Chattanooga Real Estate Blog

For the week ending September 25, New Listings in the Chattanooga region were down 4.7 percent from the same week last year. In total, 222 new properties came online. This represents the smallest year-over year decline in seller activity in the past five weeks.

Pending Sales activity is curiously strong compared to other markets in the country. The most recent reporting week saw 123 signed purchase agreements, which is the 4th consecutive week of year-over-year increase. Many markets are experiencing strong declines in buyer demand, so Chattanooga is a rare exception.

The number of Active Listings in the MLS registered 4.9 percent under last year’s levels, currently sitting at 6,507 homes for sale.

For the week ending September 4, New Listings in the Chattanooga region were down 12.0 percent versus the same week last year as 250 new properties came onto the market.

Buyer activity was once higher than year’s again last levels as 156 contracts were written, representing an increase in Pending Sales of 10.6 percent.

This mix helped to hold inventory down below last year’s count for the tenth consecutive week. There were 6,511 Active Listings for Sale which represented a 3.7 percent decrease over the same period last year.

Based on August numbers, Days on Market were down 2.2 percent to 116 days, and Percent of Original List Price Received at Sale was near even with last year, down a slight 0.8 percent to 90.2 percent. Median Sales Price rose a bit last month to arrive at $134,900.

For the week ending August 28, New Listings in the Chattanooga region were down 5.1 percent since the same week last year as 259 properties came onto the market.

Buyer activity remained above 2009 levels. There were 153 purchase agreements signed last week, representing a 10.9 percent increase over last year.

This combination of market activity helped to keep inventory levels lower than last year for the ninth consecutive week. The number of Active Listings for Sale was down 2.4 percent to 6,610 properties.

Based on July figures, sellers received an average of 90.6 percent of their original list price after about 114 days on the market. Median Sales Price stands at $130,000, and the Months Supply of Inventory metric remains fairly elevated at 12.8 months.

For the week ending August 21, New Listings in the Chattanooga region were down 3.1 percent since the same week last year as 252 properties came onto the market.

Buyer activity remained above 2009 levels, as it has for 29 out of the 33 full weeks this year. There were 146 purchase agreements signed last week, representing a whopping 36.4 percent increase over 2009.

This helped to keep inventory levels lower than last year for the eighth consecutive week. The number of Active Listings for Sale was down 3.6 percent to 6,559 properties. This marks the largest inventory decline in over a year (56 weeks to be exact).

Based on July figures, sellers received an average of 90.6 percent of their original list price after about 114 days on the market. Median Sales Price stands at $130,000, and the Months Supply of Inventory metric remains fairly elevated at 12.8 months.

For the week ending August 14, New Listings in the Chattanooga region were down 16.7 percent in year-over-year comparisons as 250 properties new came on the market.

Buyer activity remained above 2009 levels with 128 contracts written last week, representing a 7.6 percent increase.

This helped to keep inventory levels lower than last year for the seventh consecutive week. The number of Active Listings for Sale was down 3.5 percent to 6,553 properties.

Based on July figures, those sellers who are still waiting for an offer could expect to receive 90.8 percent of their list price and a market time of 114 days, though this number has been coming down in recent months. Median Sales Price remained at $132,000 taking into consideration overall market activity.

In February of this year, Southeast Tennessee and the Northwest Georgia area saw the sale of 406 residential units, a gratifying 35.8% increase compared to the previous month’s sales, and a 19.1% increase in sales over the same period last year.

The current projections for residential mortgage interest rates have shown little change within the past few home sales reporting periods.

For the month of February, the local median home price was $121,750. That represents a decrease of 3.0% from the same period one year earlier and a slight gain of 1.9% from the median price reported the previous month. The adjusted median price remains one of the more attractive for U.S. regions of this size.

In terms of the number of average days on the local market, February 2010 saw a small increase over figures from the same month in 2009, but down somewhat from the previous month of January of 2010. Those swings do not seem to portend anything more extraordinary than the variety of factors that comprise the overall operational vagaries of a recovering market system.

A review of the historical sales activities during the month of February over the past ten years shows a remarkable consistency, with the often stated sole exception of the “boom” years of the past mid-decade.

4th Quarter home sales show a gain over 2008 but lag behind 3rd quarter 2009.

In the fourth three month period of the year just ended, the Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia area saw the sale of 1,527 residential units, a 19.8% increase over the same quarter’s sales in 2008, but a drop of 6.5% over the July through September sales of 2009.

Median price figures for the period witnessed a decrease to $128,500 – a drop of 4.8% from the 4th Quarter of 2008 and a statistically negligible decline of 1.2% from the previous quarter. While a positive sign, in terms of affordability, the price drop is often interpreted by some authorities as a sign of a continuing sluggish economic outlook. However, the index indicating the number of days on the market has remained remarkably consistent – from 120 a year ago to 120 in the 4th Quarter of 2009 – and only 5 days less than the 3rd Quarter.

The local real estate market witnessed a slight, drop in December in the number of homes sold, according to data released by the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) of the Chattanooga Association of REALTORS®. In December of 2009, Southeast Tennessee and the Northwest Georgia area saw the sale of 474 residential units, a 6.5% decrease compared to the previous month’s sales, but a marked improvement over 2008, showing a 9.7% increase over the same monthly period of a year ago.

For the month of December, the local median home price was $128,250. That represents a decrease of 5.2% from the same period one year earlier and a small decrease of 1.3% from the median price reported the previous month. REALTORS® are quick to point out that it continues to represent a continuing trend of real affordability, and that price sensitive buyers should strongly consider purchasing now, and avoiding the inevitable increases in an improving market.

The average number of days on the market showed a slight increase, attributed to the busy period of
any holiday season. From recent highs (above 130 days), the average is now showing 126 days, which
has not been interpreted as showing any significant trend.

November 23 , 2009 – The local real estate market recovered ground, with a modest uptick in October 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 October of this year, Southeast Tennessee and the Northwest Georgia area saw the sale of 533 residential units, a 4.1% increase compared to the previous month’s sales, and a 7.9% growth over the same period in 2008.

For the month of October, the local median home price was $127,000. That represents a decrease of 9.3% from the same period one year earlier and a small decrease of 2.2% from the median price reported the previous month.  However, it continues to represent a continuing trend of real affordability, and the adjusted median price remains one of the more attractive for U.S. regions of this size.

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

Year to date number of homes sold and a three year comparison: