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BlairsvilleRealty is a locally ownedand operated company

located in the heart of theNorth GeorgiaMountains. BlairsvilleGeorgia lies within UnionCounty nestled in the

Mountains of theChattahoochee NationalForest.

After three quarters, not much

has changed with our local real

estate market since our mid-

year report.

Sales are still

weak, and

prices are still

falling.Interestingly

enough, the

number of

homes sold in

the year to date

are practically the same as last

year, and only 14 units ahead

of 2008. But the median sold

price has dropped by over

$40,000, or about 23 percent,

in just the last two years. The

median price

for homes has

fallen by $3,000

since our last

report justthree months

ago. What

something in

worth, or at

least what it

would cost to replace it, and

what it will bring in todays

market are worlds apart.

Faling Leaveand

Faling P#ce

63 Murphy HighwayBlairsville, GA. 30512

Toll Free - 800.637.5535Fax - 706.745.8169

.com

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The reason for the steep drop in prices is

very simple: foreclosures. Bank-owned homes

are still making up over 41 percent of all homes

sold in Union County through our MLS while only

accounting for 7 percent of the active inventory.

Not only are these homes being sold for a cheap

price, many of the lenders are also offering huge

incentives to get them off of their books. For

example, when buying a Fannie Mae owned home

that will be owner occupied, you can get a 97

percent loan, no appraisal required, and they will

pay up to 3.5 percent of the purchase price towards

the buyers closing cost, plus pay the selling agent a

bonus of $1,500. How do you compete with that?

PRICE ACTIVE UNDERCONTRACT CLOSED YTDAVG SALES PER

MONTH

MONTHSUPPLY OF

INVENTORY(MSI)

Under $100,000 91 (14) 18 (12) 67 (38) 7.4 12

$100,001 - $150,000 89 (10) 14 (2) 72 (29) 8.0 11

$150,001 - $200,000 153 (13) 11 (3) 54 (16) 6.0 25

$200,001 - $250,000 83 (4) 3 (3) 16 (7) 1.8 46

$250,001 - $300,000 47 (0) 2 (0) 13 (4) 1.4 33

$300,001 - $400,000 52 (3) 3 (1) 9 (3) 1.0 52

$400,001 - $500,000 44 (0) 0 (0) 2 (0) 0.2 220

$500,001 + 56 (1) 0 (0) 5 (1) 0.6 23

TOTALS 615 (45) 51 (19) 238 (98) 26.4 29

% Foreclosures 7% 37% 41% *** ( ) Denotes Foreclosures

How Do You Compete With That?

I think we will also begin to see some negative effects

on prices by the loss share agreements made with the

FDIC and the buyers of the two failed banks. There is

a large auction in Atlanta of FDIC-owned propertiesat the end of this month with 18 parcels in Union

County being offered, and many of them are offered

absolute. There will also be many loans not renewed at

these banks as a result of the loss share agreements,

which will lead to more foreclosures. It seems that the

new banks dont have much incentive to renew some of

their existing loans that are underwater since the FDIC

will be absorbing most of the loss on them.

Of Closed Transactions

In Union County

Year-To-Date

Have Been

FORECLOSURES!

Union County Residential Sales January 1 - October 6, 2010

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According to data in our MLS over a six county area, Union County has the second highest percentage of

foreclosure sales, second only to Towns where bank-owned homes are making up 49 percent of all residential

sales so far this year. Cherokee County, NC. had the lowest margin at 25 percent and also the lowest median

price. You can see sales data for all six counties in the chart in this report.

Thankfully, there are some encouraging signs to report. Residential inventory levels, or the number of homes

for sale, continue to fall. There are 615 homes actively listed in the county, which is 71 less than last October,

and 141 fewer than October 2008. The absorption rate, or months supply of inventory, also continues to

decline in all price ranges with the average falling by nearly six months in the last quarter. Our average sales

per month have bumped up by three to 26.4 homes per month. This is contributing to the drop in absorption

rate.

Vacant lot and land sales continue to be very slow. The biggest obstacle is simply the lack of demand. As long

as you can buy a home cheaper than you can build one, I dont see that changing much. However, with fewer

homes on the market, some folks wont be able to find what they are looking for and will end up building. Thenumber of lots sold per month has bumped up slightly to just under eight sales, and the months supply of

inventory has fallen, but it would still take over 10 years to sell them all at that low rate. The number of lots

listed for sale has dropped quite a bit, but I think that is more due to the subdivisions being foreclosed on

rather than sales. Foreclosed land is making up a much larger part of sales every day. Bank-owned lots have

made up 30 percent of all closed lot sales in the year to date and are accounting for a whopping 64 percent

currently under contract. There are currently a couple of foreclosed lots on the market in a good location,

about an acre in size, with paved road frontage and underground utilities for only $6,000.

Encouraging Signs To Report

PRICE ACTIVE UNDERCONTRACT CLOSED YTDAVG SALES PER

MONTH

MONTHSUPPLY OF

INVENTORY(MSI)

Under $15,000 19 (7) 4 (3) 8 (4) 0.9 21

$15,001 - $20,000 110 (33) 0 (0) 19 (4) 2.1 52

$20,001 - $25,000 130 (9) 2 (2) 16 (4) 1.8 72

$25,001 - $30,000 121 (6) 3 (1) 12 (4) 1.3 91

$30,001 - $40,000 132 (6) 1 (0) 4 (2) 0.4 300

$40,001 - $50,000 142 (1) 1 (1) 4 (1) 0.4 323

$50,001 - $60,000 73 (2) 2 (2) 2 (0) 0.2 365

$60,001 - $70,000 50 (2) 0 (0) 0 (0) No Change No Change

$70,001 + 171 (3) 1 (0) 5 (2) 0.6 285

TOTALS 948 (69) 14 (9) 70 (21) 7.8 121

%Foreclosures 7% 64% 30% *** ( ) Denotes Foreclosures

Union County Lot Sales From January 1 - October 6, 2010

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In closing, where our prices bottom out is anyones guess. The powers that be seem to think the housing

market and economy will not get better until our countrys lenders get rid of their troubled loans and bad

assets/foreclosed properties so they can lend money again. I would normally agree if we could ever get to the

bottom of it, but the foreclosures are feeding on themselves and multiplying exponentially like a highly

contagious disease wiping out neighborhoods all across our country. Combine that with the fact that most of

our local jobs are related to real estate and construction, and we have the perfect storm. Im sure that one

day we will reach the bottom, and the old law of supply and demand, quality and location will once again bethe determining factor for pricing our real estate.

Thanks for reading, and we truly appreciate your business.

Robert Rogers

Broker/Owner

Blairsville Realty, Inc.

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

23,00026,000

44,50050,00051,000

140,000

160,000

181,650199,000197,500

Residential Vacant Lots

As you can imagine, prices are

still falling. The median price

for the year to date is $23,000,

which is down $2,000 in just

three months. Acreage sales are

few and far between and arevery difficult to price because of

that. From sales pulled from

both theBeasley Reportand our

MLS, the smaller acreage tracts

between 5 and 10 acres seem to

be averaging just under

$10,000 per acre and the larger

tracts about $7,400.

Union County Median Sales Prices

% FORECLOSURES # SOLD YTD MEDIAN PRICE

CHEROKEE, NC.

CLAY, NC.

GILMER

FANNIN

TOWNS

25% 183 $128,000

31% 49 $165,000

39% 233 $142,000

32% 306 $176,225

49% 101 $169,000

UNION 41% 237 $140,000

ToWrap

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