This month Jackie Mistretta, our team’s listing coordinator, shares her perspective on the changing market as we head into fall….
When do you think the real estate market will change? It’s a question I hear often from everyone knows that I am in real estate. The answer might surprise you… it’s already starting! Now don’t panic, what I mean is in Mecklenburg County for the first time in years we did not see a decrease in inventory for the month of August and pending sales are down 12.49% over last year. All this means is we’re moving ever so slightly from a true sellers’ market towards a balanced market, which is when there are three to six months’ worth of inventory in the market. Currently in Charlotte, and since April of this year, we’ve sat right around a four month supply of inventory.
This is a really good thing for creating a sustainable market. It means buyers have more time to make sure that they are making smart choices throughout their home buying process with what they can afford, the area they want to live in, etc. and with mortgage rates being over 17% higher than last year we want to make sure our buyers are getting into the right home and not feeling pressured to buy just any home. On the selling side, this will mean taking a hard look at the inventory for sale and recently sold around you and making sure you price right and put in the work to prepare for selling from the start. There will be more competition so you want to go on the market the right way and not have to adjust if it can be avoided.
And as always, this week we’ll be sending our our monthly E-newsletter where we’ll share the real estate stats for Mecklenburg County Single Family Home Sales when comparing August 2018 to the prior month and again to August of last year. Here’s a quick summary:
- Home sales are down 3% from last month and 5% from last year.
- Average sales price is up 3% from last month and 12% from last year.
- Median sales price is up 2% from last month and 10% from last year.
- Average price per square foot is up .09% from last month and 8% from last year.
- Average time on market is even with last month and down 13% from last year.
- Pending home sales are down 8% from last month and 12% from last year.
- Housing supply is even with last month and even with last year.
- Mortgage rates are flat from last month but up to 4.55% from 3.88% last year.
- Average house payment is up 3% from last month and 21% from last year.