Home sales in Greene County have increased since earlier this year, but they are not what they were in 2008 before the recession struck.

That was the consensus of 10 local Realtors interviewed individually in recent days.

While generally agreeing on the current local home sales situation, the competing Realtors varied somewhat when asked to forecast what the local residential real estate market will be like in 2010.

Jerry Hall, of Re/Max Real Estate Specialists, said of Greene County's residential real estate market, "It's still not where it ought to be, but it's better than it was" earlier this year.

Hall added that home sales activity is "getting a little bit better, and it's slowly coming back, but it's going to be slow [coming back]."

Mary Beckner, of Accurate Realty, Inc., said that residential real estate sales in Greene County are down 13 percent from the same time last year.

She said the Multiple Listing Service's (MLS) statistics show the average prices for a home sale here in the last 12 months to the end of October was $117,207, compared with an average sale price of $131,023 for the previous 12 months.

Beckner said it has become "much harder to close sales," with the underwriting process of financial institutions reviewing sales contracts having gotten "very, very rigorous" with "a much higher level of scrutiny" than was the case before the collapse of the U.S. housing market a year ago.

She added, "The lenders are probably now doing what they should have been doing for years."

Sharon Renee Lilly, owner of Coldwell Banker Associated Realty Group, said of the local residential real estate market, "It has picked up in the last few months, but I think it's still 'iffy.' It's still in a gray area."

She said her firm recently handled the sale of a home in the county that sold for $100,000 less than what its previous owners had been asking.

However, she said many homeowners who are reluctant to sell their residences for less than what their potential prices had been estimated before the collapse of the nation's housing market a year ago "are just going to have to realize that prices have gone down."

Gail Landers, managing partner of Century 21 Legacy, said recently there has been "an increase in interested (would-be) buyers," but local home sales "aren't anything like they were in 2007."

She said most home sales locally have been of residences being sold for under $150,000.

At the other end of the market, Landers said, there are "hardly any" sales locally of homes being bought for more than $400,000.

She said many of the more affluent homeowners still are feeling the pain of "having lost so much money" in the stock market during the past year.

Asked what will be the situation of the local housing market in 2010, Landers said, "That's hard to forecast."

Brenda Parrish-Dickmann, of Parrish Realty Management, said of the local residential sales situation now as compared with earlier this year, "I don't really see that it has improved a whole lot -- maybe a little bit."

She said there are "a lot of bottom-fishers out there" looking for bargain purchases, but many homeowners are not ready to reduce their asking prices "and are still holding out" for prices many potential buyers won't pay.

Parrish-Dickmann said she has been advising her clients, "If you don't have to sell now, then don't sell.

"But if you are a buyer, there are good investments out there." Generally, she said, investors are better off buying real estate than in turning "to other places to put their money."

Ralph Roderick, of East Tenneseee Realty Services, said that while April through June was a "very slow" period for home sales here, he is "very optimistic" about prospects in 2010.

Roderick, who has been a Realtor here for nearly three decades, said the only worse time for local home sales than the past year that he recalls was the period under President Jimmy Carter when interest rates were over 20 percent, which "almost took me into a different profession."

He said the most active area of the local residential real estate market involves the sale of homes in the $75,000 to $150,000 price range.

"I've been really disappointed how financial institutions are being overly critical" in qualifying would-be homebuyers for financing, Roderick said.

Lucia Fillers, of Preferred Properties of East Tennessee. Inc., said she is "cautiously hopeful" that local home sales will increase.

She said, "Greene County is pretty resilient (in terms of its economy). We've lost a lot of industry, but we've kept our heads above water."

However, Fillers then added in regard to the local real estate market, "I personally don't see anything changing very noticeably until mid- or late next year."

Brad Johnston, of Hometown Realty, said local home sales were minimal in early 2009, but began picking up during the summer. Now, he said, "It's still not a booming market, but it's a decent market."

Johnston is optimistic about local real estate sales in the coming year, with many potential buyers coming from other locations.

He said of such newcomers, "We have people drive though Greeneville and fall in love with it. They say, 'Wow, what a great little town!' "

Cathy Hooper, of Sunbridge Realty, said the local home sales situation now is "quite a lot better" than it was earlier this year, with homes being offered for under $150,000 "seeing the most interest."

"It seems like we are turning around, cautiously, slowly," she said.

Hooper said some of the banks have toughened underwriting requirements when considering whether to offer mortgage loans.

"They should have been tougher before, but now they tend to be overly tough," she said.

JOE METCALF

Joe Metcalf, a co-owner of Realty Executives East Tennessee Realtors, said house sales in Greene County were "miserable" in 2009, but, "in the last three months our sales have been twice what they were in the previous six months."

He said, "We've seen a transition going on for the last few months," with the number of potential local homebuyers increasing, and interest rising here in higher-priced residences.

However, Metcalf added that banks have become much more cautious about approving mortgage-financing, which can be frustrating for potential homebuyers and for real estate agents.

He added, "I've even seen a loan rescinded [by a bank] after a closing."

Several Realtors said a number of houses have been bought here by persons taking advantage of the federal tax credit for first-time home-buyers.

The tax credit has allowed qualified first-time homebuyers to reduce their federal income taxes by 10 percent of the price of their home, up to a maximum of $8,000.

Homes bought after Jan. 1, 2009 have been eligible, with the tax credit limited to single filers making less than $75,000 annually, and to joint filers making less than $150,000.

Several Realtors expressed hope that Congress will extend the first-time home-buyers tax credit.

Greene County has many real estate agents working for its 28 real estate firms.

However, one veteran agent said, "Twenty percent of the agents sell 80 percent of the real estate."