Charlotte Region Housing Market Update: June 2015

Charlotte Region Housing Market Update:
June 2015

What's not to like about the continuing  positive performance of the Charlotte region's housing market in June 2015?  I've now asked this rhetorical question every month for many months running and the answer hasn't changed. Namely, that Charlotte region's housing market turned in another strong performance in the month of June and through the first half of the year, with none of the key metrics disappointing:

• June 2015 Closed Sales: up 22.1% versus June 2014 and +18.1% on a year-to-date basis versus the same period last year.
  
  
  
• June 2015 Pending Sales: up 26.5% versus June 2014 and +22.2% on a year-to-date basis versus the same period last year.
  
  
  
• June 2015 Average List Prices:  increased 3.4% to just over $280,000 versus June 2014 and +3.8% on a year-to-date basis versus the same period last year.
  
  
  
• June 2015 Average Sale Prices:  up 0.8% to just over $260,000 versus June 2014 and +5.0% on a year-to-date basis versus the same period last year.
  
  
  
• June 2015 Percent of Original List Price Received:  up 0.8% compared with June 2014 to 95.6% and +1.0% on a year-to-date basis versus the same period last year.
  
  
  
• June 2015 Inventory of Homes for Sale:  down 23.8% versus June 2014, with new listings increasing only by 1.7% in June 2015. (Not a spectacular increase in the height of Charlotte's spring selling season!) On a year-to-date basis new listings are up only 1.3% versus the same period last year.
  
  
  
• June 2015 Supply of Homes for Sale:  down 35.6% to 3.9 months. (Last year at this time the months supply of homes stood at 6.0%). Charlotte region's housing market is not only very much  a seller's market this spring, it's also important to point out that parts of the Charlotte metro area have less than three months of housing inventory and some even less than 2 months.

The message for Charlotte region home buyers hasn't changed in many months (and isn't likely to in the forseeable future):

• The supply of homes available to buy remains very tight and those that are on the market are selling more quickly and with less negotiating. In prime neighborhoods, we see many homes going into contract in under three days of listing. Buyers will continue to have fewer options to choose from and will need to make decisions and offers more quickly than ever. With so many homes receiving multiple offers, buyers will also need to make "clean" offers with a minimum of contingencies.
  
  
  
• While home prices are not "running away with themselves," they are continuing a steady increase.  Buyers need to be prepared to pay more for a home and to expect to negotiate less off the asking price. Depending where in the Charlotte metro area buyers are looking, they may not be able to negotiate at all and should expect to see bidding wars.

The message for Charlotte region home sellers also hasn't changed in months:

• If a home is priced right, staged right, and marketed right,  it will sell and, on average, should sell in less than three to four months.
  
  
  
• Sellers who have been overly aggressive in pricing their homes are not getting their homes sold. Pricing is still key.
  
  
  
• Sellers need to be prepared to move quickly and to have back-up plans for a new residence at the ready.

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