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Health & Fitness

Forsyth County March Numbers Are In

Our local Forsyth County real estate is continuing to experience a strong seller's market.

The Forsyth County real estate market continues to display many positive indicators.

The biggest story continues to be the low inventory, creating a strong seller’s market (a seller’s market is generally classified as less than six months of inventory). We currently have 1,017 detached residential homes on the market.  That is a 29 percent decrease from March of last year. When you compare it to March of 2011 it’s a 45 percent decrease. With low inventory you typically have less expired listings and we have definitely seen that. The expired listings decreased by 74 percent from this time last year.

Even with lower inventory, the number of homes under contract increased 11 percent. The number of sold homes increased about 9 percent. This number is understated because new construction remains the second biggest story in the county. When talking to builders and agents on site, at least half of their contracts are written prior to construction even beginning. We call these pre-sales and they are not recorded in our MLS, so we have no way to track them.

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The third biggest story remains the large investment groups that are using a “Buy and Hold” strategy to purchase dozens of homes each month. If you attend the auction on the county courthouse steps on the first Tuesday of the month, you will see them in action. They are willing to pay full market value (or more) for homes that they often have never been in. They are so confident that the Atlanta market will be appreciating in value for the next 5-7 years, they know the investments are going to be profitable. The downside is these homes are not available for first time homebuyers to purchase in our local market.

With continued pressure on inventory, prices are increasing modestly. If you tried to sell your home in the past 2-3 years and weren’t able to, now might be the time to re-enter the market. Just give me a call and I will help you determine if it makes sense for you.

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Editor's Note: Tim Hopkins is a licensed realtor since 2001 and blogger on Cumming Patch.

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