Consumer confidence ticks up; new home sales unexpectedly soar

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The newly released Consumer Confidence shows improvements for the second consecutive month and a new trend in the housing market, which has been cooling these last few months.

Almost 21%of people said business conditions were "good," 49% said jobs were "plentiful," and 19% expect business conditions to improve. All of the numbers are up from the previous month although they remain low.

The report also found that there is some uneasiness about the short-term labor market and how much money people are going to make.

Fourteen percent of consumers said they believe their incomes will decrease and on the flip side, 18% anticipate a rise.

Kwon Yi is celebrating a big win in that department.

The inflation rate pushed him to have a tough conversation with his boss and it ended up working out.

"I was able to get about 20% increase in my salary because I didn't see one the year before so it was due time," he said.

Home builders offering big incentives

The report also noted that new home sales unexpectedly jumped in August by nearly 30% from July.

Grace Kim and her partner purchased a home lot sooner than expected.

They were originally planning to get something in November but ended up jumping in feet first and closing on a downtown Raleigh home before interest rates climbed any higher.

"We were scared that we won't be able to afford the house we wanted to at those interest rates," said Kim.

Triangle Realtor Phaedrea Watkins said she isn't surprised by this trend.

She said builders are offering some great incentives these days.

"It may be a buy-down in the interest rate (or) closing costs. Some of them are paying a percentage in closing costs," said Watkins.

She explained that new construction is incredibly attractive because it usually comes with a one-year warranty and there's assurance that repairs will be fixed at no extra cost.

Adversely, during the height of the pandemic, people were waiving inspections to secure a deal and later could be hit with expensive repairs.

Watkins has advice for people looking.

"Try to focus less on the interest rates because those things can change as the market becomes better, as the economy gets better, the rates will go down,' said Watkins.

A search on Redfin showed the median home price for Raleigh and Chapel Hill are above the national average, while Durham and Fayetteville are below.