Charlotte-area home sales continue to tick upward

Charlotte-area home sales had their brightest performance last month in almost two years, although record foreclosure activity could stall the still-weak market and means yet more pressure on prices.
There were 2,223 houses, townhouses and condos sold last month in the region, down 18 percent compared with July 2008, according to results released Monday by the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association. That was the smallest year-over-year decline since September 2007.
“We're seeing very modest gains,” said Bill McConnell, with the SouthPark office of Cunningham & Co. Mortgage Bankers. “The first-time homebuyer is still far and away the strongest market. The luxury market is still all but dead.”
Area home sales also rose compared with June, marking a string of monthly increases that included the best spring sales surge in three years. And the market saw another signal the slow climb back could continue: The 15 percent decline in pending sales was the smallest since July 2007.
The average selling price was down 7.7 percent, to $212,977. That's a little worse than June but better than double-digit declines in other months this year.
“It does seem to me that things are on the mend,” said Mark Vitner, senior economist with Wells Fargo in Charlotte. However, he cautioned, worries about job loss and pay cuts will continue weighing on sales.
“We'll see some modest improvement off the very low levels of activity we saw late last year and earlier this year,” Vitner said. “We're not going to see anything folks in the industry would say is normal or strong for another year.”
Record foreclosure activity also means more houses could flood the market in the months to come, adding to the slow moving inventory.
Statewide, foreclosure filings rose one-third in July, compared with a year ago, to nearly 6,100, according to Observer analysis of court data compiled by the state. At 1,107, Mecklenburg filings remained above the high-water mark of 1,000 for the fifth consecutive month, although well below April's record over 1,600.
Filings mark the start of foreclosures. Some homeowners will work out repayment plans. Others won't and will end up in a final foreclosure sale. After a lull earlier this year, Mecklenburg's final foreclosures have begun growing again.
Foreclosures, typically selling at heavy discounts, depress the value of surrounding homes. An Observer analysis this month found about one-fifth of the single-family houses sold this year in Mecklenburg had been in foreclosure during the last 18 months.
by Stella M. Hopkins