Chattanooga Real Estate Blog

Many times we forget the reason for Memorial Day so take a moment today and pay respect to the military service people who gave their lives to protect our freedom.  It’s really their day.

It’s that time again.  The total number and volume of residential sales in Hamilton County fell a little last month.  The number of closings decreased by 6% from 307 in March to 287 in April.  Total volume was off by 11% from $57,285,451 in March to $51,172,034 in April.  North Hamilton County and North Chattanooga areas had the most closings with 42 and 33 which accounted for a full 26% of the total closings.

Chattanooga MLS April 2011 Data

10 counties in Tennessee as well as 16 in Georgia have been declared disaster areas after storms ripped through our area April 25-28.  We are still in shock as we see the devastation tornadoes can and have done to our friends and neighbors.

FEMA issued a release today regarding disaster relief.  Even though it is titled Tennessee Disaster Survivors it is not Tennessee specific.  Anyone in an affected area (TN, GA, AL, etc) will find it useful because there are some questions and answers as well as numbers to get help.

On a personal note, if anyone needs anything, please let me know.  I have been donating to organizations taking up collections and would be more than happy to help get some things directly to you if it’s within my grasp.  My prayers continue to go out for those affected.

Our upward trend in sales continued in March with a big jump from February.  We had 307 sales in March compared to 201 in February.  North Hamilton County continues to lead with the highest number of sales in the area at 44.  The same area had 33 last month.  The dollar volume in sales increased by over 24 million.

Lets hope it continues!

I know everyone is always saying it’s a great time to buy regardless of the market.  And that’s true to an extent.  But if you have been on the fence or you’ve been thinking about it now truly is the time to do it.  One of my favorite blogs has given 4 financial reasons to buy now and they hit it on the mark.

Interest rates are increasing

Rates have gone up almost 3/4 of a point in the last 6 months and are expected to continue to rise.

The 30 year mortgage may disappear

Several experts believe if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s roles are eliminated, or even limited, it may bet the end of the 30 year mortgage.

Qualified mortgage requirements could be more stringent

Proposed changes include:

1.  Elimination of certain mortgage types

2.  Minimum of 20% down payment

3.  Minimum 690 FICO score

4.  Lowering of ratio of income to both the mortgage payment and the overall debt to 28% and 36%

Rents are expected to increase

Supply and demand.  The demand is increasing while the supply is decreasing.

There is a lot of inventory on the market right now.  Jump in before it’s too late or the cost is just too high.

Q — What are the winter and summer elevation levels of Chickamauga Lake?

Q — Where did Chickmauga Lake get its name?

Find the answers on my business page at facebook by clicking the facebook logo above and becoming a fan!

If you’ve been trying to sell your house in this not so great market this is an excerpt from a humorous article by Nancy Watkins in RISMedia:

If you’ve had a home on the market for a while, HSF can sneak up on you. But I’m here to help you recognize the problem. Are you experiencing symptoms like these?

You have a constant unsettled feeling reinforced daily by the sight of the sign in your front yard, swinging in the wind and, you would swear some days, laughing.

You have developed paranoia because during various open houses people swiped your prescription drugs and went through your drawers. Not only do you no longer have open houses, but you jump whenever your husband touches you.

You avoid your neighbors because you are embarrassed that you can’t sell your house. Plus, for all you know, they came to your open houses and went through your drawers.

You make the place all pretty, and the prospects come and go, and do they call again? No. And yet despite this rejection you want them to come back, and this makes you feel bad about yourself. That’s right, it’s exactly like dating.

Your agent gets an email from some guy who says he’s in Japan but he saw the house listing online and wants to buy it sight unseen at your full asking price. And you actually think about it. (This really happened.)

You grow to hate every prospective buyer, and you hate them even more after they make an offer, because your house deserves more. You turn around and hate your house for not growing another bedroom. You hate your agent for not waving a wand and making more offers appear. You hate yourself for buying when the market was at its peak, even though you got top dollar for your old house. You pretty much hate everybody and everything.

Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying.

We had a slight uptick in number of homes sold in February with 201 compared to 189 in January.  At the same time the average price and total sales volume increased.  The average sales price jumped almost $30,000 to $194,046.  This resulted in a total sales volume of $36, 674,866.

North Hamilton County led the areas in total number of sales with 33 transactions for a total of $5, 465,250.

The National Association of Realtors released an Economic Outlook report last week.  Sales of distressed properties continues to rise as does the shadow inventory.

Distressed homes – sold at discount – accounted for a 39 percent market share in February, up from 37 percent in January and 35 percent in February 2010.

The map below shows the percentage of distressed home sales for the month of February.  Distressed home sales in Tennessee accounted for 32% of the total sales.

Distressed sales map

The article also indicates Tennessee is number 17 in the nation with the highest level of shadow inventory.  Based on the number of distressed sales it would take 14 months to clear the shadow inventory in the state.  It will actually take longer to clears ours than it will to clear the shadow inventory in California.

Months to clear shadow inventory by state