February 2009 Knoxville Home Sales Report
Hard to believe another month has come and gone, but the it’s time to break down the Home Sales Report from the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors once again.
February was an interesting month. What is usually the beginning of the busy Spring home buying season was uncharacteristically, not to mention uncomfortably, slow and the numbers for the month definitely reflect that.
One thing that happened in February that may have greatly affected home buyers everywhere was the further tightening of mortgage guidelines.
The minimum credit score for a conventional loan is now 700 with a baseline of 740, meaning that any score under 700 will be subject to a higher rate. Also, the allowable debt ratio for conventional loans was lowered to 38%. In addition to those changes, the minimim credit score for an FHA loan was raised to 620.Yes, the days of subprime lending are long, long gone.
Looking at those numbers it’s easy to understand why FHA loans are so popular with home buyers right now.
There are also stricter down payment guidelines. With the exception of a few government programs, you’re probably not getting 100% financing anywhere. Here’s a rundown of the minimum down payment required for various loans and property types:
3.5% down – FHA loan.
10% down- Conventional loan/primary residence
20% down – Conventional loan/condos & attached PUDs
20% down- Conventional loan/second homes
Now, I’m not a mortgage or finance whiz, but it would seem to me that all of these stricter guidelines are certainly eliminating a good number of buyers from the market.
So, without further ado, allow me to break down the February home sale numbers the only way I know how, AAKT style. Enjoy!
Let’s start with the good – if slightly puzzling – news -
Average sales price for 2 or less BR homes is (way) up.
Feb ’08 – $71,800
Feb ’09 – $105,500
Median sales price for 2 or less BR homes is (way) up.
Feb ’08 – $62,500
Feb ’09 – $78,000
Now for the not so good news -
Average sales price for 3 BR homes is down.
Feb ’08 – $155,000
Feb ’09 – $147,400
Median sales price for 3 BR homes is down.
Feb ’08 – $145,000
Feb ’09 – $134,000
Feb ’08 – $303,000
Feb ’09 – $264,000
Feb ’08 – $240,000
Feb ’09 – $230,000
Feb ’08 – $169,500
Feb ’09 – $159,600
Feb ’08 – $147,500
Feb ’09 – $141,000
Feb ’09 – 602
Feb ’09 – 52
Feb ’08 – 100
Feb ’09 – 120
Conventional loans were once again way down…
Feb ’08 – 628
Feb ’09 – 310
…while FHA loans were up.
Feb ’08 – 85
Feb ’09 – 116
And here’s the “nobody’s selling unless they have to” news-
The number of new residential listings was down...
Feb ’08 – 2,552
Feb ’09 – 2,066
…and the number of new condo listings was down.
Feb ’08 – 330
Feb ’09 – 240
Finally there’s the “Hallelujah!” news-
Feb ’08 – $207,500
Feb ’09 – $195,900
Feb ’09 – $2240,000
- Knoxville residential and condo sales are still soft as room temperature butter.*
- Small home prices made a surprising rally this month, leading me to believe that they must be more in demand than larger homes. Whether it’s due to investors building rental portfolios, people looking to downsize and simplify, or just more people qualifying or less house is hard to say for sure.
- Stricter loan guidelines are forcing some buyers out of the market.
- As conventional loan qualifying standards continue to tighten, home buyers continue to flock to the FHA loan.
- After over a year of being told that price conquers all, sellers are FINALLY starting to get it. Yahoo!
- Lots less new listings mean folks who don’t have to sell right now, simply aren’t.
- Prices are coming down, rates are still super low, there’s an $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit and well, come on, what else do you potential buyers want?
If you’re interested in looking at both reports yourself, here is ‘08 and here is ’09. Enjoy and please feel free to share your thoughts and observations.
Author: Suzy
Hard working Knoxville real estate agent by day. Intrepid Knoxville real estate blogger by night.
Enjoyed this Post? Share it!
Share on Facebook Tweet This!