Tag Archives: sellers

Lawrenceville, GA Market Report, May 2013

Friday, 28 June 2013 08:37

Written by Lane Bailey

0 Comments

This map shows the incorporated and unincorpor...

Image via Wikipedia

Market stats for Lawrenceville, GA, May, 2013, indicate that there were 647 properties on the market, up 12 from last month. Overall, there was about a 3.3 month supply of properties. In 2012, sales for May were at 275, so 207 sales was a big decrease, year over year. Last month’s sales were at 168. But, coupled with the decrease in inventory, things are still looking pretty 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.

For Lawrenceville, GA, Homes Under $200k, there are 466 listings, with about a 2.9 month supply of homes. Sales were down from May, 2012 (175 v 235), although sales may very well be off because of constrained inventories. Last year in this segment, there were over 900 listings v under 500 now. This segment is easily the lion’s share of sales for the area. With the 2.88 month A/R, it is solidly in Seller’s Market territory. The low Absorption Rate (AR) is due to very strong sales, coupled with dramatically lower listing inventories. Month over month sales were down from 136 last month. But oddly, sales are almost exactly what they were two months ago.

Between $200k and $400k, there are 157 listings for sale, and about 4.6 months of supply. Oddly, this had one of the mid-pack segments in the county, now it’s on the weak side. The 29 sales for May, 2013 was pretty close to the 31 from last year, and close to the 31 sales last month. We had been close but slipped back into Seller’s Market territory here… again.

From $400k to $600k, there are 17 homes on the market. The absorption rate is around 12.8 months. However, with the level of sales in this segment, a couple of sales added or subtracted can have a HUGE impact. There were 2 sales for May, the Absorption Rate has dropped from 78 months June11, through good, but sporadic sales. This is acting like a luxury market and the A/R is jumping all over the place… with just a few sales (A/R was 25.5 last month). While the long term trend was looking a little better, now it is still pretty choppy.

In the $600k to $800k arena, there are 3 listings, with about 9.0 months of supply. As with the next lower priced segment, a couple of sales makes a big difference and there was 1 sale in May. There were only 6 sales at this level in all of 2011. There were 4 sales in 2012.

Between $800k and $1M, and Above $1M there are 4 homes listed (combined) and not enough sales data to give an accurate absorption rate. Until this month, there had only been one sale in this range in the last 3 years (Aug, 2010), according to FMLS. But, there was 1 sale in July 12. It was over $1M, if that makes a difference…

Lawrenceville is in Gwinnett County, GA, just outside of Atlanta. As of the 2000 Census, there were 22,937 people in Lawrenceville, but that is only including people in the city limits, and there has been a lot of growth since 2000 in Gwinnett County (2008 estimates from the Census Bureau peg population around 29,000). It was incorporated in 1821. Lawrenceville is home to Central Gwinnett High School, and also has students that the Mountain View and Archer clusters. It is also home to Gwinnett Technical College and Georgia Gwinnett College. Another recent addition to Lawrenceville is that it is home to the Gwinnett Braves, playing at the Gwinnett Stadium on GA20 between I-85 and GA316. Possibly the most famous resident of Lawrenceville was Oliver Hardy. As a small boy he lived in Lawrenceville with his parents for a short time. Lawrenceville was also home to Junior Samples. Some of its other residents included Jeff Francouer, Brian McCann and Jennifer Ferrin.

Atlanta Metro Zillow Home Value Index

Atlanta Metro real estate info

I have a page dedicated to Lawrenceville Market Data.

I’m Always Up For a Good Surprise.. (lanebailey.com)
Gwinnett County Public Schools Making Changes… (lanebailey.com)

Buford, GA, Market Report, May 2013

Monday, 24 June 2013 09:23

Written by Lane Bailey

1 Comment

Market stats for Buford, GA, May, 2013 indicate that there were 324 properties on the market, an decrease of 28 from last month. Overall, there was about an 4.0 month supply of properties (Absorption Rate or A/R). There were 88 sales for May, down from 90 last month and upfrom the 86 sales last May12. It isn’t the strongest market in Gwinnett, but the A/R is nothing to sneeze at. It is still in Seller’s Market territory.

In the sub-$200k arena, there were 120 listings, with a 2.5 month supply. This is the largest price segment in this market area, so strength here usually equals strength across the whole local market area. Sales were up from last month 52 (v 49 last month), and slightly down compared to last year (54 sales in May12). But, the A/R is well under the 6 months that would be considered fairly balanced… pointing towards a solid seller’s market. This time of year we are usually seeing an increase is sales… and listings.

Between $200k and $400k, there were 136 listings for sale, and about 4.5 months of supply. The 35 sales recorded were up from the 33 last month and up from the 25 sales last year for May. This had been one of the weaker segments in the county, but had improved dramatically until last month it was fairly balanced, though tilted towards buyers… now it is further into Seller’s Market territory.

From $400k to $600k, there were 46 homes on the market. The absorption rate is 19.7 Months. There have been 7 sales in the last 3 months (0 for March, 7 for April and 0 for May). When the market is rolling, there should be 5-7 sales a month during this part of the year. Just for comparison, there were 16 sales in the Mar-May period in 2012. This segment has been bouncing all over the place, though…

In the $600k to $800k arena, there were 6 listings. Absorption Rate is 9.0 months… but it jumps around a lot. Sales in this range are pretty sporadic, but steady when looking at the long-term. The drop in inventory over the last few months from 14 homes to 6 had made things look less slow… but they are back on the rise. There were 0 sales in May last year and 1 in May this year.

The range from $800k to $1m, there were 4 homes listed. Trends are hardly definable. Listings are down. February was the last recorded sale. There was 0 sales in May. So it now has a 12.0 month Absorption Rate.

Above $1m, there were 12 properties listed. There was sale in the segment in April… of 2009…and then May, 2011… and 2 sales in June, 2011… also 1 in July and September, 2012. There was 0 sales in May. So, we have 18 months of inventory. I hope, but am not expecting, sales to be more consistent.

Buford, GA is a suburb of Atlanta in Gwinnett and Hall Counties. The population is 2000 was 10,668, but that only included the area inside the city limits, and it had seen tremendous growth since that census. Buford is home to Lake Lanier, one of Georgia’s premiere recreational areas, and Lake Lanier Islands. Recently, the City of Buford has revamped their old town. It is also home to Buford (Buford City Schools aren’t a part of Gwinnett County Schools), Mill Creek, Mountain View and Lanier High School (Lanier opened for the 2010-11 school year).

I have a page dedicated to Buford Market Data.

Atlanta Metro Zillow Home Value Index

Atlanta Metro Home Values – Interactive chart

Sugar Hill, GA, Market Report, May 2013

Friday, 21 June 2013 10:17

Written by Lane Bailey

0 Comments

Image via Wikipedia

Market stats for Sugar Hill, GA , May, 2013 indicates that there were 99 homes on the market. down 1 from last month. Overall, there is about an 3.0 month supply (3.4 last month). There were 39 sales, compared to 26 last month and 39 last May. Of course, then there were 143 listings on the market.

For Sugar Hill homes priced under $200k, there were 52 listings, with about 2.4 months supply. There were 23 sales this May, well below last year for the same time (34). There were 18 sales last month. Inventories have been fluid, rising and falling. This time of year we often see a slight increase in listings… but we are very low. In fact, sales may be stifled by lack of inventory. Things have been a little choppy, though… up one month, down the next, then back up.

Sugar Hill Listings between $200k and $400k, there are 41 listings for sale, and about 3.8 months of supply. Last May there was a 10.5 month supply. There were 4 sales then, this year there were 15. Last month had 8 sales. This month was gang-busters. We are back in Seller’s Market territory here.

For listings in the $400k to $600k range, there were 3 homes on the market. The absorption rate was around 9.0 months, but with 1 sale this month, it is tough to calculate accurately. Obviously, a sale or two could make a BIG difference. I’ve finally started to see some consistency here. Hopefully we’ll have a little more action during the rest of the Spring selling season.

In the $600k to $800k, $800k to $1m and Above $1m (combined), the sales are too inconsistent to have a solid read on, but there were 3 homes listed for sale in these price ranges. No sales have been recorded in the last 2+ years.

Sugar Hill, GA is a suburb of Atlanta in Gwinnett County. The population is 2000 was 11,399, but that only included the area inside the city limits. The name comes from a bag of Sugar that spilled on a hill while in transit between Cumming and the railroad in Buford. And while it is actually a big market, it is in the shadows of Lawrenceville, Duluth and Suwanee… which all are nearby. That also makes it a great location, as it is close to everything that Gwinnett County, GA has to offer.

I have a page dedicated to Sugar Hill Market Data.

Atlanta Metro Zillow Home Value Index

Atlanta Metro Home Values – Interactive chart

Phoning In Home Improvements…

Wednesday, 19 June 2013 11:57

Written by Lane Bailey

1 Comment

Interior design (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I ran across an article recently with 5 apps for Android phones that can with your next DiY project… Here is the source article.

Houzz Interior Design Ideas

Looks kind of like a self-contained Pinterest for Home Improvement… They have almost 1,000,000 photos of various style home interior designs.

My Measures & Dimensions

Now this looks REALLY cool, especially for a free app. Shoot a “before” picture and then add measurements along with arrows and notes… It can really help get everything together to communicate a project’s goals to your vendor.

DIY Remodel Cost Calculator

This is my kind of calculator… first, it’s free and second, it can be used to get a good idea of the cost of a project.

There are a couple of others on the source article, but these are the ones I thought were the coolest. Also, below, there are a few links for other articles that might be of interest.

interior design oxford rogue designs (Photo credit: rogue-designs)

One thing to ALWAYS keep in mind, though, is that you shouldn’t undertake these improvements if the goal is resale value. It is VERY rare to find an improvement that actually adds to resale value. Some may actually hurt resale. The one exception to that would be painting… or replacing worn out things like carpeting.

And maintenance isn’t “improving”. Too many times people tell me that they replaced the roof and A/C when asked what improvements have been made. Unless they were dramatically upgraded during replacement, it likely wouldn’t qualify… although they can still add value (although, lack of proper maintenance really detracts from value more than proper maintenance add to it).

Suwanee, GA, Market Report, May, 2013

Monday, 17 June 2013 08:53

Written by Lane Bailey

0 Comments

Market stats for Suwanee, GA, May, 2013 indicate that there were 350 properties on the market (down from 353 last month). Overall, there was about a 3.8 month supply of properties (down from 4.8 last month). May had 118 sales. Compared to May, 2012 (99), this year was WAY up, but inventory was down compared to 2012 (439). There were 92 sales last month, so this month rocked last. The machine has really cranked up over the last couple of months.

In the Under $200k arena, there were 47 listings in Suwanee, GA, with about a 2.3 month supply (compared to 2.6 months supply last year). This May’s sales were 21 (42 last year, 24 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 118 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 194 listings for sale (220 last year, 184 last month), and 3.6 months of supply. Sales in May, 2013 were 71 (54 in April), compared with 43 for the same period in 2012. Sales have rocked for the last few months. I’d like to see it stay up past 50 sales or so for the next couple of 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 basically in Seller’s Market territory.

From $400k to $600k, there were 56 homes on the market. The absorption rate was at 4.9 months (8.5 in April). There were 17 sales in May (11 last month)… up from 11 last year at this time. Looking at the three month average, there were 34 sales this year and 31 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 26 listings, with about a 6.0 month supply. Sales at this level are not consistent, but there were 8 sales this month (2 last month). Looking at one month makes the numbers jump around. For the last three months, sales were 13… For the same time last year, the sales were 6. 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. It is fairly strong right now… we’ll have to see if it holds.

The range from $800k to $1m, there are 10 homes listed and 30 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.

In Suwanee, GA, Above $1m, there are 17 properties listed. The current absorption rate indicated about 17 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 25 homes listed in this segment at this time last year. There was 1 sale in May, but 3 in the Mar-May time frame, 4 the year before.

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. I have a page dedicated to Suwanee Market Data.