Strong pending contract activity indicates buyers are  actively in the market for homes in the Charlotte region

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The Charlotte Regional Realtor^® Association provides monthly reports on residential real estate market activity for the Charlotte Metro region based on data from the Carolina Multiple Listing Services, Inc. (CarolinaMLS). The Charlotte Metro region, which this report is based on, includes 12 counties in North Carolina and four counties in South Carolina.

Charlotte Metro region year-over-year home sales in February were roughly unchanged, decreasing 0.9 percent with 2,833 properties sold compared to 2,860 properties sold in February 2018. Compared to the previous month (January 2019), sales increased 12.9 percent.

The average sales price in February 2019 ($278,755) increased 4.7 percent compared to February 2018 ($266,329), while the median sales price ($232,125) increased 2.3 percent compared to February 2018 ($227,000).  Compared to January 2019, the average and the median sales prices increased 3.9 percent and 2.7 percent respectively.

The average list price in February 2019 ($352,409) increased 8.8 percent compared to February 2018 ($323,802), bringing the percent of original list price received measure to 95.9 percent, a slight decrease of 0.8 percent compared to the same period last year. Pending sales in February 2019 (4,331) rose 12.4 percent compared to February 2018. Compared to the previous month (January 2019), pending sales increased 8.0 percent.

“February housing statistics hint that the spring market is off to a pretty decent start,” said 2019 Charlotte Regional Realtor® Association/CarolinaMLS president Brenda Hayden.  “Closed sales were roughly on par with sales last year, pending contract activity was strong, and showing activity was steady.  And while February new listing activity was down year-over-year, listings are still up nearly 5 percent year-to-date.  This should give buyers more choices as we head into the spring selling season.”

New residential listings (4,545) decreased 2.9 percent in February 2019 compared to the same period last year.  New listing counts compared to the previous month (4,543) were flat. Inventory declined, with the number of homes for sale down 2.7 percent compared to February 2018. This left the Charlotte region with 8,680 properties for sale at report time, or 2.1 months of supply of inventory.  A year ago in February 2018 the region had 8,920 properties for sale, or 2.2 months of supply.

The average number of days a property was on the market from the time it was listed until it closed (list to close) was 104 days, two days fewer than February 2018.  Days on Market, the metric that accrues for “Active” and “Under Contract-Show” statuses, totaled 54 days, which is one day fewer than February 2018.