Buyers and sellers of Knoxville real estate need to be very careful what they believe when listening to the media about the housing market. Sure you can believe most of the numbers you hear, but you can’t necessarily translate what those numbers say to your local market. REAL ESTATE IS LOCAL. Here are some good examples which show how our local Knoxville real estate market is bucking the trends of the national housing market.
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal titled, “Why the Nation’s Hot Housing Market Is Cooling, Slightly” made the following statements:
“The housing market showed signs of cooling in the first quarter as the supply of homes for sale expanded and lofty prices put a damper on demand in recent months. A key driver of the price slowdown was an increase in the supply of existing homes listed for sale in the first quarter, which expanded by 3.1% from a year earlier..”
- When we compare this statement against our local Knoxville real estate numbers we differ quite a bit. Where the national market “showed signs of cooling” in the first quarter of the year, the Knoxville market’s PENDING home sales are up 14.3% from one year ago and up 15.5% year to date (refer to chart at bottom of the page). April numbers show the trend continuing as PENDING home sales were up 21.8% from last year and 17.7% YTD.
- If a “key driver to the nation’s price slowdown was an increase in the supply of existing homes in the first quarter”… what happened in Knoxville? The supply of homes has DECREASED by 15.6% from one year ago and is DOWN 8.1% year to date (refer to chart at bottom of page). Logic would tell us that if the increased inventory is making the nation’s price growth slow, then Knoxville’s decreased inventory would do the opposite.  This seems to be proving accurate as noted in my recent article, “List Prices Are Rising Fast On Knoxville Real Estate” that showed list prices rising by 2.1% in a one month period between March and April.
I just hope this example will make you think twice when you hear news about the housing market on the national media. Your best source of learning the status of your local Knoxville real estate market is a local, Knoxville real estate agent. To discuss the market or your goals with buying your selling a home in Knoxville, contact me, Troy Stavros with Gables & Gates, REALTORS today!
