2013 will go down in history as the year that real estate came back.
After five years of economic contraction and plummeting home values, a
flood of home buyers entered the market last year leading to a national
increase of 23.5% over the number of 2012 sales.
The Triangle real estate market peaked in 2007 and by 2010 had
bottomed out, dropping to 2003 levels which of course was sad news for
home sellers. In many segments of the market home prices have risen to
peak levels, but others will take a while to achieve that result.
Every area of the Triangle saw an increase in sales over 2012:
• Chapel Hill/Carrboro sales increased by 25.6%
• Chatham County sales increased by 34.3% (primarily driven by Briar Chapel)
• Orange County (including Hillsborough) sales increased by 27.5%)
• North Raleigh sales increased by 31.6% (driven by new development along 540)
• Cary/Apex and Morrisville sales increased by 28.3%
Home prices have increased too, but at a smaller percentage than the
sales numbers. Prices in Chapel Hill and Carrboro rose 6.2% over 2012
levels. Cary/Apex prices rose 13.9%. Chatham prices rose as well, but
again this is driven primarily by the price points in Briar Chapel.
Prices in East Durham, which has had a spectacular renaissance thanks
to the downtown explosion, rose by 8.7%, but prices fell in North Durham
despite the increased number of sales.
We expect 2014 to continue this trend, with new companies moving into
the area and existing employers expanding and hiring new workers.
Interest rates remain well under 5%, hovering between 4-4.5% which is
still a historically attractive rate that increases housing
affordability.
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