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Demand for Charlotte homes should keep the market strong in 2020
With the new year upon us, we can expect demand for Charlotte homes to continue going strong. That said, inventory will remain the greatest challenge to home buyers. Builders struggle to meet demand, and while new construction has been on the rise, we’re not seeing enough new homes entering the market to meet buyers’ expectations. With mortgage rates remaining low, plus with favorable employment and wage trends, it’s safe to assume consumer demand will remain strong.
Here are the end of the year numbers, which pretty much look like the rest of 2019. As of December 31, 2019, the number of homes for sale in the greater Charlotte region plunged by 23.9%, or 2,331 units, leaving the number of months supply of homes for sale at 1.7, a drop of 29.2% from last year at this time. With this persistent decline in inventory, prices continued their march upward. December’s median sales price spiked by $28,675, or 12.1%, from last December. And the percentage of original price received crept up by .6%. The bottom line is that sellers know they can expect top dollar, or close to it, for their homes.
What does the new year promise? For one thing, the demand for homes shows no sign of diminishing. Also, the pressure on the existing market will ratchet up as the population grows. Thousands of families continue to relocate to North Carolina, which recent articles name as the third most popular state in the country for new arrivals, and the most popular in the South. On the other hand, as more baby boomers decide to downsize, we should see more homes listed for sale in the coming year. And many other existing homeowners will be motivated to sell as prices keep rising.
These are the overall numbers for the greater Charlotte Metro area. For more detail, see the reports for Charlotte, Matthews, and Huntersville.
