Cary, North Carolina Housing Market

How much can you negotiate in Cary?

Only 68 out of every 100 homes for sale have found a buyer. The other 32 are still waiting. Your offer may be the only one on the table. About 1 in 4 sellers has already dropped their price. Each one has learned their first price was too high. Start below their new price, not their old one.

A typical Cary home takes 42 days to find a buyer. Half of them take even longer. That is 12% slower than a year ago. Those sellers are paying to own a house they want to sell. Search for homes listed 60+ days ago. There are 406 homes for sale in Cary. That is 8.6 times the tightest month on record, but below the peak of 525. Supply is steady against last year.

What to do about it

• Search Cary homes listed 60+ days ago that have already cut their price.
• Offer below the reduced price.
• Keep your inspection and financing contingencies.
• Ask the seller to pay closing costs.
• You can lose a few offers here and still win.

Is now a good time to buy in Cary?

Asking prices are 16.3% below their May 2024 peak. You are not buying at the top. Prices are rising again. Every month you wait costs money. The question is no longer when. It is which house. Cary prices have risen in 90 of the last 108 months. Drops here have been short and shallow. Buying in a slow month has rarely hurt a long hold.

This market is turning. Which way is not settled yet. Check the monthly numbers above before you commit.

What numbers should you underwrite a Cary deal with?

• Price growth to assume — +4.7%/yr. 1 year: -0.1% · 5 years: +4.7% · ten years: +5.8%. The five-year and ten-year rates agree. That is a durable trend, not a boom artifact. It is a fair long-run input. Measure growth per square foot. Cary median list price grew 3.4% a year, but price per square foot grew 5.8%. The gap is smaller homes, not weaker growth. The house you buy will not shrink. The one-year rate is a timing signal. It is not an underwriting input.
• Months of carrying cost — 2. A typical home takes 42 days to sell. Budget that long when you exit or refinance. It is 12% slower than a year ago.
• Odds you cut your price to sell — 1 in 4. About 23% of homes on the Cary market right now have already cut their asking price. Assume you are one of them when you sell. Do not underwrite an exit at your asking price.
• Comp on this, not median price — $264/sqft. The typical Cary listing shrank from 3,077 to 2,349 sqft since Jul 2016. So median price hides real growth: 76% per sqft versus 39% on the median. Comp on median price and you will overpay for small homes.
• Competition when you exit — -2%. The number of homes for sale barely moved in a year. Today's comps are a fair guide to your exit.

Is Cary a buyer's or seller's market in 2026?

Yes, if you negotiate. Buyers have the upper hand in Cary right now. 0.68 out of every 100 homes for sale have a buyer, 23% of sellers have cut their price, and a typical home takes 42 days to sell.

Are Cary home prices going up or down?

Asking prices are 16.3% below their May 2024 peak. You are not buying at the top. Prices are rising again. Every month you wait costs money. The question is no longer when. It is which house.

What price growth should I assume for Cary?

+4.7%/yr. 1 year: -0.1% · 5 years: +4.7% · ten years: +5.8%. The five-year and ten-year rates agree. That is a durable trend, not a boom artifact. It is a fair long-run input. Measure growth per square foot. Cary median list price grew 3.4% a year, but price per square foot grew 5.8%. The gap is smaller homes, not weaker growth. The house you buy will not shrink. The one-year rate is a timing signal. It is not an underwriting input.

How fast are homes selling in Cary?

A typical Cary home takes 42 days to find a buyer. Half of them take even longer. That is 12% slower than a year ago. Those sellers are paying to own a house they want to sell. Search for homes listed 60+ days ago.