May 18, 2022

CHARLOTTE, N.C.— Home sales across the Charlotte region slipped again in April, declining 10.8 percent year-over-year, with 4,420 homes sold throughout the 16-county region. Last spring, as sales heated up and nearly surpassed 5,000 home sales, there were 534 more homes sold during the month of April 2021 than this past April. Month-over-month sales are down 2.2 percent compared to March 2022, as rising mortgage rates that climbed to 5.4 percent by the end of April, continue to constrain the spring market.

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

Pending sales, were also down, signaling yet a fourth month of year-over-year declines, as buyers, weary of rising prices, continue to pull back from the market. Contract activity declined 4 percent year-over-year as 4,993 homes went under contract during the month.  The continued decline in contract activity means weaker sales in the coming months. April’s contract activity increased by 1 percent, when compared to contract activity in March 2022. 

Seller confidence in the market is somewhat mixed, as sellers listed 5,744 homes for sale, which is nearly the same level of new listing activity that the market saw in April 2021. New listings were down 1.5 percent year-over-year but are up 9.3 percent when compared to new listing activity in March 2022. 

2022 Association/Canopy MLS President Lee Allen said, “I believe as we see inflation continue to put pressure on day-to-day expenses, like groceries and gas, buyers are finding less income available to spend on housing. First-time buyers especially are feeling the squeeze, as inflation and rising rates force them to make tough decisions.” 

According to the National Association of Realtors® approximately 3 million renter households aged 25-40 years old, already spend 50 percent of their income on rents, which will make it even more challenging to save for future down payments. 

Allen continued, “As Realtors®, we continue to work to be ‘at the table’ with policymakers and leaders at both the local and national levels, offering innovative solutions to help increase affordability. We are excited to see inventory starting to rise, but continue to feel the pressures of increased interest rates and double-digit price increases.” 

Canopy reported in February and March that inventory and supply held steady at about 15 days of supply. However, from March 2022 to April 2022, 713 homes were added to inventory, an increase of 29 percent month-over-month, increasing months of supply to 21 days of supply. 

Inventory across the 16-county market is still critically low, with a little over 3,100 homes for sale at report time. A year ago, in April 2021 there were more than 4,200 homes for sale across the region. 

Low inventory will continue to pressure prices, as it did in April. The median sales price ($380,000) and the average sales price ($449,581) rose 20.6 percent and 18.7 percent year-over-year respectively, while the average list price rose 17.7 percent year-over-year to $488,069. The original list price to sales price ratio registered 102.8 percent, showing sellers in the region receiving well over asking prices for their homes during the month of April. 

Buyers will continue to see homes selling almost as quickly as they are listed, as the average number of days a property was on market from the time it was listed until it closed (list to close) fell to 68 days compared to 75 days in April 2022. Days on market, the metric that accrues for “Active” and “Under Contract-show” statuses, averaged 16 days, which is even faster than April 2021 when homes averaged 21 days on market until sale.

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.

The Canopy Realtor® Association is a trade association that provides its more than 16,000 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 21,000 subscribers and is the private cooperative Realtors® use for access to tens of thousands of residential listings in a 16-county service area, including Charlotte, 13 counties in the mountains of North Carolina as well as the Rock Hill area of South Carolina.

Original Publish Date: 5/18/2022