Pending sales perked up in February. They were 16.3% better than January’s lackluster year opener. But they lagged last year’s performance by 2.3%, according to the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors (NETAR).

The forward-looking market indicator synced with sagging demand and soft new listing. Both the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and Zillow have also downsized their 2025 outlooks.

Pending sales are a leading indicator of housing activity based on signed contracts for existing single-family homes and condominium sales in the region monitored by NETAR.. Since sales go under contract 30 to 60 days before they close, pending sales offer insight into the market’s direction.

Sellers accepted 628 last month, down from 643 last year.

New contracts by popular price ranges compared to last year were:

$100K-$179,999 – 89, down 16%

$180K-$299,999 – 237, down 12%

$300K- $499,999 – 296, up 0.9%

$500K and up – 80, down 2.3%

At mid-month, the local median home sales price was $262,000, up 4.8% from last year. There were 469 sales, down 17.1% from last year.

New listings are down 0.8% and down in all price ranges except $500K, where they are up 27.1%.

The region’s active inventory is 26.7% higher than last year. Based on last month’s sales pace, that’s 2.94 months of inventory.

A primary demand indicator, the time a property is on the market, has been steadily increasing, showing a decline in consumer demand. Last month the median days on market was 82, up from 73 days last year.

A sampling of the most recent 2025 price outlooks includes:

NAR – 3%

Moody’s Analytics – 0.3%

CoreLogic – 2.3%

Mortgage Bankers’ Assn. – 2.9%

Realtor.com – 3.7%

Housing Wire – 3.5%.

Categories: REAL ESTATE