It has been a little over a month since the mountains of Western North Carolina received over 3 months' worth of precipitation in a day and the region saw historic flooding. The region experienced widespread outages and devastation. Needless to say, the real estate market was also shell-shocked. While some areas were left untouched or received only minor damage, there are also areas such as Biltmore Village, the River Arts District, homes and communities bordering the Swannanoa River, and sections of Old Fort that have a much longer recovery ahead.
Initially, the week of the storm, real estate activity came to a near standstill with 75 showings for the entire week, compared to over 1,200 showings for that same period in 2023. In the past week, showings in Buncombe County increased from 412 to 614—a 49% increase. While this is a positive sign for the market, it still falls short of the 1,282 showings for the same period in 2023.
In McDowell County, showings increased from 60 to 84 over the past week, a 41% increase, but is still overshadowed by the 125 showings that occurred in the same week period last year. Burke County, which saw a relatively smaller impact from Hurricane Helene, has seen very little change in showing activity. In the past week, 173 showings occurred compared to 178 in 2023. As the recovery efforts continue, we expect showings to steadily increase.
In terms of sales activity, the past 7 days saw, a total of 82 homes go under contract in Buncombe, McDowell, and Burke Counties—a 46% increase compared to the previous week. Over the past 7 days, Greybeard agents have had seven closings and 5 properties go under contract. We’re excited to share that the Biltmore Estate, parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and many restaurants, shops, and businesses have been actively opening up—a welcome and encouraging step on the road to recovery. Even as sales and rental activity gradually pick up, GreyBeard realtors and rental staff will continue lending hands to community members while assisting clients and customers.
Our hearts continue to be with our community during this time, and we are grateful to be helping in the relief efforts in any way we can as our area actively heals. Our Greybeard Rentals team has had the honor of housing 55 displaced families and relief workers at reduced rates thanks to our generous homeowners. While there is still much work to be done, we are embracing all of the progress made so far with gratitude and hope as we move forward.