Charlotte’s Market Surges with Year Over Year Gains

Positive signs continue for Charlotte’s real estate market with year-over-year gains based on data from the Multiple Listing Service data for 16 counties across the entire Charlotte region.  Charlotte’s housing market saw increases in closings, pending sales, new listings and sales prices from October 2019 to October 2020.  The only year-over-year drops were Charlotte’s homes that spent a record low amount of time on the market and inventory dropped for another month.

In years past, home sales typically taper off as we move into the last quarter of the year.  Due to many factors, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic putting a delay on the spring real estate market, 2020 has not been the typical year.  Low mortgage rates have helped fuel buyer interest and demand.

The pandemic may be influential in the October year-over-year increase with the number of single-family homes, townhouses and condos that sold in October totaled 5,029.  This is an 11.2% increase from last year and 3.1% from September.  Those on the fence for selling seem to have made the jump before the typical holiday slow down, though low-inventory is still a primary concern for buyers. 

Relief from low inventory may come from new listings numbers that also increased for a second straight month in October.  More than 5,500 home listings were added last month — up 6.6% over the year, but still down 3.7% during the past 10 months when compared to the same period in 2019.  We often talk of home inventory as a “x-month supply”, which indicates how many months it would take the current inventory to sell.   Charlotte’s local properties on the market represent just a 1.2-month supply — that number was double last year.  In “typical” markets, one might expect to see a 4-5 month inventory.

With conditions leading to a seller’s market, local home prices again posted double-digit gains year over year in October amid ongoing low supply. The average sales price jumped to $354,248 — an increase of 16% from $305,371 in October 2019. Time on market has also decreased for sellers.  Homes in the Charlotte region spent an average of just 25 days on the market in October — down from 40 days a year ago.

With days on market trending lower, buyers will continue to see a fast pace of sales and need to be prepared to move quickly on desirable properties.  Sellers will need to make sure the home is priced accurately in order to sell quickly.  New home construction will help inventory, but the pandemic has put a delay on new construction, as well.

Low days on market indicate a number of things – cash buyers are moving quickly on investment properties, banking on the Charlotte market to continue its real estate rise.  It’s a competitive market, so quick closes are desirable for sellers.  Investors looking to buy or sell, now is a great time, even though snatching up more properties can be a challenge with the low inventory.

Written by Laura Grant – Property Manager and Realtor with MY Townhome Realty & MY Home Leasing