DESPITE DIP IN CLOSINGS LAKE NORMAN MARKET REBOUNDS STRONGLY

With much of Lake Norman’s housing market at a standstill in April, luxury closings above $500,000 in price declined for the month of May, only to see a spike in pending contracts as real estate activities and stay at home restrictions mostly ended mid-month.

Interestingly, while usual flagship areas like Davidson and Cornelius were subject to Mecklenburg County’s much more restrictive stay at home declaration, and thus saw declines in May sell-thru, outlying areas like the west shore, Mooresville, and north shore areas of the lake all came very close to matching last year’s May closings.

Showing activity, which ground to a near halt in early April, rebounded to near-normal levels in almost all areas around the lake, with the million-dollar and over $2 million dollar ranges showing similar activity to last May. This is particularly impressive given much of the country remains under travel restrictions.

Subject to the county’s restrictive stay at home policy, Cornelius saw a drop in sell thru from 26 homes last May, to 9 this year in the luxury category. Tight inventory levels in the sub-million dollar range also impacted sell thru, as communities like The Peninsula showed less than 20 homes actively on the market. The area has rebounded to post 30 pending contracts heading into June while showings rose back to almost normal levels in the upper ranges.

Similarly to Cornelius, Davidson saw just 9 closings in May, compared to last year’s 17 in the luxury price points. The market has rebounded strongly throughout May and heads into June with 33 homes pending over $500,000 including 7 over $1 million. Active inventory stands at just 57 homes.

Riding the more relaxed showing environment in Iredell County, Mooresville’s luxury segment recorded 32 closings this May vs 38 last May, nearly matching last year’s totals despite the hurdles placed in the way by the Covid-19 dynamic. Showing activity in Mooresville surged, with the segment over $1 million posting a 100% increase over last May, pointing to a very strong summer in Iredell County’s luxury market.

While the area above the 150 bridge posted a slower level of closing activity in May of this year (12 closings vs 20 last year in May), showing activity up the lake has exploded, with 497 showings taking place the past 30 days vs just 210 last year, another increase of over 100% for yet another more rural area of the Lake Norman region.

The Denver area benefitted from more relaxed showing restrictions during the stay at home period and recorded 14 closings vs 18 last May in the luxury segment. Like Cornelius and Davidson, strong upticks in local showing activity show the west side with 32 pending contracts. Showing activity actually exceeded last May’s totals by about 15%, quite remarkable given the Covid restrictions.

For the most part, localized showing activity has not only returned to normal levels, it is likely exceeding last year’s level given total showings, with little or no out of state traffic showing up until recently, are running just below last year’s similar period totals. It appears that the ultra-lux segment above $2 million is returning to its pre-Covid level of heavy activity, with Ivester Jackson agents recording multiple deals above the $2 million level and currently leading the western side of the state with 19 of the 63 transactions completed so far in 2020. Given there is likely still a deficit in out of state traffic, the environment exists for a very strong mid-summer period as the local economy picks up, and buyers wary of Covid-19 impacts in higher density major metro areas look to get to areas with more space/lower density. There are several unknowns, primarily the impact of what will likely be depressed corporate earnings for a period, along with the stress imparted upon small businesses of the many shutdowns experienced. Additionally, the historic movement towards the end of the election cycle has typically caused angst in some corners of the luxury segment. For now, pent up demand, cheap money, inbound migration, historically low inventories are driving what looks to be a very solid summer.