North Carolina homes continued to sell at eye-popping prices last month. The median home sale price rose 3.9% year-over-year from $349,800 to $363,000. The number of homes listed on the market declined by 13.2% YoY from 47,494 to ~41,000 homes, with only 2 months of supply. Does the scarcity of houses make North Carolina a seller’s market?

If you are a home buyer: You can avoid bidding wars and avail seller concessions if you buy a home now. The 8.5% interest rate and mortgage payments are significant, but rates are unlikely to drop in the next few months. If they do, you can refi.

If you are a home seller: You can lock in North Carolina’s high home prices. Homes listed on MLS sell faster and for 17.5% more than off-MLS homes. That could be thousands of dollars in additional proceeds!

So How is the Real Estate Market in North Carolina?

Sluggish! Home values in North Carolina rose by 56.61% in the last 5 years.

But, home sales decreased by 20.5% in September 2023 YoY. Maybe due to the mortgage rate climbing to nearly 8%! And the number of houses for sale in NC was 41,000 in the month, 13.2% less than in 2022. North Carolina’s housing market is bearish.

The decrease in home sales can be attributed to not having enough properties in Tar Heel State. The months of supply is 2 months, which makes NC a seller’s market. So, if you want to sell a North Carolina property, now is the right time to list it on MLS.

Home Affordability Optimism 

With the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate declining more than a full percentage point off its 2023 high of 7.79%, prospective homeowners are hopeful that rates will continue to fall and provide some ease in the affordability crunch.

For starters, monthly mortgage payments are down 14% from their record highs in October, with the median payment in December dropping to $2,361, finishing out the least affordable year on record for home buyers, according to Redfin.

Meanwhile, mortgage rate optimism shot up in the latest Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) in which a survey-high 31% of consumers said they expect mortgage rates to decline further.

Though consumer outlook on home affordability remains gloomy, signs of cautious optimism may be emerging, with 17% of consumers signaling in the December data that now is a good time to purchase a home, up from a survey record low of 14% the previous month.

Instant Reaction: Mortgage Rates, February 14th, 2024

Today, mortgage interest rates averaged 6.64% for the week. At the beginning of the week, the 10-year treasury moved higher, now at 4.1%, providing conjecture that the 30-year mortgage interest rate would also increase

While the stability in the mortgage market is welcome news to home buyers, affordability and limited inventory are concerns for the coming spring in some areas. Based on NAR’s fourth quarter metro home prices report, 86% of metro markets had home price gains. While homeowners are seeing wealth gains from what is likely their most valuable asset, first-time buyers are struggling to find an affordable property. At the median single-family existing-home price of $391,700, the typical buyer with 20% down would have a monthly mortgage payment of $2,010…continue reading