Anyone who has tried to buy or sell a home in Charlotte, North Carolina, recently knows housing prices have been steadily going in one direction. Despite the increase in home prices, the housing market in 2023 appears to be cooling down.
Whether you’re a homeowner, a realtor, or a home builder, you’re going to need the advantage to sell your home (or homes) quickly in a market that’s shifting to favor buyers instead of sellers.
Rising Interest Rates are Slowing Down Home Sales in Charlotte, NC
According to one local resident, Gregory Ogunsanya, who was interviewed by WCNC in September 2022, the rising interest rates on mortgages are causing some home buyers to hesitate while others tap out completely.
Ogunsanya was trying to sell his home in the Wesley Heights neighborhood, to move closer to family in New York. It’s little wonder why buyers are getting cold feet. In September 2022, mortgage interest rates rose to 6%, a rate the US has not seen since the housing market crash in 2008.
Higher interest translates into hundreds of extra dollars on monthly mortgage payments. Many home buyers are getting priced out of the market. As a result, existing home sales have fallen for the last six months, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Charlotte is One of Five Major Markets that Could Slow the Most in 2023
Charlotte was also named in a recent report by Realtor.com, as one of the five major markets where the time it typically takes to sell a home increased significantly in 2022.
The biggest slowdowns occurred in Austin, Texas, Raleigh, North Carolina, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Phoenix, Arizona. However, Charlotte was not far behind with an average of 43 days on the market, an increase of 14 days from the previous year.
These five markets share some things in common that contribute to more of a buyer’s market now, instead of the red-hot seller’s market that people became accustomed to:
- The total number of listings increased by more than 50% from the previous year.
- A steady increase in price reductions from sellers indicates a lack of demand from buyers.
Most economic experts agree that the trends are shifting the U.S. real estate market towards a buyer-friendly market in 2023.
More Inventory Means More Competition for Sellers
Buyers are going to have more homes to choose from in 2023. That means sellers will need to price their homes competitively.
However, selling in a buyer’s market means you must go way beyond just pricing your home competitively. Your home needs to stand out with curb appeal. It needs to look like the best property on the block to prevent buyers from moving on to one of the many other listings available.
Give Buyers a Lasting First Impression By Staging Your Home
You can start the process of getting your home in top-selling shape by doing a deep cleaning. Cut down on clutter by putting most of your personal knickknacks away.
Depersonalize your home by taking down family photos, putting your mail and household bills out of sight, and removing your toiletries from the bathroom counter space.
Now you are ready to hire a professional stager to help stage your home for selling. Home stagers have the same skills as top-level interior designers. They can make your home look bigger, brighter, and more welcoming to home buyers.
The point is to make buyers want to buy your home. A professional stager knows how to design visual spaces that create emotion while working with the technical and structural aspects of your home.
When potential buyers envision themselves living in your home, that’s when the offers start rolling in. Get a quote today from Creative Home Stagers to give potential buyers a lasting first impression of your home for sale.