Existing-home sales across North Carolina slipped for the second straight month in October, as the state’s average home price held steady, the North Carolina Association of Realtors reported.
According to statistics, 11,257 homes sold last month, down 2 percent from 11,499 sales in October 2005. Year to date, however, sales are 4 percent ahead of the same period last year.
Although the average home price dipped to $213,599 in October from $215,769 a year ago, it was up from September’s average of $211,988.
Prices in the state’s mountainous western areas posted the greatest growth from last year, while prices near the coast decreased considerably. In Haywood, an Appalachian county, the average price gained 22 percent during the period, rising from $207,294 to $252,029, while prices in the nearby city of Hendersonville were up 13 percent to $252,651.
Further cooling was reported in the coastal markets of the Outer Banks and Brunswick, according to NCAR. Sales in the Outer Banks were down 30 percent from a year ago, while the area’s average home price fell 13 percent to $473,617. Brunswick County sales tumbled 64 percent during the period, as the average home price dipped 13 percent to $293,366.
