Last Updated on September 29, 2022
Allen Tate President & CEO Pat Riley says Carolinas are a “sweet spot” for relocation
Real estate is extremely local, with activity and pricing varying down to the neighborhood level. But to understand the market, it’s also helpful to look at residential home sales numbers on a national scale.
“Last year, there were 6.12 million homes sold in the U.S. That’s up from 5.64 million in 2020 — despite low inventory, high buyer demand, and unprecedented appreciation in many markets including the Carolinas,” said Allen Tate Companies President and CEO Pat Riley in the March edition of Carolinas Market Update.
There were 762,000 new construction homes sold in 2021, down from 822,000 in 2021. “That’s woefully short of the 1.5 million new construction homes we need annually to replace old inventory. We’ve been in a new construction deficit for a decade now,” Riley said.
Nationally, rental rates increased 7 percent last year, because of the housing inventory shortage. But even with rising interest rates, homeownership still remains a smarter decision than renting.
In the Carolinas, home prices appreciated an average of 13.3 percent last year, the highest in 7 years and more than three times the historical annual appreciation rate of 3.4 percent since World War II. Allen Tate closed 19,150 transactions last year, totaling $6.8 billion in closed sales volume – the company’s best year ever, by far.
“We have many of the same challenges as the rest of the country: new construction challenges, intensified by supply chain issues and labor shortages. But here, we are in a sweet spot,” Riley said.
Company relocations continue to heat up in the Carolinas and Georgia. That means continued demand for homes in Allen Tate markets.
“We have buyers for homes, and we will find homes for buyers. We know other buyers who are ready to sell. We will uncover every rock to find your pot of gold,” Riley said.
Carolinas Market Update is targeted to consumers in the Charlotte, Triad, Research Triangle, High Country, Highlands/Cashiers, and Upstate S.C. regions. It is produced every other month by the Allen Tate Companies and features information, statistics, trends, and predictions about the real estate market in North and South Carolina.
