I’ve received some requests from readers to know about local Alpharetta/North Fulton market conditions relative to the Real Estate Bubble that everyone reads about and hears on the news.

Contrary to what may be happening in other markets, the sky is not falling in North Fulton.  However, things have certainly “softened” a bit over a year or so ago.  All the realtors like to say: “It’s a shifting market.”

I pulled some statistics for North Fulton county to check for myself.  The data show that indeed:  Inventory on the market is increasing.  A year ago, we had a little over four months of inventory; in August this year we had almost seven months of inventory.  Six months of inventory is commonly referred to as a “neutral” market; more is a buyer’s market, less is a seller’s.

Another indicator is the Days on Market stat, which moved up from about 45 to about 57.

So the net of it is that it is taking a little longer to sell in this market.  The good point, however, is that the average sales price still continues to increase. From August 05 to August 06, the average sales price has increased $25k, to over $350,000.

Now all this needs to be taken with a grain of salt – please only draw general conclusions from this data.  North Fulton is a big area and real estate is local to the level of the neighborhoods sometimes.  Plus, there is a lot of new construction in some areas – at high price points – that is sitting on the market.  The results of this analysis would certainly be different by price range.

And finally, there is the phenomenon that during a market shift like this, the properties that get left behind are the “marginal properties.”  These are the ones that a year or two ago would have sold in a decent amount of time, but now are just cluttering the market.  They make a good home look all the much better when it comes on the market.

I maintain, that today, in North Fulton, you can still sell a home in short order if you prepare it for sale, market it correctly and price it right.  That is where I come in (;-> shamless plug).  I’ve had multiple offer situations in this market, so it can be done.

For buyers, the message is that North Fulton values continue to increase.  I believe they are only going to continue to increase – and that the formation of Johns Creek and Milton is only going to help.  Buy in now, if you can – and in this environment, depending on your price range, you stand more of a chance of finding that motivated sellers we all seek.

For more charts and graphs on local market conditions, check these out:
Accepted Offers / Median Price
New Listings vs. Accepted Offers
Months of Sales Inventory vs. Avg Days on Market
Sold Listings / Median Price
Active Listings vs. Sold Listings