The Charlotte Regional Realtors Association’s monthly market activity report for March shows strong stats for residential real estate sales in the metro area.
Closings in the 10-county area jumped 24.9 percent to 2,621 last month from 2,098 in March 2012, states the report released Tuesday.
That continues a streak of double-digit gains seen for months.
And the pending sales figure is even more impressive, spiking 57.8% to 3,801 last month from 2,408 a year earlier, the report says.
New residential listings were up only 1.8 percent, rising to 4,903 from 4,816 in March 2012. Inventory plummeted 30.1 percent to 13,616 homes for sale last month from 19,470 a year prior.
“Tighter inventory levels and persistent demand seem to be fueling price gains across the region, and I expect we will continue to see prices build over the next few months," says Eric Locher, CRRA president.
The average sales price in March was $216,445, a 10.3 percent hike from a year earlier, when prices averaged $196,214. The median sales price — considered a more accurate measurement of trends over time — increased 9.2 percent over the year to $168,000 from $153,807.
List prices climbed 7.2 percent to $276,907 from $258,233 a year earlier .
Properties are remaining on the market an average of 151 days from listing to closing, a decrease of 15 days from March 2011.
The region has a 4.9-months’ supply of homes for sale, the report states — yet another statistic showing that housing here has swung to a seller’s market. The CRRA, a trade association with more than 6,000 Realtor members, compiles its monthly market report based on data from its Carolina Multiple Listing Services Inc.
The residential real estate market has recovered “quicker than I hoped,” Allen Tate Co. President Pat Riley told the Charlotte Business Journal in an in-depth interview published in the April 5 print edition.
Foreclosures and short sales have dropped from a year ago, representing 8.3 percent of the market's new listings and 12.3 percent of all closed sales in March.
“Now is the time for serious sellers to list, keeping in mind that homes still need to be priced right for the current market,” Locher says. “In the present state, buyers might start to see more multiple offers and sales prices exceeding list prices in some situations.”
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