from the Nashville Business Journal: http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/blog/2014/01/nashville-home-sales-finish-2013-strong.html
Home sales in the Nashville area were up 13.7 percent in December compared to a year ago, putting an exclamation point on the best year for local home sales since 2007.
According to the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, 2,441 homes were sold in December, up from 2,147 in 2012. It marked the area’s best-performing December since 2006.
“Each county included in our data experienced an increase in residential closings and median price, and more than half saw similar increases in condominiums,” Hagan Stone, GNAR president, said in a news release. “For the first time since 2007, closings for the year exceeded 30,000 units. This tops pre-recession numbers and sets up a great beginning for 2014.”
The Nashville area ended the fourth quarter with 7,197 closings, up 8 percent from a year prior. For the year, the Nashville area had 30,917 home closings, up 18.5 percent from 2012.
There were 2,032 sales pending at the end of December, up from 1,857 a year ago. The average home sold in December had been on the market for 73 days.
The median price of a single-family home sold in December was $198,838, up from $187,900 a year ago. The median price of a condo sold last month was $156,122, up from $149,178.
The total inventory of homes, condos and lots in the Nashville area stood at 13,580 at the end of December, down from 15,054 a year ago.
“Trends going into the new year are positive and very encouraging to Realtors in the Greater Nashville and Middle Tennessee area. Our region is showing healthy signs of stability, something we shouldn’t take for granted,” Stone said.
“Though prices are rising, homebuyers should not be discouraged, it is still a great time to buy a home,” Stone said. “It’s also a great time to sell a home. The Greater Nashville area has about a five-month supply of inventory. Single-family homes and condominiums have about a four-month supply. Ideally, we’d like to have six-to-eight months available.
“As inventory remains low, those well-maintained and properly marketed homes are leaving the market quickly and at prices beneficial to buyers and sellers.”
