The biggest unknown in any economic model is how we the consumers will act, and this rings true for Charlotte real estate as well. I had someone tell me that the “bottom fell out” of our real estate market and I had to take a step back to regroup before responding.
What market indicators were they looking at? Well, it turns out that they were looking at the economic indicator that reigns supreme above all others… their own gut feeling. No one feels comfy making large decisions in the midst of a global pandemic and yes, based on the Charlotte Region Weekly Market Activity Report from our local Realtor® association there have been some slowdowns. However, these slowdowns aren’t necessarily what you might think.
Pre-Corona Armageddon 2020 there was no disputing that the Charlotte real estate market is highly sought-after. There are tons of people moving here for all different reasons each and every day, and we have a booming economy and our job market is top-notch for people in professional industries. There’s so much opportunity here that we have to bring in job applicants from other cities and states because prior to the pandemic we had extremely low unemployment numbers for those working in traditional desk jobs. (No, the same cannot be said for those working in trades, customer service and labor positions, but the affordable housing crisis is a blog post for another day.)
Our biggest issue within Charlotte’s real estate market is and has been a supply problem. We have tons of qualified people and not enough housing to ensure that even the majority of buyers can find a suitable home. This in-turn drives up the prices for the homes that are available and creates the chaos and bidding wars we’ve seen for the last few years.
The changes that have been felt in our market are honestly, more of the same old story: too many buyers and not enough houses. Based on the Weekly Market Activity data the market is slowing down from the perspective of less homes are being listed for sale. So, in an already jammed up market people who would sell are afraid to sell. However, those that do venture into listing are being rewarded by receiving a higher percentage of their listing price at closing and their home being on the market an average of 38 days, that’s 19.1% LESS time than last year when the average days on market was 47 days.
If you’re looking to sell just remember: To the victor goes the spoils. Get out there and get listed. If you’re a buyer waiting for the true “bottom” to fall out, it appears that you’ll be waiting a little longer than what a globally-debilitating economic crisis can offer up to impact our Charlotte slice of heaven.
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