May 31, 2024

Contact: Kim Walker, 704-940-3149

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Home sales across the Catawba Valley Region in April were up 5.1 percent, closing out the month with 350 transactions up from 333 in April 2023. Additionally, the region saw a 10.1 percent increase from March 2024, accounting for 32 more closed sales and marking the third consecutive month over month increases in 2024. The sales data in this report is sourced from Canopy MLS and encompasses single-family homes, condos, and townhomes sold in Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, and Catawba Counties.

In April 2024, the market saw a notable 15.3 percent increase in new property listings compared to the previous year, adding 519 properties to the inventory. This was the first time since June 2022 that new listings in the region reached the 500s, helping to ease the persistent supply constraints. A significant contributor to this increase was new construction, accounting for 20 percent of the newly listed properties. Three of the four counties experienced growth in new listings, except for Alexander Co., which saw a slight decline of 2.9 percent year-over-year. Furthermore, the four-county region recorded a 7.0 percent increase in new listings in April compared to March 2024, translating to an additional 34 properties becoming available.

During April, the median sales price increased for the third consecutive month, reaching $288,500. This marks an 8.1 percent increase from April 2023 and a 1.6 percent rise over March 2024. In the Catawba Valley Region, the average sales price rose to $367,416, indicating a 13.8 percent annual increase and a 10.4 percent increase from the previous month's average of $332,697. Additionally, sellers secured sale prices very close to their asking prices, with the ratio of original list price to sales price averaging at 95.6 percent, slightly down by 1.2 percent from the previous year.

“In April, our region experienced much-needed relief with a significant increase in inventory, primarily due to a surge in new listings. This boost came as homeowners, dormant for years, started entering the market again.” said Karleta Smith, a Realtor®/broker with Keller Williams Denver and 2024 president of Catawba Valley Association of Realtors®. 

Continuing a recent trend in the region, buyer demand surged again in April 2024, with a 17.9 percent increase, translating to 409 pending sales. Contributing to this uptick was new construction with 15 percent of pending sales coming from new builds. Pending sales figures increased in Burke, Caldwell, and Catawba counties, while Alexander County's activity declined.

The April Showings report indicates that listings in the Catawba Valley Region averaged 4.4 showings per listing (or potential buyers), suggesting strong buyer interest. Catawba County led the region with an average of 5.0 showings per listing. Both Alexander and Burke Counties recorded 3.9 showings per listing, while Caldwell County saw an average of 3.5 showings per listing to close out the month. Newton (5.7), Hickory (5.5), and Morganton (4.5) all had high buyer interest this month.

Smith continued, “We entered 2024 optimistic that the Fed would continue to lower rates to allow market supply to increase, but rates have remained nearly unchanged so far and only slightly down from last year's highs. To meet demand, further reductions in mortgage rates are essential. Realtors® are well-equipped to assist both buyers and sellers needing to make immediate moves. Collaborating with a trusted agent who understands the local market and can help secure financing is crucial in this competitive climate. Although we hope for rate reductions, when they occur, prices may rise so in certain cases buying and selling now may be the best option with the option to refinance later when rates cool down.”

Properties in the region stayed on the market for an average of 46 days, marking the fourth consecutive month the duration has exceeded 40 days. This represents a modest 4.5 percent increase from March 2024 and a significant 48.4 percent year-over-year increase from an average of 31 days in April 2023. Within the four-county region, condos remained on the market the longest, averaging 49 days. Single-family homes were listed for an average of 35 days, while townhomes sold the quickest, spending just 27 days on the market before being sold.

The month ended with 772 properties on the market, marking a significant 37.4 percent increase from the prior year, which saw 562 properties for the month. Inventory for the region has been on the rise for eight months straight. Consequently, the months of supply grew by 35.3 percent resulting in 2.3 months, up from the 1.7 months recorded during the same timeframe in the previous year.

A closer look at sales across the four counties:
(Due to smaller sample sizes in counties where there is a smaller pool of listings, percentage increases or decreases may seem extreme)

Alexander County home sales in April experienced a 13.6 percent decrease from the previous year, with 19 homes sold compared to 22 sold in April of the prior year. Additionally, pending contract activity declined 25.9 percent with 20 homes under contract versus 27 homes under contract a year ago. New listing fell slightly 2.9 percent year-over-year as sellers brought 33 homes to market. Despite those declines, inventory rose to 53.7 percent with 63 available units compared to 41 the previous year. This equates to 2.9 months of supply which is up annually from 1.9 months of supply.

The median sales price of $310,000 was up 12.3 percent year-over-year while the average sales price of $377,179 increased by 7.2 percent compared to last year. Additionally, the average list price climbed 25.6 percent to $418,194 bringing the original list price to sales price measure up slightly to 97.5 percent. Days on market rose this month by 2.5 percent, as homes averaged 41 days on market until sale.

Burke County once again experienced increases in most metrics. The only decreases were found in the percent of original list price received with a slight 0.6 percent dip to 95.4 percent and average list price with a 3.4 percent decline to $355,283.

There was a substantial 84.9 percent increase in inventory level, with 172 properties available, equivalent to a 2.7 months supply, a 92.9% increase from 2023. Pending contract activity rose 2.5 percent with 81 homes under contract during April. New listings jumped 55.1 percent as sellers brought 107 homes to market compared to 69 in April 2023. Days on market was flat last month with 30 days until sale.

The median sales price experienced an increase of 24.9 percent from the previous year to $278,000. Additionally, the average sales rose by 31.9 percent to $368,300.

Caldwell County saw increases across all metrics except for the original list price received measure, which fell slightly from 0.5 percent to 96.1 percent. Pending sales rose 37 percent year-over-year with 74 homes in contract compared to 54 in April 2023. Closed sales jumped 4.5 percent year-over-year as 70 homes sold during the month compared to 67 in April 2023.

New listing activity increased 13.9 percent with 82 properties listed, versus 72 in 2023. Additionally, inventory rose 13.3 percent to 111 homes for sale at report time or 1.7 months of supply. The median sales price rose 10.9 percent to $238,500 while the average sales price climbed 7.4 percent to $292,108. During April, the average list price increased 39.2 percent to $406,309. Days on market until sale showed homes averaged 53 days on market versus 29 days on market in April 2023, an 82.8 percent increase. 

Catawba County closed sales decreased 9.9 percent in April 2024 as 188 homes sold compared to 171 that sold in April 2023, while pending contract activity increased 25.1 percent to 234 homes under contract during the month. New listings saw an 8.0 percent year-over-year climb to 297 homes listed compared to 275 that were newly listed in April 2023. Inventory rose 29.1 percent with 426 homes for sale at report time or 2.4 months of supply.

The median sales price decreased this month by 3.6 percent to $312,250 while the average sales price rose by 10.1 percent to $394,126. The average list price also increased this month by 7.9 percent to $427,893. This brought the original list price to sales price measure down to 95.3 percent compared to 97.4 percent in April 2023. Days on market jumped substantially 61.3 percent to 50 days in April 2024 versus 31 days on market in April 2023.

For more residential-housing market statistics, visit www.CarolinaHome.com and click on “Market Data.” For an interview with 2024 president of Catawba Valley Association of Realtors® Karleta Smith, Realtor®/Broker at Keller Williams Denver, please contact Kim Walker.

Canopy MLS is a wholly-owned subsidiary corporation of Canopy Realtor® Association and is the private broker cooperative used by Realtors® to bring buyers and sellers together with access to thousands of residential listings in a multicounty service area, including Charlotte, Asheville and Catawba Valley regions spanning across North Carolina, South Carolina and outside of the Carolinas. Canopy MLS, which has 21,000 subscribers, provides the most trustworthy, timely, accurate and complete property data along with proprietary tools for showings, market stats, predictive analytics, and more. Canopy MLS is used by its members to support consumers in their residential real estate transactions, whether selling, buying, investing or renting.