Year End Market Wrap-Up

The end of year numbers are in from the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association. The report, which is based on numbers from the Carolina Multiple Listing Services data, shows that the Charlotte market is left with just a 2 month supply of homes for sale. This trend has been going all year with a steady decline as people are reluctant to put homes for sale when there is not enough choice for a next home. This leaves the market chronically low. At the end of 2015 we had 3.4 months supply, 2016 ended with 2.6 months supply.

A balanced market between buyers and sellers is considered to be when there is a 6 month supply of homes for sale. Charlotte’s 2 month supply is well below that and also below the 4.6 month supply across the nation.

Somehow, even with the lack of supply, sales were up year over year. In 2016 there were 44,734 sales and 2017 saw 47,353 sales. This is a rise of 5.9% year over year. There were fewer closings this December than the previous year, 8.4% fewer. There was a 17.3% rise in pending sales in December which leads us to believe that January will be strong.

Prices are on the rise as well, median sales price was up to $226,000, a rise of 9.2% over last year. Average price was up 5.8% to end the year at $272,900.

Homes are staying on the market for a shorter time as well. In 2017 they spent an average of 45 days on the market before a sale. This means that competition for homes is more fierce than ever with homes selling quickly and for higher prices and with lack of supply. This leaves buyers in a situation where they need to be able to act quickly and decisively if they want to get the home of their dreams before someone else buys it.

In fact, in a report from Zillow, 27% of homes in Charlotte have sold for more than their asking price. This is up from 9.4% in 2012. This means that sellers have walked away with an average of an extra $5,000. This is great for sellers, but will leave buyers in a position where they have to be more aggressive than ever to get what they want.

We can help you with that. Give us a call at (704) 525-4045 and we can help get you into the home of your dreams. You can also view homes and create custom searches on our website here.