Buncombe, McDowell and Burke County Market Trends

As the summer months heat up, the typical seasonal increases in inventory have occurred in the Greater Asheville Area real estate market. However, supply is still low.  Second-quarter real estate numbers have largely mimicked the previous quarter in a home sales landscape of persistently high-interest rates, questions about the economy, and fewer homeowners looking to sell.

Buncombe County

The Buncombe County market has seen a 23% decrease in home sales year to date compared to 2022. Inventories remain low. As of this update, there are only 650 homes for sale in Buncombe County, less than the already low 662 homes that were available in 2022. The cause of the inventory difference is a decrease in new listings. We speculate that homeowners are (still) reluctant to list their homes and give up the lower mortgage rates they currently enjoy. Average and median sales prices have remained slightly above 2022 in correlation to the low inventory. In June, the average sale price was around $595,000. 

View our Asheville and Black Mountain homes for sale.

McDowell County 

McDowell County trends mirror Buncombe County except for the average sales price which is down 15% year to date, compared to 2022. The average price in June was $337,000. Median prices are also down 9%. There is not a clear indication of what is causing the decrease in prices given that supply is down–with only 80 homes on the market. The trend with pricing activity in correlation with inventory will be an important metric to track in the coming months. 

View our Old Fort homes for sale.

Burke County

Of the three counties reviewed in this market update, Burke County’s real estate market appears the strongest. Average prices are up 9% over 2022. June’s average prices ended at nearly $295,000. Inventories are down 19%–102 homes on the market last year compared to 83 this year. Closings are down nearly 17% year to date, while new listings are 12.6% lower than last year. Burke continues to operate as a seller’s market. 

View our Lake James homes for sale.

Conclusion

Unlike previous real estate slowdown cycles, sales prices, for the most part, have remained steady or slightly up. Supply has remained low as fewer homeowners list their homes as they attempt to wait out interest rate increases. With interest rates approaching 7%, we do anticipate this trend to continue for the next few months. 

To view all of our homes for sale in these areas, click here.

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As we move through the summer months, we find ourselves on the other side of the 2nd quarter real estate numbers. While our first quarter numbers told the story of a real estate market that was bursting at the seams, the real estate market has only intensified as spring transitioned to the summer. 

In Buncombe County, as a whole, the average closed price increased from $378,708 to $482,261—a 27% increase. The closed price to the original list price has been over 100% for the past two months and is sitting at a very strong 98.8% year to date. It’s very much a red hot seller’s market and properties are selling very close to list price and beyond as multiple offer scenarios are a regular occurrence. Days on market decreased from 62 days in 2020 to 43 days on market in 2021. Inventories have decreased an astonishing 52% from 2020—a decrease of 1,209 homes in 2020 to 581 in 2021. 

In a similar vein, the Black Mountain real estate market average sales price increased from $316,971 in 2020 to $438,800 in 2021—an increase of 38%. Year to date, the number of homes sold through June 2021 totaled a 56% increase, or 139 homes compared to 89 in 2020. Sales to list price year to date in Black Mountain is also at 100%. 

The Asheville area market is a reflection of supply and demand at the core. Demand is far exceeding supply and continues to drive the elevating prices. The only softening the market is experiencing compared to last year is that the number of new listings has increased 12.2% compared to the same period last year. 

Time will tell what the market will do next, but for now, the market’s story centers around a high demand for Asheville area real estate amidst a tight supply, elevating prices, multiple offer situations, and very quick transitions from listing to closing for home sellers.

Contact us with any questions you may have. 

It’s a month into the spring season in the mountains. Flowers are blooming, days are increasingly warm, and spring green is making its way up the mountainsides. While the entrance to spring is always a gradual transition in our area, the momentum of the local real estate market in our area has been building for months. 

Our area has experienced a low inventory of homes on the market for many years. While many states across the country experienced similar trends with home inventory levels in 2020, the Black Mountain and Buncombe County area is no different, and in fact, has reached historically low inventory levels. For example, at the end of the 1st quarter of 2021, there were 489 homes listed for sale in Buncombe County on March 31st, compared to 1,284 in 2020 -- which is a decrease of 62%. 

The low inventory has continued to cause price increases as the average sales price of homes sold in the 1st quarter of 2021 was $457,204, compared to $375,968 in the first quarter of 2020, or an increase of 21.6%. The average list to sales price increased from 93.9% in 2020 to 97.4% in 2021.

In Black Mountain, the market trends have mirrored  Buncombe County statistics, but have shown even stronger signs. List to sales price was 100% in the first quarter compared to 97% in 2020, indicating that sellers are largely selling their homes at or above their listing price. The average sales price for the first quarter in Black Mountain was $450,159 in 2021, compared to $298,859 in 2020 -- an increase of 51%. There are only 26 active listings in Black Mountain compared to 70 this time last year. 

A tightening housing market often leads to an increase in sales of vacant land, and this is exactly what we’re seeing in Black Mountain and Buncombe County. The number of land sales in Buncombe County increased by 64%, or to 272 in 2021, compared to 166 in 2020. Total sales volume was even greater, with $23,444,000 sold in 2020 compared to $45,486,000 in 2021, an increase of 94%. Raw land sales volume in Black Mountain increased from $1,792,028 to $6,812,000 in 2021, a 280% increase. 

Neighboring McDowell County is an area that has been increasingly seen as an option for buyers looking to "get more house for a lower price tag." McDowell's low inventory has also driven the median price up by 45% from $147,450 to $214,000. The inventory of homes plummeted 67% from 183 homes in March 2020 to 60 homes in 2021.  The Lake James area is also seeing an increase in demand, which is most readily evident in the sharp increase in the sales volume of lot sales. Lot sales in Lake James increased by over 300% from $1,563,000 in 2020 to $6,294,700 in 2021. 

I’ve been observing that market trends have shifted since the beginning of the 1st quarter. The number of new listings gives a good indication of total sales volume and it’s clear that listed inventory is selling very quickly.  As of March, the total sales volume in Buncombe County was up 18%.  Typical days on market in Buncombe County have decreased by 34.7% from an average of 75 days to 49 days. Year to date, new listings are only down by 1% over 2020. New listings were up by 3.2% this March, but it’s important to note that March 2020 marked the beginning of the pandemic. Last year, new listings were down 5.2% overall. Ultimately, it’s becoming increasingly evident that market trends are poised to show an overall increase in total sales volume for 2021. 

Contact us with any questions you may have.