Only the most preliminary August 2009 sales results for our Gatlinburg area real estate market are in at this time but the numbers we do have reported so far are somewhat disappointing. After July’s 139 residential sales (the first positive year over year comparison since early in 2006) I had hoped we might see the same type progress in our Smoky Mountain real estate market in August 2009 with another year to year gain in units sold.
Sadly, this does not appear likely at this time because as of this evening we only have 108 units reported as being sold according to our Great Smoky Mountain Association of Realtors MLS database. As I always do, it is important to note that not all sales are reported yet so these preliminary numbers are somewhat misleading. My estimate is that when all of the dust settles we will probably have around 120-125 completed residential transactions for the month. To see an updated version of the above chart please click here. That’s better than the current number but still below the level of August 2008. While I personally am very much blessed to be having a record year with nearly 60 closed transaction sides so far in 2009 the approximately 500 agents in our market this year have combined for fewer than 900 reported residential sales during the entire 2009 year. This is why so many of my fellow real estate agents have had to quit the business entirely (at the height of the market we had about 800 actively licensed real estate agents in our board) or find other employment and utilize their real estate license for only part-time activity. With an average of fewer than 2 sales per agent in 2009 most of these people would do much better at any job. Working as a greeter at Wal-Mart or even asking “Would you like fries with that?” at McDonald’s would earn them a better living with easier hours and much less stress. For a very funny completed job application by a prospective McDonald’s employee (quite possibly done by a future Smoky Mountain Realtor) please click here.
We are very grateful for the success that we have been blessed with and are pleased to announce that we put another Gatlinburg home under contract over last weekend. This new transaction brings our current pending sales back up to ten even after 3 of our formerly pending sales closed last week. If you would like to have this same commitment to performance for the sale of your Smoky Mountain property or in a search for the perfect piece of Gatlinburg area real estate here in our Sevier County community please let me know.