The local real estate market showed renewed strength from last month’s modest beginning in the month to month statistics released today, in both number of homes sold and median price, according to data released by the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) of the Chattanooga Association of REALTORS®. In June of this year, Southeast Tennessee and the Northwest Georgia area saw the sale of 553 residential units, a 14.3% increase compared to the previous month’s sales in the best monthly showing since September of 2008. Although continuing to lag somewhat behind sales at the same point in the previous year, the year-to-year gap does appear to be narrowing.

Demonstrating again the recovery power of the Chattanooga marketplace, the June statistics are showing that, despite the continuance of the nation’s economic challenges and growing unemployment on a national level, real estate continues to be the stalwart leader in the U.S. economic recovery picture.

In terms of market affordability, a key indicator can be seen in the local median home price, which is the price that half of all units sell for more and half sell for less. For the month of June, the local median home price was $136,000. That represents a decrease of less than 3% from the same time one year earlier and a very encouraging 6.3% increase from the median price reported last month. While it represents a continuing trend of real affordability, the increased median price speaks to a much healthier economic picture. Additionally, it also speaks well for the area’s ability to attract new residents who continue to hesitate in making the home purchase decision in the less affordable areas of the country.

In terms of the number of average days on the market, June 2009 increased significantly from 2008, and also over the previous month of May 2009. Many mortgage experts attribute this to the continuing pressures in the financial markets as credit remains tight for even the most qualified of buyers. However, it is believed that, as lender confidence increases, allowing for greater access to credit, those authorities expect the number of days on market to return to their previous averages and then remain fairly consistent over a longer period of time.

Have a safe and happy holiday!!