Happy New Year, everyone! We’ve turned the calendar from a remarkable year in Lake Wylie real estate — and expect another challenging year to come in 2024. We’ve seen listing inventory continue to be very tight, prices continue to climb, and buyer demand continues to be strong — both on the lake and off.
Here is a quick glance at waterfront real estate performance in 2023:
Waterfront Sales Trends
We’ve been tracking sales for dockable waterfront homes and lots for sixteen years — “cleaning up” the data to eliminate occasional coding errors and making sure we’re looking at true waterfront properties. My team and I closely monitor prices, sales and influencing factors to help you understand the Lake Wylie real estate market like no one else can, as well as to hone our own expertise to ensure we’re giving you the best advice possible.
In the chart above, the blue bars represent the number of dockable waterfront homes sold on Lake Wylie each year, and the red bars represent waterfront lots.
In 2023, Lake Wylie waterfront sales totaled 89 homes (down 22% from 2022) and 18 dockable lots (down 59% from 2022).
Demand during the pandemic drove sales up for both homes and lots — but to a point where inventory was depleted. With prices on the rise and people spending more time at home, potential waterfront sellers who might have been on the move tended to stay put. As buyers snapped up the healthy level of listings that existed prior to 2020, there were fewer new listings by the day. By 2021, we were in a real struggle to find enough properties to meet buyer demand.
The average number of home listings at any given time on the market was as follows:
At any point in time on Lake Wylie in 2018, there were on average 104 waterfront homes and 95 waterfront lots listed for sale. (The number of listings was generally higher in the spring/summer/early fall months, and lower in the winter.)
In 2023, the average number of listings was under a third of levels prior to the pandemic. With very low supply, demand continued to outpace availability — resulting in higher prices and shorter time on the market. About 75% of waterfront home listings sold in under a month in 2023. Many were under contract within a day or two, at or above the asking price.
Waterfront price trends
Prices continued to climb in 2023. In the chart above, the red line represents average sales price for Lake Wylie waterfront homes ($1,325,000 in 2023). The blue line represents waterfront lots, and the green line represents area homes in the general market, based on the six zip code region that contains Lake Wylie.
Waterfront home prices spiked 10% in the past year and the average sales price is about 75% above the pre-pandemic average. Prices have risen sharply for individual homes, and the mix has shifted to higher priced, luxury home segments. Inventory levels have been tightest among the more moderately priced waterfront homes.
In the general market, prices have climbed to an average just over $500,000, up 3% from a year ago and up 50% compared to pre-pandemic prices. Ten years ago, the average price of a waterfront homes was about $350,000 above a non-waterfront home. Today, the average premium for a waterfront home is about $825,000.
Waterfront lot prices have risen as well, to just over $400,000 on average — up about 40% compared to pre-pandemic.
Looking at the distribution of waterfront home sales by price segment, several trends emerge:
In the chart above, the distribution of waterfront sales is shown by price segment, with dark blue bars representing homes priced under $500k, red bars representing homes priced $500-$699k, green $700-999k, purple $1mm-$2mm, and the teal bars homes over $2 million.
Sales of homes under the $500k price have dwindled from over 20% of the market to almost non-existent. Homes in that price range are small fixer-uppers at best, and unsalvageable in some cases (property is sold for land value.)
Just five years ago, homes priced under $700,000 represented over half the market. Now, less than 10% of sales are homes priced under $700,000. Recent sales in that price range are homes averaging 50+ years old and under 1,500 square feet. Some of these homes are “river cabins,” designed as weekend retreats.
Homes priced $700k up to $1 million have fallen in market share from about one-third of sales to about one-fifth of sales. These homes average 33 years old and 2,400 square feet. Five years ago, the same money could have purchased a 4,000 square foot home that was about 15 years newer. Examples of homes in this price segment include some of the smaller, older homes in Tega Cay; homes located in less convenient locations; and homes in coves with limited views.
The $1mm to $2mm price segment is the most dominant in today’s market, representing well over half of sales. A home between the prices of $1mm and $1.5mm averages about 3,500 square feet and is 26 years old — and the same home would have sold in the $700’s prior to the pandemic.
As the home price reaches $1.5-$2mm, more luxury features emerge — bigger views, nicer kitchens, more outdoor landscaping and living spaces. The average home in this price range is 17 years old and 4,400 square feet.
Over $2 million is the fastest growing segment, with just one sale in 2020 and ten sales in 2023. These homes are newer (averaging 13 years old) and larger (almost 5,900 square feet on average.) Most of the homes in this price segment have beautiful outdoor living spaces with covered porches, fireplaces, built-in grills, perhaps a pool. They have gourmet kitchens with high end appliances, possibly a wine cellar. Some have home theaters and second kitchens, luxury baths. They generally offer big, open views and some have sandy beach areas.
With such a rapidly changing market on Lake Wylie, we often need to educate potential buyers on what to expect in their price range. Several factors contribute to the price of waterfront property — including view, water depth and quality of the lakefront area, surrounding properties, county and neighborhood restrictions that determine use and development, lake and land location, and the quality, size and condition of the home.
If you’d like to see more details about recent property sales, please visit my webpages: Recent Waterfront Home Sales and Recent Waterfront Lot Sales.
The Lake Wylie Man team has once again achieved the most sales on Lake Wylie, outselling the next highest selling realtor by more than 4 to 1. Our expertise on the lake is unmatched, and we look forward to offering you a successful and profitable experience in selling your property. Thank you for your business, and all the best in 2024!
Drew