Triangle homebuyers are being more selective
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Compared to last year's frenzied real estate market, potential homebuyers in the Triangle are being more selective and sellers are having to throw in more concessions to get deals done.
Driving the news: In April, home sales were down nearly 17% year-over-year in the Triangle, according to data from Triangle Multiple Listing Services.
- And the Raleigh market saw some of the highest rates of concessions on sales, with sellers willing to help buyers with repairs, closing costs or mortgage-rate buy-downs, according to a May analysis from Redfin.
Why it matters: A pandemic-induced surge in home buying and low housing inventory left Triangle homebuyers of all backgrounds at the mercy of the seller.
- Though those challenges are still present, buyers are finding it a little easier to make their own demands — a sign the market is becoming a little more normal, said Susan Bashford, with Hodge & Kittrell Sotheby's International Realty.
What they're saying: "They're a little bit more selective than they were last year," Bashford said of her clients, "because the interest rates are higher and they don't want to be upside down and buy something they can't get rid of in a couple of years."
- "I'm still seeing people wanting to put their homes on the market for a ridiculous price thinking it's this time last year," Jamie McGuire, of Jim Allen Group at Coldwell Banker Howard Perry And Walston, told Axios. "So yes, we're seeing people drop their price, but that's only because it was priced incorrectly to begin with."
State of play: That selectiveness is leading some to stick with renting rather than rushing into a purchase.
- Bashford said she is giving tours of apartments to some out-of-town clients who are likely to become buyers in the future but are cautious about the current market.
- Many would-be sellers are also staying on the sidelines, as they're not willing to give up the low interest rate they locked in when they purchased their home.
What we're watching: Bashford and McGuire expect the housing market to remain steady for the rest of the year. But if interest rates drop, "We're going to see all that competition come back," McGuire said.
The intrigue: One sign of how much the Triangle's real estate market has changed in the past few years is the number of million-dollar homes being sold.
- In 2018, 295 homes sold for more than a million dollars, according to Triangle MLS data pulled by Bashford at Axios' request.
- Over the past year, 1,713 homes sold for over $1 million.