North Carolina - Is it the right time to buy a house?

North Carolina has always been a favorite spot for investors in property. The southeastern state is of significant importance in the East Coast with over 100 counties. Two of the most significant cities, Raleigh and Charlotte have had a considerable impact on the growth of the realty market in the state. The capital Raleigh has had an impact on the economy of North Carolina for some time now while the larger Charlotte has always been the preferred place to stay for a number of reason that includes better infrastructure and amenities in the state.

Housing prices

The median value of a home in North Carolina is $151,100 which is on the borderline of being affordable. However, this is the spur in the market which has led to an increase of almost 4% in the prices. Experts predict that this will further shoot up and bloat by another 3% in the coming year.

There was a slump in the 2010 – 2015 period during which home prices hit rock bottom before recovering considerably. However, the market is still not fluid as it used to be with the average time taken to move a house in excess of 120 days which is more than the market average. This is clearly an indication that the market is waiting for better prices.

Rentals

Rent market in North Carolina has always been welcoming! The average price for rent is now $1153 which is up from $973 in 2011. However, this increase is not in sync with the rate of increase throughout the US.

Mortgage rates follow the trend with interest rates at 3.9% on a 30-year mortgage. This makes home buying easy but close to 1% of homeowners have negative equity which makes the home worth less than the interest you are paying for.

The trends suggest that though NC is a great place to invest it is best to rent out a house now and buy later when the market has stabilized.