Metro Savannah home sales surged in February with 392 units sold in Bryan, Effingham and Chatham counties, according to latest figures from real estate tracker Savannah Multi-List Corp.
That number is a nearly 7 percent increase from January unit sales and a 19 percent increase over February 2014.
Bonnie Gaster, president of the Savannah Area Realtors, said that number was on course for what should be a fairly robust start to spring thanks to still-low mortgage interest rates.
“The mentality of the buying public is that they’re seeing rates are still low,” Gaster said. “With that interest stability and reduction of inventory, people are saying, ‘If I want to do something, I better do it now.’”
Median home sale prices saw gains over the year, too. Prices for the metro area increased 13 percent to $180,450 from $160,000 last February. Meanwhile, average number of days a house was on the market fell 7 percent to 98 days.
“Three years ago you’d see something listed at $450,000, and it may have sold for $399,000; now you see something listed at $450, and it sells between $435,000-$439,000,” said Gaster.
Inventory stayed nearly the same from January at 7.9 months, or 3,098 active listings, while new-construction homes under contract increased in all three counties.
Forty more new homes sold in the three counties in February than last year, a 67
percent increase. Fifty-one new homes were put under contract in Chatham County in February, 23 more than last year, while Bryan and Effingham saw more modest gains.
Fourteen ZIP Codes saw an increase in sales, with southside leading at 55 units sold, Pooler with 46 and Richmond Hill with 41.
“Median sale prices are up, units sold are up and the number of units under contract were up … we’ve got some strong indicators there,” said Gaster.
Top-selling ZIP Codes of February
31419 (Southside): 55 units
31322 (Pooler): 46
31324 (Richmond Hill): 41
31312 (Guyton): 35
31410 (Wilmington Island): 32
Source: Savannah Multi-List Corp.
