SLOW & STEADY
Similar trends from the previous 2 months continued in January as the number of homes on the market rose and interest rates slowly declined.
That said, average sales prices in Knox County are up around 10% compared to this time last year. In addition, most reputable sources within the real estate industry predict that home prices will continue appreciating in our area for 2024.
The declining trend for mortgage interest rates is a welcomed one for homebuyers. Housing affordability has improved tremendously since last October when interest rates were well above 8%.
The most dramatic change in the metrics we follow is with the average number of days a house is on the market. Just a few months ago, the average number was 19 days, and now we are up to 33 days. This increase is to be expected given that the number of homes hitting the market is rising.
However, don’t be fooled into thinking we’re entering a “buyer’s market”. We’re still pretty far away from that type of a real estate market. For some perspective, the average “days-on-market” for Knox County in 2016 was over 120 days.
