Housing Market Report - October 2017
If Cape Fear Area housing trends remain consistent, housing inventory will dip for the rest of 2017. That trend is expected 
to reverse itself as predicted new home starts (1.33 million predicted nationally) are expected to drive 2018 home sales. It's too early to tell what effect that will have on the housing market as prices continue to rise and affordability drops.
While decreasing affordability is something to keep an eye on, a healthy economy, favorable interest rates, low unemployment and high demand should continue to keep the market healthy.
For the Cape Fear Area real estate market, single family home Pending sales are up 12% from this time last year. The price range that experienced the largest increase in pending sales was the $450k+ range.
Days on Market (DOM) was down 12% from this time last year with an average DOM of 88 days for all property types. Condos/Townhomes experienced the largest drop in average days on the market at 99 days compared to 111 days at this time last year.
Median sales price was $231,500 which is 5.7% more than this time last year.
Available inventory continues to drop. Inventory (all property types) was down 14% from this time last year. Reflecting this, Monthly Inventory Supply is down to ~4 months compared to almost 6 months last year.
Foreclosure - Lender Mediated Report
While traditional home sales and new listings and up 24% and 32% respectively from this time last year, foreclosures are down 46% and 44%. Bank owned property continues to shrink as a percentage of the local real estate market (2.5% compared to 5.5% at this time last year). Average Days on Market (DOM) for area foreclosures is up to 90 days compared to 77 days at this time last year. Single family homes are mostly responsible for this as condos/townhomes are selling quickly. The median sales price for a foreclosure in the Cape Fear Area (New Hanover, Pender and Brunswick Counties) is $90,300.
Quick Facts
+29% | Price Range with the Strongest Sales | $450,001 or More
+35% | Bedroom Count with Strongest Sales | 1 Bedroom or Fewer
+19% | Property Type with Strongest Sales | Condo/Townhome
+20% | Year Over Year Change in Closed Sales
+2% | Year Over Year Change in Median Sales Price
-14% | Year Over Year Change in Homes for Sale
New Listings
Number of properties that are newly listed in a given month
Closed Sales
The number of actual sales in a given month
Days on Market Until Sale
How long a home for sale has been on the market
Median Sales Price
Exactly half the homes sold are above this price and exactly half are below.
Inventory of Homes for Sale
The number of available homes for sale at the end of the most recent month
Months Supply of Inventory
The number of months it would take for all the current homes for sale on the market to sell. Foe example, if there are 100 homes on the market and 20 homes sell each month, there is a 5 month supply of homes for sale.
Typically, a market that favors Sellers has less than 6 months of supply , and more than 6 months of supply favors the Buyer.
| Key Metrics | Oct-16 | Oct-17 | % Change | YTD 2016 | YTD 2017 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Listings | 889 | 1136 | +27.8 | 12,341 | 13,126 | +6.4% |
| Pending Sales | 693 | 997 | +43.9% | 9.014 | 10,297 | +14.2% |
| Closed Sales | 794 | 954 | +20.2% | 8,539 | 9,585 | +12.2% |
| Days on Market Until Sale | 98 | 82 | -16.3% | 97 | 87 | -10.3% |
| Median Sales Price | $227,000 | $231,695 | +2.1% | $219,500 | $233,000 | +6.2% |
| Average Sales Price | $267,313 | $285,886 | +6.9% | $262,131 | $283,246 | +8.21 |
| Percent of List Price Received | 97.1% | 97.4% | +0.3% | 96.9% | 97.2 | +0.3% |
| Housing Affordability Index | 131 | 123 | -6.1% | 136 | 123 | -9.6% |
| Inventory of Homes for Sale | 4,912 | 4,219 | -14.1% | –– | –– | –– |
| Months Supply of Inventory | 5.7 | 4.4 | -22.8% | –– | –– | –– |