Average Home Sale Prices up 12.78% in August

It seems likely that home prices in the Charlotte market have finally hit bottom and are on the rise. The average sales price in August was $229,330, up 12.78% from an all-time low in February of $198,614. The year over year figures are also encouraging, as August's average price was up 5.19% from the average price in August, 2009 of $218,009.

Homes are not only selling at higher prices, but also quicker, as evidenced by August's average time on market of 109 days, down 8.4% from February (119 days). It seems that buyers are finally starting to come off the sidelines to take advantage of historically low interest rates and one of the most powerful buyer's markets of all time. As good as these figures indicate, they do not necessarily mean that we are heading for a full recovery in the near future, we still have a double digit unemployment rate in the greater Charlotte area and the volume of home sales are still at less than desirable levels, but given what we have seen over the past couple years, I am certainly encouraged.

The statistics used here have been culled from the association’s Carolina Multiple Listing Services Inc., which carries information on homes for sale in a 10-county service area.