July 25, 2024

Contact: Kim Walker, 704-940-3149

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In June 2024, the market experienced a significant 25.8 percent increase in new property listings compared to the previous year, adding 527 properties to the inventory. This marked the third instance since June 2022 when new listings in the region surpassed 500, helping to alleviate the ongoing supply constraints. The sales data in this report is sourced from Canopy MLS and encompasses single-family homes, condos, and townhomes sold in Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, and Catawba Counties.

New construction significantly contributed to this increase, making up 24 percent of the newly listed properties. In June, new construction listings surged 69.3 percent year-over-year and 60.8 percent compared to May. Three counties in the Catawba Valley Region saw growth in new listings, while Caldwell County remained flat year-over-year.

Despite the increase in listings, home sales across the Catawba Valley Region in June decreased by 20.7 percent, ending the month with 322 transactions compared to 406 in June 2023. The region also experienced a 21.5 percent decline from May 2024. Each of the four counties in the region individually saw a decline in sales this month.

In June, the median sales price rose for the fifth consecutive month year-over-year, reaching $293,250, which is a 6.9 percent increase from June 2023 but a 2.3 percent decline from May 2024. New construction accounted for 14 percent of sales during June with a median sales price of $344,000. The average sales price for the region rose to $377,927, a 13.8 percent year-over-year increase but a 4.3 percent decrease from the previous month. Once again, sellers secured sale prices very close to their asking prices, with the ratio of original list price to sales price averaging 96.5 percent, slightly down by 1.1 percent from the previous year.

“Supply is up substantially as an increasing number of homeowners are entering the market with less interest rate hesitancy due to the significant equity they can roll into a new home purchase,” said Karleta Sharisse Smith, a Realtor®/broker with Keller Williams Advantage and 2024 president of Catawba Valley Association of Realtors®. 

After a decline in May, buyer demand rebounded in June with a 12.1 percent surge in pending sales, totaling 390 properties. Additionally, June 2024 saw a 9.9 percent increase over May 2024. New construction made up 15 percent of properties entering into contracts.

The June Showings report indicates that listings in the Catawba Valley Region averaged 4.0 showings per listing with 5,229 showings during the month suggesting strong buyer interest. Catawba County led the region with an average of 4.7 showings per listing. Buke County recorded 3.5 showings per listing, while both Alexander and Caldwell Counties saw an average of 3.4 showings per listing. Hickory (5.1), Newton (4.3), and Morganton (4.0) all had high buyer interest this month.

Smith continued, “While it is a much welcome relief to see inventory increase, affordability for first-time and moderate-income buyers remains a challenge. Using a Realtor® can assist the complex process of buying or selling a home, providing expertise, resources, and peace of mind.”

Properties in the region stayed on the market for an average of 34 days. This represents a 21.4 percent increase from June 2023. The 12-month rolling average for the four-county region is 37 days. Townhomes remained on the market the longest, averaging 52 days. Single-family homes were listed for an average of 36 days, while condos sold the quickest, spending just 32 days on the market.

Total inventory ended the month on a strong note with a record high of 914 available properties, marking a significant year-over-year increase of 53.1 percent. For comparison, the 12-month rolling average is 761 available units. New construction accounted for a large portion of the inventory at 29 percent, a 53.7 percent year-over-year increase. Consequently, the months of supply grew by 47.4 percent to 2.8 months, up from 1.9 months recorded during the same period in the previous year.

A closer look at sales across the four counties:
(Due to smaller sample sizes in counties where there is a smaller pool of listings, percentage increases or decreases June seem extreme)

Alexander County home sales in June experienced a 21.2 percent decrease from the previous year, with 26 homes sold compared to 33 sold in June of the prior year. However, pending contract activity increased 26.1 percent with 29 homes under contract versus 23 homes under contract a year ago. New listing also rose by 5.6 percent year-over-year as sellers brought 38 homes to market. Inventory jumped to 37 percent with 63 available units compared to only 46 the previous year. This equates to 2.8 months of supply which is up compared to last year from 2.3 months of supply.

The median sales price of $280,000 was up 6.9 percent year-over-year while the average sales price of $341,358 increased by 4.7 percent compared to last year. Additionally, the average list price climbed 34 percent to $367,911 holding the original list price to sales price measure at 99.5 percent. Days on market tightened this month by 13.3 percent, as homes averaged 26 days on market until sale.

Burke County Both the median sales price ($270,000) and the average sales price ($372,588) rose this month 12.5 and 28.2 percent respectively. Closed sales dipped slightly by 9.6 to 66 properties this month. The average list price increased 49.6 percent to $475,367 bringing the percent of list price received down slightly to 95.8 percent.

There was a substantial 103.1 percent increase in inventory level, with 199 properties available, equivalent to a 3.0 months supply, a 100 percent increase from 2023. Pending contract activity rose 7.0 percent with 76 homes under contract during June. New listings jumped 16.3 percent as sellers brought 93 homes to market compared to 80 in June 2023. Days on market reached 37 days up from 27 the previous year.  

Caldwell County saw a mixture of increases and decreases across all metrics in June 2024. Contract activity rose 3.3 percent year-over-year with 62 pending sales during June. However, closed sales dropped 11 percent year-over-year as 65 homes sold during the month compared to 73 in June 2023.

New listing activity was flat this month with 82 properties listed. Inventory rose 22.9 percent to 145 homes for sale at report time or 2.2 months of supply. The median sales price rose 6.3 percent to $255,000 while the average sales price jumped 25.2 percent to $358,736. During June, the average list price increased 8.9 percent to $365,486 bringing the original list price received to 97.1 percent. Days on market until sale showed homes averaged 23 days on market versus 25 days on market in June 2023, an 8.0 percent decrease.  

Catawba County closed sales decreased 27.3 percent in June 2024 as 165 homes sold compared to 227 that sold in June 2023, while pending contract activity increased 14.9 percent to 223 homes under contract during the month. New listings saw an 42.1 percent year-over-year climb to 314 homes listed compared to 221 that were newly listed in June 2023. Inventory jumped 51.3 percent with 507 homes for sale at report time or 2.9 months of supply.

The median sales price increased this month by 5.7 percent to $315,000 while the average sales price rose by 9.0 percent to $393,385. The average list price decreased this month by 3.3 percent to $398,480. This brought the original list price to sales price measure down to 96.1 percent which was nearly flat with June 2023. Days on market jumped substantially 31.0 percent to 38 days in June 2024 versus 29 days on market in June 2023.

For more residential-housing market statistics, visit CarolinaHome.com and click on “Market Data.” For an interview with 2024 president of Catawba Valley Association of Realtors® Karleta Smith, Realtor®/Broker at Keller Williams Denver, please contact Kim Walker.

Canopy MLS is a wholly-owned subsidiary corporation of Canopy Realtor® Association and is the private broker cooperative used by Realtors® to bring buyers and sellers together with access to thousands of residential listings in a multicounty service area, including Charlotte, Asheville and Catawba Valley regions spanning across North Carolina, South Carolina and outside of the Carolinas. Canopy MLS, which has 21,000 subscribers, provides the most trustworthy, timely, accurate and complete property data along with proprietary tools for showings, market stats, predictive analytics, and more. Canopy MLS is used by its members to support consumers in their residential real estate transactions, whether selling, buying, investing or renting.

Original Publish Date: 7/25/2024