Median real estate prices in Wake County decline $5,000, but remain historically high

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- This may come as welcome news to would-be homebuyers in the Triangle. For others, it may be a sign of the times due to the highest interest rates homebuyers have seen in 23 years.

According to the Wake County Register of Deeds, the median price of a home in Wake County has dropped by $5,000. The median price now sits at $450,000.

"Changes in median sales prices tend to be caused by the activity in the core market," the Register of Deeds wrote.

The core market is defined as real estate transactions under $1 million.

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The report, recently released by Zillow, shows that Raleigh faces a housing deficit of roughly 17,000 units.

"A lot of people have been priced out. I mean that's the problem," said real estate professional Adam Grossman. "You went from an average home sale price of like high $200,000s to the $400,000s and then rates have more than doubled. It just became unaffordable."

The news comes as Wake County saw a 15% reduction in transactions in September compared to August when the median price was at $455,000.

For September, the Wake County core market conducted 1,786 transactions.

Additionally, according to Freddie Mac, the current rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage is 7.31%.

Grossman said he believes buyers and sellers are holding off any forward-looking activity for the time being.

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More than 900 homes sold for over $1 million in the Triangle in 2023 to date, according to John Finan of Exeter Building Company.

"I think there's an attitude that rates are going to come down and they're going to come down in the near future for some of the homebuyers," said Grossman. "So they're kind of holding out to see what the market does. And people with cash are holding on to their cash because they're unsure of that as well. People want to be ripe with cash. So they're not really spending it as readily as they were before. I think people are scared too."

For the county's high-value segment, which tracks transactions between $1 million and $30 million, there was an 8% decrease from August with 131 sales.

"Everything is so gosh darn expensive," said Grossman. "It's not just real estate. It's gas, it's food, it's everything."