Charlotte, NC. Housing Market Trends May 2013

There is a lot of talk about the housing market in Charlotte, NC. and whether it is improving or if this is a smoke screen. Being one of the largest metro areas in the United States and one of the fastest growing this trend plays a vital impact on home sellers and home buyers alike. So I decided to do a monthly analysis versus the previous year and two years ago during the same month and see where the trends are and how they are impacting the housing market in Charlotte, NC. here are the stats for May 2013: First, let's look at inventory of available homes buyers have to choose from in the Charlotte, NC. region. In 2011 there were 25085 homes for sale in May. In 2012 there were 20443 homes for sale in April. Last month there were 16032 homes for sale. That is a decline of 38% in two years of available homes buyers have to choose from. Second, the average sale price of homes in the Charlotte, NC. region for May 2011 was $206,227. In 2012 the average sale price was $202,419 and last month the average sale price was $212055. That is an increase of 2.8% in the average sale price in the Charlotte, NC. market. Third, let’s look at days in inventory. How long are houses sitting on the market? In 2011 the average home sat on the market for 13.4 months before being sold. In 2012 the number improved to 10.6 months and last month it improved to 6.5 months. That is a dramatic drop in inventory of over 48.5% in two years. What the trends are showing is that the housing market is out of the recession and available homes for sale have decreased to the lowest levels we have seen in over 5 years coupled with prices slowly creeping back up and more buyers out there than homes available and you have signs of a robust market in Charlotte, NC. If all three factors were trending equally it could be the market fixing itself. But the fact that inventory has declined 25% less than average days on market means we are getting more buyers out there than homes right now and it is starting to cause prices to go up. This is a good thing for the housing industry and the economy. Coupled with the fact, home prices are not skyrocketing to adjust for decrease of inventory and interest rates continue to be at all time lows is keeping a stable growth in the Charlotte, NC. market. However; in comparison to last months trends the numbers seem to be reflecting that the housing market has stabilized and some prices are starting to come down. Generally this time of the year we start to see home prices slowly decline a little bit as sellers are little more motivated to sell when school is out and want to take advantage of moving the kids during the summer. In fact I have noticed it on homes I have shown that if they did not get an offer with in the first 30 to 45 days they are starting to reduce the price to compensate for the market. A lot of home owners were trying to capture a little extra in terms of price but now are starting to bring their prices down to where they should have been and correcting themselves in this market. Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Coldwell Banker United Cell: 704-519-7895 ddicecco@cbunited.com www.davedicecco.com