Blue Ridge Real Estate

Picking up where we left off last week, I want to drill a little deeper into the last 10 years of our area’s real estate history and point out some of the more interesting statistics. As many have commented to me over this past week, our sales and volume are currently above our 2002 sales numbers. Two glaring differences are in our foreclosure sector and our lots/land real estate sector. Fortunately, we had so few foreclosures to report in our past that our Northeast Georgia Multiple Listing Service did not start tracking that statistic until mid 2008. Of course, our real estate landscape has changed and, now over the last several years, routinely attribute between 30-50% of our monthly sales to foreclosures. For 2009, the first full year of foreclosure statistics in our MLS, Fannin County reported 25.8% of sales were bank-owned, or foreclosed properties. Our percentage remained in sync with our neighbors: Gilmer County reported 25.7% and Union County reported 29% for 2009. For Fannin County, 43.8% of all sales reported to the MLS in 2011 were foreclosures, compared to Gilmer County’s 52% and Union County’s 43.7%.
As many remember, Lots, Land, and Acreage were one of the hottest commodity in Fannin County in 2002. Of the 747 sales reported to the MLS in Fannin County in 2002, 335 (44.8%) of sales were listed as land with 141 sales categorized as Acreage, and 138 categorized as Vacant Lots.
The Fannin County real estate market was heating up significantly in 2005, with 1577 sales reported to the MLS. Of those 1577, 762 (48.3%) were classified as Land with 290 categorized as Acreage, and 371 categorized as Vacant Lots.
Fannin County started experiencing some gaps in real estate sales in 2007, but the numbers were shocking in 2008. Of the 480 real estate sales reported in Fannin County, 129 (26.9%) were classified as Land with only 19 sales categorized as Acreage, and 80 categorized as Vacant Lots.
For the Lots/Land Sector, we have seen slight improvement. In 2011, of the 710 sales reported to the MLS, 218 (30.7%) were classified as Land with 52 categorized as Acreage and 140 categorized as Vacant Lots. Although Acreage has rebounded nicely from our 2008 sales, I would like to highlight our Vacant Lot sales , which are slightly above the 2002 sales numbers. And where this may not be an invitation to pull out the heavy equipment and start building roads in new subdivisions, we can look at these numbers and assume positive and steady growth.

This year Debbi, the boys and I spent some of our Christmas vacation in Connecticut with Debbi’s family. I have a difficult time sleeping in the car, so I found myself driving about 16 of the 18 hours to New England. As you can imagine, an 16 hour drive can give a person plenty of time to think. My mind wondered back through the years of owning the RE/MAX office and the path that has led us to where we are today. Needless to say, it’s been quite a ride! My Georgia real estate career started in 2002, and so I thought I would spend some time this week comparing our stats through the last decade, highlighting some of the years from 2002 through 2011.
In 2002, the Northeast Georgia MLS reported 747 sales for Fannin County, while neighboring Gilmer County reported 846 sales and Union County reported 777 sales. Fannin County’s Average List Price was 127,965 with an Average Sales Price of 119,291. The Median Sales Price was $90,000. Fannin County had a Sales Volume of $89,110,372.
In 2004, Fannin County reported 1171 sales for Fannin County, representing a 57% increase in two years. Union County reported 1003 sales and Gilmer County reported 1115 sales. Fannin County’s Average List Price jumped to $174,762 with an Average Sales Price of $164,071 and a Median Sales Price of $127,000. The total Sales Volume for Fannin County in 2004 was $192,127,283 representing a staggering 115% increase over 2002.
In 2006, Fannin County reported 1135 sales, leveling off from 2004. The Average Sales Price rose to $207,788, the Median Sales Price jumped to $156,000, and the total Sales volume for Fannin County grew to $235,838,826.
In 2008, Fannin County reported 480 sales, representing a 57.7% drop. The Average Sales Price remained steady at $212,216, the Median Sales Price climbed to $179,625, but the Total Volume fell 56.8% to $101,863,881.
Skipping ahead to 2011, Fannin County has, so far, reported 680 sales, with an Average Sales Price of $159,777, an Average Median Price of $126,775. Gilmer County reported 564 sales Union County reported 594 sales in 2011. Fannin County posted a Total Volume of $110,245,829, representing an 8.22% climb from 2008′s volume and a 23.7% increase over 2002′s Total Sales Volume. Next week, we’ll drill down deeper into some of the more popular sectors using the same comparative years.

Does your real estate agent speak a different language? A rather long conversation yesterday afternoon with a client of mine has provoked this topic. Although we talk frequently on non-real estate matters, our exchange felt as if we had a language barrier, and he could not interpret some of the real estate terms I used. And after further explanation of a few key terms, our real estate consultation wrapped up quickly and we moved on to more pressing matters, like the upcoming College Football Bowl schedule. Every occupation uses specific jargon; doctors and nurses speak their own language, restaurant staff have their own form of communications, and if you’ve ever listened to a truck driver on a CB, you may think you’ve moved to a different country. The jargon used in a real estate agents’ language is less subtle than the examples above, but we still use terms that should be defined and explained to those who do not commonly transact in real estate holdings. Today, I want to highlight a few that were our stumbling blocks:

Encumbrance – Anything that limits or affects the fee simple title to a property, such as an easement or a mortgage. Some encumbrances must be removed/satisfied before a property can be transferred.

Abstract of Title -An itemized history of title to property including documents that affect the property, such as deeds, mortgages, and liens. Although most title searches do not reach more than 100 years into the past, a large portion of our local properties can be traced back to the original Land Grants.

Convey – The act of transferring title or an interest in real estate to another party.

Deed – The written instrument that is the tangible expression of transfer that accomplishes or
mechanically conveys title or an interest in real estate.

Millage Rate – The amount per $1,000 that is used to calculate taxes on property. The Fannin Co. Millage Rate is 18.31

Of course, there are many, many more terms that could be included in a real estate glossary. These are the terms that we struggled with yesterday, and I sought and received my friend’s permission before publishing them. When it comes to terminology that you aren’t familiar with, please ask your real estate agent to explain, in detail, what they are trying to communicate to you. Good communication almost always results in a smooth real estate transaction.