Posted: Tuesday, February 9, 2010 1:12 pm

There were 1,033 home closings reported for the month of January, according to figures provided by the Greater Nashville Association of REALTORS. This figure is up 6 percent from the 974 closings reported for the same period last year.

“The year has started with positive news for home sales in the Greater Nashville area,” said GNAR President Lucy Smith. “The extended and expanded tax credit continues to be a significant factor in prompting people to consider buying and selling homes. As the deadline approaches in April, it is possible that activity will increase as people take advantage of this exceptional opportunity. Prices did decline, which is due largely to the first-time home buying activity prompted by the tax credit.”

A comparison of sales by category for January is:

January 2009
JANUARY 2010

CLOSINGS
974
1,033

Residential
821
821
Condominium
103
164
Multi-Family
16
10
Farms/Lands/Lots
34
38

There were 1,295 sales pending at the end of the month, compared with 1,282 pending sales at this time last year. The average number of days on the market for a single-family home was 99 days.
The median residential price for a single-family home during January was $159,000 and for a condominium it was $154,550. This compares with last year’s median residential and condominium prices of $165,000 and $165,000, respectively.
Inventory at the end of January was 22,233, compared with 22,509 in January 2009.

The current inventory of properties by category, compared to last year, is:


January 2009
JANUARY 2010

INVENTORY
22,509
22,233

Residential
13,551
13,414

Condominium
2,358
2,293

Multi-Family
320
442

Farms/Land/Lots
6,280
6,084


“Inventory is virtually the same as it was a year ago, being down less than
2 percent,” said Smith. “Every category except multi-family properties is actually down slightly from a year ago. Based on the current level of closings, there is an ample supply to provide a healthy number of homes throughout the Greater Nashville area for buyers to consider as they take advantage of low interest rates and tax credit opportunities to purchase a home soon.”