In 2026, Matthews has been the most-shown housing market in the Charlotte region. Canopy Realtor Association counts how many times the average listing gets shown. In August, Matthews listings averaged 4.8 showings each. The Charlotte metro averaged 3.7, and no other town on Canopy's list came close. Over the same eight months, the Matthews year-to-date median sale price dropped 5.0%. Homes took longer to sell, and sellers kept a smaller share of their original asking price.
All of those numbers are accurate, and they point the same way. Matthews draws so many showings mostly because so few homes are listed there. That matters if you are deciding whether to stretch your budget for a house in the town just southeast of Charlotte.
Eight Months of Being the Busiest
Canopy has reported Matthews' showing activity in every monthly release this year. The town was first or tied for first in most of them.
| Month (2026) | Matthews showings per listing | Where it ranked in Canopy's release |
|---|---|---|
| January | 6.0 | First |
| February | 6.1 | Named among top areas |
| March | 6.7 | Tied with Waxhaw |
| April | 6.5 | First |
| May | 6.5 | First |
| June | 5.4 | Named among top areas |
| July | 5.2 | First |
| August | 4.8 | First |
The count peaked in spring and has fallen every month since May, which fits normal seasonal patterns. Even after that decline, Matthews still had more showings per listing in August than anywhere else Canopy named. Canopy calls showing activity "a key indicator of buyer interest." Taken alone, this table describes a hot market with sellers in control.
What the Closings Say Instead
The Matthews data from Canopy MLS, current as of September 5, 2026, looks quite different. Here are the year-to-date figures through August 2026, compared with the same period in 2025:
- Median sale price: $522,450, down from $550,000, a 5.0% drop
- Days on market until sale: 42, up from 27
- Share of original list price received: 96.7%, down from 98.2%
- List to close: 83 days, up from 73
- Closed sales: 674, about the same as last year's 671
August by itself followed the same pattern. The median was $522,500, down 1.4% from August 2025. Closed sales fell 17.5% to 80, and pending sales fell 10.6% to 84.
When buyers compete hard, homes sell faster and closer to asking. In 2026, Matthews homes sold more slowly and further below asking. Buyers are clearly touring Matthews homes. The data shows they are not paying up for them.
A Fraction With a Shrinking Bottom
The mechanism is simple arithmetic. Showings per listing is a fraction: total showings divided by the number of listings. The figure can rise because more buyers are touring, or because there are fewer homes to tour.
Matthews this year looks like the second case. Through August 2026, sellers listed 893 homes in Matthews, down 4.7% from 937 in the same period of 2025. In August, the town had 215 homes for sale, 4.0% fewer than a year earlier. That works out to 2.6 months of supply, down from 2.8.
Meanwhile, inventory nearly everywhere else around Matthews was growing.
| August 2026 | Homes for sale | Change vs. Aug 2025 | Months of supply | Days on market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthews | 215 | -4.0% | 2.6 | 35 |
| Mint Hill | 84 | -16.8% | 2.5 | 48 |
| Indian Trail | 210 | +7.7% | 2.7 | 36 |
| Waxhaw | 312 | +16.0% | 3.9 | 56 |
| City of Charlotte | 3,737 | +15.7% | 3.7 | 47 |
| Mecklenburg County | 4,543 | +12.7% | 3.6 | 45 |
Suppose a steady stream of buyers searching southeast of Charlotte is spread over fewer Matthews listings. Each listing gets more visits even if no extra buyers show up, and those buyers don't have to be willing to pay more. The data supports this reading. Canopy doesn't explain why Matthews leads, so treat it as our interpretation. Still, it fits the numbers better than a demand surge. If more buyers were competing for each home, prices would have held and homes would have sold faster.
Canopy's 2026 president, Joan B. Goode, described the regional picture in the September release:
"Buyers have more choices and more time to consider them, while sellers are competing for those buyers in a way they weren't when inventory was much tighter."
Matthews is a variation on that story. Its listings face less competition than listings in the City of Charlotte. Yet sellers there have still given up price and speed in 2026. The scarcity has brought them more visits, but not stronger offers.
What This Changes About an Offer in Matthews
For a buyer, a home with steady showings can feel like one you have to win. In Matthews this year, busy showing calendars and heavy competition at the offer stage don't seem to go together. Three numbers give a more realistic picture.
Time. Through August 2026, the average Matthews home took 42 days to go under contract, compared with 27 in the same period of 2025. A listing that has been on the market for a few weeks is now normal in Matthews, and the seller may be more flexible about price.
Price distance. Matthews sellers received 96.7% of their original asking price year to date, down from 98.2%. On a home listed near the town's median, that gap is worth thousands of dollars. Canopy also says its price figures do not account for seller concessions, so the actual deals may have been even better for buyers.
Timeline. List to close stretched to 83 days year to date. If you are relocating and need a specific move-in date, plan for the longer timeline. Inspection results and repair requests also carry more weight in a slower market. In North Carolina, your due diligence period is where those talks happen. Our guide to the due diligence fee in Charlotte explains how that period works.
Sellers can read the same data another way. Fewer homes for sale means a Matthews listing faces less direct competition than one in Charlotte proper, where inventory grew 15.7%. Showings bring buyers through the door. A list price that matches 2026 sale prices, not 2025 asking prices, is what turns those visits into a contract. Our post on reading the South Charlotte market when you're ready to sell goes deeper on pricing.
The Supply That Hasn't Landed Yet
The thin for-sale inventory may not stay thin forever. Several Matthews projects could give buyers more choices, though some of them will be rentals.
On Matthews Station Street, Brahm Investments has been developing The Station, a three-floor building on a lot near the Matthews library and town hall. The lot had sat empty since those buildings opened in 2000. A January 2026 CharlotteFive report said the building would be finished in April, with tenants opening in August. The announced tenants are Fly Kid Fly coffee, Seemingly Overzealous, Noble Records, Tee'd Up, a pilates studio, and a rooftop restaurant and bar. Those are the tenants as announced in January, so treat the list as planned.
Brahm's next project, The Veranda, is a village-style "Missing Middle" development on more than four acres near Inner Peaks and the Target shopping center. Completion was targeted for early 2028. An amendment to its site plan and building designs was on the Matthews town agenda for September 14, 2026. A meeting summary from Citizen Portal, which is not an official town record, reports that the amendment was approved and swapped quad units for duplexes without changing the total unit count.
Beside the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex and I-485, The NRP Group is building The Perennial, a 377-unit apartment community. Its project page lists the status as under construction. When ground broke in May 2025, delivery was projected for November 2026. The plan also included 18,900 square feet of commercial space. Apartments don't add homes for sale. They do give some households another option, which could ease demand for the town's small resale inventory.
The roads are moving more slowly. NCDOT's proposal to widen Independence Boulevard with general-purpose and express lanes reaches I-485 in Matthews. The segment nearest I-485 is funded only for preliminary engineering, and NCDOT says dates may change.
A Few Common Questions
Is Matthews part of Charlotte? No. Matthews is its own town in southeast Mecklenburg County, and Canopy reports its market data separately from the City of Charlotte. Many buyers compare it with South Charlotte neighborhoods because the two areas share a border.
Are Matthews homes more expensive than the regional average? Yes. The Matthews median was $522,500 in August 2026. For the Charlotte region as a whole, which covers 12 North Carolina and 4 South Carolina counties, the median was $410,000.
When will newer numbers be available? Canopy says its monthly reports come out on or before the 10th of each month, so September 2026 figures should be out within days. The key question for Matthews is whether inventory keeps shrinking while prices keep softening.
If you're comparing Matthews with other South Charlotte options, or wondering what your Matthews home would sell for at 2026 prices instead of last year's asking prices, The Sears Group can walk you through the latest Canopy data for your street. Request a Free Valuation & Consultation through our home valuation page to get started.
