September 12, 2022

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Housing market conditions across the 16-county Charlotte region continued to trend down in August, due in large part to mortgage rates topping 6 percent this summer and continuing to eat away at purchasing power. Sales in August were down 22 percent year-over-year with 4,393 closings, reflecting eight consecutive months of declines. Month-over-month sales compared to July were up 3.3 percent. Housing statistics included in this report are completed transactions that include single-family and condo/townhomes only, according to data from Canopy MLS.

Contract activity continues to be weak, falling 18 percent year-over-year as a little more than 4,600 homes went under contract during the month.  Contract activity rose slightly, 2.9 percent, when compared to the previous month. Canopy MLS showing reports, which gauge foot traffic through the number of showings per listing, continue to reflect increasing buyer interest into areas with more affordable homes, typically in outlying counties and towns. In August for example, reports show buyers are looking in areas like Stanly, Lincoln, Iredell, Cabarrus, Anson and Alexander Counties and as far east as the town of Salisbury. 

New listing activity showed sellers less engaged, as new listings fell for a second month, down 15.2 percent with 5,175 homes coming to market in August. New listings are down 13 percent month-over-month. The region needs to see consistent listing activity in order to ease inventory challenges, which rose 25.8 percent year-over-year in August, leaving a little more than 6,700 homes for sale or 1.5 months of supply.  A year ago, during the same period, the region had a little over a month of supply. The subtle but steady changes in supply will help to cool rapid price appreciation over time.

“The current level of buyer activity our market has been experiencing this summer is similar to buyer activity we saw during the summer of 2019, which was actually a more sustainable market, said Lee Allen, Canopy Realtor® Association/Canopy MLS president. “This year we’ve seen a healthy number of sales each month occurring across the region, just not at the level of sales in 2021.  When considering the rapid pace of the market and severe inventory challenges that made the market extremely competitive in 2021, I think we will conclude that 2021 was an unusual year and definitely doesn’t reflect a healthy sustainable market, and certainly not one we can compare today’s activity to.”

Prices however continued to rise in August, as both the median sales price ($388,505) and the average sales price ($459,272) rose 16.7 percent and 16.9 percent year-over-year respectively, while the average list price rose 16.7 percent to $459,697. This brought the original list price received to sales price ratio to 98.5 percent.  This figure continues to slowly fall and is down 3 percent when compared to August 2021. It was as high as 102.8 percent in May 2022 but has steadily fallen since.  Canopy MLS reported that price reduction on listings have started to increase, which means that buyers are starting to gain some leverage. Pricing tends to be key for sellers, as the right price yields buyers and less time on market for the home, however a look at the number of price reductions in August on listed properties across the Charlotte MSA, continues to show a significant increase in price reductions, 157 percent year-over-year, since the market started to shift this past spring. 

“Allen continues, “Buying a home still remains a solid investment and the key to building wealth. Although rising rates have put the brakes on the market, rates are still historically low. We continue to see more inventory come on line each month, which means buyers have more choices. Realtors® have the insight and tools to help buyers and sellers achieve their goals.

Time on market continues to increase, but still shows homes selling at a very rapid pace, leaving buyers little time for negotiation. List to close which totaled 68 days in August 2021, increased to 73 days in August 2022, while days on market, the metric that accrues for “Active” and “Under-contract-show” statuses, showed homes averaged 19 days on market until sale, which is a slight increase from 15 days on market in August 2021. 

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 and four counties in South Carolina. 

For more residential-housing market statistics, visit www.CarolinaHome.com and click on “Market Data.” For an interview with 2022 Association/Canopy MLS President Lee Allen, Realtor®/Broker-in-charge with RE/MAX Executive, 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.