Charlotte home sales and prices continued climb in December

Charlotte-area home sales and prices continued their climb into December, the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association reported Tuesday.

Sales rose 23.4 percent last month compared to the previous year to 2,339. Average sales prices ticked up nearly 8 percent during the same time to $205,537.

Sellers also got more of what they asked for -- around 92 percent of their listing price, up from 90 percent a year earlier.

“Charlotte’s housing market has shown steady signs of improvement over most of 2012 and could be called the year our local recovery started," 2013 Association/CarolinaMLS President Eric Locher said in a release.  "With some of the uncertainty on the federal level temporarily averted, we’re hopeful these trends will continue through what is generally considered a slower selling season.”

The trade association says demand continues to be strong, illustrated by pending sales, which increased 33 percent from December 2011.

Meanwhile, there are fewer homes being listed for sale, shrinking supply to 5.3 months worth, the group says. The falling supply is pushing the market closer to a seller's market.

Short sales and foreclosures accounted for nearly 15 percent of new listings, down from nearly 20 percent in December 2011. Nearly 16 percent of December sales involved distressed homes, down from nearly 18 percent a year earlier.

Foreclosures are also selling quickly: within 59 days for single-family homes and 38 days for townhome and condominium properties.  Short sales took an average 167 days to complete.  The average time a home of any type (distressed or non-distressed) took to sell was 156 days, the association reported.