The following charts show the month to month residential real estate sales volume of the Greater Athens Ga metropolitan area for the months of May 2010 through June 2011. Sales volume of residential real estate was up again in June over May marking the fifth consecutive month of rising volume. National figures showed a decrease in sales volume in Jue.  The June 2011 volume is up a whopping 21% from May 2011 and a very strong 12% over June 2010 sales volume marking the first year to year increase in over a year. This continued volume increase is probably driven by several factors including the number of bargains on the market and a slightly positive increase in perception of the economy. Chart 1 shows the trends for both the number of residential units sold and the average number of Days... 08/02/2011

The following charts show the month to month residential real estate sales volume of the Greater Athens Ga metropolitan area for the months of Apr. 2010 through May. 2011. Sales volume of residential real estate was up again in May over April marking the fourth consecutive month of rising volume. The May 2011 volume, is up just under 5% from Apr 2011 but is still down more than 16% below April 2010 sales volume. This increase in volume can no longer be attributed the bad winter of earlier this year. It is the strongest sales volume since June 2011, when buyers had to close on homes in order to qualify for the federal, and some state, first time and move up home buyer tax credits. This is definitely positive news, especially since there are no tax credits that have influenced the increas... 06/30/2011

The following charts show the month to month residential real estate sales volume of the Greater Athens Ga metropolitan area for the months of Mar. 2010 through Apr. 2011. Sales volume of residential real estate was up again in April over Mar. The April 2011 volume, is up more than 8% over March 2011 but is still over 13% below April 2010 sales volume. This increase is probably not due to a carry over from the bad weather in January & February. It is the strongest sales volume since June 2011, when buyers had to close on homes in order to qualify for the federal, and some state, first time and move up home buyer tax credits. This is definitely positive news. Chart 1 shows the trends for both the number of residential units sold and the average number of Days on Market (D.O.M.) for resid... 05/30/2011

Keller Williams Realty has an annual R.E.D. Day (Renew - Energize - Donate) on which corporate wide the independant local offices perform a community service, a day of "Give Where You Live". This year, on the 3rd Annual celebration, Keller Williams Realty Greater Athens volunteers stained a new fence for the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens (GA), a non-profit organization whose purpose is to provide immediate shelter and guidance to homeless families with children. A Bit of Breakfast Before Starting INHA had recently received a fence surrounding the property so that children staying there could have a place to play safe from the street. That fence needed staining. So on this day, May 12, 2011, volunteers provided the energy and labor to stain the fence. We brought rollers, brush... 05/12/2011

  The following charts show the month to month residential real estate sales volume of the Greater Athens Ga metropolitan area for the months of Feb. 2010 through Mar. 2011. Sales volume of residential real estate was up sharply over February. The March 2011 volume, while up 75% over February 2011 but is still almost 4% below February 2010 sales volume.  This increase is most likely partially because of the bad weather in January and February with closings holding over into March. However, it does show significant improvement, regardless. Chart 1 shows the trends for both the number of residential units sold and the average number of Days on Market (D.O.M.) for residential units sold. March volume had a 57 unit increase. The question is, with the rising costs of fuel and food, and the i... 04/27/2011

The following charts show the month to month residential real estate sales volume of the Greater Athens Ga metropolitan area for the months of Jan. 2010 through Feb 2011 . Sales volume of residential real estate has effectively flat, a one unit volume rise over January. The February volume, while up just over 1% from January is an almost 14% drop in volume from Feb. 2010. Weather might have been a small factor but more likely the drop from last year can be attributed to the non-existence of the temporary tax credits that were in place last year at this tim. Chart 1 shows the trends for both the number of residential units sold and the average number of Days on Market (D.O.M.) for residential units sold. February volume had that 1 unit increase, however, it was only a 28 day month vs a 3... 04/11/2011

With Spring weather comes the relocation buyers to the Athens, GA area.  While many of our northern neighbors still have snow on the ground, we are enjoying temperatures in the high 70's and flowers blooming everywhere! The spring relocation market seems to be off to a healthy start this year, as my phones have been ringing and I met with two relocation buyers this week. Athens, Georgia has some great reasons for retiring and relocating buyers to call us their new home!  Athens Named One of American Style Magazine's Top 25 Arts Destinations for 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 Athens Ranks 34th Nationally in Quality-of-Life by 'Cities Ranked & Rated' Rolling Stone magazine names Athens America's #1 College Music Scene, 2/20/03 Featured in LA Times Sunday Travel Section, 6/15/03 Feature... 03/30/2011

The Princeton Review's annual rating of the best value public colleges and universities in the United States has rated the University of Georgia as #5 in the overall ratings. Each year the Princeton Review picks the top 50 public and the top 50 private colleges out of the 650 highest rated colleges and universities in the U.S. The review considers 30 factors in the three areas of Academics, Costs and Financial Aid. You can read the detailed methodology here. This is just one more in a list of awards and recognitions that University of Georgia has been receiving annually. The University of Georgia (UGA) is located in Athens, a small town of about 120,000 people approximately 60 miles northeast of Atlanta. Athens still has the feel of a small town but has a bit of a cosmopolitain feel bec... 03/21/2011

The following charts show the month to month residential real estate sales volume of the Greater Athens Ga metropolitan area for the months of Dec 2009 through Jan 2011 . Sales volume of residential real estate has decreased  36 units in January after 2 months of increasing volume. The January decrease is a month to month drop of over 32% from Decembere 2010 but only an 8.5% drop in volume from Jan. 2010. Some analysts are suggesting that sever winter weather and storms are a major reason for this drop. In January, there was a major storm here that did affect travel and business for 3 - 7 days which probably contributed to the drop. There is often a seasonal decrease in volume from December to January. Chart 1 shows the trends for both the number of residential units sold and the averag... 02/24/2011

If you are in the Athens, GA area on Sunday evening, Feb. 20th, stop by The Classic Center and enjoy the 18th annual Taste of Athens. Sample the fares of over 50 local restaurants and beverage purveyors and at the same time support the Community Connection of Northeast Georgia, an organization who's mission is " Nurturing, developing, and maintaining information and systems which empower individuals and communities to access needed resources and services." The "Taste" starts at 5PM and runs to 8 PM. This year you can vote for who you believe will be crowned the best. Voting can be done online or at the event itself. On Saturday, you can work up an appetite for Sunday's fare by participating in either the 10k Run or 1 Mile Family Walk. Information on entering can be found at www.taste10k... 02/10/2011

What happenned in 2010? 2010 was a challenging year for real estate across the country. While Athens-Clarke County Ga did not escape those challenges the presence of the University of Georgia and an unemployment rate that remained well below both the state and national averages kept the real estate market a little bit more stable than in many areas of the country The numbers: Chart 1, below, shows how the 2010 residential real estate market faired against the 2009 market as far as total sales and Days on Market. In 2009, there were 842 residental units sold. In 2010 that number decreased by about 11% to 751 units. At the same time the percentage of  sales that were foreclosures increased in 2010 over 2009. In 2009 there were 189 foreclosures, or about 21.8% of the total sales volume. In... 01/31/2011

The following charts show the month to month residential real estate sales volume of the Greater Athens Ga metropolitan area for the months of Nov 2009 through Dec 2010. Sales volume of residential real estate has increased 6 units in December after increasing 15 units in November. The December increase is a month to month increase of over 5.7% from November and a year over year increase of 20.9% from Dec.  2009. While still below the highs for the year, which is to be expected, two consecutive months of increasing volume couple with an increase over last year's same period volume are positive signs for the Athens market. Chart 1 shows the trends for both the number of residential units sold and the average number of Days on Market (D.O.M.) for residential units sold. Volume might decre... 01/30/2011

The following charts show the month to month residential real estate sales volume of the Greater Athens Ga metropolitan area for the months of Oct 2009 through Nov 2010. Sales volume of residential real estate has increased 15 units in November after decreasing 9 units in October. The November increase is a month to month increase of over 16% from October but it is still 9% below Nov 2009.  This is the highest sales volume of residential real estate in the Athens Ga area since July 2010.  The decrease from last Nov is most likely attributable to an increased number of closings in Nov. 2009 by buyers taking advantage of tax credits that  expired at the end of last November. Chart 1 shows the trends for both the number of residential units sold and the average number of Days on Market (D.... 01/03/2011

The following charts show the month to month residential real estate sales volume of the Greater Athens Ga metropolitan area for the months of Sep 2009 through Oct 2010. Sales volume of residential real estate has decreased in October after a small increase in September. The October decrease of 9 units is a month to month drop of just under 10% from September and a decrease of over 24% from the same period last year. The decrease from last year may be attributable to an increased number of purchases in Oct. 2009 by buyers taking advantage of tax credits that were expire at the end of last November. Chart 1 shows the trends for both the number of residential units sold and the average number of Days on Market (D.O.M.) for residential units sold. Volume may continue to be lower for the re... 12/07/2010

Trader Joe's at The Markets at Epps Bridge While I am growing accustomed to living in the South, one thing that I have continually missed after moving from Oregon is shopping at Trader Joe's. For those of you familiar with Trader Joe's, no explanation is needed. For those of you not familiar, well, it is just the coolest grocery store ever, giving a boutique feeling offerring different varieties of common, and not so common, foods and drinks. Trader Joe's Produce Section I had read that one would be opening this fall and have been looking forward to it for months. Well, it finally did and last week I made my first trip. I went inside and felt energized. It has been years since I have shopped in one. I had to go up and down every aisle, inspect every shelf, look in every freezer and coo... 11/08/2010

The Athens, Ga unemployment rate dropped in September to 7.4%. This is while the Georgia rate remained unchanged at 10% and the U.S. unemployment rate is at 9.6%. This is down .4% from August and the same as Septemer 2009. The Athens area has the lowest unemployment rate of any of the 12 MSA's (Metropolitain Statistical Area) within Georgia. The Athens MSA includes Athens-Clarke County, Madison County, Oconee County and Oglethorpe County.   11/01/2010

Athens Goes Pink is the campaign to elevate breast cancer awareness and support for research in and around Athens Ga. It is a month long series of events and participation to help raise funds for helping research and fighting this disease. Breast cancer is not just something that affects women. There are a percentage of men that suffer from it also. Both my mother and my uncle (her brother) battled breast cancer. This Wednesday is Real Men Wear Pink day in town. Friday, Oct. 15, along with being a regular Pink Friday for October is the Real Men Wear Pink Calendar reveal day. To find out more about Athens Goes Pink you can check out the Athens Goes Pink face book page. Or, you can go the the Athens Goes Pink web page here. Now I wonder if that pink Hawaiian shirt still fits. For more inf... 10/11/2010

St Jude Children Hospital is a wonderful cause and organization. You may have seen some commercials on TV with Captain Sullenburger of the plane on the Hudson fame asking for support. This coming Monday, Sept. 27, you can enjoy a meal and not feel guilty about those calories. Chili's will be donating all profits on Monday, Sept. 27 to the St. Judes Childrens Hospital organization. So maybe when taking a client or a co-worker to lunch, or your girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse/family to dinner, or just getting together with your friends, stop by Chili's, have some queso, a burger, a salad, desert, whatever and help St. Judes Childrens Research Hospital. It is not only one of Captain Sullenburger's favorite causes, but one of mine also. In Athens, Ga, Chili's is located at 183 Alps Rd. Hope to ... 09/24/2010

The following charts show the month to month residential real estate sales volume of the Greater Athens Ga metropolitan area for the months of July 2009 through August 2010. Sales volume of residential real estate has decreased in August for the third consecutive month. The August decrease of 34 units, while less than the number in July, is a drop of over 26-1/2% from July and a decrease of over 35% from the same period last year. The largest drops in volume again were in Athens-Clarke County, accounting for almost 75% and Oglethorpe County, with Jackson County and Watkinsville showing small decreases. Chart 1 shows the trends for both the number of residential units sold and the average number of Days on Market (D.O.M.) for residential units sold. After peaking for the year in May, sa... 09/20/2010

Livability.com has just rated Athens Ga as the second best college town in the country to live. Using a variety of rating criteria, such as quality of education, quality of live both for students and non-students, culture, etc. the top 10 college towns in the country are listed. Athens, located in N.E. Georgia, close enough to Atlanta for sports, museums, airport, etc., yet, far enough away to still have the feel benefits of a small town, such as affordable housing, little traffic congestion (if you don't count game day weekend in the fall), etc. has a vibrant downtown with restaurants, clubs and shopping. It is home to the Univeristy of Georgia and as a result has a very diverse culture with influences not only from all over Georgia but the U.S. and even the world. The presence of the... 09/14/2010