The results are in for home sales in the first half of 2009 and the numbers are not great, but there is reason to think that the bottom is close!

From January 1 to June 30, 2009 there were 585 homes sold in Anderson County for an average price of $126,958. That was a drop of 35% from the prior year – which was down from the year before that. The average price also dropped , about 21%.

To make matters even worse, the homes that did sell went for about 94% of their asking price as compared to 96% last year. They also took longer to sell, with the average days on market going from 94 days last year to 151 this year.

Most of the homes that sold were first time home buyers, downsizers and those looking for bargains, with the large majority of homes selling for under $200,000 (about 85%) and almost half (45%) selling for under $100,000. (See more details, including all the homes sold this year, on our Market Update page.)

Though the past 6 months were not strong, we feel that the bottom may be close. While May home sales were off by 43% from the previous May, June 2009 was only off 23% from June 2008. And we have definately seen an increase in the last few weeks in the number of showings and buyer calls. We already have several closings in July and see more in the coming days.

The best indicator of how we are thinking is that after months of reducing the size of our team, we’ve been adding lately. We brought back our Closing Coordinator, Cathy Proner, to help with the closing load and we’re actively looking for a Buyer’s Agent to work with the buyers that our marketing has been generating.

If you’re thinking of buying, now is a great time. Of course interest rates are still low, and both inventory and many seller’s motivation are high. If you’re selling, you need to make sure your home is priced aggressively and that its condition is as good as possible. Homes that are priced right and look great do sell.

Please feel free to email or call me at 864-225-2503 if you have any questions!

Elizabeth