We are in the thick of an exciting period of home buying and selling. This time of year often brings multiple offers that are near, at or even above asking price, depending on the factors of the home and submarket in question. And we are not surprised – nationally, it was widely predicted that we would see healthy sales activity during the second quarter of 2016. And in Greater Chattanooga, that certainly has rung true.
For the month of May, New Listings in the Chattanooga region decreased 6.0 percent to 1,313. Yet, Pending Sales were up 9.4 percent to 957. Inventory levels shrank 21.0 percent to 3,621 units.
Prices gained traction. The Median Sales Price increased 7.0 percent to $165,900. Days on Market was down 13.0 percent to 67 days. Sellers were encouraged as Months Supply of Inventory was down 28.1 percent to 4.6 months.
Although the inventory of homes for sale is still being stretched thin in many pockets of Greater Chattanooga, low mortgage rates coupled with higher wages have built a relatively sturdy housing marketplace. How long that can continue without fresh supply of homes for sale remains an important question. It is a great time to sell your house as the average days on the market is only 67 days and as home sellers are getting an average of 95.9% of their asking price. However, conditions are seemingly good enough for serious buyers. With the current slow state of new construction for non-rental households, the road ahead could be tricky if demand remains high.
The Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors is “The Voice of Real Estate in Greater Chattanooga.” The Association is a regional organization with more than 1,500 members and is one of more than 1,400 local boards and associations of Realtors nationwide that comprise the National Association of Realtors. The Greater Chattanooga Association of 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.