May 26, 2023

Kim Walker, 704-940-3149

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Residential sales trends across the Charlotte region in April showed sales declined 21.8 percent compared to last April, as 3,581 homes sold across the 16-county region.  Compared to March 2023, sales were down 6.6 percent, as buyers continue to signal their disdain for current rates, lack of affordability, amidst tight supply. Data from Canopy MLS, showed a couple areas around the region still experiencing year-over-year sales gains: Anson County (+90%) and Stanly County (+30.1%). Both counties show buyers are willing to trade commute for affordability, as prices in Anson were below $200,000 in April. Stanly County, is the only county in the 16-county region that shows year-to-date sales ahead of year-to-date sales in April 2022, by 2.4 percent. Sales included in this report are for single-family, condo and townhome sales only.

Contract activity and buyer demand fell in April, declining 9.1 percent year-over-year as 4,328 homes went under contract during the month. Pending contracts compared to the month of March were nearly unchanged, down 1.8 percent. April Showing Reports illustrate buyer interest and foot-traffic this spring remain strong and concentrated in the MSA, particularly Cabarrus County where homes averaged eight showings (or buyers) per listing, Concord (9.2 shows per listing), City of Charlotte (8.6 showings per listing), Matthews (10.3 showings per listings), York County, SC (9 showings per listing), and Waxhaw (9 showings per listing). 

Seller confidence continued to fall in April, declining 25.1 percent year-over-year as 4,349 new listings were added to the market during the month.  New listings compared to the previous month (March) were down 9.8 percent.

“Realtors® continue to help clients on both sides of the transaction navigate the complexities of the housing market, but national economic trends along with tight supply and fluctuating mortgage rates have frustrated both buyers and sellers this spring,” said Tiffany Johannes, 2023 president of Canopy Realtor® Association/Canopy MLS and General Manager, Broker-in-Charge, RE/MAX Executive. “Our housing market, however is still experiencing steady activity, just not at the pace of previous years. Fortunately, home prices continue to moderate and inventory is slowly increasing, which will be beneficial to buyers long-term.”

The region’s inventory increased 27.7 percent year-over-year and showed nearly 4,700 homes for sale at report time in April, while months of supply increased 62.5 percent to 1.3 months of supply compared to approximately 24 days of supply (0.8 months) in April 2022. Gains in supply however seem to have stalled over the past three months, as there was 1.5 months of supply at report time at the start of 2023. Supply in April was unchanged compared to supply in March and continues to reflect a strong seller’s market.

The median sales price in April was relatively unchanged compared to last April, down 1.1 percent year-over-year to $375,900.  April marks the third month of year-over-year declines in the median sales price, even though those declines have been relatively small. Compared to the previous month (March 2023) the median sales price increased 2 percent.  The average sales price increased 2.6 percent year-over-year to $460,498; and it is up 4 percent when compared to the average sales price in March. The average list price increased 8.3 percent year-over-year to $523,738, which brought the original list price to sales price measure down (from 102.8 percent in April 2022) to 97.5 percent this past April.

Johannes continued, “Overall a normalizing housing market is good for buyers, as a number of buyers would not have been able to purchase, had our market continued to experience record-breaking sales, which helped elevate prices across the region over the last few years. We are seeing days on market increase in buyers favor, allowing more time to search and for your Realtor® to negotiate price. As the market changes, pricing the home well remains critical for sellers. Sellers still received almost 98 percent of asking prices for their homes in April, but they are not in as strong of a position as they were during the pandemic years.”

The time homes spent on market continued to increase in April. List to close increased 29 percent to 89 days compared to 69 days in April 2022, while days on market, the metric that accrues for “Active” and “Under-contract-show” statuses, showed homes averaged 39 days on market until sale compared to 16 days on market until sale, a 143.8 percent increase when compared to time on market in April 2022.

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 2023 Association/Canopy MLS President Tiffany Johannes, Realtor®/Broker-in-charge with RE/MAX Executive Ballantyne, 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.   

Original Publish Date: 5/26/2023