Home sales declined for the third straight month in November while prices improved from their October level.  

There were 741 closings last month. That’s 66 fewer than October and down 4.3 percent from November last year. So far this year, 8,677 single-family and condominium sales have closed.

That’s an 11.3 percent improvement from the first 11 months of last year. It’s also only 267 closings from exceeding last year’s 8,944 total, according to the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors (NETAR) Home Sales Report. 

The average seller last month profited $13,683 more than the October average sale. Last month’s $254,415 average price was a 15.5 percent improvement over last year. 

“Mortgage rate urgency was one of the factors that drove last month’s average price increase,” NETAR President Kristie Bailey said. “The average 30-year fixed rate was still below 3 percent for half the month. There was also a sales spike in the $250,00 to $300,000 price range. While buyers were not as aggressive about signing contracts, they paid a little more to seal the deal.”  

The average residential sale that closed in November was on the market for 54 days. The average time on market has been inching higher since June, when it was 48 days. An increase in time on market signals weaker demand.  

The slow active inventory increase has also stalled. At the end of November, the region had a 1.45-month inventory of homes on the market. That’s the same level recorded during the peak of the home buying and selling season. 



“The market may be cooling a little, but the roller coaster ride isn’t over,” Bailey added.