By DON FENLEY

Tri-Cities pending home sales edged higher in February, rising 3.2% year-over-year to 609 signed contracts, compared with 590 last year.

New contracts were 10.8% off the January pace. Beyond the volatile month-over-month data, the annualized pending sales trend is the highest it has been since Nov. 2023.

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 the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors (NETAR). Since sales go under contract 30 to 60 days before they close, pending sales offer insight into the direction home sales will take, according to the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors (NETAR).

The affordable market ($160,000-$299,999) posted 246 pending contracts compared with 257 a year ago, a decline of 4.3%. Performance within this segment was uneven. The best-performing price band was $180,000–$199,999. It was up 39.4% with 46 pending sales versus 33 in the same month last year. It was the strongest year-over-year gain of any price band in the affordable segment.

The move-up market ($300,000-$499,999) was the standout performer last month. It had 206 pending contracts compared with 174 a year ago, a gain of 18.4%.The best price band performer in the move-up market was $300,000–$399,999. It was up 25.4% with 143 contracts, up from 114 a year ago.

The luxury market had 76 pending sales, up from 71 last year.

Supply-side dynamics continued to shape the market environment. New listings were down 6.1% from a year ago. At the same time, active inventory rose 13.5% year-over-year.

The region currently has 3.37 months of inventory on the market.

February pending sales on the national level are up 1.8% from January and down 0.8% from last year.

“The slight gain in pending contracts appears to be driven by improved affordability conditions. However, those conditions could reverse if higher oil prices lead to an uptick in mortgage rates,” said NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun. “The Midwest—the most affordable region of the country—was the strongest performer in February. But the Northeast was held back by a combination of higher home prices and a shortage of supply.”

Categories: REAL ESTATE