By DON FENLEY

TRI-CITIES, TN – Condos barely held onto a sales upswing in November while prices continued falling from their September peak.

According to the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors (NETAR), there were 29 sales last month. That’s one more than during October. Sales have declined since September.

Last month’s median sales price of $202,000 was $33,5000 better than Nov. last year and $45,000 less than the Oct. price.

Almost half (45%) of last month’s sales were above-list price cash deals. The average difference between the sales and list price was $4,431.

Condo sales have increased in popularity this year as an entry-level purchase for many price-conscious and first-time buyers. They are also popular with some retirees who are scaling down – especially those with no mortgage or a low-rate mortgage who want to keep their other home as a rental.

Growth of the rental market has attracted investors on both the mom-and-pop and institutional-level investors. The latter group is actively involved in the build-to-rent market.

When this item was written, there were 142 condo/townhome listings in the Tri-Cities region. Half of those listings were new construction. Most were in Washington and Sullivan counties.

Categories: CORE DATA, REAL ESTATE