What Happened With Charlotte Real Estate in 2016?

As we begin 2017, let’s look back on the past year. Here is what happened in the Charlotte real estate market in 2016.

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As we head into 2017, we wanted to take a look at the 2016 numbers for the Charlotte real estate market to see where we stand heading into the new year. A lot has happened in the past year that you need to know about if you’re looking to buy or sell.

Closed sales went up by 8.4% in 2016 when compared to 2015. The average sale price also went up by $20,000 all across the board. We also saw average sale prices go up by 6.5%.

Our inventory also declined. As we began December, our supply of homes was down by 25.7% from the previous year. That’s a big difference. Our average days on market dropped by about 10 days as well.

Due to the lack of inventory, the supply in our region sits at just 2.3 months. This figure was at 3.4 months last year.

Act sooner rather than later.

All of these indicators point to Charlotte being a strong seller's market right now. You can still have a successful home purchase, but you have some things to consider there. Right now, we have home prices hitting their pre-recession levels. That’s huge for sellers who have been waiting to gain equity back in their homes. We’ve also got interest rates starting to tick up a bit. They are well above 4% now and are expected to go up again in the coming year. This will affect your buying power.

If you're thinking about buying or selling, you should act sooner rather than later. We’ve got a healthy market right now that can benefit buyers and sellers. If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to reach out by giving us a call or sending us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

4 Ways to Winterize Your Charlotte Home

Winterizing your home will prevent it from incurring any more damage if another winter storm hits. Here are some tips on how to get this done.  

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What can you do to winterize your home here in Charlotte?

In light of our ice and snow earlier in January, there are a few precautions you can take before the next storm hits. Of course, this being Charlotte, the storm might never come. Wasn't it great to be in the 70's on Sunday?! It makes me wish we could jump straight to spring. With temperatures expected to be low in the coming weeks, though, it’s best to be prepared.

The first thing you can do to winterize your home is to drain all the water from your water spigots on the outside and remove any hose bibs. This is one of the key places where freezing occurs on most people’s properties. You can also buy a cover for as little as $2.

Secondly, clean out your gutters. Many of us have trees in our backyards, and it’s no good to have gutters full of dead leaves when you have ice building up. This can damage your roof.

It’s no good to have gutters full of dead leaves when ice is building up.

Third, keep an eye on your carbon monoxide detectors. Make sure their batteries are fresh and they’re operating correctly. With so many of us using our gas fireplaces, you can never be too careful.

Finally, make sure your air filters are clean. This is something that you should do on a monthly basis. While your systems are working harder and you’re using more heat, though, you want to make sure they’re highly functional right now.

If you have any time left, look around your house and see if you need any other weather stripping or anything needs to be caulked so you’re not letting any extra cold air in.

Hopefully this cold weather will be gone soon, but in the meantime, if you have any questions about this or any other real estate topic, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d be happy to help you!