Today I’m comparing 1/1/2010 through 5/10/2010 to the same period in 2011 (1/1/11 to 5/10/11). Last year in that period there were 11 sales in Historic Edgefield. This year there were 17 sales in that same time frame. So does that mean that the market is truly up by 35%? Yes in the micro-neighborhood of Edgefield it is. However the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors found that sales were 24% down in April ’11 from April ’10.

Prices have fallen 11% from those time frames though. The average sales price in ’10 was $198,613 while in ’11 it has been $177,210. So prices have fallen 11% while actual sales have increased 35%. This seems to make sense. Property owners have realized the market has gone down and have adjusted their pricing accordingly and therefore sales have gone up (of course there are a bajillion other factors that likely play into these numbers as well.)

The lease reliable number that I got from the data today is Days on Market (DOM). In 2010, DOM in Edgefield was 123 and in the same period this year it was 70 DOM. In ’10 there were fewer sales and a few outlier properties (3 to be exact) that took longer than 200 days to sell. Another factor skewing this figure is that it does not take into account the number of expired and withdrawn properties. What I’m saying it is hard to figure out how long properties are actually on the market when there are tons of expired and withdrawns that then go back on the market, sell and shows a short period on the market when in fact it is not figuring out the time it was on the market BEFORE.

I find that the data supports what I tell clients everyday: Properties in this market only sell when they are at the top of the market in regards to finishes and updating and if they are priced like the much less desirable fixer upper properties.