Americans overall are feeling worse about the housing market! Unless, of course, you’re trying to sell your home! With mortgage rates recently ticking up, home buyers affordability is really being strained. But, because of the record low levels of housing inventory, home sellers are still sitting pretty.

So, what’s really going on in our local Charlotte, North Carolina housing market? What are the latest trends? What can we expect moving forward? You’ve came to the right place and thats exactly what we’ll discuss today!

 So strap in, folks, this is your all access pass to everything you need to know about the sstate of the Charlotte housing market. Join us as we peel back the layers of this crucial news and reveal what it means for you in the Queen City.

Charlotte North Carolina Housing Market Update:  June 2023

1. Number of New Listings

2. Number of Pending Listings

3. Number of Closed Homes

4. Average Sales Price

5. Market Overview 
   

6. My Thoughts

1. Number of New Listings

In May, 1300 new listings hit the market, which was an 4% increase from the number of new listings in April 2023. We saw a gradual increase in the amount of new listings coming to the market month over month. We saw a 26% decrease in the amount of new listings year over year. This shows us that many homeowners are still choosing not to put their homes on the market, which is keeping the Charlotte, North Carolina housing inventory low.

Low inventory isn’t just an issue in Charlotte, North Carolina. We’re seeing this across the board, all over the United States. New Listings were down 20% year over year in the United States.

We also have a 11% decrease in the amount of homes on the market at any given time compared to last year. The supply of available homes are one of the biggest factors affecting our housing market! 

Even though there are less homes available, the median days on the market for a home is 33.6 days, which is a 67% increase from the median days on market for a home this time last year! 

It’s interesting, we’re seeing a reduced level of available homes, but homes are sitting on the market for longer. This shows us that the higher mortgage rates are taking its tole on the home buyers. Even though home buyers are feeling the squeeze of higher mortgage rates, low levels of supply are helping home sellers maintain their negotiating power. 

2. Number of Pending Sales

In May, 1243 homes in Charlotte NC accepted an offer. This was a 2% decrease from April 2023 and a 15% decrease from the amount of homes that accepted an offer in May 2022.  

Fewer homes listed = Fewer homes accepting offer’s.

The number of pending sales have been steadily decreasing since March 2023. One factor that could be affecting this is the average mortgage rates ticking up in recent months. In May, mortgage rates ticked up by around .5%. Many buyers were locking in mortgage rates around the mid 7.5%. 

The number of new listings outpaced the number of pending sales by 5%. With the acceptation of March, listings have continued to outpace pending sales for this entire year! This means the number of available homes at any given time has steadily increased since January 2023. 

Sellers Market | Decrease In Inventory

If the number of pending sales continuously outpace the number of new listings, then we can expect the amount of homes for sale will decrease. This means that there will be less homes avaliable and buyers will have less homes to choose from. If this trend continues, then you can expect for the market to eventually transition to a sellers market.

3. Number of Closed Homes

In May, 1202 homes closed in Charlotte, which was a 8% increase from April 2023 and a 22% decrease from April 2022. 

We have seen the number of closed homes continue to decrease, mainly due to fewer homes coming on the market. The number of closed homes is a lagging indicator. Since we have seen fewer newer listings and fewer pending homes, we can expect to see the number of closed homes to be lower. 

4. Average Sales Price.

In May 2023, the average sales price was $569,000. This was a 9% increase from April 2023. This was a huge increase in just one month. The local Charlotte, North  Carolina home owners should love this. You gained a good bit of equity over the last 30 days! We’ve seen the average sales price appreciate by 10% since May 2023.  

June 2022 proved to be the peak of the housing market at $528,500. So, unless we see any major changes, we shouldn’t see home price depreciation this year! In fact, quite the opposite, we should see a healthy increase in the price of homes this year! 

The average price in the United States has dropped by about 2% year over year, so we’re outpacing the United States by around 12%. This is especially true when you look at markets like Austin, TX and San Francisco, California!

5. Market Overview:

So, inventory is increasing, but prices are increasing as well, what’s going on? Inventory is increasing but not nearly to the levels to match buyer demand. The low levels of inventory are really propelling our market. It all boils down to supply vs demand. There are many factors affecting our housing market shortage, like: 

1. “Institutional investors: Over the past few years, institutional investors have purchased about 30% of all of the homes that have sold in the Charlotte area. They usually do not sell as often as a regular homeowner would, so this ties up a large portion of the inventory. 
2. Lack of new construction over the last decade: New home builders have never caught back up from the great recession. Over the past decade, home builders have been very cautious and haven’t built enough homes to keep up with supply. 
3. “Would be” home sellers not moving: Many “would be” home sellers are discouraged from moving because they locked in a 30 year fixed rate mortgage between 2.5% and 3%. When they are looking to move, their getting quoted rates 7%+ which is discouraging them from making a move. 

Yes, the average days on market are ticking up but many homes are still selling quickly.  The nice homes that are located in the desirable areas are still getting multiple offers.  Many times theres a competitive bidding war for these homes. Just last week, we sold one of our listings for $25,000 above asking! The average number of offers received per sold property in the U.S. in April 2023 was 3.1. 

6. My Thoughts: 

So, what do I think? Well, inventory is very low and buyers are beginning to get accustomed elevated mortgage rates. I feel we may see some small fluctuating in the market depending on rates, unemployment, etc. But, with the low levels of inventory and the growth we’re seeing in the Charlotte area, I believe that the worst of the housing market is behind us.  

Now, 2021 and 2022 were “Unicorn Years.” Euphoria fueled the housing market. I feel we’re also past that crazy and excitement and were getting back to something resembling the market prior to COVID.  

Once the Federal Reserve reduces rates, we will see a bump in housing prices. When this happens, many buyers on the sidelines will jump in. This could create a small frenzy to take advantage of the lower rates. When this happens, we could also see some inventory come onto the market, from the homeowners who have been putting off their move recently due to the higher rates. Experts predict the Federal Reserve will not reduce rates until we’re well into 2024. 

For home sellers

The market has recovered over the past few months and home sellers once again have the upper hand. Year over year, prices are still positive and buyer demand is strong. Also, if you bought in 2019, your homes value has increased by 75%. We haven’t seen the euphoria we saw this time last year, however many homes are selling with multiple offers and above asking. You just need the right agent with the right approach!

If you are considering selling your home, make sure you choose the best Realtor. Watch this video to make sure you are asking your potential realtor the RIGHT questions:  10 Questions You Must Ask Your Realtor Before Hiring Them. 

For home buyers

Buyers purchasing power has been decimated this year. Housing affordability nationwide is the worst it has ever been on record due to spiking home prices and interest rates, Bloomberg reports. 

However, if you are in the market to purchase a home, you will find more homes available. There will still be competition on the best homes, so make sure you have everything ready to make an offer right when you find your dream home. 

Should you buy a home right now?

It really depends on what you are looking to accomplish, your goals, and your timeline. If you are wondering if NOW is the right time to purchase, visit Is NOW a Good Time to Buy a House in Charlotte? We explore who should be purchasing a home and who should wait a little bit. 

Is it a right time for you to buy or sell? 

We would love to connect with you, discuss your real estate goals and help you determine if now is a good time to buy/sell or if it is better to wait. Feel free to call us, text us, or email us. We would love to be your real estate resource of choice! 

Contact us through:

📱Call/Text Direct (704)-631-3977

📧Email: info@thefinigangroup.com