In a normal real estate market, January is typically a slow month. Following major holidays like New Years, Christmas, and Thanksgiving, buyers and sellers are typically not focused on buying or selling their home. However, the real estate market has been nothing but normal this past year – and the first month of 2021 has been no exception. January had several notable factors. For starters, the average days on market for single-family residential homes dropped to only 68 days. This means the average transaction from listing to closing was only two months. Considering everything that goes into a normal real estate transaction, like inspections, appraisals, contingencies, among others, this is an extremely short period of time. The number of available homes for sale also reached a new low: 1.7 months of home inventory. In normal circumstances, the real estate market has 3-6 months of inventory. This has caused buyers moving across town or relocating to the Tri-Cities to fight over a limited number of homes for sale. The outcome of which has been higher selling prices. For instance, Johnson City, TN saw an increase of almost $85,000 in the average selling price compared to 2020. Each major market in the Tri-Cities, including Johnson City, Kingsport, and Bristol,TN/VA had significant increases in the selling prices of homes. With this in mind, now couldn’t be a better time for homeowners to consider selling their home for a decent profit.
