The monthly numbers are out from the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association. They gather the data from the Carolina Multiple Services and compare what is happening in the market now with last year at the same time. For four months, home sales have been down across the Charlotte region. It looks like this may be the new trend for the area.
The Charlotte Business Journal reports that “another straight month of annual sales declines during the peak home-selling season shows “the cooling effect limited inventory and waning affordability are having on the Charlotte market””. The quote is from Jason Gentry, the CRRA President.
If you look at home sales between last year (4,800) and this year (4,514), there is a decline of 6%. This is not what you typically expect at this time of the year. Home prices are edging higher as well with the average sale price up to $294,107. This is up 8.8% over last years $270,274.
Pending sales are up 7.4% over last year at this time from 4,443 to 4,771. New listings were up 1.5% from 5,576 to 5,660. This shows that there is still strong interest from buyers despite prices rising.
Inventory woes persist in the Charlotte market as once again the supply of homes is down year over year. There are currently 10,052 homes on the market, down 14.3% from last years 11,736. This represents just a 2.4 month supply of inventory, well down from the 4-6 months supply that typically represents a balanced market between buyers and sellers.
Homes continue to sell at a faster rate than last year spending just 38 days on the market. This is down from 43 days last year, a decline of 11.6%. This means that buyers have to be pre-approved for loans and ready to jump on a home quickly after it is listed.
If you are in the market to buy or sell a home in the Charlotte market, give us a call at (704) 525-4045. You can view current listings and create custom searches on our website here.