Charlotte Region Housing Market Update:
January 2016
The Charlotte region's housing market had a strong start in the new year, with none of the key metrics disappointing, with the exception of closed sales, which were down 10.6% ~ caused to some degree by the lack of inventory in our market and not by the lack of interest on the part of home buyers, who are having a hard time finding afforadable homes in prime neigborhoods. With January's pending sales up by 13.0%, we can hopefully look forward to a good month in February 2016 in terms of closed sales. Although it is hard to say how much of the pending sales is new construction that won't close for many months.
-
January 2016 Closed Sales: down 10.6% versus January 2015.
-
January 2016 Pending Sales: up 13.0% versus January 2015.
-
Janaury 2016 Average List Price: increased 9.9% to just over $291,000 versus January 2015.
-
January 2016 Average Sale Prices: up 7.3% to just under $230,000 versus January 2015. Median Sale Price was also up 7.8% to just under $180,000 as compared with January 2015.
-
January 2016 Percent of Original List Price Received: up 1.5% to 94.7% compared with January 2015.
- January 2016 Inventory of Homes for Sale: down 23.9% versus January 2015, with new listings decreasing by 5.9% in January 2016.
- January 2016 Months Supply of Homes for Sale: down 31.8% to 3.0 months. Charlotte region's housing market continues to be very much a seller's market, as it was throughout 2015, with parts of the Charlotte metro area having less than three months of housing inventory and some even less than 2 months.
The message for Charlotte region home buyers remains what it was throughout 2015 and isn't likely to change much 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 (7.6% more quickly in January 2016) and with less negotiating. In prime neighborhoods, we see many homes going into contract within days of listing. Home buyers continue to have fewer options to choose from and will need to make decisions and offers more quickly than ever. With 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 and housing affordability continues to decrease. 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.
- For buyers looking for homes priced under $250,000, and especially under $200,000, the "pickings" are very slim these days.... and no wonder when the average price of homes sold continues to increase month after month. Increasingly, it's hard to find homes priced under $250,000.
- With the housing affordability index down by just under 10% in January 2016 alone, a strong argument can be made that home buyers should be making purchase decisions sooner rather than later.
The message for Charlotte region home sellers also remains what it was throughout 2015 and doesn't appear poised to change much in the coming 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. The days from list to closing in January were down 7.6% to 121 days as compared with January 2015.
- 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.
LOOKING FOR A HOME IN THE CHARLOTTE AREA? CAROLINAS REALTY PARTNERS CAN HELP!
WONDERING WHAT YOUR CHARLOTTE AREA HOME IS WORTH IN TODAY'S MARKET?
BECOME A CHARLOTTE ARE MARKET ISIDER FOR FREE!
SEARCH ALL CHARLOTTE AREA HOMES FOR SALE HERE
Want to stay on top of the market trends in your Charlotte metro neighborhood?
Sign up for your FREE Market Snapshot. You'll recieve the latest trends for your neighborhood for sold homes, properties for sale, inventory counts, and even "days-on-market". You can also view information regarding schools and community.
Comments(15)