Lake Norman May 20009 Sales Analysis

Whether you are a potential home buyer considering the greater Lake Norman area or a Lake Norman homeowner trying to determine the best time to sell, it has never been more important to be informed in every possible way about our local Lake Norman real estate market.  The housing market was in the news throughout the country with so many different perspectives and interpretations.

Our Lake Norman housing market continues to change rapidly.  What was true even a month ago may not be true today.  That said, here is the summary of Lake Norman single family home sales and statistics for this past May.  (The period ending yesterday):

 Active Listings:  Our total number of active listings decreased slightly.  While they are high, considering this is Lake Norman's peak selling/listing season at a time when we might expect increased inventory, this is a VERY good sign.  I can't emphasize enough how important it is for Lake Norman's inventory to drop.

Contingent Sales:  This represents the number of homes that are under contract but are contingent upon the buyers selling their own homes.  In a buyers market, this is not a strong position for a seller as it may take months for the buyer's property to sell.  This number is double that of last month which in my opinion indicates the more sellers are willing to take a risk in order to sell their homes

Conditional Sales:  At 56, the number of  homes under contract that are in the early stages of negotiations with conditions for loans and inspections is 51% higher than last month.  This is an indicator of future closed sales.  There most certainly has been an increase in showings so we may see some higher closed sales over the next few months.

Pending Sales:  94 pending sales is 12% higher than last month.  These are sales that are just waiting to close which would indicate that our June closings should be higher than this month.  

Closed Sales:  I must admit I was a bit disappointed to see our closed sales at only 67.  Closed sales actually dropped 3% versus last month.  

Summary versus 2008:   Lake Norman home sales volume dropped 26% compared to May 2008.  The average price of the homes sold dropped 21% compared to 2008 and the average days a home was on the market increased 36%.  The most important of these three numbers is the drop in the average price of the homes sold.  Throughout the country it has been the drop in prices that has resulted in an increase in sales.  Bargains are selling and are what will continue to drive our Lake Norman market until consumer confidence returns.

5-Year Comparison of Lake Norman Home Sales By Month 

* Please note that all of my numbers come from the Charlotte Region Multiple Listing Service and will not include sales that took place outside of our MLS.

**While my totals on this chart for 2008 sales is 870, when I search on our MLS for the entire year they give me a slightly higher number of 916 so I will use that as our official number for the sake of this analysis.

Summary:  With 67 closed sales and 1598 active listings in the Lake Norman area, we still have a 23.8-month supply of homes for sale.  While this is substantially better than the last quarter, a balanced housing market should have about 6-8 months of inventory so we still have a long way to go to achieve a solid housing market.  If you look at the chart above it is a bit sobering to realize we sold three times as many homes in May of 2006 as we did this past month! 

For more insight into the Lake Norman real estate market: 

 Lake Norman Real Estate:  Why is it so hard to buy a home right now?

Lake Norman Real Estate's April 2009 Sales Analysis

Lake Norman Real Estate:  The Big Picture