Summary of the Real Estate Recap – Winter 2021:
View the full Real Estate Recap here (PDF): The Real Estate Recap – 1st Quarter 2021
1st Quarter 2021 Market Stats and Brief Summary of Factors Affecting the Numbers:
The Triangle area of NC is in the midst of an unprecedented market shift. In the trailing 12 month period ending March 2021, sales were up 12% while inventory was down over 60%. Several factors are impacting this shift, including low interest rates, building material shortages, millennial buyer and affluent “Covid lockdown buying” demand. Additionally, corporate investments to the area (and thousands of jobs) from Google, Apple, Invitae, Fuji-Diosynth, Red Hat and others, are bringing a massive influx of talent to the greater Raleigh/Durham metro area.
This convergence of aggravating factors will continue to affect the supply and demand for housing and the influx of jobs to the Triangle will perpetuate a ‘slow burn’ of price appreciation for years to come.
What Does All This Mean for Triangle Home Buyers?
The Housing Market Is Hyper Competitive! Here’s What You Can Expect, and What To Do About It:
- You likely WILL NOT have a chance to view homes a second time, so learn to assess homes on the first showing. And by the way, gone are the days of having a full hour to view a home—you’ll only have 30 minutes at most–sometimes 15 minutes!
- List prices on the MLS data sheet are now the MINIMUM price for a home. So factor your offer price(s) into your budget. In other words, if your max budget is $500k, don’t look at homes priced AT $500k. You should be focusing on the $425k to $450k price bracket.
- Be prepared to make up the difference in your home financing, should the house not appraise for your asking price. Talk to a good lender who can guide you on this.
- Plan on offering a HIGH due diligence fee. Right now, you will likely NOT win an offer with $5k or $10k in DD money. It must be higher – often times MUCH higher. Some buyers are offering $20k to $75k in due diligence money to get their offer accepted!
There are other strategies you can employ to win at the home buying game. For more information and tips, CALL CHRISTY.
