It’s been a bit of a bumpy ride in the Charlotte area over the past few months. Between HB2 and rioting, not all of the dust has settled yet. One place that doesn’t seem to be seeing the dramatic effects yet is the housing market. That may change as we see the numbers for October next month, but for now, we still have a strong seller’s market.
Based on the report from the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association, if you look at the entire Carolina MLS Region, compared to last year, we are doing better in all of the major metrics. New listings, pending sales, and closed sales are all up from last year. Median and average sales price are up. Homes are staying on the market for less time. Inventory is down from last year from 4.2 months to 3 months. A balanced market has 6 months of inventory so this is a substantial shift with the seller having much more power than the buyer in a transaction.
If you look at Mecklenburg County, inventory is down from 4,539 to 3,513 homes. This represents a drop of 22.6%. There has been a rise in the number of homes closed, but not a corresponding rise in new listings. This could be because of fear for the market due to recent events. It could also be that people are moving here and not leaving so we have a lack of housing right now. It could be the time of the year as there is a natural slow-down as we approach the holidays.
Union County follows the same trends except they also have fewer new listings than last year. Uptown Charlotte is similar to Union County with fewer new listings, but they also have fewer pending listings and have seen a downturn in the Average and Median sales prices. This might be a more direct result of HB2 business losses and riot aftermath.
South Carolina, Fort Mill and Rock Hill are seeing the same trends. Fort Mill closed 30.3% more sales this year than last year at this same time. Rock Hill on the other hand saw a decrease of closed sales from last year of .7% but was similar on all other metrics. Both saw a decrease in inventory to 2.5 months available. This is much lower than the balanced market 6 months.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few months. We will be sure to be on top of the data so we can help you better prepare for your future sales and purchases.