Redstone Federal Credit Union

8 | r e d f c u.o r g I N O U R C O M M U N I T I E S If you are in the market for a new home and find one you want, you had better be prepared to act fast because there's tough competition for buyers in North Alabama and Middle Tennessee. According to economists and market watchers, home values are growing at their fastest pace in a generation, and there's no sign of slowing down in 2021. at means sales for new and existing homes are hot. From bidding wars to a six-month wait for new construction, Todd Howard and Don Delor, part of Redstone Federal Credit Union's real estate team, are seeing new housing trends firsthand. "It's crazy in the housing market right now," said Howard, president of Redstone Title Services, LLC, and Redstone Family Realty, Redstone subsidiaries. "Up until the last year, escalation clauses were unheard of in our market in North Alabama. Now, instead of someone making an offer of say $125,000, they are offering up to $150,000 in increments over the next highest and best bid because others are bidding to get the same house." In Tennessee's Rutherford County, many new neighborhoods under construction have few, if any, homes available for sale. Plus, many purchasers face a minimum six- month delay before construction on their new home will begin, said Delor, Redstone's Tennessee mortgage lending manager. In his 13 years in the real estate business, Howard has never seen anything like it. Signs are going up in front of homes saying "coming soon," but they sell before other buyers ever get a shot at them, he said. HOT HOMEBUYING MARKET CREATES CHALLENGES Don Delor, Redstone's Tennessee mortgage lending manager, stands at Rivers Edge subdivision in Murfreesboro.

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