The average price of a home in Rutherford County has increased 7 percent over the past year while the number of homes sold has held steady, according to The Red Report.

"For 2018 locally, it looks like 2018 is going to be very close to 2017 and we would expect 2019 to be fairly close to 2018 for closing volumes. Most agree we’ll still see modest price increases due to inventory shortages and increases on new home construction cost," explained Steven Dotson, president of Red Realty and issuer of The Red Report.

Across The Red Report's four-county region, closings are flat from 2018 and down 10 percent from October to November for single-family homes. Closed prices in Rutherford, Williamson, Davidson and Wilson counties increased 3 percent.

Across the Greater Nashville Realtors nine-county region, there were 2,954 closings reported for the month of November. This represents a 7 percent decrease from the 3,177 closings reported for November 2017. Year-to-date closings total 36,633 a 1.6 percent decrease compared to the 37,236 closings reported through November 2017 across Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Maury, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson counties.

According to GNR, there were 3,076 properties under contract at the end of the month, compared to the 2,906 properties under contract at this time last year. The average number of days on the market for a single-family home was 33 days.

"Pricing is still showing an increase for the month but at a calmer rate," said GNR President Sher Powers. "With 25 percent more inventory on the market than last year for December, this continues to be a good time for buyers to find a home."

By the Numbers …
County	Closings	Closed Price	Sales Price
Rutherford	-11%	7%	$280,261
Williamson	-12%	7%	$608,894
Davidson	-5%	-2%	$373,480
Wilson	-21%	7%	$327,465
Region	0%	3%	$391,143
Source: The Red Report December 2018

According to the GNR, the median residential price for a single-family home during November was $295,000 and for a condominium it was $221,250. This compares with last year’s median residential and condominium prices of $285,000 and $216,751.

Active inventory at the end of November was 12,004, which increased from 9,454 in 2017.

Dotson agreed the increased supply will help mitigate the pressures on prices.

"Inventories are rising so that will help keep the prices in check with more moderate price increase levels," he said.

While some realtors look at the stablizing market as a negative, Dotson sees it as a positive.

"I see it as a more healthy stable market that may be a little more predictable going forward," he said.

All the new homes and multi-family housing going up across the midstate has sharply increased the price of construction, from land to materials to labor.

"New construction costs got out of hand causing prices to jump double digits the last few years so a leveling offer period may be good for the overall market," Dotson said.

In turn, this could also help to stablize prices as Middle Tennessee continues to grow.

"With all the new job announcements in Middle Tennessee, I think we’ll continue to see our local markets remain stable even if the national market continues to see declines," Dotson said. We’ve said this for many years, but Middle Tennessee is extremely blessed to always have a stronger.

Michelle Willard is a freelance journalist who fills her days with social media marketing, politics, true crime, and taking complaints. You can complain to her on Twitter @MichWillard or by email michelle(at)murfreesborovoice.com.