The Inventory of Chattanooga Homes for Sale Keeps Growing

The big story this week is how the inventory of Chattanooga homes for sale keeps growing. As of July, there were 56% more homes on the market than July of 2023.  The number of homes for sale has grown by another 7% up to August 22nd.  The median home sales price has stayed pretty steady, but the rise inventory will impact home price growth.  I could see home prices leveling off until we sell more homes.  A wave of home buying is probably coming as interest rates start to go down in the coming month.  There was not a usual wave of home buyers in the spring of 2024 like there usually is most years.  Prices are still good if you are a seller, but you may have missed the top of the market by a month or 2.  If you are a home buyer, you will have more leverage when negotiating a home purchase right now. 

As a home seller, you have various options for listing and selling your property. REALTORS® are trusted professionals who can guide you through the complexities of this process and help you make the best decisions. The recent National Association of Realtors (NAR) settlement introduces several changes related to broker commissions that benefit sellers. Here’s what you need to know:

Key Changes for Home Sellers:

• Compensation Options: You can still offer compensation to buyer brokers, which can help market your home and make your listing more appealing to potential buyers.

• Disclosure Requirements: Your agent must provide a clear, written disclosure of any payment or offer of payment made to another broker representing buyers. This disclosure must include the amount or rate of the compensation and be obtained before any agreement or payment is finalized.

• Changes in Compensation Handling: While you can choose to offer compensation to buyer brokers, your agent cannot list this compensation on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), a platform used to share property information among brokers.

• Advertising Alternatives: Your agent can promote your listing through off-MLS channels, such as social media, flyers, and websites.

• Concessions Remain Allowed: You can still offer concessions to buyers, such as covering closing costs, and these can be listed on the MLS.

These changes will take effect on August 17.

What Remains the Same:

• Agent Commitment: REALTORS® are committed to assisting you in selling your home and must adhere to the REALTOR® Code of Ethics, ensuring they work in your best interest.

• Negotiable Compensation: Compensation for your agent is still negotiable. If your agent is a REALTOR®, they are required to have transparent discussions with you about their fees and the terms of compensation. Be sure to discuss and understand the compensation structure when choosing an agent.

• Your Choices: You have options when selling your home. Work closely with your agent to explore these options and make the best decisions for your situation.

Understanding these changes will help you navigate the selling process more effectively and make informed decisions about your property.

Buying a home is often one of the largest financial decisions you'll ever make. REALTORS® are trusted advisors, guiding you through the complexities of the homebuying process and helping you make informed choices. The recent National Association of Realtors (NAR) settlement brings significant changes designed to benefit homebuyers. Here’s what you need to know:

Key Changes for Home Buyers:

• Written Agreements Required: Before touring a home, you’ll need to sign a written agreement with your agent. This document should clearly outline the terms you’ve negotiated, including the services provided and their cost.

• Clear Compensation Details: The buyer agreement must detail the compensation your real estate agent will receive, either as a specific amount, rate, or method of calculation. The compensation must be objective and not based on open-ended terms. Additionally, agents cannot receive compensation beyond what’s agreed upon in your agreement, and broker fees and commissions must be explicitly negotiable.

• Agreement Applicability: The requirement for a written agreement applies to both in-person and live virtual home tours. However, if you’re simply chatting with an agent at an open house or inquiring about their services, a written agreement isn’t necessary.

• Seller Compensation: While sellers can still offer compensation to your agent, this information cannot be disclosed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), which is used to share property details among brokers.

• Seller Concessions: You can still accept concessions from the seller, such as offers to cover your closing costs.

What Remains the Same:

• Agent Commitment: REALTORS® are dedicated to assisting you through the homebuying process and must adhere to the REALTOR® Code of Ethics, which prioritizes working in your best interest.

• Negotiable Compensation: The compensation for your agent remains fully negotiable. If you’re working with a REALTOR®, ensure that you have transparent discussions about their fees and the services you’ll receive.

• Your Choices: You still have options when buying a home. Collaborate with your agent to explore all available choices and make the best decision for your needs.

These changes take effect on August 17, and understanding them will help you navigate your homebuying journey more effectively.

Around the country, you have probably heard that home sales are down a little.  The crazy thing is that home sales are not down in Chattanooga.  We continue to have a strong home buyer demand as home buyers are waiting in the wings for homes to come on the market.  Home sales were up in May by 28.4% in Chattanooga.  Home prices in Chattanooga are also still going up.  Prices were up in May by 7.2%.  For home sellers, you know that you home should sell quickly.  
The good news for home buyers is that 1) interest rates have eased a bit and are now below 7%. 2) Home buyers also have more homes to choose from right now.  New listing were up by 25% in May and the inventory of homes for sale was up  33.3%.  Even though the median home sale prices are up, 3) a buyer has more leverage to negotiate on the listing price (in many price ranges) than they did 1 year ago.  If you are buying in a first time buyer price range, the competition could be more intense but in the upper price ranges, you have a bit more room to negotiate than in the past.  Each submarket is different and each home sale is different, so be sure that you have a good Realtor helping you buy a home and who will feel out the situation surrounding the home you want to be buy and guide you on how aggressive your offer needs to be.  Let me, Nathan Walldorf, know if you want to buy or sell your home.  I’d be happy to help with more than 19 years of experience in real estate.

Luxury home price growth is outpacing non-luxury home price growth according to a study performed by Redfin.  Luxury pricing has skyrocketed with the lack of good luxury inventory in the Chattanooga area.  Nationally, the luxury home inventory is up by 13% this year.  Every day homes are also still selling despite rising interest rates, but prices of those homes are not growing like luxury home prices are.  Luxury home prices increased the first quarter of 2024 by 9% year over year.  That makes the luxury home price growth be twice the price growth of non-luxury homes.  The luxury real estate market has held up better than the non-luxury, because many luxury home buyers purchase with mostly cash.  The rising interest rates are not as big of a concern for luxury home buyers particularly when 46.8% of luxury home buyers are paying cash for their homes.
“People with the means to buy high-end homes are jumping in now because they feel confident prices will continue to rise,” said David Palmer with Redfin.  David went on to say that luxury home sellers feel like it is a good time to cash in on their equity right now.
We at Walldorf Homes have seen the luxury market to be extremely strong right now with great price growth.  The Lookout Mountain median home sale price was up 6.7% in March.  Signal Mountain’s median sale price was up by 23.5% in February but down by 10% in March probably due to a lack of high end inventory to sell.  Areas with pockets of upper end homes in East Brainerd, Ooltewah, and Harrison posted 9% to 21% gains in the median home sale price in March.
Call the Walldorfs to sell your luxury home or to buy a home at 423-544-7700.

Why Having a Realtor is Like Having a Superhero Sidekick in the Home-Buying Adventure

So, you've got dreams of scoring the perfect home sweet home, right? It's like plotting your own little happily-ever-after on a blueprint. But let's be real – navigating the labyrinth of real estate can feel like you're trying to decode alien hieroglyphics.

Enter the unsung hero of the house-hunting saga: the Realtor. Yup, they're like the Batman to your Gotham City dreams. Still not convinced? Here's the lowdown on why having a Realtor by your side is practically a must in this crazy game of real estate roulette.

1. The House Whisperers: Realtors are like real-life wizards with a wand made of property listings. They know the neighborhoods, the schools, the hidden gems, and the places where you might want to invest in noise-canceling headphones. Seriously, their knowledge can turn your house hunt from a blindfolded pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey game to a strategic treasure hunt.

2. Paperwork? Ain't Nobody Got Time for That: Let's face it – the paperwork involved in buying a house is enough to make a bureaucrat break a sweat. Contracts, negotiations, disclosures – it's like trying to decipher an ancient scroll written in legalese. Realtors speak this language fluently. They can navigate the paperwork maze without breaking a sweat, ensuring you're not signing your life away with a misplaced comma.

3. Master Negotiators: Ever tried haggling with a car salesman? Now imagine doing that with a home seller who's emotionally attached to their property. Realtors are like Jedi masters when it comes to negotiations. They know how to get you the best deal without making enemies, leaving you free to focus on imagining your new life in your dream home.

4. The Insider Scoop: Realtors aren't just armed with listings you can find online. They've got the lowdown on upcoming listings, the scoop on market trends, and the ability to sense a good deal from a mile away. It's like having a friend in the know who whispers the juiciest gossip about the housing market directly into your ear.

5. Stress Busters: Buying a home is ranked up there with planning a wedding and surviving a zombie apocalypse in terms of stress levels. Having a Realtor is like having a built-in stress-relief button. They can handle the nitty-gritty details, leaving you to daydream about paint colors and furniture arrangements.

6. The Home Inspector's Buddy: You found "the one," but is it secretly a money pit waiting to happen? Realtors have a list of reliable home inspectors up their sleeves. They know who can separate the minor quirks from the major red flags, ensuring you don't end up with a fixer-upper nightmare.

In the grand quest for homeownership, having a Realtor is like having a trusty sidekick who knows the map, speaks the language, and can ward off potential dragons. So, gear up, intrepid homebuyer – your real estate superhero is ready to guide you through the wild, wild world of home hunting!

Nathan Walldorf has built homes from the ground up, purchased his own investment properties, and sold hundreds of homes since 2005.  He would be happy to use his expertise behind your next home purchase.  Call him at 423-544-7700

Pending sales jumped 8.3% in December from the previous month, marking the largest gain since June 2020.   Mortgage rates have dropped significantly from their peak last fall, and homebuyers are beginning to come out of the woodwork, with NAR forecasting a 13% increase in existing-home sales this year compared to 2023.
In the Chattanooga area new listing and the inventory of homes for sale are both up.  You should have more buying opportunities this year.  The median home sales price in Chattanooga increased by 10.4%.  If you are waiting for home prices to go down, that isn’t happening this year.  The persistent shortage of housing supply has helped prop up home values nationwide.  Nationally, listing activity has started to pick up, and with mortgage rates stabilizing and housing completions on the rise, inventory is expected to improve in the coming months.

Call Nathan Walldorf to buy or sell a home in 2024. 423-544-7700

In 2024 the Walldorfs will have some great new homes coming on the market that we are excited to sell in North Chattanooga, in Riverview, and on Lookout Mountain.

2024 will be the year of lower interest rates.  The 8% interest rate in October/November is behind us. In 2024, we should have rates between 6.5% to 6%.

Home buyers and sellers will enter the market with more force this year.  As rates go down, home sellers will be more interested in selling and home buyers will be more interested in buying,  It will be more affordable for both buyers and sellers to buy homes.  For sellers, they could use their equity in the home they are selling to buy down the purchase price of a new home and be OK with buying a new home.

There will be more competition for homes this year.  There is pent up demand that will be unleashed as interest rates go down.  The inventory of homes for sale is still tight, so that will make it competitive to buy a home.

Make your offer quickly.  Many people are still waiting for the right home, so make your offers quickly. If you delay an offer, you may end up competing with other offers and paying more money.

Home buyer concessions? The jury is still out on whether sellers will give any concessions to home buyers in 2024. If more inventory hits the market, you may be able to get some concessions.  If not, you have to take what you can get.

If you are investing in real estate, longer term holds make the most sense unless you can "buy right."Buying right means buying where the numbers work if you remodel a home to resell it.  You have to make sure there is profit left over after the remodel costs. 

Want to invest in real estate? Ask Nathan to help you as he and his wife have been investing in real estate for 12 years.

Want to buy or sell? Call the Walldorfs. 423-544-7700

Tips on How to Clean up After a Snow Storm

I was showing homes after a snow storm and most of the home sellers had not even cleared the walkway to the door, so here are tips on cleaning up your home after a snow storm (especially if you are selling a house).

1. Wait for the Snow to Stop:

Ensure that the snowfall has ceased before you start cleaning up.
2. Clear Pathways:
Begin by clearing pathways and sidewalks. Use a snow shovel to remove the snow, making sure to create a safe and accessible path.
3. Remove Snow from Driveways and Parking Areas:
If you have a driveway or parking area, clear it of snow to make it usable again. ​
4. Shovel Decks and Patios:
Shovel snow off decks and patios to prevent excess weight. Clearing these areas also provides access to outdoor spaces.
​5. Remove Snow from Outdoor Furniture:
If you have outdoor furniture, clear it of snow to avoid damage. Wipe off excess snow and moisture to prevent freezing.
6. Check for Ice and Treat Slippery Surfaces:
Look for icy patches on pathways and driveways. Use ice melt or sand to improve traction and reduce the risk of slipping.
7. Inspect for Damage:
Inspect structures, fences, and other outdoor elements for any damage caused by the snow or ice. Address any issues promptly.
8. Clean Gutters:
Check and clean gutters to prevent ice dams and ensure proper drainage.
9. Monitor for Melting and Refreezing:
Keep an eye on the weather forecast, as melting snow can refreeze, creating icy conditions. Address any icy patches promptly.

​

The MBS Highway National Housing Index was up in December from a November low.  The improvement was driven by a 7 point rebound in home buyer activity.   The 1% drop in 30 year mortgage rates in the last six weeks brought some buyers back into the market.  In late October/early November, I did not know what I would be selling in December in the Chattanooga area, but I will end December selling 3 properties.  I am very thankful that interest rates have declined over the past 6 weeks.  The inventory of homes for sale is still tight, so home prices are not going down.  Barry Habib, MBS Highway Founder and CEO, thinks, "there is reason to be optimistic," in 2024 with inflation decreasing and the Federal Reserve cutting rates. 

The Federal Reserve met on Wednesday, December 13th and are now penciling in 3 rate cuts in 2024 according to the Wall Street Journal. 

The Greater Chattanooga Realtors also released their November home sales numbers recently.  Those numbers showed a 4.2% increase in pending homes sales, which will mostly close in December.  At the same time, closed home sales were down by 7% in November mostly due to the high interest rates in late October.  New listings and the monthly supply of inventory have both gone up, so now may be a good time to see what new housing possibilities you can find. 

Call Nathan to sell or buy your home in 2024