In October, we saw Inventory more than double compared to last year, despite Listings Added being down year-over-year and month-over-month. Meanwhile, prices resumed dropping from their June 2022 peak, somewhat offsetting the spiking mortgage rates which have doubled within a year for the first time on record. Read on for our deep dive into the local Rutherford County housing market statistics.
In October, Listings Added were again down slightly year-over-year in Rutherford County, now for the third straight month. Contracts dropped -42.50% and Closings -34.83%, continuing the downward trend and again resulting in a net effect of an overall improvement in Average Daily Inventory. We’re watching closely to see how buyer activity will be impacted moving forward with declining home prices being offset by rising rates.
Median Price Per Sq. Ft. in Rutherford County is now back down to $215, similar to late March 2022 pricing and declining as quickly as it rose. Months Supply is now at 2.3 months overall, still a far cry from the four Months Supply we consider a balanced market locally. We did see Active Listings eclipse their point of decline in October, now at 1142 Active Listings in Rutherford County. The last time we saw that many Active Listings was back in February 2019.
Mortgage Interest Rates dropped from their October peak, but still remain volatile. Last week a 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage was averaging 6.95%, down from their 7.08% peak. We continue to see a lot of our buyers taking advantage of creative mortgage products such as 2/1 rate buy-downs, and have had some recent success negotiating with sellers to accomplish those buy-downs. Sellers who purchased using an FHA loan two or more years ago are particularly well positioned to offer their assumable loan with a low rate to entice buyers and still make a good return due to the record appreciation we’ve seen the past two years. Mortgage products are evolving quickly, so if you think you’re out of luck with the current rates, think again. Learn more on this and many other topics by tuning into our edutainment series on our social media channels. If you don’t already follow @murfreesbororealestate on Instagram and TikTok, please consider subscribing!
As always, if you are a buyer looking to find your new home in our rapidly changing local market, or a seller looking to take advantage of John Jones Real Estate’s LOCAL market expertise to sell your home faster & for more money, please give us a call at 615-867-3020. It would be our pleasure to serve you.
