By Travis Close, ABR, GREEN, GRI, e-PRO
President, Greater Chattanooga Association of REALTORS®
The third quarter of 2015 has come to a close, with all signs pointing towards normalcy. Across the country, there are pockets of interesting fluctuations, including some within the same state or city. However, the overall pace of real estate is marked with positive indications. The job market has shown continual improvement, jobless rates are down, real average hourly and weekly earnings have been up and there has been good news in new household formation.
New Listings in the Chattanooga region increased 7.5 percent to 1,123, which is slightly ahead of the 12-month average increase of 6.4 percent. The increase in new listings also in line with the year-to-date increase of 8.9 percent.
Pending Sales were up 16.9 percent to 776, coinciding with the year-to-date increase of 18.1 percent. September’s trend for Pending Sales is a full percent ahead of the 15.9 percent 12-month average.
Closed Sales were up 12.9 percent to 772. Year-to-date comparison reflects a 13.6 percent increase from 2014, with current numbers being slightly ahead of the 12-month average.
We continue to see inventory levels shrinking across the country, and Greater Chattanooga is not immune in this regard. Inventory shrank 31.7 percent to 4,221 units, which is the greatest decrease we’ve seen in the last 12-months.
With a low inventory, homes are moving quickly and prices continued to gain traction. Sellers were encouraged as Months Supply of Inventory was down 41.1 percent to 5.6 months. Days on Market was down 32.3 percent to 67 days. The Median Sales Price increased 2.5 percent to $150,700. The Average Sales Price increased 4.5 percent to $179,221.
With positive economic news coming from many angles, there are no imminent factors to prepare for beyond the typical seasonal drop-off. From the mouths of market-analyzing pundits, we are in the midst of one of the healthiest housing markets in the past 15 years. The one thing we were anticipating in September, an increase in interest rates, did not happen. It most likely will before year’s end. Until then, get out and enjoy the season.