The wild ride continues in real estate — on Lake Wylie and around the country. Sales are breaking records — which is quite a feat considering the number of listings is at an all-time low. We are starting to see just a little slowing in sales in waterfront homes, but that is simply because there are so few homes available to sell. Compared to a 4-year average by month, sales outpaced previous years in the first quarter of the year and have begun to lag below average the past couple of months:
In the chart above, the blue line represents the average number of Lake Wylie waterfront homes sold by month for the past 4 years, and the green line represents the number of homes sold this year. Seasonally, sales usually peak June through August, and the trend this year is headed in the same direction.
After a very strong spring, summer sales for 2021 are lagging just a little behind the 4-year average.
Lake Wylie Waterfront Sales
Here’s a quick snapshot compared to years past:
Year-to-date waterfront home sales (blue bars) on Lake Wylie reached 71 at the end of June, just topping the sales record reached in 2017. Waterfront lots (red bars) reached 40 at the mid-year mark, strongly outpacing sales reached any year this decade.
Prices are also at an all-time high:
The average waterfront home price (red line) on Lake Wylie lingered around $600k for several years, then started climbing in 2016-2017. In first half 2021, prices spiked as lake home demand rose and number of listings fell.
Thus far in 2021, 22 homes have sold on Lake Wylie for over a million dollars — a 57% increase over last year’s January-June sales in that price category. The shift to more expensive homes has impacted the average sale price. In addition, individual home sale prices are up 10-20% over pre-pandemic prices. High demand and low supply, again, have driven prices up. List prices out of the gate are higher — and bidding wars have bumped up the already increased prices. Finally, an influx of newer homes — carrying higher prices from more costly materials — has caused the average price to climb.
Waterfront lot prices (blue line) are up for individual lots. Also, we have seen a number of premium lot sales in 2021: several multi-acre lots in The Sanctuary (averaging almost $600,000), plus a 3-acre parcel in McLean for $1,300,000 and a 2-acre parcel in Woodland Bay for $821,000.
Other sales highlights:
- The average time on the market for Lake Wylie waterfront homes is just 30 days. (For reference, the average time on market for 2020 was 115 days.)
- Over half of waterfront home sales occurred in the first week of listing.
- Over half of waterfront homes sold at or above the listing price.
- The average sales price for a cabin (property designed for “weekend use,” usually built 50+ years ago, usually under 1200 square feet or so) reached $506,000 in first half 2021, a whopping $70,000 increase over last year’s average.
- About 25% of waterfront lots sold were on the market less than a month. Also, several lots that were on the market for several years have sold.
Inventory
The number of properties available for sale on Lake Wylie is at record lows. For perspective, annual sales are compared to the current number of listings:
The number of waterfront homes on the market (red line) was fairly steady from 2017 – 2019. During the pandemic, sales spiked (blue line), while sellers delayed listing their homes or decided to stay put. Up until 2019, the number of listings was sufficient to cover annual demand, providing buyers a fair number of listings to choose from.
Currently, there are just 69 waterfront homes on the market, and 38 of those are under contract. Pre-pandemic, there were usually around 30-35 homes under contract at any given time during the summer. Last year during the pandemic, when people began moving from urban areas to the suburbs, lakes and resorts, there were 40-55 homes under contract during summer months. We’re now below that point — mainly because available inventory is so low.
A similar situation exists for waterfront lots:
The number of dockable waterfront lots listed (red line) has declined dramatically since 2017, falling from around 120 to just 42 current listings. Even though building costs are high due to the demand during the pandemic, plus tariffs, buyers are purchasing lots to build waterfront homes.
It is an excellent time to list property if you are considering selling!
Details for recent sales are available on my website: Recent Waterfront Home Sales and Recent Waterfront Lot Sales If you’d like to discuss the potential for your property, please give me a call. As the #1 Lake Wylie Realtor each year for over a decade, I can provide unparalleled expertise and marketing for your home or lot.