Feb. 22, 2023

Contact: Kim Walker, 704-940-3149

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Catawba Valley region’s home sales in January declined 32.1 percent year-over-year as 228 homes sold across the four-county region. Month-over-month sales were down 19.1 percent as seasonality and a slower pace of sales returns to the region. January’s sales are on par with home sales at the start of 2019.

Housing statistics included in this report are completed transactions that include single-family and condo/townhomes only, according to data from Canopy MLS.

Pending contracts which signal buyer demand rose slightly, 0.6 percent year-over-year, as 334 homes went under contract during the month. Pending contract activity tends to be a good predictor of future sales, in that they tend to close within 45-60 days.  Contract activity compared to December rose 43.1 percent year-over-year, which is a strong sign of buyer demand with the spring selling season, still a month or so away. 

New listings were nearly on par with listing activity at the start of 2022, falling 1.9 percent year-over-year as sellers listed 304 homes for sale compared to 310 in January 2023. New listings are up 32.2 percent month-over-month, which should continue to help improve inventory.

“Even though sales are slower than previous years, current sales continue to reflect our market trying to normalize” said Emily Wood, a Realtor®/broker with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Foothills and president of Catawba Valley Association of Realtors®. “The surprise this month was the slight increase in contract activity, which could be an indications that buyers may be dealing with competition and even some multiple offer situations during the spring selling season.”

Inventory at report time, across the four counties was tight, but increased 31.5 percent year-over-year to 501 homes for sale compared to 381 homes for sale at the start of 2022.  Months of supply increased 40 percent to 1.4 months in January.  Low supply this spring will continue to pressure prices, just ahead of the selling season.

Both the median sales price ($264,950) and the average sales price ($302,340) rose 15.2 percent and 13.5 percent year-over-year respectively, while the average list price increased 3.2 percent to $325,012. This brought the original list price to sales price measure down 2.3 percent, to 95.5 percent in January.

Wood continued, “Prices are unfortunately being impacted by the lack of inventory and continue rising as a result. Realtors® can help buyers navigate a number of programs being offered by lenders like 2-1 Buydowns, which help buyers increase affordability. But the market is still slowly changing, and sellers are not in the same strong position they’ve held for the past few years. Sellers will have to continue to reset their expectations. Homes priced well and in excellent condition will attract buyers and should sell quickly.”

Homes spent more time on market in January.  List to close increased 21.5 percent to 96 days compared to 79 days in January 2022, while days on market, the metric that accrues for “Active” and “Under-contract-show” statuses, showed homes averaged 36 days on market until sale compared to 26 days on market in January 2022.
 

A closer look at sales across the four counties at yearend 2022

Alexander County had 13 sales in January compared to 27 sales in January 2022, a year-over-year decline of 51.9 percent, while pending contracts showed 22 homes under contract in January compared to 25 during the same period last year, a decline of 12 percent year-over-year.  New listings were down 23.1 percent as 20 homes were listed during the month, compared to 26 listed at the start of 2022. Inventory at report time showed 31 homes for sale compared to 34 homes for sale a year ago, or 1.2 months of supply. Both the median sales price ($257,000) and the average sales price ($275,554) rose 10.5 percent and 4.2 percent year-over-year respectively, while the average list price declined 8.8 percent to $268,905. This brought the original list price to sales price measure to 91.2 percent, which is down from 99.2 percent a year ago.  Days on market showed homes averaged 54 days on market until sale compared to 21 days on market at the start of January 2022.

Burke County home sales declined 44.3 percent year-over-year as 44 homes sold compared to 79 that sold in January 2022. Pending contracts declined 2.7 percent year-over-year as 73 homes went under contract during the month, compared to 75 under contract this time last year. New listings increased 7.7 percent as sellers listed 70 homes for sale compared to 65 homes listed during the same period last year. Inventory at report time increased 13 percent to 104 homes for sale or 1.4 months of supply. This time last year Burke had 1.1 months of supply.  Prices increased dramatically. Both the median sales price ($254,500) and the average sales price ($316,542) rose 23.5 percent and 33.5 percent year-over-year respectively, while the average list price increased 8.7 percent year-over-year to $335,084. This brought the original list price to sales price measure to 95.3 percent while days on market increased 13.9 percent to 41 days on market in January versus 36 days on market in January 2022.

Caldwell County home sales in 2022 totaled 821, a decline of 9.3 percent year-over-year while pending contracts showed 809 homes went under contract last year, a decline of 10 percent year-over-year. New listings for all of 2022 totaled 948 a slight drop of 2.6 percent year-over-year while. Inventory at report time showed 86 homes for sale or 1.3 months of supply compared to last year at report time when there was only 30 days of supply.  The median sales price for all of last year topped $225,000, which is 12.5 percent higher than the 2021 median sales price while the average sales price for all of 2022 was $263,273, which is 12.9 percent higher than the 2021 average sales price.  The original list price to sales price measure for the year showed sellers received 98.7 percent of asking prices while their homes sold faster in 2022, averaging 20 days on market until sale compared to 22 days on market this time last year.

Catawba County had 128 homes sold in January, a year-over-year decline of 23.4 percent compared to 167 homes sold in January 2022. Pending contract activity was roughly unchanged, dipping 1.1 percent year-over-year to 181 homes under contract.  New listing activity declined 11.1 percent as sellers listed 152 homes for sale in January.  Inventory at report time rose 50.3 percent year-over-year to 278 homes for sale or 1.5 months of supply.  Both the median sales price ($297,000) and the average sales price ($314,408) rose 21.7 percent and 8.9 percent year-over-year respectively, while the average list price increased 5.3 percent to $351,999. This brought the original list price to sales price ratio to 95.6 percent, down from 98 percent in January 2022. Days on market until sale showed homes averaged 33 days on market in January compared to 23 days on market this time last year.

For more residential-housing market statistics, visit www.CarolinaHome.com and click on “Market Data.” For an interview with a Realtor®/broker representing the Canopy MLS service area in the western/mountain region of North Carolina, please contact Kim Walker.

Original Publish Date: 2/22/2023