September 18, 2024

Contact: Kim Walker, 704-940-3149

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Sales of homes throughout the 16-county Charlotte region dipped in August, falling 8.3 percent year-over-year with slightly more than 3,700 homes sold during the month. Three hundred and thirty-six home sales were the difference between August 2023 and this past August. Month-over-month sales were down 3.4 percent as buyers continued to wait for lower rates. Canopy MLS sales included in this report represent single-family, condos, and townhome sales only.

Pending contracts rose in August by 8.7 percent year-over-year as 3,867 homes went under contract during the month, compared to 3,558 the previous August. Contract activity or buyer demand was steady in July, down 1.7 percent month-over-month.  Showing activity throughout the Charlotte MSA was down 23.3 percent compared to showing activity in August 2023, with listings averaging 4.6 showings or potential buyers per listing. This time last year the Charlotte MSA’s listings averaged 6.4 showings or potential buyers per listing.  Buyer interest was strongest this month in Matthews, where listings averaged 5.2 showings per listing, followed by Kannapolis, (5.2 showings per listing) and Waxhaw (5 showings per listing).

New listings rose again in August by 10.1 percent year-over-year as sellers continue to signal confidence in the market, listing nearly 6,000 homes for sale, compared to 4,625 listed in August 2023. Month-over-month new listings were stable and up less than a percent. Notably, year-to-date August figures show that price reductions over the first eight months of 2024 were up 61 percent across the Charlotte MSA, when compared to the same period in 2023, and in August alone, price reductions were up 86 percent compared to August 2023, which means buyers have increasing leverage. 

Charisma Southerland, 2024 president of Canopy Realtor® Association/Canopy MLS and Realtor®/broker with Allen Tate Company said, “This is truly a challenging market for both buyers and sellers. Price reductions across the region show the challenges that sellers are having, but new listing activity continues to be the silver lining in sales activity, helping supply and inventory to slowly grow throughout the region, with prices holding steady. Buyers are likely waiting for further rate drops to help improve affordability. However, waiting for rates to fall, brings the added dilemma of more buyer competition in the market, which could deplete the gains we’ve seen in supply and inventory.”

Inventory rose again in August by 47.6 percent to slightly more than 9,000 homes for sale while supply moved higher, rising 52.9 percent year-over-year to 2.6 months of supply. Last August, the 16-county region had only 1.7 months of supply.

With buyer demand steady and supply and inventory still tight, prices rose throughout the region.  Both the median sales price ($399,000) and the average sales price ($501,320) increased by 3.6 percent and 5.8 percent year-over-year respectively. Prices are steady compared to July, with the median sales price down less than a percent (-0.7%) and the average sales price down 1.8 percent.  The average list price in August increased 6.9 percent year-over-year to $510,320 which brought the original list price to sales price measure down slightly (-1.4%) to 96.6 percent, as sellers still receive nearly all of asking prices for their homes.

Southerland added, “Even though we’re seeing improvement in the number of homes for sale in the region, there still aren’t enough to meet the market’s current demand, especially in Mecklenburg County and the city of Charlotte. This is attributing to prices staying elevated, even as inventory growth has caused home price appreciation to slow. It’s important for consumers to realize agents have access to a tool in Canopy MLS to help their buyers with down payment assistance. Called Down Payment Assistance Resource (DPR), agents can search for financing options on a number of homes listed for $700,000 or less in the MLS.”

The average number of days a property was on the market from the time it was listed until close (List to Close), dipped by 3.6 percent to 80 days compared to 83 days in August 2023, while the “Days on Market” metric, which accounts for both “Active” and “Under-contract-show” statuses, increased 13.3 percent to 34 days in August, compared to 30 days on market in August 2023.  

Mecklenburg County home sales were down 6.2 percent year-over-year as 1,323 homes sold compared to 1,410 that sold the previous August. Month-over-month closed sales were down 5.7 percent. Pending contract activity rose modestly, by 3 percent year-over-year as slightly more than 1,300 homes went under contract compared to 1,266 the previous year.  Contract activity is down compared to July, by 7.1 percent month-over-month. New listings rose by 13 percent year-over-year as sellers listed 1,788 homes for sale, nearly 200 more than sellers listed in August 2023, forcing inventory to rise by 56.6 percent to 2,800 homes for sale or 2.3 months of supply, which is still critically low. In Mecklenburg County price reductions in August were up 90 percent compared to August 2023, showing the difficulty that sellers are having pricing homes for the current market. Both the median sales price ($440,000) and the average sales price ($577,745) increased by 3.3 percent and 6 percent year-over-year respectively, while the average list price increased 1.8 percent to $575,988. This brought the original list price to sales price measure down 1.5 percent to 97.6 percent, a strong incentive for sellers to list, while days on market increased by a week, from 25 days to 30 days in August 2024.

The city of Charlotte’s home sales were down 10.3 percent year-over-year as 1,057 homes sold compared to 1,178 homes that sold in August 2023.  Contract activity showed buyer demand rose 2.6 percent as 1,056 homes went under contract during the month, which is only 27 more homes than the previous year.  New listing activity increased 8.4 percent to 1,399 homes listed during the month, compared to 1,291 listed a year ago in August.  Inventory rose by 56.1 percent to 2,225 homes for sale while supply improved by 57.1 percent to 2.2 months of supply. Still, with supply tight prices rose.  Both the median sales price ($410,570) and the average sales price ($549,738) increased by 2.1 and 6 percent year-over-year respectively, while the average list price remained steady (+1.1%) at $549,722. This brought the original list price to sales price measure to 97.7 percent while days on market increased from 25 days on market in August 2023 to 30 days this past August.

“Buyers looking in Charlotte can’t afford to wait for the perfect rate, Southerland added. Supply is growing but is still tight in the single-family home market, however, Charlotte’s townhome supply increased by 56.3 percent year-over-year, while supply in the condo market increased significantly, by 125 percent compared to last year, giving buyers looking for affordability more choices. Engaging the help of a knowledgeable and resourceful Realtor® is key, in navigating a complex market.”

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 (Alexander, Cabarrus, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Stanly, and Union) and four counties in South Carolina (Chester, Chesterfield, Lancaster and York).

For more residential housing market statistics, visit www.CarolinaHome.com and click on “Market Data.” For an interview with 2024 Association/Canopy MLS President Charisma Southerland, Realtor®/Broker with Allen Tate Company, 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: 9/18/2024