Author: Christie Garella
The Early Spring Market is Hot!
Punxsutawney Phil called for an early spring and the Charlotte housing market was already one step ahead of him. The market is moving and doesn’t show signs of slowing down. Dr. Lawrence Yum, Chief Economist at The National Association of Realtors, recently visited the Queen City and agrees, “You are in a very good Market”!
Charlotte is one of 10 markets in the country that will outperform the national average for home appreciation in the next five years. And, according to Yum, Charlotte has seen twice the job growth than the national average over the past 20 years. Not only that, but weekly wage growth has grown by 33% in the last dozen years. That’s a recipe for a strong market! Yum also expects optimism in the stock market thanks to the recent Canada-Mexico Trade agreement and fading discussion about a 2020 recession.
Charlotte’s home market is not without its challenges. In December inventory dropped to 1.7 months, historically low (three months is considered a healthy market), and Millennials continue to put off home ownership as they tackle college debt and postpone marriage. ………And then there are those ugly unresolved national issues including divided government, deficit spending, and affordable housing hanging over housing.
But all problems aside, Dr. Yum expects us to see the return of the Millennials and for Charlotte to outperform the national averages by 5%. He is forecasting improvement in real estate four out of the next five years. Exciting times and welcome news for home Sellers! And, the perfect time to give us a call. Let’s find a new home this spring!
January 2020 Market Updates
2020 has started with a bang! According to The Charlotte Realtor Association home sales in December surged 17.2% year over year. It looks like the spring market has started early.
For the year, 50,854 properties sold in the Charlotte Region (12 counties in NC and 4 in South Carolina), up 5.9% in 2019. Additionally, pending sales increased 8.9%, implying continued momentum.
- List price to sales price finished 2019 at 96.7%.
- The average price of a home increased 5.9% to $303,722, while median sales price, rose 7.1% to $255,000.
- List to close was unchanged at 93 days, while days on market averaged 43 days in 2019.
The weather is unseasonably warm. The market is hot. It’s a great time to call us!
November 2019 Market Updates
This week the Fed reduced benchmark rates for the third time this year, leaving “market” rates in the neighborhood of 3.6%; approximately 1% lower than this time last year. In Charlotte inventory is down, pending sales are up, and new listings continue to decrease. Obviously, these factors are pushing up pricing (median home prices are $253,080 up 9.3% year over year), shortening time property is on the market (91 days list to close), and lowering months supply to 2.2 months. Clearly the Charlotte metro market remains strong.
Interestingly TransUnion predicted this week that the US Market is on the verge of a surge in First Time Buyers! They are predicting that the 2020 to 2023 period will find a huge increase in buyers, climbing from the last full three-year period 2016,2017,2018 of 7.6 million first time buyers to between 8.3 and 9.2 million in the 2020,2021, 2022 period. They argue that driven by:
- Low unemployment 3.5%
- Wage growth
- Expected slowing home price appreciation
- Low interest rates 3.6% (Freddie Mac)
that first-time buyers will be entering in waves. Where have they been? Analysis say that 40% have delayed their first purchase looking for a steady job, that 35% are blaming high home prices and a lack of homes priced under $200,000 for the delay, and a good percentage are trying to unload education debt. Regardless of the reason, their entry will be welcome and will open opportunities for move up buyers in all price categories.
Maybe its time to make a move!
Sourced from Weekly Market Activity Report 11/2/2019 Canopy/CMLS, and TransUnion report.
Fall Market Update
Housing remains bullish. According to the Home Purchase Index, Fannie Mae found that 58% of Americans say it’s a good time to buy a home, and maybe as importantly 65% say it’s a good time to sell one! These sentiments likely have a lot to do with interest rates that, even though they have been bouncing around a bit, are 1% lower year over year and close to historical lows.
Additionally, rents have reached a national average of $1,465/ month in June, up $45 bucks from this time last year. Charlotte comes in at $1,243 up 5% since last year. Throw in rising consumer credit scores, and it really is a good time to call Wood-Williams Realty, LLC.!
A synopsis of data drawn from South State Bank’s Expert Update published 9/20/19
That said, we wanted to share neighborhoods across Charlotte where we are active and provide some single-family activity data from the last 90 days:
| Neighborhood | Active Properties | Under Contract | Closed/Sold | Average Price | Cost Per Sq Ft |
| Myers Park | 48 | 24 | 47 | $1,163,030 | 340.81 |
| Cotswold | 32 | 13 | 36 | $709,328 | $254.74 |
| Madison Park | 20 | 13 | 34 | $386,331 | $226.95 |
| Eastover | 19 | 12 | 10 | $1,436,194 | $321.60 |
| Dilworth | 14 | 14 | 20 | $835,883 | $312.52 |
| Quail Hollow | 11 | 3 | $1,151,000 | $233.37 | |
| Providence Park | 8 | 1 | 5 | $882,000 | $280.77 |
| Sharon Hills | 5 | 2 | 6 | $692,583 | $218.04 |
This information was compiled from CMLS on 9/20/2019 at 11 AM. All single-family properties that identified themselves as being in those neighborhoods were used.
This is just a broad look at these neighborhoods. For an expert opinion give us a call. Next month look for a similar survey of condo activity.
Here’s a snapshot of our latest listings. We look forward to hearing from you!
$1,375,000
Active
4533 Rea Road Charlotte, North Carolina
4 Beds 4 Baths 3,102 SqFt 2.6 Acres
$349,000
none
346 Country Club Heights Rd Tryon, NORTH CAROLINA
3 Beds 4 Baths 3,000 SqFt 4 Acres
$214,000
Active
6117 Heathstone Lane B Charlotte, North Carolina
1 Beds 1 Baths 709 SqFt
$4,250
Active
1716 Truman Road Charlotte, North Carolina
3 Beds 2 Baths 1,622 SqFt 0.19 Acres
Market Update
July 1, 2019 – Now that everybody has had time to take a deep breath and get over Mecklenburg County’s tax value revaluation, it’s time to take a look at local housing numbers thru May provided by the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association. Though nothing dramatic is happening, an extended period of low unemployment, higher wages, and favorable rates have been a driver for the housing market. In Charlotte we are still seeing solid 5.7% year-over-year sales price growth, slight increases in year-over-year volume (+1.1%), a modest increase in listings (+1.2), and a stable 2.3 months of supply. These numbers are slightly better than the national numbers just released by CoreLogic, which showed a 3.6% year-over-year increase thru May with 5.6% increases predicted going forward.
Though there are substantive challenges including affordability and a lack of first-time buyers overly burdened with student debt, these numbers outline a fairly stable housing market in Charlotte and across the nation. Its clear that home ownership continues to be important for creation of long-term
wealth.
County Revaluation
Hold on to your seats, Mecklenburg County’s next big challenge is its recently announced property revaluation. Mandated by NC state law, Mecklenburg County is required to revalue property every 8 years. In 2011 the county’s revaluation collapsed under the weight of lawsuits and property appeals. It’s hoping this one goes more smoothly. Expect to see your new value by early in January 2019. The early word is that Countywide, median residential values will increase 40%, while median commercial values are expected to increase 76%. Ouch! If these are median values, look for bigger increases in intercity neighborhoods and traditional hot spots like Myers Park, Eastover, Foxcroft, and Cotswold. These are values not taxes. Tax rates will not be available until September 2019. County Commissioners could vote to keep values revenue neutral, but I wouldn’t bet on it. My guess is that as a result those owners can expect higher taxes and sub sequentially renter’s higher rents.
Look for notes on activity in Charlotte’s Regional Market in the next couple of weeks. We have a sense that the market has cooled, but will have November’s numbers by mid- month to evaluate.