Experts says Cape Fear region’s housing market continues to thrive

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — September is usually the best time of year to buy a home because there are typically more homes for sale, less competition from other buyers, and lower home prices but that is not the case this year. This fall, experts say the Cape Fear region’s housing market continues to thrive and has posted the greatest percentage increase they’ve seen all year.

“Home sales continue to amaze, and there are plenty of buyers in the pipeline ready to enter the market,” NAR’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, said. “Further gains in sales are likely for the remainder of the year, with mortgage rates hovering around 3% and with continued job recovery.”

Cape Fear Realtors says the tri-county area had record breaking growth in closed sales, pending sales, and new listings.

“The slew of pending transactions from August have converted into 1,404 closed sales in September, marking the fourth consecutive month of positive home sales in our region,” the organization wrote in a release. “Pending sales have climbed an astounding 71.6% year-over-year, totaling 1,508 properties under contract. New listings have gained traction with 1,377 total active listings, increasing 32.7% over September 2019.”

They added, “median sales price for Single-Family and Townhome/Condo combined grew by 10% year-over-year, to a new high of $275,565. The fastest selling properties are prices at $150,000 and below are sold within 49 days. Properties priced over $450,000 led the way among all housing segments with 62.5% over September 2019.”

“The housing market has continued to see strong growth, but the lack of inventory has been problematic,” CFR President Tony Harrington said. “Policymakers will need to continue their efforts to create more housing supply to meet this long-term demand.”