Real Es tate The PAPER How Is The Local Real Estate Market?

The local real estate market is cooling off. Properties are still being listed and sold, but the activity and sales numbers have dropped dramatically. I have noticed the decline in showing activity with new listings this summer. We are not seeing the amount of showings that we saw earlier in the year and the years preceding that.

In fact, the number of sales in Coweta County, from June 2022 to June 2023, were down over 18 percent per Georgia Multiple Listing Service (GAMLS). A seasonal and summer lull in real estate is common as people often go on vacations but the lull seems more pronounced this summer.

Listing inventory is still a problem as well. There are not many options for buyers as they go look for a home. A low supply of listings has kept real estate prices steady even though buyer demand has tailed off. New listings were down over 20 percent, from June 2022 to June 2023 per GAMLS. At the time that I am writing this, there are only 416 homes for sale in Coweta County per GAMLS. The averages sales price of a home was basically flat, year-over-year, in Coweta. The average sales price for June 2023, in Coweta County, was $453,304 per GAMLS.

High interest rates are keeping many potential buyers from purchasing homes. Depending on income, debt and credit scores, mortgage rates are anywhere from six to seven and a half percent right now. The days of two and three percent rates, from two to three years ago, are long gone. Another factor is a low consumer confidence. Many people feel the economy is in a poor or “shaky” state and are delaying making large purchase such as a home. The consumer confidence survey showed that only 21.9% of consumers felt that business conditions were “good.” This was down from 23.4% the previous month. with Jess Barron

What does all this mean for our market here? The market is certainly cooling off from arguably the greatest seller’s market of all time.

I would say that the market is actually in a healthier state now.

Buyers have a much better chance, with less competition, of securing a property than they did just a year or two ago.

While mortgage rates are high, they are still historically moderate compared to when rates were in the teens and near 20 percent just a few decades ago. Coweta is still a nice and desirable place to live with a low cost of living and access to many great amenities. The local real estate market will continue to turn, it just not may be the speed we all grew accustomed to the last couple of years.

Jess Barron is an Associate Broker with Lindseys, Inc. Realtors and former President of the Newnan-Coweta Board of Realtors. ■

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