Commercial Property Find A Home
RSS Feed

December 11, 2017

“Santa” Delivers a Bag Full of Gifts

By Mark Hite
President, Greater Chattanooga REALTORS®

Old St. Nick delivered a sack full of good news for the Greater Chattanooga housing community with the November market report!

Closed sales for the month of November were up +5.7% to the same month last year, which leaves the market with a +1.4% increase Year to Date.  Keep in mind that sales in 2016 were record highs in this market, so the 9,274 sales this year is a strong number.

Strong price increases  were the second gift in this report.  The median price increased +13.3% and the average price of a home sold increased by +10.5%.  These increases pushed the year to date median price to $175,000 which is up +9.4% and the average price for the year currently stands at $210,698 which is a +8.6% over the first 11 months of 2016.  This is all good news for home owners and underscores the strength of the local real estate market.

The third gift in this month’s report comes in the form of shorter days on the market.  It took the average home 58 days from listing date to contract for the month of November.  For the year the market is standing just under 2 months at 59 days which is down -10.6% from last year’s 66 days on the market.

Although it may be on many Realtors wish list this holiday season, Santa did not deliver tons of new homes and condos for them to sell, in fact just the opposite.  The number of new listings coming to market in November was down -4.5% and stands at -6.7% for the year to date.  With strong sales and decreased new inventory, the number of homes available for sale slipped to 2,814 in November, which represents a -25.3% decrease to the same month last year.  This inventory position combined with current sales trends produced a 3.4 months supply of inventory, which is a -27.7% decrease to November 2016.

As we look forward to 2018, all influencing factors are pointing to a continued strong housing market in the Greater Chattanooga region.  Unemployment is low, GDP is growing and interest rates remain fairly low.