Island Real Estate: Hatteras Island home sales and trends for November 2022
Three Key Takeaways from the October 2022 OBAR Statistical Report…
The biggest news from the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® (OBAR) October report is that the Outer Banks set an all-time high for residential median sales price – $600k.
Mortgage rates have seen a big drop over the last couple of weeks. The average 30-year mortgage rate on November 9 was 7.22%, today the average rate is 6.64%.
That’s a significant drop and it really helps buyers with their purchasing power. However, sellers are still hesitant to list their homes for sale since locking in 3% mortgage rates that were available as recently as earlier this year. Until those mortgage rates come down further, it looks like we will still have a low inventory/high-demand environment that keeps prices stable and may even push them higher. Let’s start with the current inventory:
Inventory is Still Low
In October 2019, we had an inventory of 2,367 properties. In October of this year, it was 992, or 58% lower than pre-Covid levels.
This is an ongoing issue and inventory isn’t likely to come rushing back until rates get back to 3%-4%. We don’t have the luxury of geographic expansion since a lot of properties on the OBX are on a sandbar! Hatteras Island in particular is mostly “built out” with a large percentage of land either owned by the government or already with a house on it. High rates are keeping sellers in their homes, and low inventory is putting upward pressure on prices.
Sales Prices Hit an All-Time High
While sales volume is down considerably, (25% down vs October of 2021), sales prices continue to rise thanks in no small part to that supply/demand issue. Three straight years of double digit home price appreciation percentage is no small feat, and property owners may be rewarded with even more price appreciation next year. It will be tough to see another 10%+ but I think another 5% is certainly possible given the dynamics of the market right now.
Hatteras Island is Keeping Pace
Sales volume is still down quite a bit, but it’s hard to buy a house when there aren’t many for sale! Average days on market is almost half of what it was last year, so the homes that are listed are moving faster.
If you had to do a double take on that median sales price, it’s not a typo. For Hatteras Island, the median sales price is up to $621,250 – largely due to factors mentioned earlier like geographic expansion limited by sound and sea, and a persistently high demand for property.
If you would like to see the entire report you can view it every month on the OBAR website:
https://www.outerbanksrealtors.com/market-data/
Thanks for reading and enjoy some turkey! Happy Thanksgiving!
About the Author: Stephen Smith is an Outer Banks realtor with Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty. He was recognized in 2021 as one of the top 10% of Coldwell Banker agents worldwide. He has lived on the Outer Banks for nearly 20 years, and met his lovely wife on Hatteras Island. They currently reside in Nags Head with their daughter, but Hatteras Island is still home in many ways. For questions on the Hatteras or greater OBX real estate market, you can contact Stephen directly at stephen@cbseaside.com or 252-216-9230. His website is https://www.stephensmithobx.com or you can receive his weekly newsletter by signing up at https://mailchi.mp/43cd4a4bf1a6/obxnewsletter.
