First quarter has ended and the Triangle Real Estate market is still very active and continuing to show positive signs for home sellers. According the TARR, Triangle Area Residential Report, the average days on MLS is now 117 and our inventory levels dropped from 6 months in January to 5 months in February. This is great news for Raleigh area home sellers!
Our forward looking metrics is giving us a lot of hope. This hope is that the 10% to 30% depreciation experienced by homeowners over the past 5 years in the Triangle area has leveled off. As supply decreases under 4 months we expect to see home values increase again. Some areas and price points are already experiencing values increasing now. This is mostly in a price point of $400,000 and below and in the areas of inside the beltline, North Raleigh and Cary.
Keep in mind normal appreciation in a good market for Wake County is 4.5% per year and experts are predicting our year will end with only a 1.4% gain. This is partially because of the high number of foreclosures and short sales that make up the total sales which are not going away any time soon. There are millions of people in the US behind on their mortgage payments and it is in all of our Triangle neighborhoods too. Also, our supply of housing is still above 4 months. 4 months supply of housing and below, is the magic supply number that switches from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market fast. We are getting close to this switch and it is about time.
Have a great week,