The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released their latest Employment Situation Summary last Thursday, and it again beat analysts’ expectations in a big way. The consensus was for 3,074,000 jobs to be added in June. The report revealed that 4,800,000 jobs were added. The unemployment rate fell to 11.1% from 13.3% last month. Again, excellent news as the … Read More
The pandemic has caused consumers to re-examine the components that make up the “perfect home.” Many families are no longer comfortable with the locations and layouts of their existing homes. The allure of city life (more congested) seems to be giving way to either suburban or rural life (less congested). The fascination with an open … Read More
The Shocking News in the Unemployment Report Last Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released their May Employment Situation Summary. Leading up to the release, most experts predicted the unemployment rate would jump up to approximately 20% from the 14.7% rate announced last month. The experts were shocked. The Wall Street Journal put it this way: “The May U.S. jobless rate … Read More
As we enter the summer months and work through the challenges associated with the current health crisis, many are wondering what impact the economic slowdown will have on home prices. Looking at the big picture, supply and demand will give us the clearest idea of what’s to come. Making our way through the month of … Read More
One of the biggest questions we all seem to be asking these days is: When are we going to start to see an economic recovery? As the country begins to slowly reopen, moving forward in strategic phases, business activity will help bring our nation back to life. Many economists indicate a recovery should begin to happen in the … Read More
| ALL EYES ARE ON THE AMERICAN ECONOMY. AS IT GOES, SO DOES THE WORLD ECONOMY. WITH STATES BEGINNING TO REOPEN, THE QUESTION BECOMES: WHICH SECTORS OF THE ECONOMY WILL DRIVE ITS RECOVERY? THERE SEEMS TO BE A GROWING CONSENSUS THAT THE HOUSING MARKET IS POSITIONED TO BE THAT DRIVING FORCE, THE TAILWIND THAT IS … Read More
I have been thinking about this for over a year now, and I think may have written a post about it last year. I gave some thought to putting it off given the current climate and fear around the corona virus. However, I kind of think that maybe we could use another more normal subject … Read More
Thankfully, it is not raining today in Athens. I truly believe that the rainy weather has slowed the spring market here in town. In recent years, the real estate market would usually heat up in January, but this year I feel like we were a little late getting underway. I know a lot of realtors … Read More
The first month of 2020 is behind us and at this point the real estate market looks very similar to last January. The amount of sold homes in Clarke and Oconee county is almost even when compared to January of 2019. We feel the true numbers are above Jan 2019, because we have seen more and more properties sell off market, and these off market sales don’t always make it into the MLS
The real estate market has been strong over the last several years especially here in Athens. We have seen the supply and demand graph tilt way towards demand and home values appreciate quickly. This has been great for homeowners but stressful for buyers. And like I have said many times, “Trees Don’t Grow to the … Read More
