2013 Tellico Home Sales Continue Rebound, Up 20%
Thursday, January 2nd, 2014 | Uncategorized | No Comments
The last several years I have written articles on the Tellico Village housing market results, so I’m doing an update on the 2013 market results. Home sales (177) were up more than 20% (results through 12-12-13) from 2012 (144), following last year’s strong 60%-plus rise. We are back to the 2007 sales level of 181 (assuming a few more closings by the end of December but still below the 2005/2006 sales of more than 200 homes each year. So the housing sales market has continued a major rebound when compared to previous years. Low interest rates and the U.S. housing market rebound during the last two years have been big factors.
In 2011 and 2012, 50% of the home sales occurred at $275k and below, but this year rose to $320k, which is a major improvement. Price per square foot went up slightly ($103 vs. $100), but the average square footage of homes went up more than 200 square feet (to 2,156). Seventy-five percent of the home sales still occurred at $400k and below, which is where it was last year. Buyers usually sold their previous homes for substantially less than its earlier value and often don’t have as much to spend or don’t want to spend as much and are seeking a “deal.” There was one sale above $950k this year, exactly like last year. There were only six sales this year versus 12 sales last year in the $700k-$949k range. However, there were 32 sales between $400k-$699k in 2013, 11 of which were waterfront homes with docks. This was an improvement over 2012’s 22 sales, seven of which were dockable waterfront. Tellico Village still doesn’t have many foreclosures but does have estate and illness sales where owners are willing, in many cases, to drop their prices sharply to sell. Kahite data isn’t included in the above numbers, but they sold seven homes this year versus 10 last year, a slight decrease.
Each summer we have more than 200 homes on the market, so it is still a buyers market. There are usually at least 20 homes competing against each other in any price range. The average sale price off the final (not original) listing price is about 6.5%. Avoid the temptation of over pricing because of a bad offer. You can always work a bad offer versus overpricing it and no offer. Missing time during the prime selling season before doing a price reduction may cost you a home sale. (Eighty percent of home sales occur between March and October.) Overpriced homes tend to make it easier to sell a correctly priced home, because buyers are using the overpriced one as a comparison. (The average sale of a home listed under $400k was seven months.)
If you bought a home at the top of the market or haven’t updated your home in many years, it may be difficult to get your invested money back. Some people netted less for their homes than they paid for them after closing, generally because they bought at or near the top of the market. Also, homes have to appraise for a loan. Often people get confused between appraised value and assessed value. The county assessed value is often not reflective of current values as many lot and homeowners have learned. The assessor generally drives by the home rather than go in it. Therefore, it can in many cases not reflect the true value of the home in today’s market. An appraisal for a loan is different. The appraiser not only goes in the home, but then compares it to current home sales in the area. The appraisal tends to be more accurate. Realtors should now have plenty of good comparables for homes in Tellico Village to provide you with an accurate picture of where your home should roughly sell.
A few points worth reinforcing can be determined from the above information. Even though home sales are up strongly, home prices will continue to be under pressure. Well priced homes, especially under $350k but also in higher price categories, should sell fairly quickly, but homes selling above $800k (three total sales), especially above $950k (one sale), will find it tough to locate buyers based on the last several years of sales. A magazine article ranked curb appeal second, presentation inside the home third, but the single most important item was price. Too often sellers drop their prices too late. Most buyers, besides wanting a deal, have researched the market and tend to be very knowledgeable and look at buying a home as a business decision based on how the home may sell in the future and what costs are required to update the home. Also, most buyers aren’t willing to take on a lot of home projects, so fix some of the areas you have control over like wallpaper or a fresh coat of neutral paint.
If you would like more information on the Tellico Village/Kahite housing market or have questions, feel free to contact me.
Alden Williams
Village Realty
(865) 604-3251
afjtn944@aol.com
