The Knoxville Realtors Association released their April 2008 home sales data yesterday.

April’s figures show a total of 1,144 closed sales in the Knoxville market versus 1,416 sales in April of 2007. That’s about a 20% drop in volume.

The median priced Knoxville home this past April was $149,000 vs. $152,000 for the same time period in 2007. That means we’re selling more of the less expensive homes.

The average sale price in April of 2007 was $163,600 and $152,000 this April which goes along with the drop in the median sale price.

It’s important to understand that both the drop in volume, median sale price, and average sale price DOES NOT translate to a drop in Knoxville home values although some of my buyers are getting some pretty awesome buys. For instance we just closed last week on a sale where the house was listed for $164,900, we bought it for $156,000 and it appraised for $165,000! Not surprisingly my buyer clients were very happy campers when they got that news.

Higher end homes continue to languish on the market. There are currently 1,137 single family homes priced at $500,000 and above in the Knoxville area market. 24 homes over $500,000 sold and closed this past April so there is still a very, very plentiful supply in that price range. At that absorption rate that translates into almost a 4 year supply of homes priced over $500,000!
On the average sale price end (160-165,000) however there are only 183 homes currently available. There were 78 closed sales this past April so that’s only a little over a 2 month supply. The average time on the market has dropped 4 days to an average time now of 100 days to sale.
Sales seem to still be pretty brisk in the Knoxville area which I believe is being driven by the time of year combined with the very low interest rates still available (5.75-6% fixed, 30 year).

Knoxville’s average days on the market (time to sell a house) is down 5 days, from 105 days in January of this year to 100 days this just past April.

www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com is still the place to visit to see all of Knoxville’s homes, condos, and land for sale. Please call to see any homes you find there or with any real estate questions.