What is the average home price in Raleigh? How much have homes appreciated. These questions about the Wake County NC real estate market are relevant for homes sellers, and buyers alike. Luckily, the Triangle Multiple Listing Service publishes market data on a regular basis.
In this article, we’ve broken down some of the key performance indicators and made them easy to understand.
| County | Average Price Per Sq Ft. | Avg Sales Price | Days on Market | Inventory of Homes For Sale | Appreciation Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake | $149 | $369,430 | 29 | 3,411 | 5.2% |
Average Price Per Square Foot – $149
This number is taken from Redfin. The interesting thing is that we get conflicting numbers from different sources. Personally, I like to keep track of the price per square foot metric because it allows me to adjust for different size houses. This is also a highly relevant number if you are considering moving into Wake County from another city or state.
Keep in mind that this is the average of the entirety of Wake County, not just Raleigh. The average price per square foot will vary when compared between different cities within the county and between different zip codes and neighborhoods.
Average Sales Price – $369,430
This is the average sales price of all the homes listed and sold on the Triangle Multiple Listing Service. This will not include private sales. The advantage of reading data from the MLS is that there is a standard form of reporting on square footage, features, room dimensions, age, etc. This is more accurate than tax records or the large data providers.
The average sales price in Wake County will is important for the following reasons.
- It will give you an idea of how much appreciation (increase in value) is being gained by homeowners overall.
- How affordable the area is in general.
Days on Market – 29 Days
It took an average of 29 days from the time the home was listed on the market until a contract was accepted and was changed to “contingent” or “under contract.” 29 days is a decrease of 9.4% when compared with the 32 days on market in March 2019.
This means that overall homes are selling faster then they were last year. Keep in mind that the average days on market will rise with more expensive homes ($400,000+).
Inventory of Home For Sale – 3,411
Inventory levels of 3,411 have dropped 11.7% from 3,861 in March 2019. This means there are fewer homes listed for sale in the county. Inventory shortages have been a problem for many years now. The great recession of the late 2000s caused homebuilders to cut back on production which left a supply shortage that has yet to catch up.
Buyers have to be more competitive if they are serious about buying a house. Multiple offer situations are common. Many times, offering more than full price with little to no concessions is necessary to get the home under contract.
Appreciation Rate – 5.2%
This figure is calculated based on the average sales price of $369,430 this year vs $351,008 in 2019. This is a 5.2% increase. Again, you will see slightly different numbers based on the data source. Either way, an average of 5% appreciation per year is a solid return on your investment.
This is very positive data for owners of homes in Wake County NC. However, this data set does not accurately reflect the coming changes due to Covid-19 and the stay at home order. As of this writing, the feedback I am getting is still positive. But, it will be interesting to see what happens over the next few months.