2009 is over. Home sales so far are about the same as 2009.  Land sales are currently at a slower pace than last year, which was one of the worst years on record.  Price is the number ONE factor in selling your property.  Prices are down from last year and so are sales.  Home sales are down over 16% and land 53% from last year alone.  2010 is now here and we are anticipating a slow, but more paced recovery.  No quick highs, but a steady growth.

  

 Franklin is a unique market in that we do not have the large industrial or commercial base to bring jobs to town.  Our market here is highly dependent on the retiree and second home market.  The primary sources of these buyers are from Florida and nearby Atlanta, Georgia.  When they are down, we are down.  We wanted to give you some statistics about our area to be aware of our market today.  We will try to update this as much as possible.  The first section is for homes only.

 

2005 Market (Total Year)

New listings..................................................647

Sold listings..................................................639

Average Sales Price............................$157,656

 

2006 Market  (Total Year)

New listings.................................................570

Sold listings..................................................624

Average Sales Price............................$172,116

 

2007 Market (Total Year)

New listings.................................................477

Sold listings..................................................446

Average Sales Price............................$180,480

 

2008 Market (Total Year)

New listings..................................................811

Sold listings..................................................297

Average Sales Price............................$178,017

 

2009 Market (Total Year)

New listings................................................921

Sold listings................................................268

Average Sales Price...........................$152,752

 

2010 Market (Through February 28)

New listings................................................136

Sold listings..................................................33

Average Sales Price...........................$142,399


source:  National Association of Realtors report and Navica MLS dated 2/18/8/2010.  This is just based upon the Franklin area and does not include other Counties (Graham, Jackson, Cherokee, etc.)


Residential:  As of today,  there are 595 active home listings in Franklin

Home sales have slowed down, but that is quite normal for this time of the year.  The median home price is down about 17% from the same period in 2009.  2009 ended up 6.5% down from 2008.

 

Land - We now have 971 land listings in Franklin, as of today.

Land sales are also slow, not only due to the time of the year, but also due to financing.  It is difficult to get a loan on a land purchase.  Most are bought cash or as part of a construction deal with a builder.

 

Foreclosures?
According to the Macon County Court, we had 256 foreclosures during 2009.  We all see the press talking about all the foreclosures out there in the current market.  The news channel MSNBC says that 1 out of every 3 sales in the USA is a foreclosure.  2.5 million foreclosures now and according to Credit Suisse, another 8.1 million coming before 2012.  One in every 276 homes in the US is now in foreclosure. We are starting to see more and more foreclosures and short sales in our market, and this means there can be some great buys out there.  The foreclosure problem is not only due to the sub-prime mess, but also because so many ARMs are coming due and the folks are underwater and will let their homes go into foreclosure.

 

As you can probably see, I love stats and charts.  They tell more in one picture than a Realtor can tell you all day.

 

The following shows the percent of foreclosures in 2009 and the price range of the homes involved.  We will update this for 2010 as soon as we have a little more data.  So far, in 2010, out of 30+ sales, only 2 have been foreclosures.

 

 

Market analysis charts for those "visual" people like me that want to see more than just numbers.  The chart below shows the month to month sales for the Franklin market.  Some spike in the later part of 2009 and early 2010.  Possibly the First Time Homeowner's Credit effect?

 


Or shown another way for the past few years:

 

We are developing a "glut" of homes on the market.  Look at this chart, which shows the new listings in yellow and the sale by month in red.  See a glut (the yellow above the red sales line)?


Price is so important.  You shouldn't pay too much, but you should not ask too much, unless you plan on staying in the market a long time.  The danger is you may end up chasing the market.

 

So what price ranges are selling?  This chart shows that the $100K to $200K market

represents 23% of all the inventory, but 71% of all sales.

 



This chart shows which areas of town sell the most homes.  Location, location, location....


This chart shows of all the homes sold in 2010, how they were purchased.

 


And here we have the land sales so far this year.  2009 was not a good year for land sales.  The most likely reason is the lack of financing on land purchases. 

 


Or shown for the last few years as a bar chart:

 

And here again, there is a glut of land listings and slower sales.  This can be seen in the following chart, where the sales in red do not follow the new listings

 

.


This next chart shows which areas have the best land sales. 

 



And finally, how land is purchased, better have cash on hand.  It's averaging about $12,800 per acre.

 


 

 Contact me for more information on the market in Franklin.  Just remember, God is in charge, not us.