The indicator arrows for residential real estate are going in all the right directions for the Greater Chattanooga area in 2012!
Home sales for the month of May were up 22.8 percent over May 2011, according to data released Thursday by the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors (GCAR). This is the largest year-over-year increase the market has experienced since well before the financial crisis of 2008. More importantly this increase in sales is a continuation of the positive sales trend of the previous three months.
The second positive announcement this week was that the median price increased by 9.9 percent over May 2011. This is welcomed news for home sellers and homeowners in general, who have seen the value of their properties decrease in recent years. While we have not reclaimed the losses incurred in 2008-2010, this positive number continues the trend of the previous four months.
Buyers who have waited to get into the real estate market, expecting prices to fall farther, are the only people who do not find this to be good news.
With interest rates still at their lowest mark in decades, the summer of
2012 may be the best time in years to buy a home. The old saying “Buy low, sell high” applies here. Buy a home now and enjoy the appreciation that this positive market trend is providing.
The time it takes for the average home to sell is known as the “days on market.” When this number goes down it is a good thing. In this case, the average days on market declined to 126 days. This is a very positive trend that is a result of increased sales and reduced inventory available for sale, when compared to last year. In May 2012, the Greater Chattanooga market had 4,954 homes for sale compared to 6,113 for the same month last year. These numbers are both good news for current sellers and those considering entering the market to sell. The arrows for days on the market and inventory available for sale are both down, which is a good thing.
If you follow the arrows, you will see that in the Greater Chattanooga area, everything points in the direction that now is a great time to buy, sell or invest in real estate.
Mark Hite is president of the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors