The Rutherford County real estate market continues to be vibrant as we enter Q4, with pending and closed sales significantly up over last September. Inventory continues to dwindle and rates remain at historic lows, making this a great time to sell and move up to your dream home! Read on for an in-depth look at the most current local market data.
While New Listings were comparable to last September, the bump in both Contracts and Closings is creating an even bigger inventory problem. Pendings were up 39.53% over last September, while Closings were up 22.61%. And while this bodes well for the market as we enter Q4, Inventory is down a whopping -46.09%, making this a tough market for buyers. For sellers this is welcome news, as they can demand a premium on their property and move up to their dream home without their payments skyrocketing due to the historic low interest rates we’re still experiencing.
Regarding Supply, September saw more of the same. We continue our dip further into a Seller’s Market in all but two price ranges. The biggest changes were in the $350-400K and $450-500K price ranges, which both dipped to a month or less supply, not to mention the $550-600K range which fell back into a Seller’s Market. Even the $700K+ range trended well for sellers, now sitting in what we consider a balanced market for premium properties.
Employment in RuCo again improved, with unemployment now at 7.5%, down from 9.3% the previous month. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, we’re now at 8.4% umemployment nationally. It’s tough to look at this as good news when over 13,000 Rutherford Countians are still without work, however it is still much lower than many experts had projected it would be just a few short months ago. Metro Nashville as a whole is now at just over 1 million employed, with over 171,000 of those living here in RuCo. The needle moving further towards Rutherford County’s pre-pandemic rate of 2.4% unemployment is certainly welcome news for the local housing market, which is historically closely tied to jobs.
As a result of low mortgage rates that have stayed under 3% since July, the local housing market has remained strong during a very uncertain time. Buyers now have more purchasing power and current homeowners have the option to refinance their existing loans at better rates.
The bottom line is, if you have considered making a move, NOW is the time. Inventory may be scarce, but that is good news on the seller’s side, and rates are making your dream home more affordable than ever!
