The long-lasting effects of the recession and the toll it took on home sales and home prices in Fayette County seem to have abated. Average home sale prices in 2012 inched up after several years of decline. Home sales in 2013 continued the upward trend, resulting in an increase in the number of homes sold and in an increase in the average sale price to more than $254,000.

The number of homes sold in 2013 and the average sale price throughout Fayette may have signaled a return, but those numbers are still far from what was experienced in Fayette prior to the recession.

A total of 1,631 houses were sold in Fayette during 2013. Those homes carried an average sale price of $254,307, according to Multiple Listing Service (MLS) information provided by Leslie Edwards Realty.

Put in perspective, the 2013 numbers can be compared to the numbers in 2010 when 970 homes were sold and in 2011 when the average sales price dropped to $227,767.

A look back to the time before the recession shows that 1,537 homes were sold in 2007 with an average sale price of $314,342.

The impact of the recession on home sales and average prices is shown in the chart below.

A breakdown of 2013 home sales shows that 127 homes sold for under $100,000 and 556 homes sold for $100,000-200,000. The price range of $200,000-300,000 saw 472 sales while 276 homes were sold in the $300,000-400,000 price range.

The upper end of the pricing scale had six homes sold in the $850,000-999,999 range and two homes were sold with an average price of more than $1 million.

In sales volume, the 1,631 homes sold during 2013 carried a combined price tag of $404,774,001.