How Competitive Is the Raleigh Housing Market Right Now for Buyers?
Saira Bruno September 3, 2026
Saira Bruno September 3, 2026
Quick answer: Raleigh’s $700K+ housing market isn’t uniformly slow—it’s split.
A fresh pull of MLS data across the Triangle’s luxury corridor shows that 43% of active listings above $700,000 have already taken a price cut, and more than a quarter have been on the market for 60+ days.
But here’s the other side of the story: homes priced correctly from the start are still closing quickly, often within days of reaching the right price, and at a median 99% of list price.
The gap between those two outcomes—not a citywide slowdown—is what’s really driving how competitive the Raleigh luxury housing market feels right now.
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Ask whether Raleigh’s housing market has “cooled,” and you’ll likely get a different answer depending on where and what you’re shopping for.
Nowhere is that split more visible than in the $700,000+ price range.
A recent pull of active MLS data across Wake County’s luxury corridor—including Raleigh, Apex, Cary, Wake Forest, and Holly Springs—shows just over 2,180 homes currently priced at $700,000 or higher.
But the number of listings alone doesn't tell the story.
The behavior underneath that inventory does.
Nearly half of the inventory—1,045 homes—is currently active.
Of those active listings:
And while the majority of listings are still relatively fresh, a meaningful portion of the market is beginning to stack up.
Of the active $700K+ listings:
That last number is particularly important.
Nearly one in five active luxury listings has now been sitting for more than 90 days.
And those longer days on market are disproportionately associated with homes that have not yet adjusted their pricing to match current market conditions.
In Raleigh specifically, where 447 of these active listings are located, the pattern is remarkably similar: 41.6% have already been repriced at least once, despite a median asking price of approximately $1.43 million.
Pricing isn't the only factor shaping buyer behavior at this level. Financing matters, too.
For buyers weighing how much interest-rate movement should influence their timing, Saira's take on whether mortgage rates will actually go down if the Fed cuts rates is worth reading alongside this data.
[Insert MLS market chart/image here]
The pending pool tells a slightly different story.
Of the 434 homes currently under contract above $700,000, approximately 31% had a price adjustment before a buyer stepped in.
Compare that with 43% of active listings that have already been reduced.
That gap may be the clearest signal in the entire data set.
Homes that are:
are the homes finding buyers.
Homes that launch too high are the ones increasingly stacking up in the 60- and 90-day columns.
This doesn't look like a market where buyers have disappeared.
It looks like a market where buyers have become more selective about value.
The closed-sale data reinforces that point.
Among 646 homes that closed, the median sale-to-list ratio was 99%.
Even more telling:
In other words, this isn't a market where luxury buyers are simply lowballing every seller.
It’s a market where correctly priced homes are still moving at close to full value.
The difference is what happens when the price isn't right.
An overpriced home can sit for months, accumulate price reductions, and ultimately sell at a discount—or come off the market entirely.
A well-priced home can attract the right buyer quickly.
Saira Bruno, founder of SB Real Estate and Cornerstone Collective in Raleigh, has been watching this exact split play out across her own $700K+ transactions this year.
“The luxury segment isn't slow because buyers disappeared. It's slow for homes that launched at the wrong number. The ones priced against real, current comps are still closing fast and close to full price. The gap between those two outcomes has gotten wider, and it's costing sellers real time and real money to be on the wrong side of it.”
As a Raleigh real estate advisor who has closed more than 135 homes across the Triangle, with roughly 30% of her business in new construction and custom builds, Saira works with both sides of this equation.
For buyers, that means identifying whether a listing represents a genuine opportunity—or simply a home that has been sitting because it is overpriced.
For sellers, it means understanding where today's buyers are actually seeing value before a home ever goes on the market.
If you're shopping for a luxury home in Raleigh, the data should change how you approach an offer.
A listing that's been active for 90+ days with no price reduction is a very different conversation from one that was repriced two weeks ago to match current comparable sales.
Those two homes may have the exact same asking price.
But they don't have the same negotiating position.
This is where hyperlocal market knowledge matters.
Knowing which homes are genuinely overpriced—and which have simply been sitting because they're unique, niche, or waiting for the right buyer—is much more useful than looking at a citywide average.
For more on what to look for when choosing representation, see Saira's full breakdown of what to look for when hiring a Realtor for a luxury purchase in Raleigh.
The same data is an important pricing warning.
If nearly half of active $700K+ listings have already needed a price correction, launching at the right number the first time is no longer optional in this segment.
The goal isn't necessarily to price low.
The goal is to price accurately.
There's a significant difference.
Today's luxury buyer has more information than ever before. They can compare active listings, recent sales, price reductions, days on market, and neighborhood trends almost instantly.
If your home is competing against properties that offer more value at the same price, buyers will notice.
And if your home sits for 60, 90, or 120 days, the market begins to ask a different question:
“What's wrong with it?”
Saira's breakdown of why $1 million doesn't buy what it used to—and what that means for your listing strategy goes deeper into how she approaches pricing before a home ever goes live.
The answer is: it depends on the listing.
Correctly priced homes are still closing at a median 99% of list price, which favors sellers who understand the market and price accurately.
At the same time, homes that launch too high are sitting for 60, 90, or more days, creating opportunities for buyers who are willing to be patient and understand the seller's pricing history.
That's why broad labels like “buyer's market” or “seller's market” can be misleading at this price point.
The real question is: What does the data say about this specific home?
It depends on the specific listing. Correctly priced homes are still closing at a median 99% of list price, which favors sellers who price accurately. Homes that launch too high are sitting 60–90+ days and receiving price reductions, which creates more leverage for buyers willing to wait those listings out.
Across the current MLS data, 43% of active listings above $700,000 have taken at least one price reduction. The typical reduction is approximately $50,000, or roughly 4–5% off the original list price.
More than half—56%—of active $700K+ listings are still within their first 30 days. However, 17% have been active for more than 90 days, creating a meaningful pool of longer-term inventory.
It depends on the home's pricing history.
A home that has been sitting for 90+ days without a price reduction may be genuinely overpriced and could warrant a lower offer.
A recently repriced home—or a newly listed home priced accurately against current comparable sales—is more likely to sell close to full list price. In this data set, 45% of recent closings sold at or above their final list price.
The data points toward pricing accuracy rather than a lack of buyer demand as a major factor.
Pending homes had a meaningfully lower rate of price reductions (31%) than active homes (43%), suggesting that listings priced correctly—or corrected quickly—are converting to contracts faster than homes that launched too high.
If there's one takeaway from this data, it's this:
Don't make a decision about a $700K+ Raleigh home based on a citywide headline.
The luxury market isn't moving at one speed.
Some homes are sitting.
Some are getting multiple price reductions.
And some are still attracting buyers quickly and closing at or near full price.
The difference often comes down to pricing, property-specific value, and how accurately you understand the competition.
If you're trying to figure out which side of this data your target home—or your own listing—actually falls on, that's not something a citywide average or a Zestimate can tell you.
It takes a current, hyperlocal comparison against homes that are actually closing right now.
Book a consultation with Saira to get that read before you write your next offer or set your next list price.
Data referenced above is drawn from a current MLS export of $700,000+ listings across Raleigh, Apex, Cary, Wake Forest, and Holly Springs and reflects active, pending, and closed status as of early September 2026. Market conditions shift, and individual neighborhoods and properties can behave very differently. For a live read on a specific home or neighborhood, connect with Saira directly.
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