Over-Inflated Areas Taking Home Sales Hit

The report below from the North Carolina Association of REALTOR(s) is confirming that there was an over-exuberance in "popular" real estate markets throughout the state. There is rarely an instance to justify a 25% - 50% increase in sales prices over just a one year period, yet this is what has happened in many areas of the state. I recently traveled to the Emerald-Isle/Beaufort areas and saw real estate signs everywhere. As any REALTOR would say, price is the number one factor for selling a home. Some say(and obviously the REALTOR(s) in that area agree with the pricing) that out-of-state buyers can afford these inflated prices, but these states that they are coming from are experiencing difficulties of their own. In my opinion, the local economy in this coastal region does not support these home prices. Average income locals and even those within driving distance are not able afford these homes- even with 2 earner house-holds. You will continue to see sales volume and sales prices decline until some sort of balance is achieved. I also saw a report of a 17% decrease of sales in the Asheville, NC area as well, so the mountains are not immune to this price correction either.


North Carolina existing home sales for April 2007 held fairly steady with a 3 percent decrease in unit sales when compared to the same time period a year ago. However, the state’s slight dip shows signs of correction when compared to March numbers that showed a decrease of 7 percent.
According to statistics compiled by the North Carolina Association of REALTORS®, 11,256 units were sold in April. Total sales dollars for the month were $2,466,888,812 and the average existing home sales price was up 4 percent to $219,162.
Jacksonville posted the state’s strongest year-to-date sales growth at 17 percent and the state’s largest price appreciation at 16 percent. Mountain and coastal areas of the state are continuing to see downturns in total dollar sales. Areas of the state seeing the largest downturn include Brunswick County, Brevard, Washington-Beaufort counties, Haywood County and Carteret County at -49, -30, -24, -22 and -20 percent, respectively.