Regional home sale numbers for 2017 broke a record set in 2005, according to a year-end report from Cape Fear Realtors.
In the CFR market, which includes New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties, more than 10,000 units sold last year, a 14 percent increase over 2016, a CFR report stated. The next-highest number of units sold in a year was 9,347 in 2005.
"We are at the most robust pace we have ever seen," said Fred Gainey, the 2018 president of CFR, in a news release. "Home sales surged in December to finish the year with new record levels."
The CFR housing market finished the year with a median sales price of $219,564 and average sales price of $262,550, about 5.5 percent higher than last year's median and average prices, according to the release.
CFR also provided breakdowns Tuesday of each of the county's performances in December and for the year:
In New Hanover, the average home sales price for December was $296,473 or 3.9 percent higher than December 2016. That's up 8.7 percent year-to-date (YTD) from 2016. There were 390 units sold last month, down by .05 percent from the previous December. "The year ended strong with 5,215 units sold. This is up 4.8 percent from last year. The monthly supply of homes in Dec. 2017 has decreased to 4 months or down from 4.75 months in Dec. 2016. Median Days on Market (DOM) was 32 days, down 7 days from a year ago," the release said.
In Brunswick, the average home sales price for December was $264,769 or 7.4 percent higher than December 2016, a YTD increase of 7.5 percent. The year finished at a new record high level with 4,647 units sold, a 22.1 percent increase over last year. The Brunswick County Realtors Association
reported earlier this month that the county's total sales volume in 2017 had exceeded $1 billion for the first time since 2005.
The average price In Pender last month was $299,083 or nearly 17 percent higher than in December 2016. For the number of units sold, the year finished slightly above last year with 1,394 units sold, up 2.6 percent from last year.
