Charlotte Regional Realtor® Association reports that the number of closings for July 2012 (2,653) increased 22.2 percent compared to July 2011, when closings totaled 2,171.
The average sales price in July 2012 ($220,385) was up 3.4 percent compared to the same period last year ($213,205), and the median sales price ($166,100) — the best measure of trends over a period of time — showed prices up slightly, 1.6 percent, compared to July 2011 when the median sales price was $163,500; marking six consecutive months of year-over-year price gains.
The average list price in July 2012 ($237,904) decreased 1.4 percent when compared to the average list price for the same period last year ($241,380), bringing the percent of original list price received measure to 92.5 percent compared to 89.7 percent last July.
July 2012 pending contracts totaled 1,738, down 15.3 percent compared to last July’s pending contracts figure (2,053) for the CMLS region.
Association/CMLS president Jennifer Frontera said, “Pending contracts have always been seen as a gauge of demand. Contract activity has been elevated for nearly a year now. The fact that contracts are falling at this time of year shows that the market is now performing in a similar fashion to the way it did before the recession, with contracts and closings peaking in mid-summer and falling as the selling season winds down.”
New residential listings in July 2012 totaled 3,930, an increase of 6.8 percent compared to the same period last year when new listings totaled 3,681. Overall inventory for the CMLS region was down 16.9 percent compared to last July, leaving the CMLS region with an 8.8 months’ supply of homes for sale as compared to 12.5 months’ supply during the same time last year.
Homes in July spent less time on market, with the average number of days a property was on the market from the time it was listed until it closed (list to close) totaling 144, the lowest this figure has been since October 2008. July 2012 list to close represents a decrease of 13 days compared to the list to close count of 157 days last year.
Foreclosures and short sales, or distressed sales, made up 12 percent of all new listings compared with 15.8 percent last year, while 13.8 percent of closed sales were distressed, down from 16.5 percent last July. The number of active foreclosures on market was at its lowest level for any month since January 2008 and the number of active short sales on market was at its lowest level since April 2009.
For more residential-housing market statistics, visit the association’s website at www.CarolinaHome.com and click on “Community Data.” For an interview with 2012 association/CMLS President Jennifer Frontera, please contact Kim Walker.
The Charlotte Regional Realtor® Association is a trade association that leads, educates and equips members to be productive. It provides more than 6,000 Realtor® members with the resources and services needed to conduct ethical, professional, successful and profitable businesses. The association is dedicated to being the region’s primary resource for residential real estate information. The association operates the Carolina Multiple Listing Services, Inc. (CMLS), which has approximately 7,200 Subscribers and is the private cooperative Realtors® use for access to tens of thousands of residential listings in a 10-county service area, including the high-growth Charlotte area, as well as listings outside this service area.
