The impact of the spread of Coronavirus continues to grow as the 30-year fixedrate mortgage fell to 3.51% last week. Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of REALTORS®, explained that the upper-end of the housing market may soften with the temporary loss of Chinese buyers. "China has been the most important source of foreign demand for real estate," he explained. Until temporary travel bans are lifted, many potential Chinese buyers will be restricted from visiting the U.S., which will in turn reduce the number of active home buyers, particularly at the high end of the market.

Charlotte Region

For the week ending Feb. 8:

• New Listings decreased 7.8% year-over-year to 1,084
• Pending Sales increased 22.3% year-over-year to 1,152
• Inventory decreased 27.2% year-over-year to 7,194

For the month of January:

• Median Sales Price increased 10.5% year-over-year to $252,320
• List to Close decreased 6.5% year-over-year to 100
• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 0.5% year-over-year to 96.1%
• Months Supply of Homes for Sale decreased 32.0% year-over-year to 1.7 months

Asheville Region

For the week ending Feb. 8:

• New Listings increased 5.0% year-over-year to 252
• Pending Sales increased 25.4% year-over-year to 267
• Inventory decreased 18.0% year-over-year to 3,671

For the month of January:

• Median Sales Price increased 12.3% year-over-year to $264,000
• List to Close increased 1.5% year-over-year to 133
• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 1.0% year-over-year to 93.4%
• Months Supply of Homes for Sale decreased 28.3% year-over-year to 3.8 months