Mid May is typically the tail end of the busy spring selling season in the Charlotte real estate market. Summer is almost here which means kids will be getting out of school and summer vacations will begin. Sales activity that usually peaks right around now doesn’t show up in the market data for a few more months. When a buyer and seller reach agreement and go “under contract,” the final details aren’t reported until a month or two later when the sale closes. This spring activity has picked up relative to the months prior and we are already seeing some new records, so it will be interesting to see how those records continue to push upward as spring contracts turn into closings.

Most notably, inflation is still holding at around 3.4% and the Fed is not expected to cut rates anytime soon, leaving the current rate for a 30 year fixed mortgage around 7%. Low housing supply is keeping real estate prices on an upward trend, with the average price in Mecklenburg County hitting $666,294 for single family homes. The combination of higher rates and higher prices has resulted in a record high, average mortgage payment. This doesn’t mean that buying a home is getting out of reach for most buyers, but it does mean that an expectation “reset” might be necessary.

Real estate is still the best way to build wealth and those who own real estate are feeling that in a big way right now. For those that want to buy, the reset means either increasing budget or lowering expectations about the house one can afford. Either one is a good solution. What’s not a great solution is waiting because with the low supply, affordability isn’t likely to improve anytime soon. Wealth building should not be put on hold.

As always, the monthly housing stats are posted on our website. Here’s a sneak peak when comparing single family home sales in Mecklenburg County from April to the previous month, and the same month last year. Here’s a sneak peak:

• Home sales are even with last month, but down 4% from last year.
• Average sales price is up 6% from last month and 11% from last year.
• Median sales price is up 4% from last month and 6% from last year.
• Average price per square foot is up 5% from last month and 9% from last year.
• List to sales price ratio remains consistent at 100%.
• Average time on market is down 23% from last month and 23% from last year.
• Pending sales are down 1% from last year and 16% from last year.
• Housing supply is up 18% from last month and 73% from last year.
• Mortgage rates at 7.02% are up from 6.88% last month and 6.35% last year.
• Average house payment is up 8% from last month and 19% from last year.

Photo by Yoksel 🌿 Zok on Unsplash