Interview: John Wood, President RE/MAX United

John Wood

President RE/MAX United

How would you characterize the Triangle’s real estate market?

In April and May 2020, the market paused for a brief moment but picked back up quickly and 2021 is experiencing the most robust residential market ever seen in the Triangle. 2020, during the peak of the pandemic, ended as the top-selling year in the Triangle area for as long as we have been keeping records. Sales were up more than 8% year over year. Average and median prices were up more than 6%. Due to the pandemic, no one expected activity at the level that we had. Now, 2021 has taken the residential market up several notches to again setting all-time records for sales and prices in all areas of the market.

What factors are continuing to drive the market a year into the pandemic?

A major factor that drives the Triangle’s residential market is jobs. We have continued to experience strong job growth over the last five years. The 2021 announcement of Apple building a campus in RTP and Fujifilm Diosynth spending $2 billion in Holly Springs further fuel the already strong job growth. The local startup scene has performed quite well, coupled with strong investment on the commercial side, which impacts the residential market.

What challenges is the Triangle market facing?

Regulations implemented after the Great Recession increased the cost of development and building. These factors are putting pressure on startup housing opportunities. We are constantly looking for resales in the lower price range and focus on feeding that market. Historically, we have had the opportunity to help those first-time homebuyers or young families, whether through townhomes or single-family homes. The low supply and increasing property values have added pressure on this portion of the market. The person looking to put down 5% and compete in the resale market fighting against multiple bids is experiencing difficulties.

National job boards show 65,000 openings in the Triangle region

( ) its ability to attract new companies. One of the most notable announcements of the last year was tech giant Apple’s move to add a 3,000-job campus to the Research Triangle Park (RTP). The company said that the presence of prestigious universities such as Duke will allow it not only to take advantage of the talent pipeline but also to partner with institutions on cuttingedge research. And RTP has seen big demand in the last year or so. In 2020 alone, more than $2.3 billion in biomanufacturing expansions were rooted in the area and 2021 levels look set to surpass that. Fujifilm alone announced this year that it would invest $2 billion in a cell culture biopharma production facility in Holly Springs. In terms of new business filings, Wake County has seen a 75% increase from July 2020 and Durham an 84% rise in the same period. National job boards show 65,000 openings in the Triangle region, driving the influx of talent to the area.

Real estate investment With a total population of about 2.2 million and growing in the Raleigh-Durham statistical area, it should come as no surprise that houses are in high demand. According to real estate firm Redfin, Raleigh’s house prices in June 2021 had risen 27.2% year over year to a median sale price of $382,000, about $50,000 over the median list price quoted by Zillow . The number of homes sold rose by over 25% on the year to 1,059 and, unsurprisingly, homes were staying on the market for a median of just 33 days, down 25% on the year. In Durham, the story is similar, with median sale prices having risen over 22% year over year to $353,000 in June. Houses are on the market for a median 29 days, down 35.6% year on year and 634 homes were sold during the month, up 22.4% on the year. Rising house prices are being buoyed by restricted supply as developers grapple with supply chain issues and rising raw materials prices.

But despite all this, houses in the Triangle are largely ( )