Triangle home prices fell for the second straight month in August, and Realtors say home-sellers must come to grips with new market dynamics.
“We have a come-to-Jesus moment with sellers,” said Jennifer Munoz, an agent with eXp Realty in Raleigh.
Median sales prices across the 16-county Triangle region dipped 3.6% last month, from $420,000 to $405,000, according to the listing platform Triangle MLS, which published its latest monthly market snapshot on Monday.
Since peaking in June, Wake County prices have dropped from $493,000 to $475,000, while prices have also receded in Orange (down 17%), Durham (down 4.5%) and Johnston (down 1%) in the past two months.
According to Triangle MLS, the number of home sales dipped from 4,367 to 3,948, about 10%, in the past year. Homes are still selling at elevated levels compared to this time last year. In August 2021, the median sales price in the Triangle was $351,000.
On Monday, mortgage rates surpassed 6% for the time time since 2008. This is more than double the low rates during the peak pandemic months, which fueled a buying frenzy. Yet these times appear to be over.
In August, Triangle-area homes sat on the market for an average of 16 days, up from 9 days in August 2021. Sellers last month also received slightly less than their original listed prices, compared to last summer when homes sold for 104% of their listed price.
“What we’re seeing right now is the correction because of interest rates going up,” Munoz said. The Federal Reserve has been increasing interest rates to help keep inflation at bay.
Price cuts have become common, Munoz said, and buyers are starting to get concessions, such as having their closing costs covered. Buyers also now have more options as the local housing stock has doubled in the past year.
However, it isn’t necessarily an easier time to be a home buyer. The region’s housing stock, while up, is still below what a healthy market would offer. And higher mortgage rates present a new obstacle keeping prospective buyers from landing homes.
“A lot of folks are getting pushed out of their buying ability with interest rates going up,” Munoz said.
This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work.
This story was originally published September 20, 2022 1:29 PM.
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