Navigating the Current Seller's Market

There is no question that we are currently experiencing a seller's market right now in the Charlotte area. Homes in desirable areas are coming on the market and going under contract with multiple offers in a matter of hours. It is definitely a great time to sell, but if you are selling, where are you going? You are just going to have to buy into that same seller's market, right? Yes, you will, but depending on the price point you are selling at and the price point you are buying in, it may work out to your advantage.

Market Shift?

I have been hearing rumblings that the $350,000 plus market is showing a shift in recent months to actually lean towards a buyer market. While it might be shifting slightly, this isn't quite the case yet. In that range, we are still under six months supply (six months supply is considered a stable market). The key to our current market is that even though the $350,000 plus market is still slightly a sellers market, the $100,000 to $200,000 range and $200,000 to $350,000 range are in a super sellers market, territory that has not been seen in the time for which Charlotte MLS data is available (January 2004 on).

Months Supply

This first image shows the number of months of housing supply there is currently on the market. Months of house supply are determined by dividing the number of homes per sale by the number of homes sold per month.

As stated earlier, these are levels not seen before in the period for which data is available. While we have been in a steady decline recently, the previous trough for months supply of the $100,000 to $200,000 range and $200,000 to $350,000 range both occurred in December 2006 and was 3.8 and 4.5 months supply, respectively. We currently have over three times less supply in this lower range!

Percent of Asking Price

Here we can see the percent of original asking price to sale price. Again, we run into results that have not been seen in the time period for which we have data.

As we can see, the lower priced houses are selling (on average) for 100% of the original asking price. And this is for the entire Charlotte MLS, meaning that some areas are higher, some are lower.

Days On Market

Here are the average number of days on market for for each of the different price ranges. These numbers speak for themselves.

What Does It All Mean?

While it may seem daunting or like a long shot to find a great property to buy in this market, having the right realtor who understands the market and how to create strong offers is of utmost importance. Also, if you are looking to make a move up, this is a great time. While you would not exactly be buying into a buyer's market, moving up provides an excellent opportunity to sell in an extreme seller's market and purchase into one that is quite a bit less competitive.

Also, with the current interest rates, locking one of those in for thirty years at historically rock bottom rates is a great idea.