With summer coming to an end and temperatures cooling down, we are seeing a cooldown in the real estate market as well. There’s no need to panic though, because while things are moving at a slower pace, we expect business to stay steady. The market trends so far in 2023 have been in a re-set mode. The crazy pandemic real estate market has come to an end and the days of multiple offers above asking price on the day a listing goes live have come to a screeching halt. No one expected the unusually high levels of demand to be sustainable, and now we are seeing an economy that’s readjusting back to a pre-pandemic normal.
We have seen an increase in cash buyers in our local market with the rise in mortgage rates. When the rates were at historic lows below 3 percent, most buyers, even if they had enough cash for a purchase, opted to keep their money in other investments and utilize the banks’ low lending costs.
Looking at data according to a recent Canopy MLS market report, Rutherford County home sales declined 14.1 percent year-over-year in June as 74 homes sold compared to 86 that sold in June 2022. Pending contracts declined 9.3 percent year-over-year as 68 homes entered pending status in June 2023 versus 75 that were pending in June 2022. New listings declined 11.9 percent year-over-year as sellers listed 96 homes for sale compared to 109 listed during the same period last year. Inventory increased 4 percent to 156 homes on market at report time or 2.4 months of supply. Both the median sales price ($281,000) and the average sales price ($338,485) dipped in June falling 3.1 percent and 10.4 percent year-over-year respectively while the average list price increased 22 percent year-over-year to $452,497.
Year-over-year statistics alone simply don’t provide a clear picture of what’s been going on, nor what we can expect for the remainder of 2023. Some experts point out that interest rates are higher than inflation and wage growth, which should help keep consumer spending on pace. Comparing monthly market activity in 2019 against the same months in 2023 makes it easier to see a more encouraging picture, which isn’t quite as gloomy as the year-over-year numbers. In the month of June in Rutherford county there were 74 home sales in 2019 and in 2023. There were 61 pending contracts in 2019, and 60 in 2023. The median sales price in 2019 was $175,000 compared to $281,000 in 2023. The average sales price in 2019 was $200,782 and $338,485 in 2023.
Slow and steady is what we expect for the remainder of the year – and that’s still good news!
Wes & Cathy Cleary of Team Cleary Real Estate, Inc. are experienced Realtors® who work full-time as a full-service Real Estate team serving NC/SC. They have invested, rented, bought, and sold real estate in the Carolinas since 1997. Lake Lure’s #1 Team since 2018. Lake Lure homeowners since 2002. TeamClearyWNC@gmail.com; Wes 828-785-2115; 828-808-6790 Cathy; www.TeamCleary.com.
