Submitted by Tim Burrell :

Clients always ask, is it a Buyer's market or a Seller's market?  In the Triangle, that depends on the price.  A Realtor's rule of thumb for the line between a Buyer's market and a Seller's market is when you have a six months supply of homes.  In other words, if homes keep selling at the same rate, if it will take more than 6 months to sell all of the propeties currently on the market, then it is a Buyer's market.

If you have a home priced over $400,000 in the Wake Forest area, there is a 14 month supply of competition, creating a strong Buyers market.  If you have a home priced from $150,000 to $250,000 in the Cary/Apex area, there is a two months supply for a strong Seller's market.

But, what is it like overall?  Balanced between a Buyer's and Seller's market.  For the four county area, there are 11,521 active listings, an increase of 10.7% from last year.  Most of the increase is in new homes for sale, with 23% increase, while resale homes have increased by only 4.4%.  At the rate all the homes are selling, there is a 6 months supply of homes.  Last year, there was a 5 months supply.  So, the market on the average has shifted, but you do not buy the average, you buy only one home.

So, the price range determines whether you are operating in a Buyer's market or a Seller's market.