CHARLOTTE, N.C. – CRRA reports on the residential real estate market in this region based on Carolina Multiple Listing Services, Inc. (CMLS) data. The number of closings for March 2009 (1,671) rose 24 percent over last month when closings totaled 1,348. Closings compared to the same period a year ago (2,659) decreased 37.2 percent. The average sales price for March 2009 ($191,433) increased 4.7 percent over last month ($182,865) but is down 13.2 percent when compared to March 2008 ($220,620). The average listing price of solds in March 2009 ($216,135) decreased 7.6 percent over March 2008’s average list price of $233,882 and increased 4.8 percent over last month’s list price ($206,172).
Residential contracts reported in March 2009 (2,028) increased 18.5 percent over last month when contracts totaled 1,712. New residential listings for March 2009 totaled 5,223, an increase of 12.6 percentover last month (4,637). The average days a property was on the market from the time it was listed until it closed (list to close) was 143.9 days for March 2009. The average days a property was on the market (days on market), excluding the days the property was off the market or pending, was 114days for March 2009.
Donna Anderson, president of CRRA/CMLS, says, “I am glad to report the housing market activity shows anoverall increase in the March 2009 activity compared with the February 2009 activity specifically in the categories of average sales price, average list price, number of homes sold, contracts reported and new listings. When we compare these categories to the same time period last year, March 2008, the activity is not at that level, though we are moving in a positive direction. The time of the year and other variables affect the housing market, as might the new legislation in place. Hopefully these factors will work to help improve the housing market.”
