Now that the end of May is almost here it is safe to assume that most (but probably not all) April 2008 sales have been recorded in our local Great Smoky Mountain Association of Realtors (GSMAR) multiple listing service or MLS. Although more recent trends are encouraging April 2008 did hold onto the dubious distinction of being the worst month in recent history for our area in terms of the number of residential units sold with a total of only 108 with only 74 of these being within Sevier County. The total units sold is sharply lower than the final tally for April 2007 which totaled 197 units sold. In 2008 the median residential unit sales price was $158,750 which is slightly lower than 2007’s median value of $162,000. Can you name ANYTHING else that is less expensive than it was a year ago?? The single greatest casualty in April 2008 may be Gatlinburg residential sales which were nearly non-existent at a total of 8 compared to last year’s 24. Pigeon Forge real estate didn’t fare much better with only 10 units sold by our entire board of Realtors in April 2008 compared to 21 in April 2007. Sevierville performed the best during this very difficult period with 23 units sold in 2008 versus 38 in April of 2007.

All of this brings us to the topic of May 2008 which for Sevier County is looking at least a little better than April in terms of residential units sold. So far this month, Realtor members have reported 83 Sevier County sales which is again about half of last year’s total of 169 but remember that all sales aren’t yet reported for May 2008 and some haven’t even occurred yet. If past trends repeat members will report quite a few units during the next 10 days so this May, while still sharply below last year’s results, should at least be a step in the right direction. Total units (including the surrounding counties that also report some sales in our MLS) are also looking better at 107 units to date compared to last year’s 230 reported sales. Again, more sales will be recorded and we won’t have the final values until around June 7th or so. My guess is that the total will eventually be around 125 units sold but of course we will have to wait and see.

If all of these numbers have given you a headache please accept my apologies and just remember that we don’t require that you be a math fanatic like me to own and enjoy real estate here in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge/Sevierville Tennessee area. We will be glad to assist in your search for a great property here in our Smoky Mountains or help you sell any real estate you may already own. For more information please contact us via email at Jeff@GatlinburgHomes.com or by phone at 800-818-8133. We look forward to working with you!