Homes sold in September saw the largest yearly price increase so far this year. At the same time, sellers made the largest list price reductions of the year, and of the homes that sold buyers received the smallest price concessions.

 Demand, as measured by the median days a property is on the market, has seen some dramatic swings. Currently, homes are on the market for 11 more days than they were this time last year.

The NETAR Days on Market clock starts when a property is listed until it closes, so the time to close dilutes the actual time on the market. The current number is 61 days, up from 50 days this time last year.

The average days on market before there’s an offer in most cases is less and has bounced around from days to weeks in the region’s submarkets. Multiple offers are still an issue – especially in the $300K sweet sport, and buyers are looking for concessions.

Here’s a capsule of the listing and sales data that is part of the September market report.

The median listing price of $320,000 was – like the sales price – the highest so far this year. Thirty-nine percent of the properties that sold last month saw an average price reduction of $33,438.

The median sales price of $287,950 was up 8.7% from this time last year. Fifty-seven percent of the homes that sold saw an average price concession of $10,475 to get to closing. That was $475 more than the lowest in March.

OUTLOOK – Look for the market to become increasingly competitive. Inventory has continued slow gains so there are more choices out there. Don’t expect any short-term dramatic change in mortgage rates. They have declined enough to put some owners in the refi mood. And while there are signs the owners locked in by the post-pandemic ultra low rates are beginning to come back to the market, it’s not enough to east the regions’ housing shortage. Hurricane Helene’s damage in the region is increasing rental demand and complaints about scams.