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REview: The Triangle Remains a Seller's Market Main Photo

REview: The Triangle Remains a Seller's Market


Posted: April 24, 2019 by Bryan Selser

Buying or selling a home is one of the most emotional times of our lives. And, in this day and age with so much information flowing so readily, it can also be one of the most confusing.

I wanted to take some of the mystery away and explain some of the recent news we are seeing about the real estate market.

First, it is important to understand that the Triangle has been one of the most competitive markets in the nation. Our location has been desirable to incoming businesses which continues to fuel a growing population that enjoys our incredible and diverse communities. This has led to a decrease of available homes, increased sales and rising prices.

Our market is very different from what the National Association of Realtors reports is occurring across the nation. NAR just reported in its monthly Existing Home Sales Report that sales dropped in March over last year by 5.4%.

But, on the positive side, the number of available homes rose by 2.4% to 1.68 million equating to a 3.9 month supply. This is great news because the lack of inventory has created a supply vs. demand imbalance that drove the March median price (the middle of all homes sold in March) to $259,400, up 3.8% over last March.

How do we compare?

There were 3,414 home sales in the region in March, up 1.4% over last year according to Triangle MLS. These homes sold at a median price of $269,900, about $10,000 more than the national figure. The average time it took to sell these homes was 37 days, just about the same as the 36 days NAR reported. We also saw a decline in inventory of 4.2% to 7,595 homes currently on the market, just a 2.3 month supply.

And in Raleigh itself, the numbers show the city to be one of the tightest markets in the nation. There are only 1,288 homes currently available, an extremely low 1.7 month supply which was lower than last year by 5.6%. The average time on market for the 751 homes sold in March was just 26 days, one day quicker than last March. And the median sales price was also higher by 1.9% to $275,000.

Clearly, we remain a seller’s market where buyers do not have a wide variety to choose from and continue to be met with a supply vs. demand challenge that is driving competition and prices up.

I was therefore a bit puzzled to see that Trulia recently reported that Raleigh was one of the markets quickly turning to a buyer’s market.

I just don’t see that right now.

Even when comparing a variety of factors through the start of 2019 compared to the first three months of 2018, all stats are positive or negligible decline.

For instance, sales in the region are up 3.1% over last year while median prices are up 2.3%. The time it takes to sell a home increased by just one day to 40. Looking only at Raleigh, sales are up 2.5% and median price is up 4.1%

Even the important list price-to-sales price ratio has remained steady at 98%. This number provides keen insight because it shows how the original listing price was received by the buyer’s community. In our case, a home listed for $300,000 is selling for a really close $294,000.

With this said, please know that every community is different and I wanted to share a chart of how our communities are doing:

Community

March sales

% change over 3/18

March median price

% change over 3/18

Months inventory

Days on Market

Cary

453

+9.4%

$375,255

+0.1%

2.0

35

Chapel Hill/Carrboro

139

-11.5%

$373,500

-1.9%

3.0

39

Durham County

451

+2.0%

$262,000

+1.2%

1.4

30

Garner

104

-7.1%

$265,000

+12.5%

1.6

30

Johnston County

437

+16.2%

$227,000

+1.1%

2.1

35

Orange County

139

-15.2%

$300,000

-4.6%

2.5

34

Raleigh

751

+2.6

$275,000

+1.9%

1.7

26

Wake County

1,737

+3.1%

$310,000

+1.6%

2.0

32

Wake Forest

175

+1.7%

$318,000

-4.4%

3.1

42


Looking at the numbers, it appears that we remain in a seller’s market where an increase of inventory is greatly needed to satisfy demand.

I would love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to reach out to me at rgregory@cbadvantage.com.

And, of course, our nearly 400 agents are here to help!

 

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