Middle Tennessee Mortgage Activity, Home Sales Slow in March

March home sales in the Middle Tennessee housing market tumbled 11 percent from the same time period in 2006, according to a release from the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors.

There were 3,126 closings in March, down 3,516 from March 2006.

Inventory at the end of March was also up dramatically to 19,091, compared to 14,420 in March last year.

There are also more condos on the market than last year, GNAR reported. Currently there are 12,915 available to those seeking a Tennessee mortgage, compared with 10,045 a year ago.

GNAR President Richard Courtney is upbeat about the sales dip, saying the local market is stable.

“The reality is that we continue on a pace that makes 2007 the second-best year ever for home sales in this region,” Courtney says in a press release. “That is true for both March and the entire first quarter of this year. There is more to a healthy real estate market than setting sales records.”

First quarter home sales, which includes home closings from January, February and March, are down 5.9 percent, as home mortgage activity in the region remains low. There were 7,990 closings in the quarter compared with 8,497 for first quarter sales in 2006.

“Inventory has increased, but we are still experiencing about a six-month supply of homes, which is considered to be a balanced market,” Courtney says in the release.