Is it a good time to buy property? The fact is, real estate is always a good investment.
Whether today’s market favors the buyer or seller can be as much a product of national trends as local preferences. And since all real estate is local, the more you know about what’s happening in your market, the better the deal, no matter what side of the transaction you’re on.
This blog will track the Center Hill Lake/DeKalb County region of Middle Tennessee to keep buyers and sellers current about factors which should impact their respective decisions. Center Hill Realty enjoys a well earned reputation as “The Lake Specialist” but our presence and expertise reaches into all parts of DeKalb County and the surrounding region. Turn here in months ahead for reports on what the latest sales statistics reveal about our real estate market, insight into what’s driving those trends, and advice on what you can do, as a buyer or seller, to turn that knowledge to your advantage.
Let’s begin with some numbers. Everyone knows the real estate market has been in the doldrums, right? Read the national papers, watch the evening news and you know sales are off dramatically, lenders have tightened their belts,things just don’t look so good....
Not here. Since our market is not as prone to the dramatic swings, the blind speculation and dramatic ups and downs which have come home to roost in other areas, we’ve escaped much of that bad news. Sales of homes, and the prices they brought, were actually up last year.
Year-end sales figures from RealTracs, our multiple listing service, registered a 4.6 percent gain in 2007 over 2006. There were closings on 254 houses in DeKalb County last year, compared with 227 in 2006. The average price showed a modest two percent gain, $140K versus $138K as sellers realized 96 percent of their asking price.(All sales figures here will be rounded to nearest thousand)
Sellers, at this point we don’t expect anything to change so it’s still a good time to put your home on the market. Buyers, there’s plenty of fair deals to be found.
Call us.
Where our market did suffer last year was in undeveloped land and lot sales. There, we saw a 35 percent decline, as 111 land parcels changed hands in 2007, compared with 172 in 2007. The silver lining: the prices were up almost as much, 22 percent, with the average land sale nearly $84K in 2007, compared with $68K in 2006.
It remains to be seen whether the inventory of unsold parcels translates into a buyer’s market this year.
To know, turn to the Center Hill Realty Report in weeks and months ahead for the insight and advice which will help make you a smarter buyer or seller.
