WEST TENNESSEE HOUSING MARKET MORE STABLE THAN U.S. MARKET
- Research just completed for the Central West Tennessee Association of Realtors (CWTAR) on the housing market in seven West Tennessee counties shows marked differences between the local housing market and the national picture.

/Tennessee News Articles/ - JACKSON, TN, March 27, 2008 - Research just completed for the Central West Tennessee Association of Realtors (CWTAR) on the housing market in seven West Tennessee counties shows marked differences between the local housing market and the national picture. The Central West Tennessee region, which is comprised of Madison, Chester, Crockett, Gibson, Hardeman, Haywood and Henderson Counties, has been much more stable in terms of existing home sales data, housing starts and average sale prices than the nation market overall.

CWTAR is a local association of real estate professionals which works to provide the general public with real estate information. The association provides members with services including a Multiple Listing Service (MLS), education opportunities, training, professional standards and procedures, member publications, and networking opportunities.

The association engaged market research firm Younger Associates to collect and analyze data related to the regional housing market and the underlying economic factors. CWTAR pursued this research to provide its members with an in-depth understanding of the market.

The research looked not only at home sales, home prices, and housing starts, but also at the regional economic base and the general economy which drives the housing market. Home sale and housing start data from 2001 through 2007 revealed that the regional market hit a peak earlier than the national market and that the regional growth rate has flattened rather than showing the more dramatic downturn experienced at the national level.

For example, housing starts in Madison County reached the highest level to date in 2004. Madison County housing starts remained close to that high level in both 2005 and 2006. But an interesting insight gained from analyzing the housing start data is that the growth rate in housing starts has been much higher for the past few years in the six counties surrounding Madison County in the CWTAR region. The housing starts in those six counties (608) exceeded the housing starts in Madison County (599) for the first time ever in 2006.

Nationally, existing home sales reached the highest number in 2005 and then a downturn began. In the CWTAR region, the number of existing home sales continued to climb through 2006. The 2,762 existing homes sold in the CWTAR region in 2007 was down only 130 homes from the 2006 high.

"We had been seeing double digit growth rates in home sales since 2001," said Ray Addison, President of the board for CWTAR. "A couple of years we saw 20% growth rates. What we saw last year was our area catching its breath after such a steep climb in growth."

Average home sales prices showed steady growth from 2001 through 2005 climbing from $86,640 to $95,151. Then in 2006 the average sales price jumped 6.3% to $101,165. The 2007 average sales price was $99,359, down 1.8% from the previous year and bringing the overall growth for the period back to the average of approximately 3% per year that the CWTAR region has seen since the late 1990's.

"It's not unusual for some areas to be stronger than the national market," said Addison. "The national market numbers are brought down by markets such as Las Vegas and Southern Florida which were overbuilt by speculators. West Tennessee is like many other areas of the country which have been steadier, not seeing the huge booms or experiencing big downturns. You really have to look at each market individually to understand what is really happening."

West Tennessee has experienced region-specific factors that have had an impact on the local market. The 2003 tornado, which damaged and destroyed a large portion of the Madison County housing stock, contributed to the up-tick in the home sale numbers for the next couple of years. While it does not appear that residential destruction was as widespread in the February 2008 tornadoes, the replacement of lost homes will have some impact on the housing data over the next two years.

The research also points out that the underlying economy in West Tennessee still shows signs of strength and stability. Wage rates have continued to increase each year and there was positive job growth in 2006 after a net loss of jobs in 2005. Job growth numbers for 2007 have not yet been finalized but early indicators show a small amount of growth.

There was one other key area where West Tennessee bucked the national housing market trends. Within the CWTAR region the average number of days a house was on the market declined in 2007 to 85.3 days from 89.9 days in 2006.

For more information on CWTAR, please visit cwtar.com or call 731-668-4907.

Press Release Contact Information:

Pam Branham
Younger Associates
P R Manager
2157 Madison
Memphis, TN
USA 38104
Voice: 901-272-5005
Fax: 901-272-5002
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