So far, 2021 has been an incredibly active year for residential real estate in Chatham County.
According to Savannah MLS data, residential sales volume and sales prices in Chatham County are up, and inventory is down.
By any measure, the local real estate market was hot for the first half of the year. Locally, we saw significantly higher sales volume increases than the rest of Georgia. There’s no question that 2021 has been a seller’s market in Chatham County – and the latest year-to-date data certainly supports that fact.
Sales Volume
For the first half of 2021, 3,446 residential sales closed, compared to 2,438 in the first half of 2020, marking a 41 percent increase, per Savannah MLS year-to-date data as of June 30, 2021. Chatham County is far outperforming Georgia in terms of sales volume. According to the Georgia Association of Realtors June Housing Indicators, residential sales closings across the state were up 10 percent year-to-date. The residential sales volume in Chatham County is four times the state average, which underscores Savannah’s growing appeal for today’s homebuyers.
Interestingly, during the first six months of 2021, 933 homes sold at list price and 1,087 homes sold above list price. There have been bidding wars on homes at every price point this year, which is not typical for the Chatham County real estate market. Earlier this year, a home on Wilmington Island sold for $165,000 over list price.
According to the Georgia Association of Realtors, new residential listings in Chatham County are up by 23.7 percent year-to-date, closed residential sales are up 40 percent year-to-date, median residential sale price is up 13.1 percent year-to-date and average residential sale price is up 22.2 percent year-to-date. There’s no question that the residential real estate market has been hot in 2021.
Low inventory has been driving median and average prices higher for residential real estate in Chatham County. Residential sales inventory in Chatham County dropped by 42 percent from June 2020 to June 2021, according to the Georgia Association of Realtors, marking an all-time low for our market. At the same time, days on market have decreased from 103 in June 2020 to 65 in June 2021, reflecting the increased market demand.
Residential Sale Prices
The Georgia Association of Realtors reports that the median sale price for a home in Chatham County is up 11.6 percent year-over-year and that the average sale price is up 17.2 percent year-over-year.
Chatham County is trending behind Georgia, where the average sale price increased by 24 percent year-over-year.
Two areas of Savannah, in particular, have seen significant increases in sale prices in 2021 over the previous year. In the 31401 zip code – which includes the Landmark District, Victorian District, Starland District and Baldwin Park – we’ve seen a 32.3 percent increase in the median sale price from June 2020 to June 2021, with prices rising from $340,000 to $450,000. The average sale price increased by 29.6 percent from $435,039 to $564,143. In the 31411 zip code – which includes all of Skidaway Island – we’ve seen a 59.6 percent increase in the median sale price from June 2020 to June 2021, with prices rising from $442,500 to $706,250. The average sale price increased by 45.7 percent from $484,440 to $706,010.
Throughout 2021, a growing number of homebuyers have been discovering the fact that Chatham County is a great place to live. Take the time to explore the wide variety of neighborhoods that define the greater Savannah area and to discover why coastal Georgia is truly an ideal place to call home.