Wednesday marks the first day of autumn. The season change is here and the signs will start showing up all around us. Kids are back in school, stores are carrying pumpkins, the fall colors are soon to appear and the real estate market begins to slow down as holidays approach. 2021 has been a wild year in real estate as low inventory, low rates and “Covid purchases” are driving home prices up at much higher than normal rates.

So in this second year of the pandemic, will seasonality of the real estate market take place like usual? Well, the end of summer stats (for August) are out and there are two early indicators that may suggest some cooling off ahead. First, inventory has increased 7% from the prior month. Second, pending home sales are down 8% from last month and 13% from last year.

While existing homeowners are loving the rapid increases in the value of their homes, the low inventory and rising prices are causing many owners to hesitate in selling out of fear that they won’t find a place to go. A slowing pace of sales (pending sales) should result in rising inventory, which will eventually slow the rapid change in prices and offer those owners more confidence about next steps. This will take time however.

The good news is that there are still plenty of homes for sale. Buyers just have to be ready to act quickly. We can help so give us a call if you find yourself in this situation. In the meantime, here are this month’s stats for single family homes in Mecklenburg County for August compared to the prior month and the same month last year:

• Home sales are up 3% from last month, but down 3% from last year.
• Average sales price is up 1% from last month and 15% from last year.
• Median sales price is up 3% from last month and 19% from last year.
• Average price per square foot is down 2% from last month, but up 19% from last year.
• The average sales/list price ratio is currently 103%
• Average time on market is down 15% from last month and 62% from last year.
• Supply is up 7% from last month, but down 20% from last year.
• Mortgage rates at 2.84% are down slightly from last month and down from 2.94% last year.
• Average house payment is about even with last month, but up 14% from last year.

Happy Fall Y’all!

Photo by Stephanie Krist on Unsplash