Charlotte, NC. Area Housing Stats For July 2013

There is a lot of talk about the housing market in Charlotte, NC. and whether it is improving or if the rise in interest rates are causing the market to slow down and prices to lower. A monthly analysis versus the previous year and two years ago during the same month allows me to compare and see where the trends are and how they are impacting the housing market in Charlotte, NC. Here are the stats for July 2013: First, let's look at inventory of available homes buyers have to choose from in the Charlotte, NC. region. In 2011 there were 24336 homes for sale in July. In 2012 there were 19651 homes for sale in July. Last month there were 15655 homes for sale. That is a decline of 36% in two years of available homes buyers have to choose from. Second, the average sale price of homes in the Charlotte, NC. region for June 2011 was $205,614. In 2012 the average sale price was $204,753 and last month the average sale price was $215707. That is an increase of 5% 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 13.2 months before being sold. In 2012 the number improved to 9.8 months and last month it improved to 6.1 months. That is a dramatic drop in inventory of over 48% 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 has caused prices to increase faster than anticipated. However; in comparison to last couple of months the trend is showing that the housing market has stabilized and some prices are remaining stable for the past few months. 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 with summer coming to a close and Labor Day coming up. But it looks like the housing market has hit a plateau and we may see slight increases or decreases in pockets of Charlotte but overall it is a stable market right now. Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Coldwell Banker United Cell: 704-519-7895 ddicecco@cbunited.com www.davedicecco.com