Brunswick County real estate market inches closer to normalcy in 2022
After an extended period of rapid sales coupled with an extremely low inventory, Brunswick County’s residential real estate market closed out 2022 with more typical numbers. The number of homes sold and total sales volume both decreased, average sales prices were higher, and homes spent slightly less time on the market compared to 2021.
“After an insane couple of years, our market inched closer and closer to normalcy throughout 2022,” said Cynthia Walsh, BCAR CEO. “Thanks to continued strong demand and limited inventory, average sales prices increased throughout the year. While total sales volume is slightly down, it’s important to remember that we saw historic, unprecedented numbers in 2020 and 2021. While last year’s numbers may be lower than prior years, overall our market is in strong shape going into 2023.”
Total sales volume decreased from $2,704,199,429 in 2021 to $2,527,930,000 in 2022. Average sales prices for the year were up 10.5% compared to 2021, jumping from $398,772 to $440,574. Homes spent an average of 30 days on the market in 2022, compared to 39 days in 2021. New listings were down 11%, from 7,157 to 6,373, and the number of units sold dropped 18%, from 6,779 to 5,556.
When it comes to December’s numbers, new listings, units sold and total sales volume decreased compared to last year. To put the numbers into context, December 2022 saw more homes sold than any other December in the past 17 years apart from 2020 and 2021.
Total sales volume decreased 25.9% compared to December 2021, from $243,100,000 to $180,100,000, while average sales prices were up 1.4%, from $439,610 to $445,799. Luxury homes may have been the holiday gift of the season, with 17 transactions in excess of $1 million and three in excess of $2 million. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there were more than 50 sales below $250,000 in December. Overall, homes are still selling for roughly 97% of their list price.
New listings were down 11.7% in December, from 368 to 325, and the number of units sold dropped 26.9%, from 553 to 404. Homes spent an average of 41 days on the market in December, up from 32 days. The absorption rate, which is the amount of time it would take to sell all available inventory, decreased to less than 2.5 months in December 2022.
Brunswick County
New Listings
- December 2022: 324
- December 2021: 368
- Increase/Decrease: -11.7%
Units Sold
- December 2022: 404
- December 2021: 553
- Increase/Decrease: -26.9%
Average Sales Price
- December 2022: $445,799
- December 2021: $439,610
- Increase/Decrease: +1.4%
Median Sales Price
- December 2022: $359,900
- December 2021: $359,000
- Increase/Decrease: +0.3%
Total Sales Volume
- December 2022: $180,100,000
- December 2021: $243,100,000
- Increase/Decrease: -25.9%
Bladen County
New Listings
- December 2022: 10
- December 2021: 11
- Increase/Decrease: -9.1%
Units Sold
- December 2022: 11
- December 2021: 7
- Increase/Decrease: +57.1%
Average Sales Price
- December 2022: $177,341
- December 2021: $265,000
- Increase/Decrease: -33.1%
Total Sales Volume
- December 2022: $1,950,000
- December 2021: $2,050,000
- Increase/Decrease: -4.9%
Columbus County
New Listings
- December 2022: 17
- December 2021: 18
- Increase/Decrease: -5.6%
Units Sold
- December 2022: 10
- December 2021: 27
- Increase/Decrease: -63%
Average Sales Price
- December 2022: $216,250
- December 2021: $192,142
- Increase/Decrease: +12.5%
Total Sales Volume
- December 2022: $2,160,000
- December 2021: $5,190,000
- Increase/Decrease: -58.4%
The Brunswick County Association of REALTORS® (BCAR) is the local association level of the largest trade association in the nation, presently serving its members, which are comprised of REALTORS®, Appraisers and Affiliate Members. Chartered in 1959 by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), BCAR represents the interests of its members in southeastern North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina. For more information, please visit https://bcarnc.com.