Chattanooga Real Estate Blog

Be sure to watch out for little ghosts and goblins tonight–

The $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers would be extended and some people who already own residences could claim a benefit under a proposal by Senate Democrats.

An agreement reached and passed by the Senate would let homeowners who buy a new home qualify for a $6,500 credit if they have lived in their prior residence for five years.

A quick summary of some of the highlights include:

— The tax credit would be $8,000 for first-time home buyers and $6,500 for move-up buyers (from December 1, 2009 to April 30, 2010).

— Move-up buyers will be eligible, so long as the home they are leaving has been used as their principal residence for 5 years or more.

— The tax credit would sunset on April 30, 2010. However, there would a binding contract rule that will permit those with contracts as of April 30th to qualify for the credit as long as they complete the transaction within 60 days.

A House Democratic aide said House leaders would likely adopt whatever language the Senate approves.

The local real estate market remained inconsistent, with underperformance as its only constant, according to 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 September of this year, Southeast Tennessee and the Northwest Georgia area saw the sale of 507 residential units, a 4% decrease compared to the previous month’s sales, in a retrenchment from previous growth trends observed this year. Earlier statistics had shown three consecutive months – May, June, and July – of small, yet steady, gains in the market.

Year to date number of homes sold:

Three year comparison:

For the month of September, the local median home price was $129,900. That represents a decrease of 6.2% from the same period one year earlier and a statistically negligible decrease from the median price reported the previous month. However, it continues to represent a continuing trend of real affordability, the adjusted median price remains one of the more attractive for U.S. regions of this size.

With the population aging and fewer young people to take the place of baby boomers, the demand for housing may slow for years to come, keeping home values from increasing as they have done since World War II, according to at least one well-known national expert.

In terms of the number of average days on the local market, September 2009 saw a small increase over figures from the same month in 2008, and from the previous month of August 2009. Many economists attribute this pattern to a continuingly slow easing of pressures in the financial markets, returning to their previous averages and are hopeful of more consistency over the next few quarters.

Woo Hoo!!!!!  THDA just announced they are lowering their interest rate to 5% effective Tuesday, October 20

Great Advantage is 5.3% (2% assistance)

Great Start is 5.6% (4% assistance)

A recently released Harris Interactive poll asked Americans where they would choose to live if they did not live in the state where they are now. 2,498 U.S. adults were surveyed online between August 10 and 18, 2009, and Tennessee made the top 10!

1. California
2. Florida
3. Hawaii
4. Texas
5. Colorado
6. Arizona
7. North Carolina
8. Washington state
9. TENNESSEE
10. Oregon

Of course, we already knew that it’s great to be in Tennessee!