We can collectively recognize that 2020 has been one of the hardest and unusual years in recent memory. The world of real estate across the nation has seen ups and downs generally speaking, while here in the Tennessee Valley we never saw much of a slow down or dip. Our market stayed relatively even with listings and sales continuing to progress and in the meantime most of America saw the opposite effect. Now that many states are reopening and emerging from their shut-downs we can see that a new shifting is taking place. Numerous states are seeing a mass exodus of people while other states are on the receiving end and are now ushering in unprecedented numbers of newcomers to their state.
What does this mean for the real estate sphere? Ultimately, it changes the dynamics of the current market. Some states are seeing a huge dip in sales, but they are seeing a rise in people listing their homes in their desire to exit the state. Unfortunately for several of these places, the listings end up sitting there for a while due to the fact that the exodus does not line up with the lack of incoming people.
Our biggest challenge here in Lincoln County and the surrounding areas is our lack of inventory of quality housing. Team Gatlin has successfully sold houses to people from varying states in the last few months, including Pennsylvania, California, New York, and Florida just to name a few. People from out of state recognize the value of our house pricing and are sweeping in to scoop up listed houses within days of their arrival on the market. Currently, Lincoln County has the lowest level of home listings since April of 2017. Pending sales are on the up rise compared to previous years, what listings there are, are selling quickly! In fact, closed sales hit the highest peak in 3 years in June of 2020.
The serious need for housing is having a residual effect of escalating the median price of homes. On average the price for homes in our area three years ago was $119k, as of August 2020 the average price is now hovering at $164k. Overall, the biggest need in the Tennessee Valley is for family homes with acreage and farm property. We would like for the residents of Lincoln and surrounding counties to understand that listing now is a prime time! We have buyers, we just need the homes!
To close out todays article let me just list a few of the biggest exits and inbound states in the nation right now as far as real estate: States showing the biggest outbound of people: 1) New Jersey - Outbound at 68.5% with reasoning of lack of jobs and poor retirement opportunities. 2) Illinois - Outbound at 66.5% with reasoning of poor economic standards and high taxes. 3) New York - Outbound at 63.1% with reasoning of high median home pricing and rent, high cost of living and high taxes. States showing the biggest inbound of people: 1) Idaho - Inbounding at 67.4% with reasoning of positive job market, low cost of living and affordable housing. 2) Oregon - Inbounding at 65.4% with reasoning of high job opportunity due to high tech/industry jobs and large company headquarters. 3) Arizona - Inbounding at 63.2% with reasoning of year long positive weather and low cost of living.
