Sunday, November 22, 2020 - by Brandi Pearl Thompson, president, Greater Chattanooga Realtors
Usually in the housing market when the temperatures start to dip in the early fall, home sales usually follow suit. People start preparing for the holiday season and purchasing or selling a home is more of a back burner thought than an immediate priority. But like most of this year, things that used to be somewhat predictable in previous years have been anything but in 2020. Real estate hasn’t cooled off in the least, and as realtors, we’ve remained as busy as we have been all year.
In October, buyer activity remained higher than normal for this time of year, while in many parts of the market housing inventory was much lower than even one year ago.
Multiple offers remain a common occurrence in many areas, keeping buyers and sellers on the edge of their seats during their transactions.
Adding to the hot market, mortgage rates dropped to new record lows again in October, helping to offset the monthly mortgage payment increases caused by the rise in home prices seen in many markets across the country. Continued buyer demand may temper any price retreats this year and keep the traditional winter time price dip at bay well into the future.
Locally, New Listings in the Chattanooga region increased 3.5% to 1,174. The face that Pending Sales were up 27.6% to 1,073 shows how important it is to use a Realtor since they can often find homes before they go on the market. Inventory levels shrank 50.7% to 1,504 units. This reduction in inventory shows how competitive the market is right now for buyers.
Prices continued to gain traction. The Median Sales Price increased 19.1% to $250,000. Days on Market was down 18.6% to 35 days, which reflects how quickly homes are being sold in this tight inventory market. Sellers were encouraged as Months Supply of Inventory was down 55.9% to 1.5 months.
The market is fast, and the inventory is tighter than it has been in a long while.