415 East Duffy is a three unit condo building and unit A had been originally listed for $198,000 in October of 2007, was relisted in August of 2008 for $145,500 and sold on 12-16-08 for $140,800, a fair price for a nice 2/1 Condo in the Victorian District with under 1000 square feet of living space.




This new construction duplex at 538 East 31st Street was first marketed in 2006 when it had just been built for over $100,000 more than what it finally sold for on 11-26-08 which was $148,000. The seller (investor) went belly up. This is a significant part of the market these days. The new buyer is “pinning it out” (splitting the parcel) and has immediately put up the half he does not want for $119,000. So if it sells for anywhere near the asking price, they will have a perfectly nice 2 bedroom/2 bath house in an edgy area one street away from a popular block of E. Anderson St. in the Thomas Square District for very little money!


308 East Duffy sold in December 2004 for $173,000. It had been renovated in 2000. In December 2008, it sold for $163,000! Yikes! Not good, but another example of a market trend that cannot be denied. This is in a nice area a few blocks from Forsyth Park.





511 East Perry is a sweet circa 1852 masonry row house near Crawford Square that was listed for sale on 10-23-08. One of my favorite friends used to live a few doors down and I have been in several of these. They are small 2/1/1s (2 bedroom. 1 and 1/2 half baths) at just over 1000 square feet but they have nice open floor plans, kitchens and a living room/dining room overlooking a small courtyard and one off street parking space in the lane. For someone wanting to be downtown and not in a condo, this was a reasonable choice for $269,000 on 12-12-2008.

I remember well when our office first listed these two charming townhouses at 536/538 East Charlton Lane in September of 2005. I predicted they would and they did go under contract almost immediately for close to the asking price of $187,500. They were so nicely renovated by one of Savannah’s foremost restoration experts, ET Smith. Lots of nice features and 2 beds 2 baths up with a 1/2 bath down, the ideal example of how to make the most of a small space (each is under 1000 square feet). The right half just sold again on 12-04-08 for the full (after a couple of price reductions) asking price of $215,000. A draw back is very little outdoor space and no true parking adjacent.

This Parlor level 2/1 condo at 116 West Liberty with two off street parking places is just around the corner from the Civic Center. The buyer did well at a sales price of $225,000 on 12-5-2008, especially considering it had sold for $269,000 in October of 2005! Markets adjusting …..




15 East Jones Street was sold as an apartment building in January 2006 for $725,000. They had pinned it out for six separate condo units. Several investors bought in and they all did a very nice job of renovating each unit with the idea of SCAD students (Savannah College of Art and Design) or second home buyers. This is truly in the absolute best blocks of Jones Street just a few doors from Bull Street in the true center of the most desirable residential area of Savannah. Unit 1A (the “garden” level) which is slightly below street level had been fabulously renovated with recessed lighting and beautiful slate floors. This unit was sold in May of 2007 for $285,000 and then relisted as an attempted “flip” in January 2008 for $350,000! Well, with all the market changes, this unit sold on 11-25-08 for the exact same price it sold for in 2007.

Here is an example of extreme optimisim in our residential market coupled with harsh realities of today’s marketplace. This historic looking new construction 2/2/1 property with just over 1800 square feet was built in 2005 and the developer had nothing but the very best intentions when they created this row of three fabulous triplexes at the very eastern edge of the landmark District abutting East Broad Street on what had been vacant land. I have the list of all the thoughtful features this property included and the look inside was sort of beach-cottage like with white marble countertops and white cabinetry, an open floor plan with a great room feeling in the main living area open all the way to the roof of the second floor. A small courtyard and two car garage finished the picture. These were originally marketed in 2005 for over $600,000 each. This unit sold for $475,000 in July of 2006 which was around the same price the other two sold for. This was sold again this year on 12-1-08 as a short sale for only $347,500 - a steal? Or market reality? Clearly the current buyer probably did not pay much over what it actually cost to build this property for in 2005. This was a very difficult sale for all involved.

Six more properties to talk about next week including sales all the way to one million dollars.

Until Next Time,
Ron Melander