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Home sales continue their slow decline and prices hit a new high in June.
“We’re really beginning to see the transitioning of the market to a new normal,” said Jan Stapleton, president of the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors (NETAR). “The move up and luxury markets have gained enough inventory to be on the threshold of balanced market conditions, while the affordable market continues struggling.”
There were 779 closings in NETAR’s early count of June sales, an increase of 30 from May and 73 fewer than June last year. The sales number typically increase with the mid-month update when closing reported too late for the first-of-the-month count are included. “The sales pattern is looking a lot like it did in 2018 and 2019,” Stapleton said. “In fact, last month’s sales were the same as they were in June 2019.”
June median sales price was $265,000, up $10,000 from May and $26,000 higher than June last year. June is an all-time high median price. The median is the point where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less. June’s average sales price was $312,000. It was $287,395 in May and $280,624 in June last year.
Last month sales in the affordable market were down 15.1 percent from last year, but there was an 8.3 percent increase in the $180K-$199,999K price range.
The move-up market is where most of the activity occurs. Sales were up 8.9 percent from last year. Most sales were in the $300K-$399,999K sector (up 36.3 percent). They accounted for almost one-in-four existing homes sales for the month.
There was one more luxury home sale than June last year. Sales in that sector are flat when compared to last year.
Demand – as measured by the time a property sits on the market before closing – has slowly increased since March. It was 51 days in June, up from 44 days June last year. NETAR’s days on the market is calculated the day a property is listed until it closes. Many of June’s sales were going from listing to accepted contract two weeks or less. An increase in time on the market is a signal that demand is weakening. That weakening is reinforced by affordability, increasing mortgage rates and the number of sales that were discounted from the list price.
The median discount for June’s sales was $10,000. Discounted sales accounted for 52 percent of all sales.
Inventory was stagnant last month with an increase of 20 listings from May and 141 more than last year. June’s total for the existing home market was 1,277.
Inventory and sales in the new home market are slowly increasing.
There were 327 new construction single-family homes, townhomes and condos listed in early July. New home permits are also increasing. Second quarter new home sales were up 20 percent.
Most county and community submarkets market conditions follow the regional pattern of fewer sales and higher prices.
The year-to-year sales exceptions included increases in Greene County, Blountville, Bluff City, Church Hill, Greeneville, Johnson City, Jonesborough, Mountain City, Piney Flats, and Rogersville.
The only year-over-year price decreases were in Unicoi County, Bluff City, Bristol, Bulls Gap, Church Hill, Erwin, and Mountain City.