Days on the market are down and sales are up, according to information just released by the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors. Both numbers are good news for home sellers.
In its most simple terms, the average day's market is a gauge of how long it took the average home to sell in a given period of time. For the month of December, of the 458 homes which sold in the Greater Chattanooga area, it took 136 days for them to go from listing to closing. That is down from 146 days during the same period in 2011. This is another indicator of the returning health of our market and the reduced supply related to sales.
This improvement in the monthly days on market falls in line with the overall 2011 average. For all of 2011, 137 days was the average which is a reduction from 2010, when the average days on market stood at 140. The attached graph shows the average days on market reached a low point of 112 days in September of 2011, which helped to bring the overall average down. A key factor to keep in mind, when looking at days on market vs. the months of supply is that these are homes that have actually sold. These sold statistics are key factors in determining fair market value by appraisers and Realtors. From sold statistics, one can predict fair market value as well as how long it should take a property to sell, assuming it is priced correctly.
Like months of supply, the average days on market vary widely by geographic areas. The Hixson community saw 123 days average, while the Brainerd/ East Brainerd area stood at 111 days for December. One of the fastest clips in December came from Catoosa County, which came in at 96 days. Again, real estate sales and statistics are very specific by neighborhood and part of town. Contact a local Realtor with the Greater Chattanooga Association to find out what is going on in your neighborhood. On another positive note for home sellers, GCAR also reported an increase in home sales in December of 2011 of 3.4 percent compared to the same time last year.
Mark Hite is president of the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors