Another big culprit for the drop is higher interest rates, which have risen in response to inflation. Those rates are expected to rise even further and experts expect a further slump in home sales to follow. With interest rates hovering around 5%, many more potential buyers are priced out of the market. This means that what the Federal Reserve is doing is working, cooing down demand in the overheated real estate market.

Part of the drop in sales rates is due to lack of supply of homes for sale right now. Many potential buyers have stayed out of the market due to the lack of supply because there are more buyers competing for each home that is listed. If you put in offers on many different homes and don’t end up getting the home, you may be tempted to wait until later. Many sellers have waited to list their homes because they would then have to be a buyer in the same market. Many renters are facing the hard decision between buying at a time that may be difficult, and renting.

But renters don’t have it that great either. The average price for rent is also on the rise. Part of the rise is the increase in the costs to maintain a home such as utilities and taxes that a landlord has to pay. They have to increase rental prices so they can cover their costs. Some renters are finding themselves priced out of the rental market so buying makes more sense because a mortgage is locked in so the payment will not increase over time, except for escrow costs for taxes and insurance which can and do fluctuate.

If you would like to talk further about the market, or are interested in buying or selling a home in the Lake Wylie area, give us a call at 803-831-8588. You can view current listings and create customized searches on our website here.

The average list price in the Charlotte Region is now up to $370,706, up $55,719 from last March, or 17.7% higher. Despite the rise in prices, homes are spending only 24 days on average before a sale. This is down from 46 days last March.

When you look at the numbers for Lake Wylie, you see the same trend. Inventory is down 72.5% from 374 last March to just 103 this March. This represents 0.7 months supply of inventory which is far below the 4-6 month supply needed for a balanced market between buyers and sellers. New listings were up 21.8% from last year, but it is not enough to keep up with demand.

Prices are up in Lake Wylie as well with the average sales price up to $448,731, up 6.4% from last March. In Lake Wylie we are also seeing sellers receive 100.9% of list price on average. This means that we are also seeing multiple offers on listings with homes selling above list price.

With inventory so low, you have to be ready to go with all of your paperwork in order to purchase the home you want. If you are a seller, you need to have your home looking its best to get the best price for your home. We can help buyers and sellers. Just call us at 803-831-8588 to get started. You can view current listings and create custom searches on our website here.

When you dig into the data, you see that sellers are once again in the best position for real estate transactions as the supply of homes has hit a historic low of a 1.3 month supply. However, pending listings are 26.8% higher than last year at this time. Closed sales were down slightly, just 1.8%. With the number of pending listings headed towards the closing table, we expect the closed sales to be much higher next month.

When you get into the numbers for Lake Wylie, you see that the trend of the Charlotte area holds here as well. There are now just 182 homes on the market in Lake Wylie, down from 433 homes last June. This is a decline of 58%. It definitely places sellers in the power position in transactions.

With fewer homes on the market, you expect to see a rise in prices following the law of supply and demand, and that is exactly what we saw. The average sale price was up 7.4% from $395,494 last year up to $424,740 this year. List prices are trending higher as well up 21.7% to an average of $522,374.

It remains to be seen how the numbers will trend for the rest of the year. Seller confidence, buyer confidence and the health of the population will all play roles. As many parents are considering online learning, we may see more people move to larger homes with more property away from density. We may see a vaccine come on the market that allows things to head back towards normal. We will definitely have to wait and see.

If you are interested in joining the Lake Wylie community, give us a call at 803-831-8588. You can create custom searches of current listings on our website here.

The monthly report from the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association is based on data from their subsidiary the Carolina Multiple Listing Services, Inc. The data is clear, the average sale price of a home in the Charlotte area was up 5.5% over last August. This was an increase from $294,534 to $310,691. This is an increase of $16,157 in just one year.

The supply of homes went down at the same time from 11,413 down to just 9,412. This is a 17.5% decrease and represents a 2.3 month supply of inventory. A balanced market between buyers and sellers is considered to be a 6 month supply.

When you look just at Lake Wylie in the data, you see that the numbers are headed in the same direction. The average sales price of a home in Lake Wylie went from $386,967 last August to $406,428 this August. This $19,461 difference is 5% higher than last year at this time.

The supply of homes in Lake Wylie decreased from 441 to 385. This leaves us with a 3.3 month supply, a decrease of 12.7% from last year.

The most interesting number for Lake Wylie this month is in pending sales. There was a 97.7% increase in pending sales from 88 last August to 174 this August. This bodes well for our sales numbers for next month as many of these additional sales will head to the closing table.

If you are interested in buying or selling a home in the Lake Wylie area, give us a call at 803-831-8588. You can view current listings and create custom searches on our website here.

The Charlotte Region:

When you start digging into the numbers, for the entire Charlotte region sales were down 14% from December of 2017. Prices were up slightly, with the average sales price up 1.1% to $282,894. Inventory was down yet again from a 2.3 month supply to a 2.2 month supply, a decline of 550 homes. This leaves sellers again in the best position in real estate deals with a balanced market considered to be a 4-6 month supply of inventory. Pending sales were dead even and new listings were down 4.4% from this time last year.

In the Steele Creek area zip codes 28278 and 28273 the Market is extremely tight,

1325 Homes were sold compared to around 2000 in 2017. Currently there were only 15 Homes priced under $300,000 in the entire 28273 area, most sell within 10 days of entering the market and the overwhelming majority of those were priced under $350,000.

York, Clover and Lake Wylie: Zip Codes 29710 and 29745

A similar pattern continues in the South Carolina Market, sales were down from 2017 from a high mark of 1300 to 1135 in 2018, the majority of those 848 were priced under $350,000. Current active inventory is 221 Homes.

When you look just at Lake Wylie, South Carolina non waterfront resale Homes the story is a little bit different. Closed sales were indeed down year over year 15.3% from 98 to 83. Due to the small sample size, the percentages can look extreme so please keep that in mind. Average price was up year over year to $409,539, an increase of 16.2%. Inventory was dead even from last year in terms of months of supply at 3.3, but remember about that extreme note from earlier, there were actually 26 more homes on the market.

This means that sellers are still in a slightly better position in the Lake Wylie area. New listings are on the rise in the area with many new construction projects helping to boost the supply. The new listings were up 23.9% from 67 to 83. Pending listings were down year over year from 75 to 62, down 17.3%. Homes spent longer on the market in 2018 with days on market up 102% from 51 to 103, but this probably reflects new construction homes which typically stay on the market substantially longer than existing Homes.

In River Hills there is an extreme shortage of Homes on the Market the lowest in recent memory 52 closed last year with currently only 9 on the Market. New Homes accounted for an amazing 245 sales with strong sales in the Paddlers Cove Community

WATERFONT MARKET UPDATE

Median prices continue to rise in the waterfront market due to low inventory and high demand, as of this writing there were just 91 active listings in both Carolinas down from the 120 to 140 we experienced over the last decade with a median asking price of $839,000 which is over $100,000 more than last year with only 5 priced below $600,000.

The 1 Million plus market was very active with 11 Million Dollar plus Homes closed in 2018 and currently 14 are on the market, both numbers are about the same as 2017. A total of about 120 legitimately waterfront Homes sold down from about 160 from the year before due to a shortage in inventory with a median price pushing close to $725,000 up from the low $600,000’s a number that stayed steady for some time.

TIPS FOR BUYERS AND SELLERS:

In this unusual Housing market it is still important to discuss Home staging, photography, drone shots, brochures, marketing, Web presence and most of all pricing strategy. Here are a few other tips to guide the process.

The Real Estate transaction is a complicated and emotional process. Contracts and addendums are extensive sometimes reaching 20 to 30 pages.

Make sure you review all the documents prior to listing or purchasing a property, that way there will be no surprises when time comes to make an offer or negotiate an offer..

Understand the hard deadlines for Loans to be approved, Inspections to take place and negotiations on any repairs, speaking of repairs this is the biggest deal killer of them all as Inspectors are paid to find out everything that is not perfect with the Property, that offends most all Sellers.

The best tip of all is always hire an experienced professional Agent not a friend of a friend that just got Licensed or the former Barber or Hair Stylist. Transactional experience is key to a successful and Happy Purchase or Sale.

David McCorkle

David lives on Lake Wylie and is the Principle Broker of Lake Wylie Realty. David has been a Licensed Broker for 40 Years.

Let’s take a look at the real estate market stats for February for the entire CarolinaMLS Area, according to the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association.

Inventory for the Charlotte region is still incredibly low, and was down 28.1% last month as compared with February 2016. However, it is worth noting that even though closed sales were only up .5% in year-over-year numbers, pending sales are up 18.4%, indicating that closed sales are going to pick, as well.

Lake Wylie’s inventory numbers are fairly similar, with a 20.6% drop in year-over-year  numbers for the months supply of inventory available. However, closed sales are down 25.4% for the area, and pending sales are only up 7.5%.

There is better news for Fort Mill and York County as a whole, though, in terms of pending sales and market activity, where February saw an increase by 44.4% and 43.3% respectively, as compared with pending sales from February 2016.

The neighborhood features a swimming pool, playground, picnic tables and sidewalks, as well as storage for boats, trailers and RVs. There are also regular community events for residents to take advantage of throughout the year.

There are currently three homes on the market representing 2.1 months of inventory, making this neighborhood a clear seller’s market. Inventory is much lower here than in York County as a whole, which features 4.3 months of inventory.

There has been almost no change in the average price per square foot or the average sales price of homes in Bethelfields over the last year, indicating that the market here is very stable and steady.

The average list price is currently approximately $218,000 and homes range in size from 1,983 square feet to 2,348 square feet and feature three or four bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms.

This is a great neighborhood on the desirable South Carolina side of Lake Wylie, which features lower taxes and plenty of conveniences. If you are looking for newer construction homes in a neighborhood that offers a great sense of community, you will not want to miss Bethelfields.

While Lake Norman is the largest lakefront market in the Carolinas, accounting for $592 million worth of homes and land as well as claiming more than 1,000 current listings, Lake Wylie still holds its own.

Lake Wylie’s real estate market boasts $222 million worth of property with an average list price of homes at $628,755.  Approximately 40% of homes on Lake Wylie on the North Carolina side have a list price between $350,000 and $700,000. 31% of homes cost less than $350,000, 20% of homes range from $700,000 to $1 million,  and only 9% cost more than $1 million.

In comparison, almost 60% of North Carolina’s million dollar homes are located in the Lake Norman region. Lake Norman is also home to North Carolina’s third and fourth most expensive ZIP Codes in the state.

The 28216 ZIP Code in Lake Wylie ranks number nine among North Carolina’s most expensive ZIP Codes. Here, homes average approximately $781,000. There are four ZIP Codes on the South Carolina side of Lake Wylie that rank among the most expensive in the state, including 29745 at number three, 29732 at number four, 29710 at number seven, and 29708 at number eight.

For more details and information on the real estate markets in both Lake Norman and Lake Wylie, be sure to take a look at the full article at bizjournals.com.