During her guest appearance on WCNC-NBC’s Charlotte Today, Nancy Braun, owner and broker-in-charge of Showcase Realty, shared valuable insights on the current condition of the Charlotte real estate market and what it means for home buyers and sellers now as we enter the winter market.
With hot real estate markets like Charlotte primed as the preferred destination for Millenials, Downsizing Empty Nesters, Relocators, Executives and others, Nancy expressed that it’s important to use an experienced and knowledgeable real estate agent to help make an informed decision on when to sell or where to buy to fit in with your specific needs.
At present, the Charlotte market is at an all-time high, however, there are fewer homes for sale right now. There are several reasons for this, including the fact that millennials (the present generation of potential first time home buyers) are delaying buying their first homes. As a result, there are just a few move-up buyers. What is interesting, according to Nancy, is that Millenials are buying higher priced-homes after saving up, and are skipping the lower cost starter homes. This fact is apparent in the reduction of home inventory for move-up buyers.
Nancy mentions that there are fewer homes to sell at present. And with buyers looking to relocate, there’s bound to be some competition. Aside from the millennials, the baby boomers are also in the market as they seek to downsize.
For sellers, Nancy recommends that it’s best not to wait for spring before listing a home for sale. It’s better to put it on the market now because of the low inventory. For buyers, she suggests that they should pay more attention to interest rates because it’s the one thing that really drives the cost to the house. In fact, it’s more relevant than the actual purchase price because it affects how much the buyer is going to spend on the purchase in the long run.
Although interest rates are still historically low, buyers should act fast because they have been gradually rising, and are expected to continue to do so.
Nancy also offers a Home Buyer Guarantee. If you purchase a property with her team and within 12 months you decide you don’t love the home, then they’ll sell it for free. Get in touch with them today to know more about the Home Buyer Guarantee and the conditions that apply.
If you’re looking for real estate experts who know the ins and outs of the Charlotte real estate market, there’s only one team you can trust — Nancy Braun and her team of agents at Showcase Realty. Call them today at 704-488-3109 and experience unparalleled real estate service.
For our home buyer and seller experiences, please feel free to have a look at our customer reviews at https://showcaserealty.net/reviews/
Eugene Robinson: Well Charlotte’s Real Estate market is booming. In fact, it’s at an all-time high. So what does that mean for buyers and sellers? We welcome Nancy Braun with Showcase Realty to the show. Hello, Nancy! How are you doing?
Nancy: Good morning!
Eugene Robinson: Well good! Okay, let’s talk about the market is really at an all-time high, the economy is growing right here in Charlotte. However, why are less and less homes on the market right now?
Nancy: This is a quagmire for the entire country. We don’t have enough homes to sell, and it’s causing a lot of troubles for buyers because there's tons of buyers out there. Tons of people moving to Charlotte, the economy is very strong, but we just don’t have the inventory, so a lot of different factors are in play, the millennials kinda held out. They didn’t go ahead in buying their first time homes, so there. We don’t have the move up buyers, we have the people that are just kinda hovering and so, they’re not selling those homes - those initial, first time homes cause they never bought them. So a lot of hedge funds came in during recession, bought a lot of first time homes, they’re holding on to them, they haven’t sold them. So we’re missing the inventory, which is really affecting our real estate market.
Eugene Robinson: But this is not, this is not the exact size at all? It’s just like, you kinda don’t know what to expect in that?
Nancy: No, we don’t know, but there’s, you know, everywhere I go, people always ask me, “How’s the market?” That’s the cocktail question of the day when you’re a Realtor®. Everyone says, “How’s the market?” And the market in Charlotte, except for the recession, has always been extremely strong, and it’s just been growing and growing since the recession. It’s been, really, really hot. But the reason why we’re selling less homes is cause there’s not much to sell.
Eugene Robinson: Okay, but here, does buyers still looking to relocate there, right?
Nancy: That’s right. There are buyers that are looking to relocate. The millennials are coming back into the market now. But they’re actually looking at their second-home price range, as opposed to looking in the first time home price range, cause they waited, at least six years than, what is normally the factor. We also have, this is really common for me right now, is people that are trying to downsize. The baby boomers are trying to get rid of that mammoth home, get rid of some of the obligations of a large home, the maintenance of a large home, the large land. They want a smaller home, one story, so they can go travel. They don’t have to be, you know, burdened by maintaining a big house so, they are also in the market.
Eugene Robinson: Yeah, but that is one of the misnomers because I’ve always thought this. That you have to wait for springtime to go ahead and sell your home, but you’re saying that’s not true based on the landscape you just showed me.
Nancy: No, I would absolutely not wait for the springtime. And I’ve actually been proponent of listing homes to now. The market is very, very strong, and there’s less inventory out there. Typically it’s less inventory because people wait till the spring. But if you’re waiting till spring, when you’re waiting for all the flowers to bloom, you’re gonna actually put your house in the market when everyone else does. But the buyers are always there. So won't you rather be the one that puts your house in the market when there’s less inventory than have all that competition?
Eugene Robinson: Oh, absolutely I wanna have less inventory and all that competition I wouldn’t see. Okay what about the interest rate? The interest rate right now is low and that governs a lot based on what everybody does, based on interest rates. So what does that mean for buyers and sellers and what does that mean for the future?
Nancy: Right. So, it’s interesting when I’m working with the buyer. They’re so focused on getting their price. So they might be worrying about a couple thousand, five thousand or ten thousand dollars off the price. But they don’t focus on the interest rate. The interest rate is the one that really drives the cost to the house over the thirty years or however long you’re gonna live there. It’s much more relevant than the actual purchase price because it affects how much you’re gonna be spending on that purchase. So, the interest rates are still, historically low, but they are, they have been gradually rising.
Eugene Robinson: So they’re moving up gradually?
Nancy: They have been moving up and, all the economists are anticipating that interest rates are gonna continue to rise. So, if you are thinking about buying, I would suggest you buy sooner, cause that affects your buying power, how much you can afford on a monthly basis.
Eugene Robinson: And what does that buying power, typically here in Charlotte, what does buying power look like right now for people?
Nancy: So, the buyers are, it settled down a little bit. It’s not as crazy as spring where we’re getting 20 offers on a listing and, you know, people were just, overbidding. Now it’s kinda calm down a little so it’s better for buyers and, they just have to be patient and wait for the right house to come up because, it might not be right there, right then. But it’s certainly if I were in the market to be buying and I’m using a mortgage I would say, “I’d rather buy with a lower mortgage rate than wait for the mortgage rate to go up.” Cause we know it’s gonna go up.
Eugene Robinson: That’s why we need somebody like Nancy who can go ahead and go through all the nuances, all the details, look at the, all the different comps, the inspections, due diligence, all the stuff that you don’t think that you need to know about, she knows about. Nancy also has a book, that answers all these questions, all your questions, that’s called the No Holds Barred Guide to Buying and Selling Your Home in the Carolinas. I love that. For your free copy, and I said free copy, visit ExpertHomeHelp.com. Or, this is what you need to do. You call Nancy. Give her a call at 704-488-3109. I’m saying the number again, 704-488-3109. There’s a lot of things that you don’t know that she does know, and you need her brain to get that. Thank you very much, Nancy.
Nancy: Thank you. Thank you so much.
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