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Pendulum swinging back to seller's market for Triangle homes

Selling a home in the Triangle is taking less time than in recent years, which is good news for homeowners looking to move but frustrating for potential buyers.

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MORRISVILLE, N.C. — Selling a home in the Triangle is taking less time than in recent years, which is good news for homeowners looking to move but frustrating for potential buyers.

The average area home is now on the market for 109 days – slightly more than three months – which is down 11 percent from last spring.

Part of the faster sales is that the inventory of homes for sale has dropped from 6,700 in February 2012 to 5,500 last month, according to the Raleigh Regional Association of Realtors.

"I have a buyer that is so easy to please, but every time we find something, they call and say, 'Well, we got an offer' or 'We just accepted an offer,'" real estate agent Karen Albanese said Wednesday. "I’ve actually called the agent before we've gone to look at the house, and by the time I get there to preview it, she says, 'Oh, it’s under contract.'"

Albanese said the market has her working longer hours.

"We go out at night. We don't get home until maybe 8 o'clock at night looking at houses during the week because, if we wait till the weekend, it may be gone," she said.

Asa Fleming, president of the Realtors association, said the market has years of pent-up demand after the recession, which has led to increased competition among buyers and sellers receiving multiple offers on their homes.

"I think it’s really consumer perception," Fleming said. "They’re actually feeling like, because it’s a destination area, people are moving in. It’s now time to put their stake in and grab the home that they want."

For months, home-buyer Tom Wirfs was attached to his cell phone, monitoring alerts on houses up for sale.

"I would check it three or four times a day," Wirfs said, adding that the competition can be aggravating.

"You try to look for homes, and before you get a chance, they’re already contingent," he said. "Somebody already beat you to the punch."

Albanese said she hopes the inventory of homes for sale will go up as spring advances.

"It’s taking me twice as long to sell a house because I can’t find (any)," she said.

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