April 2021 Real Estate Market on the OBX

April 2021 Real Estate Market on the OBX

Sellers Continue to Feel the (Real Estate) Love

Seller’s market. Those two words have pretty much summed up the state of the real estate market in the Outer Banks for nearly a year now. While mitigation efforts in 2020 to curb the spread of Covid impacted the way tours, inspections, and closings were conducted for a period, it proved no more than a minor speed bump in the road.

April 2021 Real Estate Market on the Outer Banks, NC

Sellers gleefully say “what Covid?” as their homes quickly go from market debut to sold in sometimes as little as a few days. With limited inventory, buyers are eager to snatch up properties – even paying above market values – just to get their hands on something, anything.

Looking at the April 2021 roundup, the trend does not appear to be going anywhere any time soon. Let’s take a look at some of the impressive stats reported over the last month and break them down for buyers and sellers.

Up and up the sales go

Rising sales are the norm for most of 2021, including in April, with a 94 percent increase posted over the same period in 2020. Available listings are up 147 percent, but inventory is down by more than half. A snapshot view of the market, provided in the April 2021 MLS Statistical Report, examines the market from January 1 through April 1 for both 2020 and 2021. Here are some of the astonishing figures from the report:

  • Residential sales totaled 646 units in 2020 and 1,212 units in 2021.
  • Lot and land sales totaled 125 units in 2020 and 280 units in 2021.
  • Residential inventory hovered around 1,324 units in 2020 but only 392 units in 2021.
  • Lot and land inventory fared a little better, with 756 units in 2020 compared with 576 in 2021.

Other statistics from the report belying the nature of the current seller’s market include the total monthly sales for April 2021, which represented a 136 percent increase over the same period in 2020. A total of 428 units changed hands in April 2021 compared with 181 in April 2020. Under contract properties were boosted by 147 percent, with 923 units for April 2021 and only 374 for April 2020.

Hot commodities

The average time on the market for most properties available in OBX in April 2021 was down 45 percent to 53 days. Just one year ago, properties lingered on the market for roughly 96 days before changing hands. Distressed sales and inventory also continue to decline, leaving buyers who previously relied on foreclosed properties as viable options in their real estate hunt out in the cold.

After months of trailing behind other OBX markets for months due to low inventory, Ocracoke Island was the shining star for sales in April 2021, with a 200 percent sales increase over the same period last year. This is the second month in a row Ocracoke has claimed the top spot.

Nags Head was the runner-up, with a 185 percent increase over April 2020. A total number of 37 properties were sold compared with just 13 last year. The median sales price also rose by 16 percent to $558,500.