Savvy Charlotte Home Buyer Tips | Current Market Inventory and How it Impacts Charlotte Home Buyers

Okay, I’ll admit it! When I’m making an online purchase, there is just something inside me that drives me to be 100% sure that I am getting the absolute BEST deal available for that product for which I am shopping. I Google-search the product to see if I can locate it somewhere for a lower price than where I first found it; THEN, I search the website’s name with the words ‘coupon code‘ in the hopes that I’ll find yet more of a discount.

You won’t believe what some people will go through just to save a dime! I often have to remind myself that my time is more valuable than the small amount that I saved and the amount of time that it took me to capture those savings!

On occasion, I will run into a Charlotte home buyer with that same mentality – “Let’s hit the seller where it hurts and nab that property at a 25% discount!”

Let me be clear about the current state of the Charlotte market – We are currently in a SELLERS MARKET, meaning that our inventory is at an all-time low. The foreclosures have been absorbed as have the short sales, for the most part. These days we are experiencing multiple Offer situations on almost all of the desirable properties priced below $500,000 and given that, many homes are selling for more than their list price.

Savvy Charlotte home buyers are pulling themselves out of the “Got-to-have-a-deal” mode and recognizing that with the upcoming influx of spring buyers, the potential for rising interest rates and the current ascending sales prices, they need to move NOW!

Gone are the days of ‘discount’ home purchases in Charlotte – at least since 2012, we’ve been experiencing appreciation and don’t see an end to that trend – especially since we are incredibly low in inventory.

Don’t allow the market to heat up on YOU! When a property that fits your needs comes on the market, be prepared with a pre-approval and be ready to POUNCE on the home of your dreams!

Here is the current market absorption rate for the Charlotte area. A ‘neutral market’ is a 6-month+ supply of inventory. As you can see in the data/graph below, we haven’t experienced inventory this low in a decade – even during the height of the market in 2005 – 2007.

Also, there are no longer 10% discounts for Charlotte home buyers – Charlotte homes are selling for less than 5% discount – and that’s from the ORIGINAL list price. Here is the current documentation showing that original list to sales price ratio is 95.2%. However, this does not apply to homes sold in multiple Offer situations – we typically see over 100% list-to-sales price ratio.

Data provided by CMLS; deemed reliable but, not guaranteed.

Charlotte home buyers, if you’re looking for a deal, it’s probably right in front of you! The amount that you will be saving in interest rates and beating the appreciating market that we are currently experiencing means that now IS the time to make that home purchase.