Editor’s Note: Each Friday, WRAL TechWire takes a deep dive into the Triangle’s real estate markets. That includes stories on how to win in the Triangle real estate market as a buyer and how sellers can prepare a home for sale in order to get top-dollar offers. As we enter 2023, a forecast shows that buyers and sellers in Raleigh will battle in a more balanced Triangle real estate market.
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RALEIGH – A new report from national brokerage Redfin shows that sellers of Raleigh area homes are now more likely to make concessions – including accepting lower prices, paying for buyer closing costs, or paying for repairs – than they were a year ago.
Nearly half of all Raleigh home sellers made at least one concession to buyers during the fourth quarter of 2022, according to the Redfin data set. While in the fourth quarter of 2021, 38.3% of sellers made at least one concession, that percentage jumped to 47.1% in the fourth quarter of 2022.
And there are signs that 2023 could see a return to a more balanced real estate market in the Triangle, too.
According to the latest Buyer-Seller Market Index, compiled by Knock, shows that while the Triangle still slightly favors sellers, the market is expected to tip toward neutral in 2023. A spokesperson for the company confirmed that analysis to WRAL TechWire on Thursday.
Triangle housing tug of war: Buyers, sellers will do battle in a more costly market
Buyers and sellers set to battle
While the latest analysis from Knock indicates that the market could tip toward buyers, there’s no guarantee that buyers will face a housing market that’s any easier to navigate.
In addition to affordability concerns–due to mortgage interest rates that remain more than double than a year ago–the real estate market could also remain in favor of sellers.
That’s because a report released by the Wake County Register of Deeds on Thursday found that the median sale price of all real estate sold in Wake County in December was $465,000, an increase of $12,000 compared to November 2022.
But the preliminary data from the Triangle Multiple Listing Service points in the other direction: down.
According to the TMLS data, the median price of homes sold in the 16-county region was $395,000. That’s a decrease of $5,000 from a median sale price of $400,000 in November. Despite the decrease month-over-month, across the Triangle, the median sale price in December 2022 was 6.7% higher than a year ago.
And in Wake County, the preliminary TMLS data showed that the median price of homes sold in December 2022 was $464,900. That’s down from a median sale price of $470,000 in November, but is 9.2% higher than the median sale price measured a year ago.
Economist: 2023 to be ‘roller-coaster’ year for Triangle, NC economy
Affordability to remain a concern in 2023
“With that affordability of housing being hit so hard,” said Sarah House, a senior economist and managing director at Wells Fargo at an event on Wednesday, buying the median priced home in the Triangle now compared to a year ago “would cause that mortgage payment, the monthly payment, rise by more than 40%.”
And it’s not any easier for renters, either, as rents are up nearly 30% since just prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Affordability has been a challenge in the multifamily sector, too,” said House.
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WRAL TechWire reporter Jason Parker, who is also a licensed North Carolina real estate agent, works with journalists from WRAL.com to track and present market data and report on how people are experiencing the region’s changing real estate markets. These special reports will use the category tag “Triangle Real Estate” or “Triangle Real Estate Market.
