $162,511.00 $140,000.00 794 1-Dec-09 202 $162,693.00 $141,500.00 837 1-Jan-10 203 $160,095.00 $140,000.00 828 1-Feb-10 202 $159,115.00 $139,500.00 846 1-Mar-10 200 $157,909.00 $140,000.00 847 1-Apr-10 197 $158,290.00 $140,250.00 846