The temperature outside may be cooling, but Savannah-area home sales are still fairly hot, according to the latest data from local market tracking company Savannah Multi-List Corp.
A total of 463 units sold in September in Bryan, Effingham and Chatham counties, an increase of 15 percent over the year. The number brings to a close a benchmark summer after three consecutive months of unit sales higher than 500.
Median home sale prices also saw a modest bump to $182,567 from $181,700 last year. Median home prices were lower in August, despite more unit sales, at $165,000,
Kim Iocovozzi, a Realtor with Judge Realty, said the fall had brought an uptick in business in an already busy year.
“July and August were my slowest months, and it seems right when September started, the phone started ringing off the hook again,” he said. “People realize the Savannah market is still underpriced compared to Charleston, Jacksonville and some of the low-country areas.”
Iocovozzi said his top sale in September was actually a commercial transaction, not residential. He helped close a $5 million deal with Broughton Street developer Ben Carter for the 21,000-square-foot Mason Inc. building at Broughton and Jefferson streets. Another million-dollar property he put under contract on Whitemarsh Island will bring his year-to-date sales total to $11 million — his highest to date.
“We’ve shattered every sales record since 2011, and that’s not going to change for 2015 at all, I think,” he said.
Supply meanwhile crept slightly higher to about 7.04 months of inventory, or 3,259 listings. The number of active listings in the metro area has stayed about the same all summer, between 3,200 and 3,300.
Pooler beat out southside to take the title of top-selling ZIP code in September, with 65 units, while Richmond Hill, Wilmington Island and the Guyton area rounded out the top five.
Iocovozzi said the market had slowly regained its balance, with buyers and sellers both getting good deals in 2014.
“The low-ball deals aren’t out there much anymore,” said Iocovozzi. “It’s a good, fair market. People are willing to pay fair-market values.”
How many homes sold in your ZIP code in August? A look at the top 10 areas.
31322 (Pooler): 65
31419 (Southside, Georgetown): 52
31324 (Richmond Hill): 47
31410 (Wilmington Island): 42
31312 (Guyton): 40
31405 (Midtown): 35
31411 (Skidaway): 30
31406 (Southeast): 25
31326 (Rincon): 28
31407 (West Chatham, Port Wentworth): 23
