November 21, 2024

Contact: Kim Walker, 704-940-3149

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Home sales across the Charlotte region and MSA rebounded in October, rising by 1.7 percent compared to closed sales a year ago, with 3,352 homes sold across the 16-county region.  Month-over-month closed sales were up 4.4 percent compared to September 2024.  The rise in closings comes after two consecutive months (August and September) of year-over-year declining sales activity due to stubbornly higher mortgage rates that rose as high as 7.2 percent in May and remained that way throughout the summer selling season, until August when they dipped to 6.4 percent. Mortgage rates cooled a bit in September, falling as low as 6.08 percent, according to data from the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED), bringing buyers back into the market and driving contract activity higher as a result. Canopy MLS sales included in this report represent single-family, condo, and townhome sales only.

Pending contract activity in October rose 23.6 percent year-over-year as buyers took advantage of lower mortgage rates, driving 3,722 homes into under-contract status during the month. Contract activity compared to September was up 4.8 percent.  October showing reports, which track buyer foot traffic, showed buyer interest was strongest in Matthews where listings averaged 5.6 showings (or potential buyers) per listing, followed by Fort Mill, SC where listings averaged 5.1 showings per listing, and Waxhaw, where listings averaged 4.9 showings per listing.  Kannapolis also drew strong buyer interest, with listings averaging 4.8 showings per listing last month.

Charisma Southerland, 2024 president of Canopy Realtor® Association/Canopy MLS and Realtor®/broker with Allen Tate Company said, “Rates moving lower and dipping to 6 percent in late August and September, brought buyers and sellers back to the market, resulting in more new listings, pending and closed sales this past month. However, when the average mortgage rate for existing homeowners is 3.5 percent, many would-be homebuyers are choosing not to sell and take on a new mortgage at close to double that rate. This factor will continue to contribute to slower sales and market dynamics.”

New listing activity rose 7.2 percent in October as 4,481 new listings were brought to the market compared to a little more than 4,100 listings added during the same period a year ago. Month-over-month new listing activity was down 4.4 percent.

Still, October’s new listing activity contributed to a 33.6 percent increase year-over-year in inventory, bringing the number of active listings to 9,289 homes for sale; while supply increased 35 percent from two months of supply in October 2023 to 2.7 months of supply this past October.  Both supply and inventory stalled a bit in October, with little change in either metric month-over-month, which means supply is still not at a healthy level to meet current buyer demand, and the market still highly favors sellers.

With demand rising significantly in October, prices inched higher. The median sales price ($395,000) and the average sales price ($492,068) increased 3.9 percent and 5.7 percent year-over-year respectively, while the average list price increased 4.9 percent to $510,373. This brought the original list price to sales price measure down slightly (-1.5%) to 95.9 percent.

Price reductions across the MSA, which rose nearly 42 percent compared to October 2023 continue to show the difficulty sellers are having pricing homes for the current market, giving buyers some leverage.

The time that homes spent on the market continued to increase in October, allowing buyers more time to negotiate. The average number of days a property was on the market from the time it was listed until close (List to Close), increased by 8.6 percent year-over-year to 88 days compared to 81 days in October 2023, while the “Days on Market” metric, which accounts for both “Active” and “Under-contract-show” statuses, increased 28.1 percent to 41 days in October, compared to 32 days on market in October 2023. 

Mecklenburg County home sales activity also rose in October, by 4.7 percent year-over-year as a little over 1,200 homes closed, compared to 1,153 the previous year. Compared to September, sales rose 3.9 percent. Contract activity, which gauges buyer demand, rose 20.3 percent year-over-year as 1,327 homes went under contract during the month; 224 more than last October.  Compared to September, contract activity was up 7.1 percent. New listings rose a modest 2.4 percent as sellers brought 1,522 new listings to the market, boosting both inventory and supply.  Inventory at report time rose 37.3 percent year-over-year to 2,870 homes for sale equating to 2.3 months of supply.  Supply for the county is up 43.8 percent compared to last year’s 1.6 months of supply. Still, with demand rising amidst low supply, prices increased.  Both the median sales price ($446,000) and the average sales price ($589,929) increased 2.6 percent and 3.7 percent year-over-year respectively, while the average list price in Mecklenburg County rose 5.3 percent to $617,641. The original list price to sales price measure was down slightly, 1.6 percent to 96.7 percent, as sellers still received nearly all of asking prices, while days on market increased 20.7 percent and showed homes averaged 35 days on market until sale.  

Southerland added, “Lower mortgage rates give buyers, particularly first-time buyers more purchasing power. Unfortunately, mortgages just got a little more expensive as Freddie Mac rates in mid-November increased to 6.78 percent; with 20 percent down, a monthly mortgage payment is $2,082 on a home priced at $400,000, while September’s low rate of 6.2 percent yielded a monthly mortgage payment of $1,960 with 20 percent down. Buyers looking for increased affordability can find opportunities in Charlotte’s growing townhome and condo market. Townhome inventory increased by 46 percent in October across a number of price points, while condo inventory grew by 83 percent year-over-year.”

The city of Charlotte’s home sales in October increased by 4.3 percent year-over-year as 963 homes sold, 40 more than during the previous year.  Pending contract activity increased 22.9 percent year-over-year showing buyers’ strong interest in living in the city. New listing activity was on par with listing activity this time last year, rising 1.6 percent year-over-year as sellers brought 1,244 homes to market compared to 1,224 new listings added in October 2023. Inventory rose 33.6 percent to 2,329 homes for sale or 2.3 months of supply. Last October the city’s supply was critically low at 1.7 months of supply. The median sales price increased a modest 1.2 percent to $420,500 while the average sales price increased 4 percent to $557,061. The average list price rose 3.4 percent to $584,722 which brought the original list price to sales price down 1.7 percent to 96.8 percent.  Days on market increased 25.9 percent and showed homes averaged 34 days on market until sale compared to 27 days on market in October 2023.

Southerland continued, “Mortgage rates will continue to fluctuate but buyers who are ready to purchase should not hesitate or wait for the perfect rate; they should talk with their agent about Canopy MLS’s Down Payment Resource tool. More than 80 percent of properties in the MLS are eligible for some type of down payment and closing cost assistance, and programs cap at $760K; so, it's not just for lower-priced homes. The DPR tool matches eligible buyers to programs from a database of more than 2,200 local, state, and national homebuyer programs, helping buyers reach the closing table with a mortgage they can afford.”

Canopy Realtor^® Association provides monthly reports on residential real estate market activity for the Charlotte region based on data from Canopy MLS. The Charlotte region, which this report is based on, includes 12 counties in North Carolina (Alexander, Cabarrus, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Stanly, and Union) and four counties in South Carolina (Chester, Chesterfield, Lancaster and York).

For more residential housing market statistics, visit www.CarolinaHome.com and click on “Market Data.” For an interview with 2024 Association/Canopy MLS President Charisma Southerland, Realtor®/Broker with Allen Tate Company, please contact Kim Walker.

Canopy Realtor® Association owns and operates Canopy MLS, the region’s primary source for accurate and timely property data in a multicounty service area including the Charlotte MSA, Asheville MSA and Catawba Valley region spanning across North Carolina and South Carolina to outside the Carolinas. Canopy MLS provides the latest technology, tools and analytics that Realtors® utilize to support consumers with their residential real estate transactions.