The NE Tenn. – SW Va. housing market took a breather in November. Pending sales dropped to a seven-month low. But it wasn’t much of a slowdown. There were 860 new contracts accepted. That’s 105 fewer than October but 309 more than November last year.

Last month was the first time the new pending sales total has been below 900 since July. And new contracts tend to increase in December as buyers and sellers push to wrap up deals before the first of the year.

The 12-month pending sales moving average has outperformed last year since May and increased by double digits since July. November’s increase was up 22.5 percent from November last year.

  That dovetails with the analysts’ outlooks for a robust beginning of the New Year’s market for both the existing and new home sales. The resales market sales total has already moved past the 2019 total and new home sales at having their best year since 2006.

Pending sales are a leading indicator of housing activity based on signed contracts for existing single-family homes, condominium, and townhome resales in the area monitored by the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors (NETAR) Home Sales Report. Since resales go under contract 30 to 60 days before the sale is closed, pending sales typically lead existing-home sales by about two months.

Inventory also sank to a new low last month. The region had a 2.1 month supply of homes on the market compared to 4.2 months of inventory November last year.  

November’s median listing price of $199,900 was unchanged from October and September and 11.1 percent higher than last year. The median sales price of $180,000 was up $5,000 from October and 18.4 percent higher than last year.

The November average sales price continued pointing to a market where the distribution of sales is positively skewed. Last month’s average sales price of $222,142 was $46,203 higher than it was November last year.  

NETAR is the voice for real estate in Northeast Tennessee. It’s the largest trade association in the Northeast Tennessee – Southwest Virginia region representing over 1,400 members and 100 affiliates involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries. Pending sales, monthly Trends Reports, and the regional market analytics can be found on the NETAR websites at https://netar.us/voice-real-estate-northeast-tennessee .