Charlotte Real Estate Market in 2020

Buying or selling? Here’s how the Charlotte Real Estate market may affect you

Perhaps the number one question Realtors get is “how is the Charlotte real estate market ?” Followed by: “when is the best time to sell or buy?” Whether you are looking to buy a new home or sell your current home this year, the best place to start is by diving into as much information as you can get your hands on, so you can create an effective game plan for your journey. Let’s start by discussing the state of the Charlotte real estate market in 2020.

Photo by Daniel Weiss

Charlotte, NC ranked 2nd fastest-growing city

According to the Charlotte Observer, everyone from big business owners to small families around the country have their eye on Charlotte as a possible relocation destination. Our little southern banking town isn’t so little anymore, and it’s certainly not just a banking hub these days. The north side of South Boulevard was merely warehouses and old mills over a decade ago; but now, it’s a bustling metropolitan hot spot full of activity. If you were seeing it for the first time in 10 years, you wouldn’t recognize it at all.

Charlotte Real Estate statistics

According to the MLS, 2019 ended with a flurry of housing activity. From December 2018 to December 2019, home sales grew by 17.2%.  During the year of 2019, 50,854 properties sold in the Charlotte region, which was a 5.9% increase from 2018.

The 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.

Demand still increasing

Pending sales, which continue to show tremendous demand from buyers, increased by 8.9% from 2018 to 2019. December figures showed demand soared upwards by 22.3% compared to last December as buyers continue to seek homes across the region.

Still a “seller’s market”

Prices continued to respond to strong seller’s market conditions, with the average list price in 2019 ($333,290) rising 4.6% over 2018’s average list price. The original list price to sales price measure for the year was 96.7%. The average sales price in 2019 rose 5.9 % compared to 2018 to $303,722, while the median sales price, a better measure of prices over time, rose 7.1% to $255,000.

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Inventory steadily decreasing

“Despite the slower activity during the first half of 2019, it’s truly turned out to be a record-breaking year of sales,”said 2020 Association/Canopy MLS president John Kindbom. “With sales in 2019 up nearly six percent over 2018, and with the phenomenal activity we saw during the month of December, it looks like the spring market has started early.”John Kindbom 2020 MLS President.

The new listing activity has been challenged for some time now, with offers being placed almost as soon as a listing is published. Listing activity for all of 2019 was essentially unchanged compared to 2018, rising 1.7% with 61,069 total new listings at year’s end. This will continue to impact inventory, which declined 23.9% in December and left the Charlotte region with 7,416 properties for sale at report time, or 1.7 months of supply. A year ago, in December 2018 the region had 9,747 properties for sale, or 2.4 months of supply.

Days on the market: holding steady

For all of 2019, the average number of days a property was on the market from the time it was listed until it closed (list to close) was 93 days, which is unchanged compared to December 2018. Days on Market, the metric that accrues for “Active”and “Under Contract-Show”statuses, averaged 43 days in 2019.

This excerpt was from Canopy Realtor® Association, which is a trade association that provides its more than 12,200 Realtor® members with the resources and services they need to conduct ethical, professional, successful and profitable businesses. The Association is dedicated to being the region’s primary resource for residential real estate information. The Association operates Canopy MLS, which has more than 17,800 subscribers and is the private cooperative Realtors® use for access to tens of thousands of residential listings in a 24-county service area, including Charlotte, the mountains area of North Carolina, South Carolina, and beyond.

Realtor Danielle Edwards: Thoughts on the market

This time last year was really slow for many Charlotte Realtors. This year proves to be different as just one week into the new year, I have one listing and 3 pending buyer transactions.  I would say 2020 is off to a great start.  Interest rates are at a great place for buyers and many sellers are taking advantage of that to sell and relocate.  In the Charlotte real estate market we see a lot of homeowners downsizing into senior living, townhomes, or opting to move to the mountains or beach.

Buying vs. Selling in Charlotte

A realtor most often wears two hats, listing agent and buyers agent. Here is a link to the working agents brochure if you want to familiarize yourself with how that works.

Why do I need a buyers agent?

Excellent question! Did you know that buyers’ agency wasn’t created until the 1980s? Prior to that, all agents represented the seller.  I can’t imagine!  Here are a few quick reasons you need a buyers agent:

1. They are experts in the home buying process and guide you through each step
2. Good agents can point out the negatives or any potential red flags in a home for resale
3. They are highly knowledgeable on what’s legal and what’s not
4. They negotiate repairs by leveraging their contacts when needed to provide “expert advice” on certain issues
5. A good agent has your back while you’re busy. They’ll be hard at work problem solving and getting all documents lined up for you when your day-to-day life needs your attention
6. They have YEARS and hundreds of hours of training behind them to handle the craziness of unexpected scenarios you have no idea exist.
7. They are paid by the seller. Yep, buyers agents are at NO cost to you!

Why do I need a listing agent?

With a slew of online firms entering a market, it stands to reason that a seller will want to check out their options when it comes to listing their home. I think it comes down to one word. Service.  Do you want a one-size-fits-all approach to selling your home? Or do you want to try to sell your home for top dollar and leverage your property?  It amazes me how often small upgrades can truly change the appeal of a home. Do you want to do all the work? Or do you want someone to do it for you? It’s as simple as that.

There are so many factors to consider.  If you are considering interviewing Realtors, I would be happy to meet with you to discuss the role of a Realtor and what sets me apart.  Visit Soldondanielle.com for video testimonials from my clients.

Danielle Edwards
DrivenDanielle@gmail.com
704.604.2999

Thank you for CMLS for the data used in this blog.  Canopy Realtor® Association is a trade association that provides its more than 12,200 Realtor® members with the resources and services they need to conduct ethical, professional, successful and profitable businesses. The Association is dedicated to being the region’s primary resource for residential real estate information. The Association operates Canopy MLS, which has more than 17,800 subscribers and is the private cooperative Realtors® use for access to tens of thousands of residential listings in a 24-county service area, including Charlotte, the mountains area of North Carolina, South Carolina, and beyond.