October 2008 Knoxville Home Sales Report

November 18, 2008

It’s already the middle of the month again, and you know what that means - Home Sales Report time!

So, remember October 2008? You know, the month we learned this all financial mess was spreading to Europe and beyond? The month that President Bush signed that $700 billion bailout package into law and then the Dow went and had its worst week on record anyway? The month when looking at your 401K was scarier than any Halloween haunted house in town? Yep, that’s the October I’m talkin’ about.

So how did the Knoxville home market fare through all of October’s financial hullabaloo? Allow me to break it down for you the only way I know how — All Around KTown style. Word.

You know I like to start with the good news first -

Average sales price for 2 or less BR homes is up.
Oct ‘07 - $82,700
Oct ‘08 - $93,000

Median sales price for 2 or less BR homes is up.
Oct ‘07 - $66,000
Oct ‘08 - $78,000

And that’s it for the good news. But hey, at least there was some this month. Now for the not so good news -

Average sales price for 3 BR homes is down.
Oct ‘07 - $167,300
Oct ‘08 - $162,700

——————

Median sales price for 3 BR homes is down.

Oct ‘07 - $148,500
Oct ‘08 - $143,000

——————–

Average sales price for 4+ BR homes is down.

Oct ‘07 - $304,300
Oct ‘08 - $295,900

———-

Median sales price for 4+ BR homes is (way) down.

Oct ‘07 - $259,000
Oct ‘08 - $240,800

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And then there’s just a little bit more not so good news. Bear with me here, it’s almost over -

…….

Average condo sales price is slightly down.

Oct ‘07 - $183,200

Oct ‘08 - $182,600

————-

Median condo sales price is down.

Oct ‘07 - $154,700

Oct ‘08 - $146,000

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Total number of single family units sold is (way, way) down.

Oct ‘07 - 1225

Oct ‘08 - 874

———-————-

Total number of condo units sold is (way) down.

Oct ‘07 -134

Oct ‘08 - 88

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Days on market is up.

Oct ‘07 - 98

Oct ‘08 - 108

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Then there’s the “looks like FHA loans are here to stay” news:

—

Conventional loans were down almost 50%..

Oct ‘07 - 896

Oct ‘08 - 471

…while FHA loans were up over 200%.
Oct ‘07- 66
Oct ‘08- 149

And here’s the “what part of price conquers all don’t condo owners understand” news -

The average list price for new residential home listings went down…
Oct ‘07 - $237,600
Oct ‘08 - $235,600

…while the average list price for new condo listings went up.
Oct ‘07 - $191,200
Oct ‘08 - $202,000

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Finally there’s the “methinks folks are scared to put their homes on the market right now” news -

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The number of new residential listings was (way) down...
Oct ‘07 - 2855
Oct ‘08 - 2106

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and so were the number of new condo listings.
Oct ‘07 - 134
Oct ‘08 - 88

—

So, here’s my completely unscientific analysis:

The Knoxville housing market is still in a slump, but hey at least this month’s numbers were slightly better than September, right?
Residential and condo sales are still soft as an overripe melon.*
Conventional loans are still hard to get and FHA is still where it’s at for a lot of buyers.
Sellers who don’t absolutely have to sell right now probably aren’t, either due to fear of not being able to sell or fear of not being able to sell for a certain desired price.
Provided you have good credit and some money for a down payment, it’s an awesome time to be a home buyer in Knoxville. Seriously, why are you still living in that apartment?
Realtors need hugs and money, not necessarily in that order.

If you’re interested in looking at both reports yourself, here is ‘07 and here is ‘08. Enjoy and please feel free to share your thoughts and observations.

*No need to freak out. Lower average sales price and lower median sales price do not necessarily mean that your personal home has depreciated.

Home Sales Report