Greater Chattanooga Realtors recently released its annual report on the local housing market, and it seems 2019 was a very busy year.
The average sales price was just more than $238,000, a 6.9% increase compared to 2018 ($222,852). There were 10,714 homes sold in the Greater Chattanooga area in 2018, a 6.8% increase compared to 2018 (10,034 homes).
This increase in sale price might be a reflection of decreased housing inventory. In 2018, there were approximately 3.4 months of inventory, while that amount dropped to 2.6 months in 2019.
Maintaining a consistent housing inventory is critical, which is why Realtors continue to work with our elected officials to make sure homeownership remains attainable and affordable for those in every income bracket.
The days on market (the average amount of time a property takes to sale) was 48 days. That’s a slight decrease from 50 days in 2018.
For perspective, the average days on market for 2015 was 80 days, meaning houses took 40% longer to sell than in 2018. That’s a fast market.
As for 2020, Dr. Lawrence Yun, chief economist and senior vice president of research at NAR, said the nation’s economic outlook is promising. “I don’t foresee a recession in 2020,” he says, citing healthy consumer activity and job creation in every state.
Yun added that because the country has gone more than 10 years without one, some analysts believe the country is due for a recession. But Yun counters that theory, saying current conditions are better than they were before other recessions.
“The U.S. needs more new housing,” he adds. “Historically, anytime we’ve needed to build, there was never a recession. This is an incentive for builders to start more construction. If they do, I think we’ll have at least 12 consecutive years of economic expansion.”
Although 2019 was a busy market, Greater Chattanooga Realtors worked tirelessly for their clients in a competitive market. No one can be sure what 2020 will mean for real estate, but your local Realtors will be prepared to assist their clients, no matter how the market behaves. That’s Who We R.
For more information on the 2019 Annual Housing report, visit gcar.net/consumer-tools.
Greater Chattanooga Realtors is The Voice of Real Estate in Greater Chattanooga. A regional organization with more than 2,000 members, Greater Chattanooga Realtors is one of some 1,300 local boards and associations of Realtors nationwide that comprise the National Association of Realtors. Greater Chattanooga Realtors services Hamilton and Sequatchie counties in southeast Tennessee and Catoosa, Dade and Walker counties in northwest Georgia. For more information, visit www.gcar.net or call 423 698-8001.