Today I want to give you a few of my predictions about the Triangle real estate market, in addition to some striking stats from 2017.
Looking ahead at 2018, I can say for sure that inventory will be super tight. We’ve already seen that the demand for homes vastly outweighs the supply.
When you compare December of 2017 to the same month in 2016, inventory was down 5%. Now, when you compare 2017 to 2013 in terms of the number of listings, inventory fell 57%. This is mindblowing when you think about all the growth that has happened over the past four years. That’s likely why we see apartment complexes being built left and right as you drive through downtown Raleigh.
The new year started off with a bang. As of today, 53% of all homes listed in December of 2017 are either closed or under contract, according to the MLS.
This leads me to my next prediction: Price will continue to rise in 2018. In December of last year, the average listing prices was over $300,000 for the first time ever. This is great for sellers, but maybe not so much for buyers. However, if you plan to stay in your home for a very long time, this could be a good thing for you, too. Interest rates are still low, so you can at least take advantage of that before they go up.
And that’s something else we should expect from 2018, as well. since the economy is doing so well, the Fed has every reason to raise rates, which are expected to go up to 5% this year. This means that it will become more expensive to borrow money.The home that might cost you $300,000 today will, by the end of the year, cost $315,320. The money that you borrow will cost more as well, so there’s no time like the present.
The fact is that the market cycles every seven years or so. The last peak was in 2007, so we are about four years overdue, statistically speaking.
If you have any questions or need help with your real estate ventures, please reach out to us. We would appreciate the opportunity to help you out this year.
