Raleigh’s inventory of homes for sale grows at fastest pace in US. Is that good news?

In another sign the Triangle housing market is shifting, Raleigh’s housing inventory rose at the nation’s highest pace this past year according to a recent Re/Max report. In July, Raleigh had 48 days of housing inventory, the report shows, up from about 15 days in July 2021.

Inventory measures how long the existing housing supply would last if no new homes went on the market. Raleigh’s supply has ticked up amid higher interest rates and buyer uncertainty, said Yoana Nin, a local real estate agent whose firm The Prosperous Agency serves the Triangle region.

In a more buyer-friendly market, Nin said, homesellers must now “put in more effort” and be willing to price homes more reasonably.

“There’s been a big change in the way (sellers) address their home, the way they staged it, the way they price it,” she said. “And I think a lot of sellers are living the six-months-ago times when they think that overpricing is OK, and it’s going to get them whatever they want.”

Despite more available houses, Raleigh’s inventory remains low both historically and compared to the supply in other growing cities like Phoenix (4.4 months of inventory) and Las Vegas (3.8 months of inventory). In July 2019, Wake County had 2.3 months of inventory. Real estate agents generally consider a healthy housing market to have at least three months of stock.

Inventories grew across the Triangle. According to Triangle MLS, a listings platform covering 16 regional counties, Durham, Johnston and Orange counties all had housing supplies elevate over the past year.

Compared to Re/Max’s data, Triangle MLS shows a more modest, if still stark, yearly increase in Raleigh’s inventory, from about 39 days in July 2021 to 24 days last month.

Raleigh’s other top 5 housing rankings

Raleigh ranked among the top five markets in a pair of other categories on the Re/Max report. From July 2021 to July 2022, the city had the third-largest increase in median sales price, from $376,390 to $448,250. This despite Wake County home prices actually dropping this July, the first monthly decrease the county had witnessed since 2020.

Raleigh also ranked fifth nationally for the largest year-over-year decrease in its close-to-list price ratio. Local homebuyers are still paying around 2% above the listing price on average, but this is down from nearly 5% above asking price in July 2021.

Nin anticipates listing and sales prices will continue to be better aligned in coming months as buyers remain cautious and sellers learn to more accurately price their properties.

“We’re finally seeing some stabilization (on pricing), which is healthy,” she said. “Nobody wants to be crazy.”

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.

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This story was originally published August 24, 2022 12:31 PM.