Key Highlights
- Southeastern metro areas with largest net inflows during Q3 include Little Rock AK, Louisville KY and Knoxville TN, according to Redfin
- Listing count down some -40.5% y/y with only 2.1 months of inventory
- Pending sales increased +96.9% y/y
Much as other housing markets around the country, the southeast is experiencing high demand from pandemic buyers and low supply. In October, pending sales increased +96.9% y/y in southeastern housing markets while inventory decreased some -40.5%, according to the Little Rock Realtors Association. Houses are seemingly flying off the shelves.
Louisville KY, Little Rock AK and Knoxville TN are sizzling hot. In Louisville alone, the volume of sales increased some $86.8M from 2019 to 2020. Average home sale prices increased +7.3% y/y and inventory is down -45% y/y.
Deanna Vreeland-Abell with Century 21 Dick Vreeland & Associates said that buyers are taking advantage of historically low interest rates and, because they have more purchasing power, they are buying more expensive homes. “I think people are definitely upsizing (so they can) spread out when everybody’s at home working and doing school remotely.
In Knoxville TN, the story is the same. Joanne Mielenz with Century 21 Legacy in Knoxville was driving with her client to see a just listed home worth $1.1M. When she pulled up, the house had already sold. Mielenz said, “it’s quite a crazy market…We have more pendings than we do inventory, and from the day a home goes on the market to the day it closes is 40 days.” Additionally, land she sells in a lakefront development is the hottest it’s been in 11 years.
Redfin points to Nashville as being ranked #7 on its “Top 10 Metros by Net Inflow of Users.” Troy Charlton with Century 21 Charlton Realty Company indicated that searches come from all over but especially from New York City, Texas and Florida. “(Inventory is) our biggest struggle…”
One would think that rental and condominium markets would be suffering in the southeast with so much demand for single-family homes but that’s just not the case. Brent Simpson with Century 21 Simpson and Associates said, “There’s no discrimination, they’re all popular. It’s just people saying, ‘does that fit my needs?’ So, we have seen a lot of condos, a lot of townhouses, a lot of single families that are just going very quickly…”
Thanks to HousingWire.
Also read: Housing Market Continues to Break Records, Where Americans Are Moving and Why, 10 Cities Could See Tough Housing Market in Near Future
