GRAY, TN – April’s pending sales increased as the market slogged into the prime home buying and selling season. Last month they stood at an eight-month high after sellers accepted 811 contracts despite the number of buyers who were shell-shocked by the lack of choices and rejected offers. “They’re (buyers) fed up and walking away,” according to one market watcher. But not all buyers were discouraged. Last month’s median single-family existing home sale price edged very close to a new record. 

Pending sales are a leading indicator of housing activity based on signed contracts for existing single-family homes and condominium sales in the region monitored by the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors (NETAR). Since resales go under contract 30 to 60 days before they close, pending sales offer insight into the direction home sales will take.      

There were also more new listings than pending sales last month last month, boosting active inventory to 1.9 months. That’s how long it would take to sell everything on the market at March’s sales pace. The region has had less than two months of inventory on the market every month since January 2021 and that upward pressure on prices continues to sustain the region’s housing price performance. Balanced market conditions are five to six months of inventory. The NETAR region hasn’t had balanced conditions since 2018.  

According to Realtor.com there are 489 new construction homes on the market in the NE TN area 

While the number of sales are flattening out to a pre-pandemic level, prices are picking up momentum and overall demand is increasing. The median consecutive days a home spent on the market before closing dropped to 47 last month. That’s  a signal that demand is picking up.  

April’s updated mid-market price was $248,600. That’s a 5% increase from March and 13% higher than this time last year. Prices peaked in May last year at $250,000. 

The Knoxville region’s median sales price last month was $324,100, down 0.28% from last year. In Chattanooga it was $300,000 down 0.17% from last year. 

Here’s a peek at the selling landscape set by April’s new listings in each of the region’s three housing markets. 

The affordable market listings were down by 29%. 

Listings were down 3.9% in the move-up market. However, those in the $300K to $400K sweet spot were up 19.6%. 

Luxury market new listings were up 5%.