There’s a case to be made that this fall and early winter could be one of the best times to sell your home in years. Here are some of the reasons why listing now makes good sense.  

Prices Are At An All-Time High  

 The average sale in May netted the buyer $50,647 more than it did in May last year. Historically prices peak during the late spring and early summer months.  Accepted offers in the $200,000 to $249,000 price range were 19.5 percent higher than in May last year. That’s the price range that has consistently seen the most activity during the past 5 months.  It’s also the price range that comes closest to the average May sales price.   

Mortgage Rates Are Super Low, But…  

The average 30-year fixed rate was 3.03 percent for the week ending on June 25. It was up from the previous nine weeks. Almost all housing experts expect rates to begin slowly increasing in the fall and winter seasons. Moving rates always move the market. In this case, it will increase buyer activity as they try to lock in the best possible rate. The outlook is for rates to average 3.5 percent by year’s end and continue slowly increasing in 2022.  

Inventory Is Edging Higher  

The record low inventory is slowly beginning to move higher. The region’s active inventory was higher in May than it was in March and April. And, more new homes are coming on the market even though the pace has been muted by increasing materials prices, supply chain disruptions, and a labor shortage. At the same time, sales have been slightly lower than the previous month in both May and April. Inventory will still be tight toward year’s end, but more new listings will ease the upward pressure on prices.   

Buyer Demand Remains High  

Even with improvements in inventory and slightly higher mortgage rates, there’s no sign that buyer demand will soften. Millennials have aged into their prime homebuying years. They represent an almost dominant portion of the local population and will expand it in the next few years. That points to sustained high demand through 2024. At the same time, the NE Tenn. – SW Va. region monitored by the Northeast Tennessee Association of REALTORS® continues to see a steady stream of new residents. And many – if not most – are coming from markets with higher home prices. So, they tend to look at our market as a bargain.  

While there are no guarantees in the housing market, these signs point to conditions making the latter part of this year and the 2022 pre-prime buying and selling seasons an excellent time for sellers who are still on the sidelines. That makes now the prime time to partner with a local professional REALTOR® to develop a strategic marketing plan.  

NETAR is the voice for real estate in Northeast Tennessee. It is 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, Trends Reports, and the regional market analytics can be found on the NETAR websites at https://netar.us/voice-real-estate-northeast-tennessee.