Wondering About The Real Estate Market Conditions Here In Nashville?

HOME SALES DECLINE, HOME PRICES CONTINUE TO RISE

There were 1,745 home closings reported for the month of July, according to figures provided by the Greater Nashville Association of REALTORS®. This represents a 21 percent decrease from the 2,214 closings reported for the same period last year.

Year-to-date closings for the Greater Nashville area are 12,768. That is an increase of 11.5 percent from the 11,454 closings reported through July 2009.

"The tax credit helped drive nine consecutive months of increased home sales," said GNAR President Lucy Smith. "Without it, we are beginning to see the new normal of the real estate market. The good news is there were more than 1,700 closings in July and home prices have increased slightly. The increase in prices shows stability and confirms the value of owning real estate. Until the overall economy strengthens and employment numbers decrease, it is appropriate to expect some softness in the real estate market both nationally and regionally. Fortunately, Greater Nashville remains better positioned to address these trends compared with many other locations throughout the country."

There were 1,667 sales pending at the end of July, compared with 2,147 pending sales at this time last year. The average number of days on the market for a single-family home was 85 days.

The median residential price for a single-family home during July was $181,000, and for a condominium it was $149,990. This compares with last year's median residential and condominium prices of $171,100 and $142,146, respectively.

Inventory at the end of July was 24,258, down from 24,592 in July 2009.

"Though slightly less than this time last year, inventory has increased over the past several months," added Smith. "Buyers continue to have a good variety from which to choose in a variety of locations throughout the region. The strong amount of inventory combined with historic low interest rates makes this a very attractive time to consider purchasing a home."

The Greater Nashville Association of REALTORS® is one of Middle Tennessee's largest professional trade associations and serves as the primary voice for Nashville-area property owners. REALTOR® is a registered trademark that may be used only by real estate professionals who are members of the National Association of Realtors and subscribe to its strict code of ethics.

ZIP Codes: 37211, 37220, 37215, 37204, 37221, 37013, 37205Approximate Location

Boundaries: South Davidson County just north of Brentwood (South Nashville and Antioch)

Location Characteristics: This area of South Davidson County has entry level price homes in some areas as well as luxury homes. If you like being close to everything and be reasonably close to downtown Nashville, Davidson County is a good area. The South and Southwest portion of the county is the most upscale area of Metro Nashville Davidson County

info gathered from: http://realtytimes.com/rtmcrcond/Tennessee~Nashville~lucybillrudolph

Home Sales Stabilize

Pending home sales have leveled from a market swing driven by response to the home buyer tax credit, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in December, increased 1 percent to 96.6 from 95.6 in November, and remains 10.9 percent above December 2008 when it was 87.1.

In November, the monthly index had fallen by 16.4 percent from surging activity in preceding months.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says it's important to recognize how the tax credit is skewing market data.

"There are easily understood swings in contract activity as buyers respond to a tax credit that was expiring and was then extended and expanded," he says. "These swings are masking the underlying trend, which is a broad improvement over year-ago levels."

December activity was the fifth highest monthly tally in two years.

The Tax Credit Impact

Buyers who have a contract in place to purchase a primary residence by April 30, 2010, have until June 30, 2010, to finalize the transaction to qualify for a tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time buyers and $6,500 for repeat buyers.

Yun projects the extended and expanded tax credit will encourage 2.4 million households to take the credit in 2010.

"While new-home sales will remain low due to a lack of construction, existing-home sales are projected to rise to around 5.6 million in 2010," Yun says. Last year there were 5.16 million existing-home sales.

He added that one of the greatest benefits of rising sales will be firming home prices.

"For several months now we've been seeing stabilization in all of the home price measures as inventory is pulled down," Yun says. "As a result, the housing wealth for many middle class families has begun to stabilize."

Regional Data

Here's a breakdown by region for the PHSI:

Northeast: rose 2.3 percent to 76.1 in December and is 14.9 percent higher than December 2008.
Midwest: increased 5.2 percent to 86.9 and is 8.7 percent above a year ago.
South: rose 2.2 percent to an index of 98.4, and are 5.5 percent higher than December 2008.
West: fell 3.8 percent to 119.9 but is 18.6 percent above a year ago.

-NAR