Buyers got a little relief from rising home prices in July while sales entered the second half of the year on the upswing. 

“July was a month of second bests,” said Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors (NETAR) President Kristi Bailey. “The market is taking a small breather from the red-hot pace it has been on since June last year, but it’s still robust.” Buyers are getting some additional choices from an increase in inventory. It’s not back to pre-pandemic levels, but it is easing some of the supply-demand crunch, she added.  

Last month’s existing-home sales average price was $240,313, down $15,324 from June’s record high. Compared to July last year, the price is up 15 percent. There were 912 closings last month. That’s the best so far this year and second to last September’s all-time high of 951. Compared to July last year, sales are up 3.1 percent. 

The time a typical home spent on the market before selling was unchanged from June – 48 days. At month’s end, the region had a 1.6-month inventory of homes on the market.  This time last year there was a 2.7-month supply of homes on the market. Balanced market conditions are typically described a 5-to-6-month supply of homes for sale. “Our market hasn’t seen that for a little over two years,” Bailey said. 

The sale of homes in the $200,000 to $400,000 price range accounted for 40 percent of July’s sales. The largest year-over-year increase was in the $400,000 plus price range. While those sales account for only 11.3 percent of total sales, it was enough to skew the average sales price higher. The sales price mid-point last month was $205,000, up 15 percent for last year.