Take zero pleasure in noting that once again Meck Deck readers knew what was going on months before anyone else in town was being honest about bad news.
Home prices in the Charlotte area are falling off a cliff, as they had to. Average November 2008 prices were 13 percent lower than November 2007.
Assuming only the first six months of 2009 remain soft — an optimistic assumption, I think all of 09 might see contraction — and prices continue to fall at the same rate, that would be another 6 percent off of the average sales price. This would mean that homes that used to sell for around $250K in November 07 would be going for about $200,000, $350K homes for $287K, $500K homes for $410K, and $750K homes for $615K.
Sounds about right.
Update: Slightly different — and worse — data from the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association via the Charlotte Business Journal. Sales in the seven-county local region were off 38 percent and prices down 17 percent. This projects to an average sales price of $178,000 by the middle of next year, down from $233,000 in November 2007.
