Interest rates causing housing market to change in Charlotte area

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Realtors in the Charlotte Market are starting to see the impacts of rising interest rates.

That’s having a ripple effect on how people buy and sell homes in the Charlotte area.

The average cost of a home in the Charlotte area reaches well over $400,000 as demand for housing has increased.

Buyers say it’s tough with interest rates increasing, but realtors see the market changing.

“It’s a little bit hard, we have a family and all we really want at the end of the day is a home to go to,” said Kelly, who is in the process of buying a home in Charlotte.

People in the market for a home right now admit it’s not an easy task.

“We put in several offers on other homes that weren’t accepted, people were putting in offers $100, $150,000 over asking,” said Kelly.

That has been the trend lately in Charlotte, but increased interest rates are changing things.

“So we’re definitely seeing a shift in the market. We know interest rates right now they’re average about 6%. Right now it’s actually still a good time because homes are staying on the market a little bit longer. One, buyers are kind of getting antsy to see what the market is going to do,” Javin Daniels, the owner and broker in charge at Daniels Real Estate Group, said.

Another change? Some homes are selling below the asking price.

According to Realtor.com, the median listing price in June was nearly $430,000. Those median homes sold for $425,000.

“With homes sitting on the market a little bit longer, you can ask for seller concessions, get seller credits right now,” Daniels said.

This is happening because realtors are not used to homes sitting on the market for a long period of time compared to months ago.

“We haven’t seen homes on the market, 14 days, 20 days, and a lot of sellers are like ‘Oh, I’m panicking because it used to be 24 hours, 48 hours,” Daniels said.

WBTV also found the median days on the market in Charlotte have gone up since last month with the average home selling after 36 days on the market.

“Eastside of Charlotte, Westside of Charlotte, we are seeing that they’re sitting on the market, and you can go in without multiple offer situations, maybe ask a little bit lower of a price and still get it,” said Daniels.

That trend is different in places like Matthews, Rock Hill, S.C. and Fort Mill, S.C., where things are competitive with multiple offers.

It just depends on where you’re looking to live in and around Charlotte.

“I would say just stay as patient as possible and if it doesn’t work out, know that more will come, more will be on the market,” said Kelly.

Based on the trends right now, Daniels believes Charlotte will be more of a buyers’ market by the end of the year, meaning the supply of homes could outweigh demand.

Copyright 2022 WBTV. All rights reserved.