New construction home sales in the area monitor by the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors (NETAR) were up 28.6% in August. And the size of those homes continued its downward trend.

• The region saw 63 new construction sales last month, up from 49 this time last year.
• The median sales price was $365,000, up from $342,710 last year.
• Total median square footage for last  month’s sales was 1,764, down from 1,886 last year.

Builders began cutting back on the size of their builds this year to confront high mortgage rates and affordability concerns that were crimping sales.

The move to smaller homes is also a result of demographics. Those effects are varied and evolving due to the influx of new residents and essential to coping with the complexities of today’s housing market.

Another demographic effect is the baby boomers, who make up the largest group of current homeowners, are planning to retire near their children and grandchildren.

Just releases Census data show that there are a little over 16,000 millennials in Washington, Co. The estimate for Sullivan Co. is about 12,000 and a little over 12,000 for Greene Co.

Johnson City was the dominant market for new construction homes last month with 17 sales. Jonesborough was close behind with 10 sales. That’s a continuation of the current new and existing housing market growth pattern for the Johnson City metro area. Elizabethton had six new construction sales last month.

At mid-September, there were 195 active new construction listings. At the current sales pace, that’s about three months inventory.

According to the National Association of Home Builders, a larger share of consumers expect home prices to decrease over the next 12 months, but the majority think prices will increase.

“Despite significantly greater optimism that mortgage rates and home prices will move in a more favorable direction for potential home buyers, most consumers remain apprehensive about the housing market and continue to point to the lack of affordability and supply as the chief reasons for their pessimism,” says Mark Palim, Fannie Mae vice president and deputy chief economist.