Home sales around the Charlotte region continued big slide in 2023, new data show
For the second consecutive year, single-family home sales fell in the Charlotte region, according to data from the Canopy Realtor Association — a 17.3% drop compared to 2022.
The organization made up of local real estate professionals reported that 41,546 closings were made in 2023 — 8,676 less than the prior year for the 16-county region.
There also was a 15% decrease in home sales from 2021 to 2022. But home sales increased by 8.2% between 2020 and 2021.
Year-end data show that the homebuyers paid less for houses last year, with the median sales price being $377,500 — a 0.7% decrease of more than $2,500 in the region.
For this year, local real estate experts said they were expecting to face the challenge of working in a housing market with more demand than available homes, as interest rates start to tick down. Concerns involve developers not building enough houses to keep up with population growth and homeowners not willing to put their homes up for sale.
Data for the Charlotte region listed 48,741 homes on the market, which was a 15.7% decrease from 2022.
Buyers and sellers are motivated by changing mortgage rates, which declined from November through December, and fourth quarter sales activity, according to Charisma Southerland, 2024 president of Canopy Realtor Association.
“Last year’s sales activity was hampered by rates, which increased throughout the year,” she stated in a 2023 sales report released on Wednesday.
Rankings from companies like U-Haul and United Van Lines indicate that Charlotte remains a top draw for buyers and continued growth this year, Southerland added. “Lower (interest) rates and increased demand, amidst our tight inventory, signals another challenging year ahead,” she said.
Here are results from some of the main counties in the region.
Mecklenburg County
Sales in Mecklenburg County decreased by 20% last year. Realtors sold 15,326 houses to homebuyers. The year before, it was more than 19,000.
The median sales price in Mecklenburg was $425,000 — an increase of 2.4% compared to $415,000 in 2022.
Cabarrus County
Realtors working in Cabarrus County sold 2,880 homes in 2023, which was 18.4% less from the prior year, when more than 3,500 were purchased.
Cabarrus County’s median sales price last year was $369,000 — a decrease of 1.1%.
Gaston County
In Gaston County, Canopy data show that 3,283 closed sales were made last year. That’s a 15.1% decrease from 2022, when 586 more homes were sold.
The median sales price for a Gaston County home last year was $300,000 — a 1.6% decrease of $5,000 from 2022.
Iredell County
Home sales in Iredell County went down by 10.2% from 3,418 in 2022 to 3,071 last year. The median sales price was $379,000 — a 1.6% decrease from $385,000 in 2022.
Lincoln County
Last year, a total of 1,328 homes were sold in Lincoln County. This was a 13.7% decline from 2022, when over 1,530 homes were sold. The median sales price was $400,000 — a 3.6% decrease from $415,000 in 2022.
Union County
Union County — which was one of the fastest-growing counties in the country in the early 2000s — had a 21.7% decrease in home sales last year, according to Canopy. Data show that 3,379 homes were sold in 2023, which was 939 less than in 2022.
The median sales price was $450,000 — a 1.1% increase from 2022, when the cost was $445,000.
Homes sales in cities around the Charlotte region
Here’s a look at how home sales fared in Charlotte-area cities, and areas, last year, according to the Canopy data:
▪ Charlotte: Home sales decreased by 19.1%, from 15,308 in 2022 to 12,385 last year. The median sales price last year was $405,000 — a 2% increase from 2022.
▪ Concord: A total of 1,504 homes were sold last year. This was a 27.1% decrease from 2022’s total of 2,064. The median sales price was $363,325 — a decrease of less than 2%.
▪ Cornelius: Home sales decreased 21.2%, from 655 in 2022 to 516 last year. The median sales price was $507,324 — a 3.5% increase from $490,000 in 2022.
▪ Davidson: Home sales decreased by 11.4% in 2023. During the prior year, 456 homes were sold; 404 were purchased in 2023. The median sales price increased by 5.3%, from $597,700 in 2022 to $629,199 last year.
▪ Gastonia: Sales decreased by 20.7% last year. A total of 1,811 homes were sold in 2022, compared to 1,437 in 2023. The median sales price decreased by 3.5%, from $285,000 to $275,000 in 2023.
▪ Huntersville: Sales decreased by 38% from 1,629 in 2022 to 1,010 last year. The median sales price increased from $520,000 to $533,250 — a 2.5% hike.
▪ Indian Trail: Home sales decreased to about 25%, shrinking from 868 in 2022 to 652 last year. But the median sales price increased by 3.5%, from $425,000 in 2022 to $440,000 last year.
▪ Kannapolis: More than 800 homes were sold in 2023 — a decrease of 12.4% compared to 916 in 2022. And $290,000 was the median sales price last year — a 3.6% increase from 2022.
▪ Lake Norman: Home sales decreased by 6.8%, from 1,989 in 2022 to 1,853 last year. The median cost fell by 6.2%, with a cost of $539,124 in 2023. In 2022, the median home cost was $575,000.
▪ Matthews: Sales decreased by more than 20%, with 842 homes sold in 2023. The year before, 1,090 homes were sold. The median sales price increased by 10.5%, from $452,000 in 2022 to $500,000 last year.
▪ Mint Hill: Home sales increased by 17.5%, from 456 in 2022 to 536 last year. And the median sales price increased by 2.1%, from $475,000 in 2022 to $485,000 last year.
▪ Monroe: Home sales decreased by 20.4% in 2023, with 1,100 sold. The year prior, the total was 1,382. The 2023 median sales price was listed at $380,000 — a slight decrease of less than 0.5% when the cost was $381,297 in 2022.
▪ Mooresville: The 2023 sales decreased by about 20%, with 1,456 homes sold, compared to 1,813 in 2022. median sales price?
▪ Uptown Charlotte: Home sales decrease by 36.1%, from 357 in 2022 to 228 last year. The median cost of a home went from $370,000 to $391,250 — a 5.7% increase.
Observer database editor Gavin Off contributed to this report
This story was originally published January 25, 2024 at 5:50 AM.
