Low inventory continues to define the Charlotte real estate market.  The latest numbers for Mecklenburg County indicate a 2.7 month supply which is well below what is considered a balanced market of  6 months.  Sellers still have the upper hand.

Due to seasonality, this time of year we usually see the number of home sales fall into the winter months and prices tend to follow suit.  As expected, pending home sales have fallen indicating that the number of closings will fall this month and next.  However, prices actually jumped up in December.  The median home price jumped up 9% from the previous month and 17% from the same month last year.

I’ve been tracking these stats since 2003 and the biggest pattern that has never failed since I started is a jump in home prices from the winter months into the next summer.  With December home prices at near record highs, that means either that 2018 is going to be another year of large price gains or the pattern which has occurred 15 years in a row is about to break.  Being the data geek that I am, I’m betting on the price jump.  We may see the median price hit $300,000 in Charlotte this year.

This week we’ll publish our monthly E-Newsletter.  Here’s a quick summary when comparing the numbers for Mecklenburg single family home sales for December to the previous month, and the same month last year:

• Home sales are up 4% from last month, but down 4% from last year.
• Average sales price is up 6% from last month and 16% from last year.
• Median sales price is up 9% from last month and 17% from last year.
• Average price per square foot is up 6% from last month and 12% from last year.
• Average time on market is up 7% from last month, but down 13% from last year.
• Pending sales are down 16% from last month and down 5% from last year.
• Supply up 1% from last month, but down 11% from last year.
• Mortgage rates at about 3.95% are mostly unchanged from last month, but down from 4.2% last year.
• Average house payment is up 6% from last month and 13% from last year.