One statistic stands out in the housing market with a foreboding shadow over it and no one can predict its’ end, or reduction for that matter. That statistic is “Months of Housing Supply” or Inventory. This is the death knell to sellers who need to sell their home quickly and a source of great frustration to home sellers who don’t need to sell, but want to do so in a timely fashion.
We can control price, we can do our best to get buyers in listings either in person or online through Virtual Tours, videos, and slide shows, but we cannot control inventory levels. “Absorption rate” is comprised of taking homes currently on the market for sale, the average number of homes sold per month for the past six months, and dividing these figures together to get the monthly supply of inventory on the market for sale. Why do we care? If you are selling your home right now or are thinking of selling your home in the near future, higher inventory levels can greatly reduce showings because of more competition on the market and as a result increase your days on the market during the selling process.
We hear from the National News, the NAR, and other media sources that in recent studies the national inventory level is at roughly 9.8 months of inventory on the market for sale. I keep preaching from my soap box that real estate is local. Let’s really beat down the word local to individual neighborhoods. How are inventory levels in your neighborhood?
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Months Supply |
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| Athens Area subdivision |
of Inventory |
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| Cedar Creek |
10.4 |
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| Kingswood |
8.0 |
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| Lane Creek Plantation |
30.3 |
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| Huntington Park |
8.5 |
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| Old Waverly |
12.0 |
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| Brittany’s Garden |
4.4 |
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| Birchmore Hills |
11.9 |
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| Oak Grove |
34.0 |
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| Brookstone |
7.5 |
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| Franklin Grove |
9.6 |
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| Jennings Mill |
14.9 |
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| Boulevard |
10.0 |
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| Bear Creek |
11.9 |
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| Five Points |
10.1 |
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| Cobbham |
41.6 |
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| West Athens |
14.3 |
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| East Athens |
10.0 |
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| Watkinsville |
18.6 |
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| West Oconee |
13.5 |
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| South Oconee |
9.3 |
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This data shows that only one neighborhood I pulled statistics for is in a “balanced market.” This is Brittany’s Garden in North Athens. With only 4.4 months of housing supply on the market, if you live in Brittany’s Garden and are thinking of selling your home you have as good a chance as any in the area right now due to inventory levels (or housing supply) in a more balanced range between buyers and sellers. You also don’t have to negotiate quite as much when getting that offer as someone in a subdivision or area of town with higher inventory levels and therefore more competition.
If your neighborhood was not listed and you want to know where your neighborhood falls on this chart please comment to this post and I will be happy to provide you with the information. Also, if you want to gauge local weekly Athens area market conditions take a look at Market Snapshots. You can view an example of one and then register to receive one if you like!
