Home Market News Archives - Page 35 of 40

The Hot Season To Buy Or Sell A Home In Knoxville Is Upon Us!

March 19, 2014 By Troy Stavros

Whether you are in a warm weather market, cold weather market, or a high tourist seasonal market, you will see the hot time of the year to buy and sell a home ebb and flow throughout the year. There will be times of the year that will slow down and others will take off. Locally, we are about to step into the busiest time of year to buy and sell a home in Knoxville. As evidenced by the graphics below, we typically see a drop in sales volume, sales price, and inventory throughout the winter months. Then once we hit February or March, the trend does an about face and the number of homes sold increases, along with the prices of those homes and the number of homes available.

What does this mean for you?

If you are looking to sell a home in Knoxville, there is good news and not so good news. The good news is, the odds of selling your home will increase along with the odds of selling it for a higher price. The not so good news is you will have more competition.
Seller’s takeaway: Get your home on the market as soon as possible, before more competition hits the market alongside of you.
If you are looking to buy a home in Knoxville, the good news is you should be seeing more options hit the market as inventory increases. The bad news is that you will most likely be looking at higher prices and more competition for homes as well.
Buyer’s takeaway: Start looking today and when you find the right home don’t mess around. Waiting too long or submitting low offers will invite additional offers in to compete against you.

If you are even considering buying or selling a home in Knoxville in the near future, contact me, Troy Stavros with Gables & Gates, REALTORS, to sit down and plan out your strategy for achieving your Knoxville real estate goals. I look forward to talking with you!

What Are The Recent Price Trends For Homes In Farragut?

March 12, 2014 By Troy Stavros

The graphs below show the recent trends in average prices of homes in Farragut, Tennessee. By looking at the trends of active and sold homes in Farragut we can get an idea of whether prices are trending up or down.

This first graph looks at the active homes for sale in Farragut and how their average prices are trending. We can see that prices of homes for sale in Farragut are most definitely trending upwards at a fairly steady pace with the average list price rising significantly over the last year.

827437.14,899447.01,875720.59,868053.53,841589.84,896218.66,927164.17,945321.03,925088.69,904941.58,903551.00,922010.79

This second graph looks at the homes sold in Farragut and how their average prices are trending. Sold prices of homes in Farragut are also up from one year ago, but stayed fairly steady between July and November. The drop in the winter months is typical of the winter months but you can see that prices are gaining fast on the highs from the last year and will most likely surpass them with the hot Spring selling season upon us.

682031.21,681353.90,659088.20,769720.44,682005.70,711419.70,824566.24,711709.93,747162.96,769904.65,783513.24,775134.89

What does this tell us? For sellers, this is good news, as prices are rising. Therefore, it’s a good time to be selling your Farragut home for top dollar. If you are looking to buy a home in Farragut, the time is now, as continuing to wait will most likely have you paying higher prices. Couple this with what economists say will also be rising interest rates and that spells less affordability in the near future. To discuss your goals for selling a home in Farragut or buying a home in Farragut, contact me, Troy Stavros to set an appointment to sit down and plan a strategy.

Nice Gains for National and Knoxville Housing Market

February 5, 2014 By Troy Stavros

According to CoreLogic’s latest housing report, national home prices made double-digit gains in 2013, increasing with the highest annual rate since 2005. While the Knoxville housing market didn’t see as dramatic an increase on average, we did move in the right direction with an overall 5% increase in the median sales price.

CoreLogic’s chief economist stated, “We expect the rising prices to attract more sellers, unlocking this pent-up supply, which will have a moderating effect on prices in 2014.” I am hoping that the part about unlocking pent-up supply holds true, as we are still struggling with lower inventory levels here in Knoxville, with many buyers sitting on the sidelines waiting for houses to pop on the market.

The report showed that nationally, the median sales price for all of 2013 was $197,100, 11.5 percent above the 2012 median price. In Knoxville the median home price came in at $144,900. This goes right along with what we’ve known all along, which is that the Knoxville housing market is quite affordable compared to other parts of the country.

Let’s compare some 2012 to 2013 numbers for the Knoxville housing market:

Home Sales UP 15%
Inventory UP 3%
Average Sales Price UP 5%
Dollar Volume Sold UP 18%

All signs are currently showing that this momentum should carry over into 2014. If you are looking to buy or sell a home, contact me, Troy Stavros, today to discuss your real estate goals and how I can best serve you.

Movoto Ranks Farragut 5th Best Place To Live In Tennessee

December 16, 2013 By Troy Stavros

Movoto recently ranked the best places to live in Tennessee. While compiling those rankings, Farragut came in as the 5th best place to live in Tennessee.

Movoto cited these facts regarding Farragut’s high ranking:

High median home values ($302,800)
95% high school diploma attainment rate
High median income ($94,848)
Low unemployment (3.3%)

Other factors that pushed Farragut towards to top were:

Proximity to Knoxville
Proximity to Great Smoky Mountains
Hiking and Biking Trails
Lakes and Water Sports
Turkey Creek Shopping Development

While Farragut’s cost of living is slightly above average, it still remains below many of the other cities on the list, making it reasonably affordable. Looking to buy or sell a home in Farragut? As a resident of this great town, I am intimately familiar with the Farragut real estate market. Call me today at 865-999-0925 so we can schedule a time to sit down and talk about your plans.

SOURCE: http://www.movoto.com/blog/top-ten/best-places-in-tennessee/

Mortgage Lenders in Knoxville Accepting Smaller Down Payments

November 20, 2013 By Troy Stavros

With rising interest rates and less people looking to refinance, mortgage lenders in Knoxville are putting more of a focus on securing home loans and loosening some of the lending guidelines for approval as bait. According to a recent report by LendingTree, the average down payment for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage dropped 2.74% to 15.73%. Tennessee actually ranks as the 9th lowest state, as far as low down payment average, coming in at an average of 13.5% down payment.

The FHA recently removed the popular 3% down payment on their loans and has subsequently increased it to a minimum of 5%. Buyers can find many non-FHA loans through lenders offering the same 5% down. Remember, the better your credit and income are, the better your rate and terms will ultimately be, so do your homework prior to applying for a loan. There may be some actions you can take to increase your credit score, that will ultimately save you money on your loan and help you get approved.

Contact Troy Stavros with Gables & Gates, REALTORS at 865-999-0925 to discuss the home buying process or for additional advice on getting a home loan. Working in the Knoxville real estate business daily, we have many trusted mortgage lenders in Knoxville that we work with and can recommend so you don’t get stuck in a bad situation.

Real Estate In The Year Ahead… What To Expect

November 11, 2013 By Troy Stavros

Whether you currently have your Knoxville home on the market, are planning on selling in the future, are searching for a home in Knoxville, or plan to be, knowing what the real estate landscape will look like in the year ahead can help you make a plan. What can we expect moving forward for the rest of 2013 and through 2014 in the Knoxville real estate market? The video below, recorded yesterday, answers many of those questions. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist with the National Association of REALTORS, gives us his professional opinion on how far we’ve come the last few years and what we have to look forward to in the real estate market in the year ahead.

A summary of the main points include:

We’ve experienced a 20% cumulative gain in homes sold over the last 2 years
We’ve experienced double digit price gains in the last 2 years
We are seeing a decline in affordability (caused by the higher home prices, slower income increases and rising interest rates)
Decline in affordability will level out the rapid growth of home sales
Home prices will continue to rise because of a continued inventory shortages
Job growth will increase the pool of home buyers
Look for a possible loosening in the mortgage underwriting (approval) standards
Mortgage interest rates should rise and average approximately 5.3% by the end of 2014
Price increases will be more moderate

What does this mean for you as a Knoxville home seller or home buyer? If you are selling a home in Knoxville you will benefit from the continued price gains, but the rising interest rates could effect the number of buyers that can afford your home. Also, once you’ve sold your Knoxville home you typically turn into a buyer. Those buying a home in Knoxville will be effected by the decline in affordability caused by the higher home prices and rising interest rates. Continued shortages in inventory will mean longer home search periods and having to pay closer to asking price because of increased competition for Knoxville homes.

Our advice would be to start the process now. Take advantage of the current mortgage rates and home prices before they start rising. While many buyers will wait until Spring, starting now means you will face less competition which could ultimately save you even more money.