Even through the coronavirus pandemic, home sales in the Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia region continue to be resilient. This is seen not only through the sheer number of homes sold or under-contract, but also by the demand of homeowners and home-buyers in mortgage applications. According to the MBA, over 61% of applications for the week ending June 5th, were from homeowners looking to refinance. As some lenders drop rates drop below 3%, interest continues to rise. The total mortgage application loan volume increased 9.3% week over week.
The total number of homes closed was up 4.7% over April and the average selling price a lofty $184,593, a 3.9% increase from May last year. “We are seeing homes barely hit the market before they have multiple offers on them,” says Colby Hurd, Owner/Broker of Red Door Agency. “There is such a high demand right now that actively working with a real estate agent is the differentiating factor in this market.”
In a market where 6 months of inventory typically indicates a strong pipeline of homes available for sale, the Tri-Cities region is sitting right at 3 months of inventory – or 50% of full inventory. Some of the smaller cities, like Elizabethton, Abingdon, and Weber City are seeing inventory rates closer to 2 months. Turnaround for selling a home is also increasing. The average time on the market for a single family home in May was around 111 days, and for condos/townhomes it was even shorter at 74 days.
