According to the North Carolina Association of Realtors, sales of existing homes dropped 24 percent for the month of September compared with the same period last year. However, the median price of a Triangle home jumped 6 percent from $229,000 to over $242,000. The slump has hit high-priced neighborhoods the hardest.

State economist Mike Walden said the Triangle real estate market traditionally has been steady, but the recent sales drop argues against that. He said he has worried the decline would spread to other sectors of the economy. “We're in for a very tight six to nine months," Walden said.

While Triangle sales are off, it could be a lot worse. It takes an average 73 days to sell a home in the Triangle, compared with a national average of nearly 120 days.

Across the state, 9,267 homes were sold in September. Total sales for the month were $2,113,546,343, and the average existing home price was up 8 percent from a year ago, to $228,072.

Jacksonville remained the municipality least affected by the housing downturn, with an 8 percent sales increase, followed by Wilson with a 6 percent increase. Coastal areas improved, with the Outer Banks and Greenville posting 2 percent and 1 percent increases in sales, respectively.

Source: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1957042/