After three years of negative national press regarding the housing market and how some markets have crashed, have you wondered “Just how bad it is in the Greater Chattanooga area?”Based on the attached graph, supplied by the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors (on the next page), overall home prices have declined approximately 9 percent from their high in 2007 to the bottom in 2010. Keep in mind this result is far better than markets across the country.
While there has been no appreciation in home prices over the last four years, the good news is that the bottom appeared to be reached in 2010 and prices remained relatively stable in 2011. If you look at home prices over the last decade in our market, we actually have seen an increase in prices since the 2002 median of $112,513 to 2011’s $128,389, proving that home ownership in the Greater Chattanooga area continues to be a wise investment.
This news may be falling on deaf ears if you purchased or refinanced property during the height of the housing bubble of 2006-2008 and are considering selling today. You may find yourself with little or no equity in your property. The bulk of the price adjustment came in the fall of 2008 and 2009, leaving many homeowners owing more than their home is worth today.
This only becomes a concern if you need to sell or refinance your property in the near future. In this case you may find yourself needing to bring money to closing in order to close a transaction.
On the flip side, if you are considering buying today, either trading up or downsizing, the house you are buying is certainly going to be less expensive than at the height of the market. Thanks to declining prices and falling interest rates, many homeowners can get a lot more houses for less money than they could in 2007.
This is an overview of our entire market and cannot be applied to every property individually. Consult a professional agent with the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors to find out where property values stand in your neighborhood and with your home, more specifically.