Seasonality plays a large factor in the Charlotte real estate market.  I’ve been tracking the stats closely now for nine years and watched the same seasonal patterns year after year.  Each year home sales and prices both peak in the summer months and valley in winter.  This should come as no surprise and 2013 is going to be no exception.  The real estate market in Charlotte has just about reached a full recovery and average prices hit an all time high this past summer.  However, the most recent stats show that the surge is coming to end and a fall slowdown is eminent.

This week we will send out our monthly E-Newsletter and will report the statistics for September as compared to the prior month and the same month last year.  Here is a sneak peak:

–  Home sales are down 17% from last month but up 14% from last year.

–  Average sales price is down 5% from last month but up 9% from last year.

–  Median sales price is down 8% from last month but up 5% from last year.

–  Average price per square foot is down 1% from last month, but up 10% from last year.

–  Average time on market is down 5% from last month and down 27% from last year.

–  Pending home sales are down 7% from last month and down 3% from last year.

–  Supply is down 1% from last month and down 22% from last year.

–  Interest rates are relatively unchanged from last month, but are up a full point from last year.

–  Average monthly payment is down 5% from last month, but up 24% from last year.

With pending sales down slightly from last month and also from last year, we can expect the year to finish softer than the rest of the year and, likely, with similar sales as in last year’s finishing months.  However, there is no cause for panic that the market is heading back into negative territory.  Supply current hovers right at six months which is considered a balanced market.  As long as that holds firm, we can expect a “normal” market.  But then again, normal is not something we’ve seen for many, many years.