Report: Central NC housing market on the upswing

Home sales in central North Carolina are on the upswing, according to a real estate market report released Thursday.

Triangle Multiple Listing Service, which compiles home sales data for Wake, Durham, Orange and 13 other counties, said sales are up, inventory is down and homes are holding on to more of their property value.

New listings were up 7.5 percent to 3,240 in August, compared with the same month last year.

Pending sales in August were up 26.4 percent to 2,310, compared with the same month last year.

Inventory levels shrank 25.3 percent to 13,052 in that time, while the median sale price increased 3.8 percent to $192,000, according to the report.

Ray Larcher, president of Triangle MLS, said the numbers reflect a recovering economy.

“The truth is, the economy is and has been expanding consistently for years, albeit at a disjointed pace,” he said. “There's reason for optimism going into the last third of 2012 and even into 2013, and housing is actually playing a large role in that positive outlook.”
 

See county-by-county market reports at the Triangle MLS website.