Our real estate market improved greatly from September to October and turned into a strong seller’s market as we entered the final quarter of 2018. Here’s how the month-over-month numbers played out:
- Showings increased 13% from 2,581 to 2,920
- Listings increased 16% from 1,886 to 2,195
- Pending sales increased 22% from 2,120 to 2,595
- Total closed sales increased 8% from 2,287 to 2,464 (the majority of which, though, were new construction sales—resale sales actually decreased by 9%)
Year to date, prices increased in our area by an average of 6.4% as we hit October. As far as inventory goes, Durham was at the low end of the spectrum with just 1.6 months of inventory in October. Chatham County was a little higher at 4.4 months. Since the dividing line between a buyer’s market and a seller’s market is five months of inventory, with anything below five months constituting a seller’s market and anything above that constituting a buyer’s market, you can see once again how strong of a seller’s market we’re in.
In summary, prices are rising, sellers are getting a very high portion of their listing price (in some cases, even 100%), and homes’ average days on market is decreasing. Even though listings keep coming onto the market, there’s still not a lot of inventory out there.
If you’re a seller, this means it’s still a good time to put your home on the market due to the high demand we’re seeing. If you’re a buyer, these conditions mean you need to know how to negotiate in order to get the best deal possible.
If you have any more questions about our local market or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home soon, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be glad to help you.