Three days from today we’ll close the door on 2024. It was a year of challenge and opportunity for Realtors® and consumers.  

The first half of the year was consumed with housing market activity that was pretty much normal, but the industry landscape wasn’t. It was consumed with misinformation and misunderstanding about a legal case involving the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) practices. 

During this issue, the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors® (NETAR) and NAR exerted extra effort the setting the record straight about what was and was not part of the issue and how it affected its members, consumers, and the real estate marketplace. The extra time and dedication to meeting that challenge was a prime example of the associations rising to fulfill their franchise as a voice for real estate. 

During much of the time we have seen a flurry of information and misinformation, the local housing market took another step toward adjusting from the go-go days of the super-hot market to something that more closely resembles normal conditions. That has challenged the abilities of NETAR and its members to both stay current and to sharpen productivity while offering their clients first-class service.  

With a month’s worth of data still out, it’s safe to say we’re near, but not at, the pre-pandemic sales volume that was predicted earlier in the year. The region is striding toward more balance for the early 2025 and prime Spring buying and selling season. In fact, in mid-December all four of the region’s major markets were at or very near the inventory level that is typically considered balanced in what has become the price sweet spot – $300K-$399,999K.  

Home prices have also moderated. Instead of the double-digit increases that were the norm for four years, this year’s appreciation is trending toward the 5% range. In context, that’s still a hot market if you consider the affordability challenges and historical annual appreciation rates here in NE TN and SW VA. 

It has also been gratifying to see the region’s commercial real estate sector rebound. Transactions are up and all you have to do to see progress is notice the new construction and new business notices. It’s a sign that investors and businesses are encouraged about the coming year. 

It has been enormously satisfying to take part in the extraordinary achievements that NETAR has made. At the same time, it has been awesome to witness the levels and quality of teamwork board of directors and committees that is often unseen and rarely recognized but accounts for most of the successes in raising the performance bar during this past year of transition.  

One of the major efforts NETAR and its members united to support was our role in helping local Hurricane Helene victims. There were a lot of donations of needed items and food from individual brokerages. The association’s and members’ efforts in helping victims apply for relief from the Realtor® Relief Fund are also noteworthy.  

Donations to that fund go 100% to the applicants who do not have to be members to apply, and an early count is 67 area applicants have received $1,000 from the fund so far. The deadline for donations to the fund has been extended until the end of January. 

The association’s membership stands at 1,789 primary members and 99 secondary members. Its role in advocacy for property rights increased, as did the multitude of professional and community service projects. A full list of those community caring projects is longer than the space for this report to accommodate.  

Expansion of NETAR’s technological presence and offering of services and member information to both members and the public has significantly increased. So has its social media presence. 

NETAR was the first association to embrace the concept of regionalism and has been enhancing the real estate profession with that effort for over 20 years. We made some gains in our regionalism effort during the past year, and more are on the way. A couple of noteworthy examples are the enhancements to the regional Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and the association’s Commercial Real Estate components.  

All of this is testimony that Realtors® and NETAR have unique skills, experience, and qualifications that are assuming increasing roles in today’s workforce, economy, and community leadership.  

There’s no question that 2024 was a year of successes for the regional real estate market and NETAR. Our market faced inventory shortages and still outperformed previous years. We also outperformed some local and regional markets and have been nationally recognized and have established a national reputation as a region where investing in housing is affordable and is a good place to live. Our members invested more money in protecting homeownership than any other year. We attended conventions and conferences helping us be more innovative in serving our clients and customers, and we partnered with many local charities to fill unmet needs.