Home sales across the Charlotte region slowed in July even as inventory grew, giving buyers in the Waxhaw and Weddington corridor more options as the market enters September.

The 16-county market tracked by the Canopy Realtor Association recorded 4,142 closed sales in July, up 1.6% from July 2025 but down 3.7% from June 2026, the Charlotte Business Journal reported. Pending sales told a similar story: 3,963 contracts, a 2.1% annual gain but a 5.7% slide from the prior month.

The Canopy report pointed to that drop in pending sales as a sign that closings will continue to soften in the months ahead.

Rates keep climbing

A big reason for the cooldown: borrowing costs. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 6.43% to 6.66% by the end of July, according to Freddie Mac data cited in the Canopy report. Rates held near that level through August and then ticked up to 6.71% for the week ending Sept. 3, Freddie Mac's latest survey showed. That marked the highest weekly average since July 31, 2025.

"More homes coming on the market and slower price growth in many areas are giving buyers better options and helping create a more balanced housing market," Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said in the agency's Aug. 27 survey release.

The region now has 13,589 homes listed for sale, roughly 872 more than a year ago, according to the CBJ's report on the Canopy data. Joan B. Goode, the Canopy Realtor Association's 2026 president, said the rising inventory creates more opportunity for strategic buyers.

What it means locally

Union County sits inside the Canopy Realtor Association's 16-county footprint, so the regional trends apply directly to buyers and sellers in Waxhaw, Weddington and Marvin. A contractor press release published Sept. 3 pegged Waxhaw's median home price above $510,000, well above the broader Charlotte metro median. That figure has not been independently confirmed through MLS data.

Higher rates are also reshaping how homeowners think about moving. Justin Hoskins, president of Waxhaw-based JH Landscapes, said in the Sept. 3 release that some Union County families are choosing to add onto their current homes rather than sell and buy at today's rates.

The Canopy Realtor Association has not announced a release date for its August 2026 report, which would provide the next snapshot of whether the summer slowdown is deepening.