From Chas Sisk, December’s median is lowest since 2004, The Tennessean:
The number of homes on the market also has started to fall. A total of 21,274 single-family homes, condos, multifamily homes, farms, land parcels and lots were listed for sale at year’s end.
The housing inventory has fallen 15% since peaking at more than 25,000 listings in May.
Nonetheless, listings remain 3% higher than a year ago. An important factor in setting the direction of the market as this year unfolds will be separating homeowners who must sell from those who simply are willing to sell if they get the right price.
“The real challenge is that so many sellers that have homes on the market right now are discretionary,” Exton said. “People seem to think it’s the other guy’s problem…They seem to have the expectation that their neighbor didn’t get what they wanted to be paid, but they will.”
Other data released by the GNAR suggest the slowdown in the real estate market has been most pronounced in some of Middle Tennessee’s suburbs.
Robertson, Maury and Williamson counties experienced the sharpest drop in sales last year, with each recording a decline of more than 30%. Those same three counties also had three of the four biggest relative drops in median homes prices.
Price cuts and a slowdown in construction in new subdivisions may explain those declines.
“You’re competing with a builder,” Exton said. “They’ve got a profit built in, so they can go down in price and still be okay.”
Sales in Cheatham County declined by about 20%. Sumner County saw a 24% decline in sales, and Davidson County experienced a 25% drop.
Those three counties did relatively better in pricing, though. The median price sank about 2% in Davidson and 1% in Cheatham, and it actually rose 3% in Sumner.
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