Bouncing Back

Just a few years ago, the naysayers and doomsdayers were prophecying about the failed housing market. Today, they're being proved wrong. With sales in the area on the rebound, agents are seeing an upward swing indicating more confidence in the housing market. In the first quarter of 2012, Middle Tennessee saw 4,855 closings, up 24.2 percent from the 3,908 closings during the same quarter of 2011.

Of the 2012 numbers, 3,959 were residential sales, 484 were condo sales, 76 were multi-family sales, and 336 were farms/lands/lots. The greatest increase was in farms/lands/lots, which was a 187% increase over 2011. This indicates a confidence in new construction as builders are building on those lots. Inventory, on the other hand, was down to 18,984 at the end of March 2012. At the end of March last year, the inventory level was at 21,647. Some may think this bad, but in reality, this is good as sellers who don't have to sell are staying away from the market, resulting in true and honest price increases. There are currently less than 10 months of inventory overall. In the single-family residential market, there is a less than eight months inventory. A balanced market is represented by a five to seven months inventory. Anything less than five months is a seller's market; anything greater than seven months is a buyer's market. While the overall market still reflects somewhat of a buyer's market, buyers and agents need to look at each neighborhood and each price range separately, away from the overall market.