Northeast Georgia June 2017 Real Estate News

Georgia’s labor market has tightened up in June, with the state’s unemployment rate falling below 5%. Georgia’s economy is booming, with both local and national companies investing in the region, bringing growth and jobs. As we know, growth and jobs mean changes to our housing market. Northeast Georgia June 2017 real estate news is looking good.

Northeast Georgia June 2017 Real Estate Snapshot:

Currently, the median listing price for homes in the state is $220,000, according to Realtor.com. The median closing price is $186,000. Closer to our region, listing prices are varied, from a high median price of $330,000 in Oconee County, to $110,000 in Franklin County. Clearly, the housing prices closer to population centers are higher than in our more rural areas.
The median sales price in the state has risen in 2017, from $219,900 to $220,000.
Active inventory in the month of May was down 21% from the same month in 2016, but did not change from the previous month.
Average days on market before being sold has decreased from 66 days to 58 days over May of 1016. That’s a decrease of 12%.
There was a 13% increase in units sold over April 2017. Great news!

Reality Check: What we see in the market

Stats and data are helpful, but we have our boots on the ground here in the Northeast Georgia real estate scene, so we can tell you what’s really happening around here with real estate. First – we think the listing prices for Franklin County are a bit high. Same for Hart, Elbert and Stephens counties. Those areas tend to have a larger inventory of manufactured homes, which are less expensive and drive the average total for housing prices down.

Clarke County is booming. So much so, in fact, that housing prices have become unreasonably high. Because of it’s proximity to UGA, (the largest employer in Clarke County) investors have been buying up houses and turning them into student rentals. We think that’s going to bite them in the backside eventually.

How Well Do You Know Georgia?

Here are some interesting things you may not know about our beautiful home state:

The cost of living index, based on a US average of 100, is 93.20. What does that mean? It’s less expensive to live here than in other areas of the country.
We’re a young people state! The median age of Georgia residents is 35.8.
Recent job growth is positive, with UGA forecasting our economy outpacing the national average this year, and Athens is predicted to outpace the state’s growth. Our region is a great place to settle down and raise your family.
Georgia is experiencing a resurgence of manufacturing jobs, with 45,000 positions added in the last seven years.