Tight inventory has homes selling quickly; high-end market sets record
Homes sales remained brisk across the Cape Fear region as 2019 drew to a close, showing the region’s resilience from recent hurricanes and continuing attraction to both retirees and those in search of a little fun in the sun.
“In 2019, the real estate market was just absolutely unbelievable, it was one for the record books,” said Sherri Pridgen, the 2019 president of Cape Fear Realtors. “We started off a little slow, we had low mortgage rates, a very shallow inventory and of course our demand was just intense, all of that coupled together generated a tidal wave of buying and selling.”
This November was the best on record as sales for the month increased by 11.7 percent from November 2018. The year to date sales jumped 3.2 percent, with the Wilmington-area seeing over 10,896 home sales. The average price also was up 10.2 percent from November 2018, rising to $322,857.
Pending sales rose as well, meaning the strength of the market is likely to continue heading into 2020.
Reflecting the high demand from buyers, homes spent an average of 25 days on the market this November compared to 47 days last year — albeit last November many areas, especially along the coast, were still recovering from Florence.
“We have UNCW and Cape Fear and all of the different amenities, the Thalian, all of the arts; we are just such a broad and well-rounded community,” Pridgen said. “There is something here for everybody and I think that has truly contributed to our growth and I do thank our local leaders in making sure this type of growth continues.”
But a lack of inventory poses a persistent challenge to the healthy market, as supply is down to 3.7 months — more than 5 percent lower than last year.
Pridgen said a booming market coupled with homes still being repaired from last year’s Hurricane Florence and this year’s Hurricane Dorian kept the available home stock tight. Beyond this, she added, builders need subcontractors and the materials required to build a home, which are in high demand all over the country, causing a delay in the process.
Kathleen Baylies who has owned Just For Buyers Realty in Wilmington since 2003, outlined several reasons for the success of the 2019 real estate market.
“General confidence is in a much more positive place than it was a half dozen years ago, but I also think that we have benefited from some positive national media,” Baylies said. “Wilmington has made a lot of lists of best places to start a business, best place to vacation, best beaches, I think that people look at our area and see a remarkable level of quality of life.”
She also added that compared to other places on the Eastern Seaboard, even with our area’s increased prices, it’s still an “excellent value market”.
High-end luxury homes also did well in 2019, with a record-breaking five $4 million-plus homes sold in New Hanover County. The record for the number of $3 million homes sold previously set in 2006 at the height of the market was also broken this year at 13.
Pender and Brunswick counties also saw an increase in the number of luxury homes sold, a result of increased prices of high-end homes closer to the coast.
“People love to live closer to their amenities and that drives demand which drives the price, and as the price of living close to those amenities goes up, people start looking at the fringe of the area to be able to find something that’s more affordable,” Baylies said.
In 2020, as more and more builders take advantage of the land opportunities in New Hanover’s neighboring counties, it is likely that there will be an increase in buyers looking to buy in Pender and Brunswick counties.
The strength of the market is likely to continue into the new year, because as Pridgen said, “owning your own home is the American dream.”
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