After a bullish summer and fairly consistent fall, home sales took a dip in November — not that it’s anything to worry about, according to area Realtors.
A total of 354 homes were sold in Chatham, Bryan and Effingham counties last month, a 6.8 percent drop over November 2012 and about 100 fewer homes than were sold in October.
“It’s the holidays,” said Donna Davis, president of the Savannah Area Realtors, adding that 2013 was still on track to becoming a record year for the real estate market.
“If they continue on like they are, then we expect to hit a four-year high with new home sales across the tri-county area,” said Davis.
Tommy Danos, a Realtor with ERA Southeast Coastal, said the slowdown was typical of this time of year.
“Even though we’re not in the northern part of the country, we still see it in the South,” said Danos. “It always goes down with the winter and then picks back up in February and March.”
“It’s not really a negative,” Danos said. “This has been a great year … the market is coming back.”
While home sales for the last few months broke several year-over-year records, including 500 homes sold in July and August, November lagged in most categories except for inventory.
With a combined 3,541 single-family homes, mobile homes, modulars, condos and townhomes on the market, Davis said it was nice having more inventory for potential buyers.
“The buyers need that. They need more choices,” said Davis. “As a buyer, you’d certainly rather go see five to 10 houses than two or three in your price range.”
Meanwhile, the average sales price for homes was consistent with the last few months, hovering just above the $200,000 mark.
Local Home Sales Snapshot
The Savannah-area housing market (Chatham, Bryan and Effingham counties) saw its first dip in November after recording month-over-month growth for much of 2013. A look at the local residential real estate market, including single-family homes, mobile units, modulars, townhomes and condominiums.
NOVEMBER 2012 NOVEMBER 2013
Total inventory 3,272 3,541
New on the Market 481 545
Number Sold 383 354
Pending 220 215
Average Price $209,104 $201,604