One of the top topics in real estate headlines over the past few years was the intensity and frequency of bidding wars. With so many buyers looking to relocate to Tennessee and purchase a lake home and so few of them available for sale, fiercely competitive bidding wars became the norm during the pandemic both for East Tennessee lakefront and off-the-water homes.
It can be difficult to determine if the market has reached its peak when you’re not familiar with real estate patterns. Let’s break it down three factors that are affecting our current market as we know it.
- Modern Increase in Inventory: There are several components that go into this, some of which include: the economy, buyer fatigue, and life post-pandemic. Searching for a lake home, in a market this intense, can become overwhelming, and the effects are starting to show themselves.
- Days-on-Market Up: While there is still very limited inventory of lakefront homes, homes aren’t flying off the market as they once were. This is a clear indication that the frenzy is starting to slow down.
- Fewer Offers: The competition isn’t as fierce as it once was. Homes are no longer being flooded with offers as soon as they reach the market. We say this with a grain of salt, homes that priced correctly and in desirable communities like Tellico Village and Rarity Bay are still selling quickly, some with multiple offers and sold off market, but it’s no where near the level it was compared to the past year.
Although noticeable changes are being made, this isn’t to say we are in a bubble or about to crash. Now is still a great time to sell your East Tennessee lake home.
On the other hand, if you put your home search on pause because you were outbid last year or because you didn’t want to deal with the peak intensity of bidding wars, you can breathe a welcome sigh of relief. While it’s still a sellers’ market, an uptick in inventory gives you a window of opportunity to jump back in on finding your dream Tennessee lake home. You may still be competing with some buyers, but it likely won’t be anything like it was just a few short months ago.
What kind of a housing market are we currently
Part of the challenge is that it can be hard to understand what experts are saying when the words they use sound similar. Let’s break down the differences among those terms to help clarify what’s actually happening today on the market.
- Appreciation is when home prices increase.
- Depreciation is when home prices decrease.
- Deceleration is when home prices continue to appreciate, but at a slower or more moderate pace.
What we’re seeing today both on a national and local level is deceleration. That means home prices are appreciating, just not at the record-breaking pace they have over the past year. In 2021, data from CoreLogic tells us home prices appreciated by an average of 15% nationwide. And earlier this year, that appreciation was upward of 20%. This year, experts forecast home prices will appreciate at a decelerated pace of around 10 to 11%, on average.
If you’re serious about buying a lake home or making a move, reach out today to our Lake Team to discuss how to move forward with finding your future home or homesite!
Posted by Jack Vincent, Lakefront Living Realty, TN.