Almost 2 months into 2012 and the real estate market in Rutherford County, TN is "a movin' and shakin'"! Interest rates are still very low and prices have not started to rise yet, so it could not be a better time to buy a home. Sellers, too, should take heed since the inventory of homes is very low. Fewer homes on the market means less competition for sellers, and a better chance that their home will sell.
Businesses in middle Tennessee are hiring (Nissan's production of the new Leaf) and new companies are moving or expanding (Bridgestone and Amazon.) As a result, the city of Murfreesboro has fared better during this economic downturn than many other areas across the country. However, I did find the following sales statistics of the past few years very sobering:
Year Total homes sold Year Total homes sold
2011 2072 2004 3584
2010 2184 2003 3291
2009 2338 2002 2814
2008 2485 2001 2540
2007 3489 2000 2419
2006 3832 1999 2472
2005 3970 1998 2452
In 2011, 2072 total homes sold. In 2005 (our market peak), 3970 homes sold. Read that again.... Last year half as many homes sold than at the height of the market. It is no wonder so many agents, builders, and title companies could not weather the storm. In 1998, 13 years ago, the total number of sales was almost 2500. That is 25% more than last year.
It is still too soon to tell if the rush of activity since January 1 is just a blip on the downward trend or a true reflection of the housing market's crawl out of the hole. January 2012 saw the exact same number of sales as January 2011, 129, which by itself does not sound encouraging, however that is an increase over the past 4 years. And since I'm one who sees the glass half full, I'll venture to say the market is getting stronger every day.
Businesses in middle Tennessee are hiring (Nissan's production of the new Leaf) and new companies are moving or expanding (Bridgestone and Amazon.) As a result, the city of Murfreesboro has fared better during this economic downturn than many other areas across the country. However, I did find the following sales statistics of the past few years very sobering:
Year Total homes sold Year Total homes sold
2011 2072 2004 3584
2010 2184 2003 3291
2009 2338 2002 2814
2008 2485 2001 2540
2007 3489 2000 2419
2006 3832 1999 2472
2005 3970 1998 2452
In 2011, 2072 total homes sold. In 2005 (our market peak), 3970 homes sold. Read that again.... Last year half as many homes sold than at the height of the market. It is no wonder so many agents, builders, and title companies could not weather the storm. In 1998, 13 years ago, the total number of sales was almost 2500. That is 25% more than last year.
It is still too soon to tell if the rush of activity since January 1 is just a blip on the downward trend or a true reflection of the housing market's crawl out of the hole. January 2012 saw the exact same number of sales as January 2011, 129, which by itself does not sound encouraging, however that is an increase over the past 4 years. And since I'm one who sees the glass half full, I'll venture to say the market is getting stronger every day.
