06/01/2026
Kelly just sent this article off to be published in the July edition of a local magazine, but we thought maybe you’d like to read it today!
The Local Housing Market is Returning to Balance
After several years of an exceptionally competitive housing market in Orange and Chatham counties and around the country, many buyers and sellers are adjusting to conditions that feel very different from what we've experienced since 2020. While some may describe today's market as "slow," the reality is that we're returning to something much closer to a historically balanced market.
One useful measure for understanding market conditions is Months Supply of Inventory. This metric estimates how long it would take to sell all homes currently on the market if no new listings were added and homes continued selling at the current pace. In Orange and Chatham Counties, the combined Months Supply of Inventory stood at 3.2 months in May 2026.
To put that in perspective, months supply of inventory dropped below one month in June 2021, during one of the most competitive markets our area has ever experienced. Buyers often faced multiple offers, waived contingencies, and made decisions within hours of a home hitting the market. Looking further back, inventory measured 4.1 months in February 2020, just before the pandemic reshaped housing markets nationwide. Historically, an inventory level between four and six months is generally considered balanced.
It's also important to remember what a truly distressed housing market looks like. Following the financial crisis, inventory in our area climbed to more than two years of supply in 2009. Today's market thankfully bears little resemblance to those conditions.
That said, the shift can feel jarring for homeowners who became accustomed to observing the unusually favorable selling conditions of the past few years or may have participated in them as a buyer. Homes that might have received immediate offers in 2021 or 2022 may now spend several weeks on the market. Price reductions are becoming more common, and buyers are taking more time to evaluate their options.
From the buyer's perspective, caution is understandable. Mortgage rates remain significantly higher than they were during the pandemic-era boom (at around 6.5% in May of 2026 versus under 4% in May of 2019 and as low as 2.65% in January of 2021). Affordability remains a challenge. While inventory has improved, the median sales price in Orange and Chatham Counties has increased approximately 72% since 2019. Buyers today are often balancing substantially higher home prices with borrowing costs that are more than double what many purchasers enjoyed just a few years ago. As a result, even well-qualified buyers are taking more time to evaluate their options and make careful purchasing decisions.
For sellers, this changing environment highlights the importance of preparation and pricing. The homes attracting the strongest interest are typically those that have been thoughtfully prepared for the market. This may include completing deferred maintenance, addressing cosmetic issues, improving curb appeal, and working with a real estate professional to present the home in its best possible light through staging and strategic marketing.
Pricing strategy has become equally important. In a market with more choices, buyers are quick to recognize when a property is priced above market value. Overpricing can lead to extended market time and, ultimately, a lower sales price than a home might have achieved with a more competitive initial strategy. The sellers seeing the best results today are often those who enter the market with realistic expectations, strong presentation, and a pricing strategy grounded in current conditions rather than memories of the pandemic-era frenzy.
Balanced markets benefit both buyers and sellers by creating more predictable conditions and healthier transactions. While the market may feel different than it did a few years ago, today's environment is much closer to what experienced real estate professionals would consider “normal”. Understanding that context can help everyone make better real estate decisions.
