Chattanooga experiences ten straight months of increased residential sales
Chattanooga’s real estate market is showing consistent and measurable signs of a rebound. Sales of residential properties have increased for 10 straight months, the median sales prices of homes have increased for six months and overall inventory has consistently decreased over the past year, according to the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors. “The truth is, the economy is and has been expanding consistently for years, albeit at a disjointed pace,” said Mark Hite, president of the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors, There is reason for optimism going into the last third of 2012 and even into 2013, and housing is actually playing a large role in that positive outlook.” In August, real estate agents sold 655 resident units, a 7.6 percent increase over number of units sold for same period in 2011. Another strong indicator of a market turnaround in Chattanooga is the existing inventory marketing time for homes, which decreased 21.5 percent to 9.5 months. This statistic is a strong indicator of increased demand relative to supply. Shrinking inventory is also an indicator that the market is moving towards a demand market. Available inventory shrank 13.8 percent to 4,944 units, even though new market listings were up 15 percent in August. Median home prices are also up over last year’s figures: prices increased by 5.6 percent to $136,250 compared to last August, according to the association. With consistent indicators of real estate market turnaround here in Chattanooga, signs of life in the economic recovery, and mortgage rates at an all-time low, opportunity for investing in real estate is prime.
