Mike Oliver with Tony Orr Framing Company works on framing a house at Walnut Run off Ooltewah-Georgetown Road.April home sales in the Chattanooga area were up 15.4 percent over a year ago as rising home values and job prospects continued to boost the local housing market.
The Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors said today that 645 residential units were sold through the Realtors' multiple listing service last month. The median price of homes sold by Realtors in April was $135,000, up 3.8 percent from a year ago.
Despite an increase in listings, the inventory of homes on the market was still down 8.2 percent from a year ago to 4,826 residential properties as rising sales more than offset the increase in listings. The typical home sold in April was on the market for 126 days. April was the 12th consecutive month for a decline in the time the average home is on the market.
In high-demand areas like Signal Mountain and Ooltewah, many homes are selling quickly and buyers are sometimes having trouble finding the type home they wish to buy.
"The prickliest thorns in our collective side are still lack of inventory and subdued listing activity," Mark Blazek, president of the Chattanooga Realtors group, said in a statement today. "In some neighborhoods, consumers have 50 or 60 percent fewer options from which to choose than they did a few years ago. That's causing bidding wars in popular areas."