In the first six months of 2023 our total closed sales, land and homes have totaled $104,077,151 down from $118,656,746 the same period of 2022 or a decrease of 12.29%. Closed sales on waterfront homes were down 10.48% in dollar sales in the first six months of 2023 over the same period last year. We have closed 88 waterfront homes this year compared to 112 last year. The average sold price of waterfront homes in 2023 is $907,620 up 13.94% over the same period in 2022. The median price of waterfront homes sold in 2023 was $762,500, up from $727,500 last year or a 4.81% increase. The increase in the median home’s sales price is from home prices increasing and sales of higher priced homes. Today, we show 25 waterfront homes sold on the lake for $1M or more this year. Compared to the same time period for 2022 when twenty-two sold. Going back to the same time period in 2019 only one waterfront home sold before Covid hit. Covid has been a major contributor to increasing real estate prices everywhere.
This year, 50 offshore homes have sold, and their total dollar sales are down 41.6% this year compared to last year. Waterfront lot sales are up 10.23% in dollar sales compared to last year.
All sales numbers are from the Roanoke Valley Lake Gaston Board of REALTORS® MLS and do not reflect private sales.
Second home prices have surged. Mortgage rates climbed to today’s rate of 7.12% for primary homes and 7.75% for second homes/ investment properties. Since the beginning of 2022, mortgage payments have become increasingly unaffordable. Second-home buyers face those increases plus the federal government increased loan fees for second homes last year. Example, if you buy a median priced home on Lake Gaston with 20% down payment, you’d have a monthly payment of $1,798 over 30 years because of the increased interest rate.
Total existing-home sales transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 0.2% from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.30 million in May. Year-over-year, sales dropped 20.4% from May 2022.
"Mortgage rates heavily influence the direction of home sales," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "Relatively steady rates have led to several consecutive months of consistent home sales."
“The Leading Economic Index provides an early indication of significant turning points in the business cycle and where the economy is heading in the near term. The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. declined by 0.7 percent in May 2023 to 106.7, following a decline of 0.6 percent in April. The LEI is down 4.3 percent over the six-month period between November 2022 and May 2023—a steeper rate of decline than its 3.8 percent contraction over the previous six months from May to November 2022. The US LEI continues to signal a recession within the next 12 months.”
Our inventory of quality homes in the Lake Gaston market continues to be low. Now is a good time to list your home if you have been thinking of selling. List your home before the market cools off more. Contact a full-time REALTOR® with working knowledge of the Lake Gaston market. Ask them to provide written data on properties sold and listed in the local market. When listing your property, price it according to comparable ones on the market. Remember, buyers’ frown at time wasted looking at overpriced properties. Overpriced properties sit on the market and become stale. Eventually selling at a lower price because of the wrong listing price at the start.
More people are coming to Lake Gaston and the surrounding locations. We see growth in both residential and commercial development. Lake Gaston REALTORS® love helping people find their dream home or business at the lake!
Barney Watson is the owner of Lake Gaston Real Estate LLC and he is Director for the Roanoke Valley Lake Gaston Board of REALTORS®. His cell is 252-532-3274 and his website is www.lakegastonrealestate.com.