Fewer Newton County buyers signed contracts in October

COVINGTON, Ga. Fewer buyers in Newton County went under contract in October than a year earlier, a sign of where closings are headed. Purchase contracts fell 40.9% to 65, from 110.

The October median sale price was $298,900, down 5.1% from a year earlier.

The median home closed at 100.0% of its final list price in October, matching the 12-month figure. Of the month's sales, 42.5% closed below list. A price cut came before 52.1% of sales, compared with 41.7% over the year.

With 446 active listings as of 1:20 p.m. ET Nov. 14, Newton County had 6.1 months of supply at October's closing pace, which our published bands read as a buyer's market. On the 12-month sales pace the figure is 5.3 months, which falls in the balanced (4 to 6 months) band.

Across the trailing 12 months, 1,003 closings produced a median price of $300,000, down 4.8% from $315,000 in the prior 12 months.

Time to sell ran slower than the year's norm: a median 35 days in October, against 34 days over 12 months.

In neighboring Henry County, 182 sales closed at a $360,000 median, up 5.6% from a year earlier.