Metro Charlotte posted yet another positive month for residential real estate, with closings increasing 23.4 percent in December from the same time a year earlier, according to the Charlotte Regional Realtors Association’s monthly market activity report released Tuesday.
Closings in the 10-county area totaled 2,339 last month, up from 1,896 in December 2011, the report states.
The Charlotte housing market has shown signs of a strong recovery, with 11 straight months of positive returns. Home closings increased 35 percent in November, and they were up 36.8 percent year-over-year in October. Local industry observers expect 2013 to continue in a steady fashion. Both average and median sales price were up at the end of 2012.
“Charlotte’s housing market has shown steady signs of improvement over most of 2012 and could be called the year our local recovery started,” says Eric Locher, association president. “With some of the uncertainty on the federal level temporarily averted, we’re hopeful these trends will continue through what is generally considered a slower selling season.”
The average sales price increased year-over-year by 7.9 percent to $205,537 from $190,565 in December 2011. The median sales price — considered a more accurate measurement of trends over time — increased 2.5 percent to $158,925 from $155,000.
Pending sales are up 33.5 percent, with contracts increasing year-over-year to 2,150 from 1,610.
Listings dropped 1.7 percent to 2,342 from 2,383, while average list prices last month bumped up 4.5 percent to $222,888 from $213,210 in December 2011, as counted through Carolina Multiple Listing Services Inc.
The average amount of time from listing to closing decreased by two days year-over-year to 156.
Of the new listings last month, 14.8 percent involved distressed properties, down from 19.8 percent a year earlier, while 15.6 percent of the closings last month were sales of distressed properties, down from 17.7 percent a year ago.
Overall inventory fell 27.7 percent from the same time in 2011, leaving the region with a 5.3-month supply of houses.
No comments:
Post a Comment