Market stats for Suwanee, GA, September, 2013 indicate that there were 310 properties on the market (down from 314 last month). Overall, there was about a 2.9 month supply of properties (up from 2.7 last month). September had 88 sales. Compared to Sept, 2012 (78), this year was a little up, but inventory was down compared to 2012 (384). There were 108 sales last month, so this month was also lower. This is traditionally when things start slowing down… kids are going back to school and parents avoid buying and moving their kids… but then the relocations pick up a bit in the last quarter.
English: This is a picture of the front entrance of Lambert High School in Suwanee, Forsyth County, Georgia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In the Under $200k arena, there were 47 listings in Suwanee, GA, with about a 2.4 month supply (compared to 3.1 months supply last year). This September’s sales were 16 (32 last year, 16 last month). It used to be a county leader, though, for now it is moving back to one of the best price/locale segments again. The next level up is coming up fast, though. Last year at this time, there were 107 listings. Sales are being killed by last year’s, but the way the inventory has dropped, there is a pretty good chance that the low inventory is constricting sales.
Between $200k and $400k, there were 147 listings for sale (168 last year, 159 last month), and 2.2 months of supply. Sales in September, 2013 were 56 (70 in August), compared with 38 for the same period in 2012. Sales have rocked for the last few months. This shouldn’t be a “peaky” market/price segment. Unlike most of the county, this is the largest price segment in the area, and its direction plays a major part in how the area looks. Make no mistake, this is still way in Seller’s Market territory. This is one of a very few areas where the $200k-$400k segment is ahead of the under $200k segment.
From $400k to $600k, there were 59 homes on the market. The absorption rate was at 3.9 months (3.2 in August). There were 12 sales in September (17 last month)… up from 6 last year at this time. Looking at the three month average, there were 46 sales this year and 25 for the same period last year. This segment had become dramatically stronger in the last couple of months.
In the $600k to $800k arena, there are 30 listings, with about a 10 month supply. Sales at this level are not consistent, but there were 2 sales this month (4 last month). Looking at one month makes the numbers jump around. For the last three months, sales were 9… For the same time last year, the sales were 8. With the huge decrease in listings over the last couple of months, I was looking for this to become one of the strongest $600k-$800k area in the county. The drop in sales this month from last month put a crimp on the A/R, though.
The range from $800k to $1m, there are 8 homes listed and 24 months of inventory on the market. There were only 4 sales at this price level in 2011. There were 7 in 2012. This is a tough segment to try to sell in right now, but if inventory stays low, it won’t be quite as rough. But there still needs to be some more sales activity. There was 1 sale in March and 1 sale in September. Such a difference between this segment and the one below.
In Suwanee, GA, Above $1m, there are 19 properties listed. The current absorption rate indicated about 28.5 months of inventory, but because of the smaller numbers of sales, this could be significantly impacted by just a couple of sales. In this segment, we should be seeing reduced inventories… There were 22 homes listed in this segment at this time last year. There was 1 sale in September.
Suwanee, GA is a suburb of Atlanta in Gwinnett, Forsyth and (just a little bit) in Fulton Counties. The population is 2000 was 8,725, but that only included the area inside the city limits, and it had seen tremendous growth since that census. Money Magazine rated Suwanee in the “Top 10 Best Places to Live” in 2007, and it is one of the wealthiest parts of Georgia. Recently, the City of Suwanee has revamped their old town, adding a large park with a bandshell, condos, town homes and small businesses. It is also home to North Gwinnett High School, Peachtree Ridge and Collins Hill.
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The last year has been fairly strong… it hasn’t slowed much, if at all. August saw 44 sales, up from the 38 last month and compared to the 55 for July last year.
In 2012, sales for August were at 308, so 207 sales was a big decrease, year over year. Last month’s sales were at 212. But, coupled with the decrease in inventory, things are still looking reasonably good. Normally the market picks up from January-February through about June-August. This month we are OK, but some are arguing that constrained inventories are still holding back sales or we could be looking even better.
