The first Quarter of 2012 is now history and I am seeing some positive trends developing.
While final results for the first quarter are not yet released by the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors (GCAR), the initial results I am seeing are all in the plus category. Local Realtors have closed out almost 1,300 homes in the first quarter of 2012, which relates to more than an 8 percent increase over 2011 sales. In addition, that number would also reflect an increase over the first quarter of 2010, when the federal government was stimulating the market with an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers. What a bright spot it is when the free market system exceeds a time when the government was intervening with stimulus money.
This increase in sales is a direct result of the incredible affordability that exists in our market today. Increased affordability is a direct result of price declines that have taken place in the recent past and the record low interest rates. Buyers are getting off the fence and stepping up to the plate because they can simply buy more house now than they could at any point in recent history.
This increase in sales is not at the cost of additional price erosion; quite the opposite can be said of the first quarter of 2012 based on the numbers I am looking at. I would expect us to see an increase in the median price of 3 percent when compared to the first quarter of 2011. This is excellent news for home sellers and potential home sellers.
So if you are a potential home seller who has been holding off putting your house on the market, waiting for the “great recovery,” well now is the time to get in the game. While we will not see the unsustainable sales and pricing of 2006-2007 anytime in the near future, the market is definitely moving in the right direction. Call an experienced Realtor with GCAR right now and get a good understanding of what your property is worth in today’s market. This may just be the time for you to “trade up” to a larger home or “downsize” to fit your current needs.
If you are a buyer who is waiting for pricing to deteriorate further before you buy, then you have a long wait ahead of you. There is nothing on the horizon to indicate prices will go down, but just the opposite, they are moving up. So you need to contact a local Realtor and find your dream home at an incredible value.
The Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors (GCAR) will be releasing the official March sales results on April 19. You can find this information on our website at GCAR.net, on our Facebook page (“like” us) and through local media outlets like the Times Free Press.
Mark Hite is president of the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors