LUXURY MARKET REPORT
Lake Norman | Q4 2023
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Q4 Market Report
contents January 2024
Overall Market Report Improved Outlook Spurs Early Uptick in Luxury Market
Community Updates Cornelius Davidson Mooresville West Shore North Shore Concord & Kannapolis
Forecast Showing activity in the region has ticked upward to start 2024.
Improved Outlook Spurs Early Uptick in Luxury Market Riding an improved luxury consumer outlook driven by financial markets anticipating lessened Federal Reserve activity and potential rate reductions, North Carolina’s luxury real estate market trended upward as 2023 ended. Record sell-through in the upper ranges in the five-county area around Charlotte drove unit sales in the $2 million and $3 million and up ranges to record heights. Over five years, sales in the $2 million range and above have skyrocketed from 101 closings in 2019 to 372 in the year just closed out—a whopping nearly four-fold increase in just five years. Locally at Lake Norman, highlights include Davidson’s emergence as a destination for ultra-high-end luxury property sales, including a $7 million closing in the second half of 2023. Showing appointment requests in all the luxury price points increased noticeably in early January compared to last year’s same period.
Cornelius Limited inventory across the board in Cornelius continued to limit sell-through numbers. While 45 homes closed in the luxury ranges in the fourth quarter of ’23 (similar to ’22’s result), there remained just 28 active homes in inventory, less than half a quarter’s supply. Newer construction/remodels continued to attract outsized premiums to the rest of the market relative to pre-Covid levels. Sales exceeding $2 million in value in the ultra-lux range outpaced 2022’s fourth quarter by a 13 to 11 unit count.
Cornelius Q4 Home Sales
Davidson The story in Davidson’s luxury market continues to be the explosion of property deals above $1 million and $2 million. 20 deals closed in the fourth quarter this year compared to just 10 last year at the same time, with another 23 pending as we move into the new year. New construction and acreage properties have drawn significant interest with 13 homes closing over $2 million in Davidson for 2023.
Davidson Q4 Home Sales
Mooresville Riding a solid quarter in the ultra-luxury segment above $2 million, Mooresville saw several flagship waterfront properties trade hands and 16 closing in this price segment vs 14 during the same period last year. The range between $1 million and $2 million slowed slightly, yet inventory in that range remained at less than 90 days worth of absorption (26 sold in the fourth quarter vs 24 currently active).
Mooresville Q4 Home Sales
Denver | West Shore The West Shore area’s fourth quarter results were slightly off from last year, with 45 homes closing in the luxury ranges vs. 52 last year at the same time. That said, inventory numbers remain relatively stable, with 13 homes listed above $1 million in price following a quarter in which 6 closed. This does represent some increased days on the market, yet 4 more went pending quickly to start this year, so those numbers may become more balanced as the quarter moves on.
Denver/West Shore Q4 Home Sales
North Shore Troutman/Sherrills Ford The mid-market luxury range just below $1 million surged above the 150 bridge on Lake Norman in the fourth quarter, with 19 homes closing vs just 10 in the fourth quarter last year. Overall, inventory in this area slowly increased and now stands at just over 90 days of active supply. The 17 pending contracts on 60 active listings yield more supply than we ended the summer with.
North Shore Q4 Home Sales
Concord & Kannapolis Cabarrus County continues to be a hotbed of activity in the mid-market luxury range, particularly with new construction options in communities like Harmony. With 61 closings in the fourth quarter in the $600k-999k range vs. just 46 last year; this range continues to attract lots of buyer activity as another 57 are showing under pending contract moving into 2024. The luxury range above $1 million fell slightly in the fourth quarter but then posted 3 pending contracts to start the year.
Concord & Cabarrus Q4 Home Sales
Lake Norman Market Forecast Forecast For Lake Norman and North Charlotte
Showing activity in the region has ticked upward to start 2024. Consumers seem emboldened by potentially more benign interest rate conditions and signs that inflation appears to be settling down. In the luxury range between $1 million and $3 million in list price, total showing requests the past 60 days in the 5-county area around Charlotte rose from 2,792 requests to 3,701 requests by the region’s realtors, with the average house seeing an increase in showings from 7.8 requests over 60 days, to over 8 requests in the same period this year. The $3 million dollar range and above saw a similar increase in showing request activity, with the average home in this range attracting 5 showings in a 60-day period over the holidays, one of the real estate cycle’s typically slower periods. The region saw 372 homes close over $2 million in list price, a record in comparison to 2019's total of 101. We believe this number will increase into the $425,000-$450,000 range this year in homes closed, with the ceiling price on resale homes pushing up into the 8-12 million range.
OUR OFFICES Lake Norman 21025 Catawba Avenue, Suite 101 Cornelius, NC 28031 North Shore 350 Morrison Plantation Parkway, Suite C1 Mooresville, NC 28117 Charlotte 1515 Mockingbird Lane, Suite 900 Charlotte, NC 28209 Asheville 18 S Pack Square Asheville, NC 28801 Wilmington 527 Causeway Drive Wrightsville Beach, NC 28480 Highlands - Cashiers 210 North Fifth Street Highlands, NC 28731
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