Home sales tileLocal home sales dip, prices riseChattanooga home sales fell 0.5 percent last month from year-ago levels, but home prices continued to rise in the Chattanooga area.The Chattanooga Association of Realtors said local Realtors sold 633 residential properties last month at an median sales price of $154,500. Home prices were up, on average, 12.4 percent from a year ago. Days on Market remained flat at 121 days. Sellers were encouraged as inventory was down 1.1 percent to 8.9 months.
U.S. homes sold in September at their fastest clip this year, a sign that the housing market is shaking off a slowdown that began in the middle of 2013.
The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that sales of existing homes rose 2.4 percent from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.17 million. Still, the sales rate has dropped 1.7 percent over the past 12 months.
Investors have retreated from the market over the past year. Their departures are being offset by existing homeowners who are upgrading to more expensive properties or downsizing after having raised their children. First-time buyers comprised just 29 percent of sales, well below their historic average of roughly 40 percent.
The figures suggest that the sales decline that began last year has ended, although home-buying is unlikely to surge back to their historic averages.
"The worst is over, but don't expect a rapid rebound in activity or prices," said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
Rising prices through much of 2013, weak income growth and tighter credit standards have pushed some would-be buyers out of the market. Median home prices rose 5.6 percent over the past 12 months to $209,700.
Many homeowners are still coping with the fallout from the meltdown in home prices that began roughly seven years ago. And prices continue to recover from the depths of that housing bust, although that growth has slowed after climbing at double digit levels in many cities last year.
Federal regulators agreed Tuesday to loosen some credit regulations. The board of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. voted 4-1 to remove a requirement that borrowers must provide a 20 percent down payment if their bank doesn't hold on its books at least 5 percent of the mortgage securities tied to its home loans.
More buyers also may return to the market after the average 30-year fixed rate mortgages dropped below 4 percent last week, down more than half a percentage point from the start of 2014. Still, average rates were as low as 3.34 percent In January 2013, and there are few signs that home sales will surge any time soon.