Hottest areas for home sales:Number of homes sold:1. Brainerd/East Brainerd — 64 homes sold2. North Hamilton County — 62 homes sold3. Downtown — 30 homes sold4. Hixson — 28 homes sold5. East Brainerd/Ooltewah — 27 homes soldMedian Price:1. Lookout Mountain — $360,0002. Signal Mountain — $306,5003. Collegedale — $214,2504. Ooltewah/Snow Hill — $214,0005. East Brainerd/Ooltewah — $175,000
Home sales in the Chattanooga area shot through the roof in April, reaching a 33-month high of 611 homes sold, a 49 percent increase over the same month in 2009 and a 5.9 percent boost from March, according to statistics from the Chattanooga Association of Realtors.
The increase coincided with a report by Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, who told Realtors that the Chattanooga market is now in recovery, a step below expansion, but better than “moderating recession” or “in recession.”
CAR President Randy Durham attributed swelling sales to the recently expired homebuyers tax credit and record-low mortgage rates.
“Large numbers of buyers were motivated to get off the fence and into the market with a combination of tax-based incentives and affordability,” he said. “We’ve also got another element that’s starting to fuel sales, and that’s falling interest rates.”