Home sales edge closer to positive numbers

Price drops also not as harsh, but year-to-date activity still off 22 percent

Email | Print By Geert De Lombaerde

September home sales in the Nashville area totaled 1,935, down 6.7 percent from the year-ago number and the first sub-2,000 number since May. The last time September sales checked in below that mark was 1997.

At almost 24,000 properties, the available inventory is running at 12.4 times sales, a historically high number and up slightly from a year ago. Middle Tennessee’s housing inventory has been at or above 24,000 almost continuously since March 2008.

Still, year-over-year comparisons are improving: Until May, sales had been off more than 20 percent from the 12 months before for 21 straight months. And pricing, too, appears headed toward positive year-over-year comparisons. The median price of a single-family home was $160,000, off 5.3 percent from a year ago, one of the lowest such numbers this year. The median condo price fell 4 percent year over year to $142,500.

Pointing to the fact that pending sales remain above 2,000, GNAR President Mike Nichols said the market appears to be on more stable footing, but pointed to the expiration of the $8,000 first-time buyer credit later this fall.

For more details from GNAR, click here.