Triangle real estate trends show silver lining in Apex, Cary and Morrisville

North Carolina Triangle area September 2008 Real Estate Trends

Apex, Cary and Morrisville areas are fairing better than others according to the September 2008 Triangle MLS market update statistics. The Raleigh and Durham area markets are slightly down, 3.5-3.8% overall, according to housingpredictor.com , but Apex, Cary, Morrisville areas have a smaller current supply of inventory than the rest of the region. Now, a 3.5% - 3.8% decline is not all that bad, considering what is happening to markets nationwide.

According to Housingpredictor.com, a site that claims to be an “independent real estate site that forecasts for over 250 cities in the 50 United States, the “North Carolina real estate market is only in the early stages of the National real estate recession.” They describe North Carolina as being “one of the country’s strongest housing markets with appreciation that didn’t get out of whack” They credit the large amount of retiree’s moving to the area as an influence on the state in general.

In the Raleigh/Durham area, Housingpredictor.com credits a strong regional economy, lower cost of living, lower home prices, and high employment levels for keeping the market in check during 2008. They do predict softening prices in our area, an average of 3.5% to 3.8% as foreclosures and increasing inventory hit the market.

Housingpredictor.com describes their research as gathering information on “over 20 factors including economics, regional political influences, business development, construction, employment levels and other socioeconomic issues from independent sources.” They do update the information regularly, and as markets adjust.

When comparing their forecast to the Triangle MLS market update reports, there was some good news not noted by Housingpredictor.com. While inventory, showings, pending sales and closed sales numbers were slightly off from this time last year, the average sales prices of both new and resale homes were up 6% from this time last year. The average new home price is $269,000 and the average resale is $232,500. Apex, Cary, and Morrisville areas also had a notable difference from the rest of the region. While the region has a current 8 month supply of inventory (up from 5 months in 9/07), Apex, Cary and Morrisville have only 6 months supply. The national average is 11 months. Some price ranges in Apex, Cary and Morrisville ($0-$299,000) only have 2-4 month supply. This is good news for sellers in those areas, usually translating to fewer days on the market and/or offers reasonable to asking price.

If you have any questions about the market or selling or buying a home, please feel free to call Realty World on Salem @ 919-367-8884.