S
haron and Pete Butler thought they'd spend the rest of their lives in their Hixson home, where they'd lived for 20 years. However, their daughter moved to Ooltewah and convinced them to join her, selling their home after just eight days on the market. This rapid sale is an anomaly, as the average Chattanooga-area home stays on the market for 43 days.

    According to Greater Chattanooga Realtors (GCR), the number of days a home spends on the market has been decreasing since 2020, when it was at 43 days. In 2021 and 2022, that number dropped to 21 and 20 days, respectively. However, in 2023 and 2024, it rose to 34 and 43 days.

    Realtor Rolanda Daniel notes that the market is becoming more "normalized," with fewer multiple offers and a longer time on the market. While Chattanooga isn't yet a buyer's market, it's headed that way. The area currently has 3.7 months' worth of inventory on the market, which is still below the six-month threshold needed to be considered a buyer's market.

    Realtor Travis Close attributes the area's previous seller's market to the global pandemic and low interest rates. "It was a perfect storm," he says. The rapid sales and multiple offers that characterized the early 2020s are now giving way to a more balanced market, with sellers offering concessions and buyers having more options.

    The Chattanooga-area real-estate market is known for being stable and predictable, unlike some other parts of the country. Realtor James L. C. Meyers likens it to a pendulum that swings both ways, but notes that the current market is moving away from the extreme seller's market of the early 2020s.

    While some areas, like the North Shore and Signal Mountain, are still seeing rapid sales, others, such as East Brainerd/Apison/Ooltewah, have become overbuilt. Meyers predicts that the market will continue to be stable in the near future, with no major changes expected in the next 12 months.