With the inventory of homes for sale in Charlotte NC being at near-record lows, NOW is a great time to sell your South Charlotte home! In Charlotte, we typically think of the prime real estate selling season as being in the spring and summer, as families try to wrap up school years and time their moves to coincide with the start of a new school year. It’s no wonder that June, July and August are typically the top home sales months of the year in Charlotte.
Search for Homes for Sale in South Charlotte NC
Where Are All the South Charlotte Home Sellers?
The low inventory of homes for sale in Charlotte is striking. With an absorption rate of 5.3 months in December, a statistician will tell you that Charlotte is now a SELLER’S MARKET! Absorption rate measures the amount of inventory on the market, and how long it will take to sell all of that inventory, assuming no new homes come on the market. A balanced market between home sellers and buyers is 6 months. With our current 5.3 months’ worth of inventory, the scales have tipped in favor of sellers.
The Carolina Multiple Listing Service (CMLS) reports that in December, 2012, our number of “active” listings dropped 27.7% from a year ago. In the previous month of November, 2012, the number of active listings was down 27.5% from November of 2011. The downward trend repeats itself over the latter part of 2012 so that it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that there are NOT enough homes for buyers to choose from. Lower supply means higher home prices for home seller, and that is exactly what we are seeing in the Charlotte real estate market.
NOW is a Great Time to Sell Your South Charlotte Home!
I hear this common lament in my Savvy + Company real estate office, and from my fellow Realtor colleagues across Charlotte, NC….we have ready, able and willing buyers, but we don’t have the right home for them to purchase! What a BUMMER! We have looked at every home in the MLS that meets the needs of these buyers, but there isn’t enough to choose from!
Well-priced homes in great condition are generating MULTIPLE OFFERS and BIDDING WARS, a phenomenon that was unheard of 2 years ago. Homes are often selling for higher than their listed price, because qualified buyers are carefully watching their favorite neighborhoods and are poised to make strong offers. This is GOOD NEWS for South Charlotte home sellers! Because of this low inventory, now is a GREAT time to sell your South Charlotte home!
Why Wait? List Your Home for Sale Now
The Charlotte home selling season typically begins in mid- to late-February. But why wait? If buyers are waiting on the sidelines NOW, why not try to ride that wave and satisfy that demand? Would you rather be competing against 50 homes in February or 200 homes in April? Beat your competition and list your South Charlotte home for sale now, because NOW is a GREAT time to sell your South Charlotte home! Here are some things to make your home stand out and attract the most buyers/offers:
- Work with an experienced Realtor who will explain the market data and help you decide where to “position” your home in the marketplace, in terms of price.
- De-clutter! Let the buyer see all of the space in your home. You are selling your home, NOT your stuff, so get rid of the clutter – you’re moving anyway!
- Stage your home! Professional stagers KNOW what sells in today’s market, and they are talented people! You will not believe what they can do to get your home ready for sale. Think model homes – and it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, and the returns will be well worth it!
- Make repairs! Take an honest look at your house and make all repairs necessary. Any potential buyer will ask for it anyway. Trust me, your repair costs will be much less, and not as stressful if you make the repairs on YOUR time with YOUR contractor!
- Go for curb appeal! Cliche, but true! If buyers don’t like the way your house looks from the street, they may not even come in!
- Clean! Sparkle! Shine! There is no substitute for elbow grease and a good old-fashioned spring cleaning! Buyers are turned off by mildewed bathtubs, scuffs and fingerprints on the walls, gross and disgusting ovens and stoves, etc. Put yourself in the buyer’s position – would YOU buy your house?
- Ask the nose! Big buyer turn-off odors include cigarette smoke, pet urine/dander, strong cooking smells, over-acting air fresheners, and mildew/dankness. You don’t really notice your own house smell, but trust me, others do! Neutralize! (and that does NOT mean hiding offensive odors with strong fragrances!)
Expert South Charlotte Listing Agent
When it comes time to sell your South Charlotte home, it is vitally important to find a Realtor who understands your needs and goals and who will help you get you where you want to be – on time! Not all South Charlotte Realtors are the same! I entered the real estate market just before the market crashed, so all I really know is a tough market and how to work hard to get my listings SOLD! It is so exciting for me to take a listing and to come up with creative ways to market that home. I love finding what makes each home/neighborhood unique, and selling a lifestyle as well as a home!
If you are interested in working with a Realtor who truly understands the importance of marketing in this digital age, please call me. We will sit down and talk about my strong marketing plan and my attention to detail so you won’t have to stress over it.
You’ve been watching the real estate market in South Charlotte, and you’ve been waiting to catch the rising tide. Now is a great time to sell your South Charlotte home. I look forward to talking to you about how I can sell your home! Fill out the contact form on this page, or call me at 704-654-9700.
