Craven County Real Estate Right Now: What Buyers & Sellers Need to Know

We are halfway through the year and halfway through summer. This year in real estate has been unlike any other year in our local market in some time, as we are in the midst of a balanced market. The current market would not be considered a buyer’s market or a seller’s market since the market data shows the market is somewhere in between. The balanced market makes buyers and sellers uncomfortable as there is still a lot of uncertainty of what the future holds for us locally and on the world stage. Hopefully, I can shed some light on what to continue to expect in the local world of real estate.

In looking at a Market Summary from our multiple listing service, the data shows that we have sold 1.9% less homes this year, while there have been 7.8% more new listings hitting the market, compared to last year. That is almost a 10% spread of what is selling and what is new to the market. This is causing inventory levels to rise as more homes are coming to the market with fewer sales occurring. We have seen the average days on the market decrease by four days down to 56 days on the market. However, I believe that number of average days on market is incorrect. The data only calculates the days on the market based on what has sold and not including the homes that are sitting on the market. Since less sales are happening, we are seeing homes sit on the market longer which typically results in more price reductions.

In the Craven County market in just the past week, we have had 57 new listings hit the market, 51 price reductions on existing homes for sale, and 47 homes going under contract. There were also 20 properties that came back on the market due to contract termination or expiration. In any case, this would mean 77 properties became available to sell in the last week while only 47 went under contract.

So how does more housing inventory typically impact the real estate market? First and most obvious, buyers have more choices for housing and sellers have more competition in getting their home sold. More inventory allows buyers to be pickier on what they are buying, and we are seeing buyers be less acceptable of homes that need updating and cleaning up. Therefore, sellers wanting to get their homes sold quickly and for the most amount of money must be willing to do a fresh coat of paint, ensure the flooring matches, make sure the landscaping is clean, and stage the house to sell. If a seller prefers not to update their property, those homes are staying on the market longer or require multiple price reductions until a buyer is willing to take on the project. With so much new construction inventory on the market as well, the resale market is even more challenging for some sellers.

Secondly, with higher inventory, some sellers may be more willing to negotiate. This does not mean sellers should “price high to allow room for negotiations.” A house must be priced properly and competitively to attract buyers and get an offer. If a house is priced properly, there are less negotiations to be had anyway. Buyers will make offers on homes they see as the best values in their market. Buyers also must be aware that offering 20% or more off the asking price may not always be the best negotiation tactic.

In good and bad markets locally, homes have sold typically between 94–98% of what sellers are asking for their homes. In the pandemic, that number inverted where sellers were selling at 101–103% of what they were asking for their home on average. However, excluding the pandemic, since I started real estate in 2003, the average negotiations off the list price have usually stayed between 96–98% of the asking price other than right after the recession when it got down to 94%. Buyers do have to make a starting offer at some price, so low offers are better than no offers. Sellers should be happy about all offers as at least there is something to try and negotiate. A bad offer is better than people looking at your property and not making an offer at all…

So far, year to date the average sales price in Craven County is up 1.09% while the median sales price is up 2.65%. I do believe our market will maintain its current pace through this year with not much gain or loss in pricing. We have seen certain areas and price points stay strong while other price points and areas see losses. A flat market, considering the previous six stellar years of our local real estate market, is likely a win and just a sign our market is catching its breath before taking off again. As we continue the growth of our area, Interstate 42 gets completed and people keep discovering the charm that eastern North Carolina has to offer, now is still a wonderful time to be investing in real estate locally, either as a personal home or for true investment purposes. Real estate will still be a great long-term investment as it will not get any less expensive.

On a side note: We at The Home Sales Team of Keller Williams Realty will be hosting our 5th Annual Stuff the Bus event helping collect school supplies for local children. Please consider donating as there is a lot of need and anything helps these kids and teachers have a better school year. Each person that donates will be entered into a drawing and the winner will have $500 donated to a local nonprofit of their choice! It is hard to believe we have been doing this for five years and I am so grateful to so many of you who have helped us collect more and more school supplies each year!