Durham real estate market update
Located just outside of Raleigh, Durham continues to face an uncertain economic future as its real estate market continues to suffer along with most North Carolina real estate markets. Many North Carolina real estate markets have faced high foreclosure rates, a frozen credit market, a struggling commercial real estate market, and declining home prices since the beginning of the economic recession that began in 2008. So far, few North Carolina real estate markets have been able to post any improvements over the past few months. Real estate experts continue to wait for signs that the North Carolina real estate markets have hit bottom and are ready to rebound for a full recovery.
The Triangle Business Journal in Raleigh and Durham have reported that despite the 6 percent decline in the number of foreclosed homes in North Carolina, the state still remains as 29th in the nation for highest number of foreclosed homes. A total of 4,317 homes in North Carolina were foreclosed on as of August 2009, which is equal to one in ever 956 households. Despite slight improvement over the past few months, North Carolina’s foreclosure rates are still 26 percent higher than they were in July of 2008. The Triangle Business Journal has also reported that the Raleigh and Durham real estate market has suffered a slight 2.5 percent decline in home prices between the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009. Currently, the median home price is at $199,365, down from $209,204 during the market’s peak in the first quarter of 2008. Since then, the priced has dropped by about 5 percent. Local real estate companies have reported that about 61.6 percent of homes in the area have lost value in the last 12 months, with 15 percent of those homes being sold at a loss.
The Charlotte Business Journal has also commented on the struggles and gloomy future of the commercial real estate market in North Carolina. Many businesses are still filing for bankruptcy, and others that are in trouble are opting to move out of the state. The frozen credit market has also posed as an obstacle to the development and expansion of the commercial real estate industry that is necessary to accommodate the predicted growth of many businesses in the region by 2030. As the Durham real estate and surrounding regions continue to suffer, real estate experts continue to wait for signs of recovery.