Absorption Rates; Inventory Levels Gone Awry

As we look at the fabled “national real estate market” the NAR tells us that across the nation we have an inventory level currently in the neighborhood of 9.8 months of housing supply.  As I have always indicated however, real estate is local all the way down to which side of town you live on and in which neighborhood.  So how do inventory levels look on Lake Hartwell on the Georgia side of the “pond?” 

Well if we start at I-85 at Lavonia head over to Hartwell and then north to Reed Creek and create a 10 mile radius around that spot we find, according to Georgia MLS, the number of months supply of housing on the market to be a whopping 28.2 months!  In Hartwell on the whole we see 28.3 months and Lavonia at an inflated 31.1 months of housing supply.

If we dig deeper into home sales in the past six months and which price points are the most inflated right now we see that from $275k-$350k, in this same 10 mile parameter around Reed Creek that encompasses much of Lake Hartwell, that inventory levels balloon upward to 126 months supply of housing inventory on the market for sale!  Between $450k-$850k we see levels that range from a “low” of 54 months and a high of 63.  To put this back into perspective, an inventory level of 4-6 months is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.  Anything over 6 months is a buyer’s market.  Well at current levels if you are a buyer you have plenty to pick from right now.

If you are currently trying to sell your Lake Hartwell home or are thinking about it in the near future either you must understand that this will prolong that dreaded DOM (days on market) statistic or you had better really think outside the box to attract the few buyers that are out there! Average DOM is 209 days in the past year with a median DOM between $300k-$1 million of 206 days and highs depending on the price point of 317.

If you would like to keep up to date with current market trends on Lake Hartwell you should take the time to visit Market Snapshots.  This is a great way to gauge market trends on Hartwell or anywhere in Georgia.  Plus, you can view it before you decide to register to receive Market Snapshots at www.lakehartwellhometrends.com.

Why you and a Buyer’s Agent make a good fit!

YOUR INTERESTS ARE PROFESSIONALLY REPRESENTED

Enlisting the services of a professional Buyer’s Agent is similar to using an accountant to help you with your taxes, a doctor to help you with your health care, or a mechanic to help you with your car. If you had the time to devote to learning everything about accounting, medicine, and automotive mechanics, you could perform these services yourself. But seriously, who has time for such endeavors? This is why you enlist the help of proven professionals.

Unlike the Listing Agent who represents “only the interests of the Seller,”your real estate agent will take care of the hassles of everyday real estate transactions for you, allowing you to concentrate on your full-time job, while guiding you through the home-buying process. Agents exclusively represent your interests as they help you find a home, present your contract offer, negotiate, and close on your home.

YOU GET A PERSONAL SPECIALIST WHO UNDERSTANDS YOUR HOME OWNERSHIP NEEDS

Just as your accountant, doctor, and mechanic understand your specific needs, your Buyer’s Agent understands your real estate needs and concerns. And they achieve this type of understanding through open communication at all times. Your Buyer’s Agent will save you a lot of time by providing you the needed details about a potentially interesting home before you see it. In addition, your Buyer’s Agent will listen to your feedback and concerns about each home.

YOU WILL GET THE HOME YOU WANT WITH AS LITTLE HASSLE AS POSSIBLE

The advantage of signing a Buyer’s Agency Agreement is that you will have a professional agent working to find and secure the ideal home for you. It is nearly impossible to find a home that meets your exact needs, get a contract negotiated, and close the transaction without an experienced agent.

You won’t need to spend endless evenings and weekends driving around looking for homes or trying to search websites by yourself. When you tour homes with your professional Buyer’s Agent, you will already know that the homes meet your criteria and are within your price range.

BEST OF ALL, THE BUYER’S AGENCY AGREEMENT IS USUALLY FREE OF CHARGE

Entering into a Buyer’s Agency Agreement has countless advantages. When you sign the agreement, you are simply agreeing to “hire” a personal representative who, by law, must represent your best interests to the best of his or her ability. All of this personal service is generally available at absolutely NO COST TO YOU!  Generally speaking, the Seller’s Agent is responsible for paying your Buyer’s Agent fee. So, you get a professional agent devoted to protecting your needs and to helping you make one of the most important investment decisions of your life, and usually for free

If you would like to find out about local market conditions please go to www.lakehartwellhometrends.com for your local Market Snapshot!

Lake Hartwell Boat Dock Permits and Recent Improvements

Don’t Risk those boat dock permits. Dock installation deadline now set.

“We’re reminding property owners who have dock permits but have not installed them of the upcoming deadline,” said Virgil Hobbs, Hartwell project manager. ”We urge permit holders to take advantage of the near-normal water levels to have their docks
installed.”

Army Corps Press Release

According to the Army Corps, Recent Lake Improvements

• 18 Mile Creek access, Camp Creek access, Carters Ferry access, New Prospect access, Townvillle access, Spring Branch access:   New courtesy dock
• Friendship Recreation Area:  New restrooms at boat ramp
• SC Recreation Area (access to walking trail) and SC Overlook:  Area repaved and striped

Web Searches Lake Hartwell; Popular Keywords

Search Terms for 30 days ending 2009-09-14 (Summarized)
Views Rounded for Convenience
2009-08-15 to Today
Search	Views
lake hartwell fishing report	210
lake hartwell restaurants	210
lake hartwell ga	130
lake hartwell foreclosures	100
most expensive zip codes	80
lake hartwell reo	70
most expensive zip code	70
lake hartwell fishing reports	60
restaurants on the water on lake hartwell	60
lake hartwell restaurant on the water	50

It seems that foreclosures, fishing, and dining maintain their place on the list of most used keywords over the last 30 days.  With cool nights and mornings it seems that the bass are biting again!  If you haven’t hit the lake recently, you need to soon!  The water is perfect and the cooler days will draw you in and keep you!

Lake Hartwell; Get This Week’s Local Conditions

MLS Market Snapshot

Get This Week’s Local Conditions

With access to the Multiple Listing Service
(MLS) data I will provide you with what you
need to:

• Gauge how the market is trending
• Find out what sold most recently and
  for how much
• Understand how homes compete on
  price with other properties selling in
  the area
• View homes for sale with photos to
  better assess the market conditions

… and answer any pressing questions you
may have at http://www.LakeHartwellHomeTrends.com!

Lake Hartwell CoveKeeper Project

The Lake Hartwell Association has started lake maintenance program called the CoveKeeper Project.

Volunteers are asked to participate in the following ways;

• surveys annually of a segment of the shoreline
• act like a neighborhood watch regarding the lake

Volunteers will receive training to assist in the following;

• helping to educate lake residents on practices that protect the lake
• providing knowledge on what types of planting buffers to prevent fertilizer from washing down lawns and into the water

If you are interested you can e-mail Hartwelllakekeeper@yahoo.com for more information. Also, don’t forget about the annual Hartwell Lake Cleanup Campaign through Sept. 26.

“The annual lake cleanup provides a chance for people who care about Hartwell Lake to roll up their sleeves and give something back to the very lands and water they use and appreciate,” said Tanya Grant, Hartwell Lake Park Ranger.

“Our forests, waters and parks of Hartwell Lake are a national treasure, and keeping them clean means keeping them safe and attractive for people to use. A clean lake environment will also help preserve aquatic life and wildlife,” Grant said.

Lake Hartwell, Improvements and Federal Stimulus

The ARMY Corp of Engineers conveyed recently how Federal stimulus money is helping to renovate projects on Lake Hartwell.

Courtesy ramps at Eighteen Mile Creek and Camp Creek areas were added plus a fishing pier for children at the Twin Lakes area was built recently.

The Army Corp of Engineers has plans this fall to reduce outflows from Lake Hartwell, but it is doing an environmental assessment now to see if it can reduce water outflow to the same level as it did a year ago.  According to the Corps, it will begin reducing the outflow to that level in November.

Stimulus projects under way include $350,000 for shoreline stabilization, $100,000 for a new pump station near Clemson, $450,000 for electrical upgrades at the Hartwell Dam, $2.4 million for new switch gear station at the dam, and $60,000 for a new dock at Twin Lakes.