January started off strong for the housing market, with healthy buyer demand and strong market fundamentals. A robust increase in housing starts in December points to an active year for new construction, but higher material costs, especially lumber, and a limited supply of buildable lots will temper the number of new units.
 

New Listings were down in the Charlotte region by 7.8 percent to 4,301. Pending Sales increased 15.1 percent to 4,794. Inventory shrank 59.8 percent to 3,370.
 

Prices moved higher as Median Sales Price was up 12.9 percent to $285,000. Months Supply of Homes for Sale was down 63.2 percent to 0.7, indicating that demand increased relative to supply.
 

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s January research estimates approximately 2.7 million homeowners with mortgages are currently in forbearance plans. Some of these homes may eventually come to market, but given the strong appreciation in most market segments in recent years, these eventual home sales are likely to be mostly traditional sellers. However, a modest increase in short sales and foreclosures at some point this year would not be surprising.