In the past several months, I have written articles on long-term rental properties and the vacation/second home trends, and this month, I would like to address a very special niche in the real estate market---vacation rental [...]

As I indicated in my last article, my intent was to write a piece on vacation rental property in our area this time.  Folks have been stopping me on the street, however, to ask me about the impact of the national housing market on Black Mountain, so I have decided to postpone my planned article until next month and take a look at the numbers here to assess how our housing market is holding up.

I assume that everyone has been reading the national headlines.  Just this week, The New York Times has written "Pending Home Sales Sink in July" and "Stocks Fall in Home Sales Report".  Other newspapers echo that news with "Housing Market Worst Since Depression", "Five Months of Declining Value in Housing Market", and "Nine Month Inventory of Homes on Market."

So what is happening in Black Mountain?  As usual when asked that question I turn to the numbers for my answer.  Using our regional Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system, I have to say I am encouraged by what I see.

The total volume of house sales in terms of dollars in the Black Mountain area rose 35% year to date through August 2007.  Total number of houses sold is up 22% for the same period with an average price increase of 11%.  Historically, the average price has increased 15% over the past few years so appreciation in our market has slowed a bit but is still very healthy, especially relative to many places in the nation.

One area that does show some potential weakness in the market is the inventory of homes for sale. Last year, there were approximately 65 to 70 homes on the market.  At present, there are 126 on the market.  It is interesting that the number of units sold in 2007 is up 22% and yet total inventory on market is almost double. The increase in inventory is therefore a result of more people listing their homes for sale rather than a slow down in purchases.

Most of the increase in inventory is the result of the upper end of the market. Currently there are 54 homes on the market priced over $450,000 in Black Mountain and only 12 homes in this price range have sold this year through August 31 (12 sales over $450,000 is well above 2006 when only 5 sold through August). The increase of upper end inventory may be the result of the national housing slowdown. My feeling is that most of the people purchasing houses in this price range are moving into Black Mountain from elsewhere, and it may be that the depressed markets in the other areas of the nation may be preventing them from selling their existing homes to make this move.

As always when I use numbers to support my argument, I would like to point out that there are limitations to my interpretations. First of all, you really need to look at trends and not particular months to see how things are progressing. And you also need to remember that there is a delay in the numbers. This means that August sales are more of an indication of choices buyers made in June when they probably entered into the offer to purchase contract. With those caveats in place, however, I feel as if I can say that Black Mountain's market continues to have solid, steady growth despite the decline being felt nationally.

This month, I want to highlight the second home market, specifically those houses purchased for vacation homes or for future retirement homes.  In the next article I will address homes bought for use as investment properties strictly for rental use, which involves an entirely different set of issues. [...]

These charts are based upon information gathered from the Asheville Area Multiple Listings Service (MLS) for the first quarter of 2007. A brief analysis revealed some interesting statistics.  Please note that the figures presented do not include sales outside of the MLS system such as "for sale by owner" properties and developments not [...]

People often look at the Black Mountain area for investing in vacation rental property, a topic I will discuss at length at another time, but another part of the real estate market is long term rentals. Investors often look for this property, but it can be very difficult to judge the quality of their investment. [...]

Several folks that have read my previous articles on the real estate growth in Black Mountain have asked me if I am not concerned about the negative impact of that growth. This feedback has inspired me to write a few articles on the topic during [...]

January is a great time to reflect on the local figures from last year and assess what trends and surprises we can cull from those numbers. In making my analysis, I am using the numbers provided by the Western North Carolina Regional Multiple Listing Service (MLS). [...]

In my last column, I discussed the increase in lots purchased in Black Mountain during the last year.  With that in mind and a number of my clients considering purchasing lots now for building purposes, I thought it would be interesting to see the patterns in the local construction [...]

People often ask me if buying land is a good investment. And in terms of Black Mountain, I would have to say yes.

According to Multiple Listing Service (MLS), there are a lot of people who agree with me on that. Through October 31, sales volume in 2006 for lots and unimproved property is $11.2 million, compared to $7.7 for the same period in [...]

Recent national headlines have announced the demise of the once-booming housing market across the country. Publications including The New York Times and USA Today have carried articles such as "Housing Market Slumping" and "Existing Home Sales Decreasing with Softening Prices." An October 11, 2006 article from the National Association of [...]