Knoxville housing market Archives - Page 11 of 11

Knoxville Real Estate vs. National Real Estate in Q1

May 13, 2014 By Troy Stavros

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!

Knoxville Real Estate Market Update for April 2014

April 22, 2014 By Troy Stavros

A recent report by the National Association of REALTORS showed that the current national housing market is underperforming by historical standards, but where does Knoxville real estate stand?

My research shows that in the four main categories (Sold Listings, Pending Listings, Active Listings, and New Listings), only one is showing positive signs here in the Knoxville real estate market. Evidenced by the graphs below, only “Pending Listings”, or homes currently under contract, is showing a gain over last year (up 15.5%). “Sold Listings” are down 8.6% from the same time last year, and the categories showing current Knoxville real estate inventory are down as well, with “Active Listings” down 8.1% and “New Listings” down 5.4%.

To get a better feel for how your individual price point is faring in Knoxville, dig a little deeper into the numbers below and you will see that there is a pretty wide variation between performance in differing price points. To get an idea of where your current home may fall CLICK HERE for an INSTANT, no hassle price evaluation.

Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist said, “There really should be stronger levels of home sales given our population growth. In contrast, price growth is rising faster than historical norms because of inventory shortages.” Yun does expect improvement, however. “With ongoing job creation and some weather delayed shopping activity, home sales should pick up, especially if inventory continues to improve and mortgage interest rates rise only modestly.”

The national median existing-home price for all housing types in March was $198,500, up 7.9% from March 2013. Knoxville’s median existing home price was $140,000, up 4.19% from last year.

Because of the laws of supply and demand, lower year over year inventory levels will only lead to higher prices, so my advice to Knoxville home buyers would be to find a home that suits your needs and jump on it quickly before prices rise even higher. My advice to sellers would be to get your home on the market where it could possibly bring a premium in a low inventory environment.

To discuss your Knoxville real estate goals, whether it be buying or selling, contact me, Troy Stavros with Gables & Gates, REALTORS to schedule a time to sit down and formulate an action plan.

What are the experts saying about the latest housing market data?

April 23, 2012 By Troy Stavros

While we know from being directly in the Knoxville housing market that things are on the upswing, let’s take a look at what the leading economic experts are saying regarding the latest housing market data.

Paul Diggle, property economist, Capital Economics

“March’s decline in existing home sales probably reflects the normal month by month volatility rather than renewed underlying weakness. The increase in households’ confidence in the outlook for the housing market, coupled with a gradual improvement in the pace of the economic recovery, should drive a rise in home sales later this year….It is possible that the pattern within the quarter has been driven by the weather, with falls in the most recent two months reflecting a degree of payback after January’s gain.”

Doug Duncan, chief economist, Fannie Mae

“Conditions are coming together to encourage people to want to buy homes. Americans’ rental price expectations for the next year continue to rise, reaching their record high level for our survey this month. With an increasing share of consumers expecting higher mortgage rates and home prices over the next 12 months, some may feel that renting is becoming more costly and that homeownership is a more compelling housing choice.”

Celia Chen, senior director of housing economics, Moody’s

“The residential property market is recovering, as the factors underlying demand and supply strengthen. Even after accounting for unusual seasonal patterns brought on by the unusually warm winter, conditions have not been this strong since the government ended homebuyer tax credits in 2010.”

Mark Vitner, senior economist, Wells Fargo

“Existing home sales dropped 2.6 percent, but are up 5.2 percent from a year ago. While existing sales are down for the second consecutive month, we are likely continuing to see payback from increases earlier this year. That said, we could see one more month of disappointing data, but we still contend the recent declines are not indicative of the trend. Stabilization will become more apparent once we return to normal weather.”

Mark Fleming, chief economist, CoreLogic

“Since the peak in home prices, mortgages rates have declined and affordability has risen dramatically. Housing affordability is at levels not seen since prior to the early 1990s …While real estate professionals often say that “now is a good time to buy,” it is clear today that April 2006 was probably not a good time to buy, while now may well be the time.”

More Foreclosures in Knoxville Expected to Hit the Market

February 14, 2012 By Troy Stavros

How with the recently negotiated National Mortgage Settlement effect the current Knoxville housing market?

Foreclosures in Knoxville have been significantly slowed since the third quarter of 2010. Since that time banks have been concerned about the penalties they would face from the settlement and in turn chose to delay the actual seizure of foreclosed properties until the settlement was reached. These foreclosures in question are known as the ‘shadow inventory’ which is currently hanging over the market.

Now with the settlement complete the banks have a roadmap they can follow which will allow them to repossess a home without penalty. The “shadow inventory” of distressed properties will now find it’s way through the process and be put on the market for sale. This means we will be seeing an increased amount of foreclosures in Knoxville hit our local real estate market.

Rick Sharga, executive vice president for Carrington Holding, explains:

“The bottom line is that 2012 will see a lot of foreclosures that should have taken place in 2011 and didn’t.”

How will this effect the housing market? Good in the long run, not so good for prices in the short run.

The Washington Post reported:

“Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities, said the settlement helps the housing market in the long run because it allows banks to proceed with millions of foreclosures that have been stalled.”

CLICK HERE TO SEARCH FORECLOSURES IN KNOXVILLE FOR SALE