A Look Back at 2011

Its mid-January, so all of the December closings should have made it in the books. Time now to look at 2011 and see how Dacula real estate performed as compared to 2010. Before looking the numbers, realize that the market was driven by foreclosures and short sales. Interest rates near 4 percent also played a huge role in the market as more buyers were able to buy more house and still qualify.

In 2011, 613 homes closed. That number represents a 22 percent increase from the 500 closed homes in 2010. The priciest home sold in Dacula in 2010 topped out at $725,000, while a home off Hog Mountain Road sold for $1,220,000 in 2011. While the annual number increased by 113 homes, over half of that increase was in the $100,000 - $200,000 category. Not only did the number jump from 240 to 299, but the average price dropped from $149,383 to $137,657, meaning there were more homes sold under $150,000 in 2011 than in 2010.

                                           Dacula Solds

            2010

             2011

Total Sold

             500

              613

Less than 100K

      51

  $ 70,156

       131

      $ 72,058

100K – 200K

     240

  $ 149,383

       299

      $137,657

200K – 400K

     181

  $ 264,627

       161

      $ 264,491

400K and Up

     28

  $ 488,143

        20

      $ 528,927

Of the 613 homes sold in 2011, 195 were listed as foreclosures and 56 were listed as short sales. My guess is that the number is higher but were not listed in MLS properly. That being said, the 251 represents 41 percent of the homes sold.

Hamilton Mill continues to be the top selling subdivision, selling 103 homes in 2011. This represents a 31 percent increase from the 79 homes sold in 2010. The average price for Hamilton Mill in 2011 was $286,135 with an average days on market of 71. In 2010, the average price in Hamilton Mill was $300,275 with an average of 124 days on market. 31 percent, or 32 homes that sold in Hamilton Mill, were either foreclosures or short sales.

As a quick summery, the number of homes sold is up, the average price is down and foreclosures and short sales represent a large percentage of the real estate business.

It looks like 2012 is off to a great start as there are currently 126 homes pending, 26 of those are in Hamilton Mill. I expect more of the same in 2012 as we saw in 2011. I think we will see more contracts, slightly lower prices, great interest rates with many of the sales being foreclosures and short sales.