Western North Carolina Real Estate Market Update: Q2 of 2022
While the Western North Carolina real estate market is still in a strong position, there is no doubt that a lot has changed since Q1 of 2022. Since our last update, interest rates have continued to climb, inflation and recession concerns have persisted, and global and economic concerns remain. The real estate market is still a seller's market but there are definite signs there is a softening occurring in the market as inventories are beginning to rise.
Buncombe County
In Buncombe County, the median days on the market until contract in June was only 6 days with 1.4 months of supply for homes sold. It should be noted that a balanced market will have 5-6 months of supply.
- The average sales price in Buncombe County in June was $600,000
- Inventories are beginning to increase. In June, the number of active listings increased by 14%
- Of the homes currently on the market, the average number of days on the market is 71.
The increasing average number of days on the market for currently listed homes is a strong sign that demand is decreasing. The falling stock market and higher interest rates have to be impacting buyers and are likely causing demand to soften. One may anticipate inventories to increase rapidly, but we expect supply will also decrease. We expect new listings will slow as interest rates rise. Homeowners will likely become more reluctant to list their homes because the home they would buy, in turn, would have a much higher interest rate. So, as demand softens, so does the supply of new homes, causing only a slight increase in inventories in the coming months.
Burke County
Burke County’s real estate market remains in the seller’s favor, but there are also indications that the Burke County market is beginning to slow.
- The average sales to list price was at 101% in June
- The average sales price was $276,000
- 6 median days on market
- Burke County added 25 more listings than it took off the market which resulted in a 33% increase in inventory over May–or 1.2 months of supply
- However, when you compare this amount of supply to the 5-6 months of inventory that marks a balanced market, the level of supply is still very low.
McDowell County
McDowell County’s trends are similar to those in Buncombe and Burke.
- The median days on market is 8 days
- The average sales price was $370,000
- June showed a 28% increase in supply
- The average number of days on market for homes currently for sale is 64 days
The inventory of homes increased in June, and the 1.7 month of supply is a 28% increase from last month. Similar to Buncombe County, while the median number of days on the market was only 8 days, the average number of days on the market for homes currently for sale is 64 days.
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While inventories saw a small boost as of early summer, they have not reached a level that would be considered “balanced” in the Western
North Carolina market. As previously mentioned, we do expect that new listings will slow in correlation with rising interest rates. Homeowners will be reluctant to list their homes because the home they would be buying in the same market would have a much higher interest rate. We anticipate that the number of future listings will be lower, which will keep us from seeing a large increase in inventories.
If you have any questions about buying or selling or have any questions about the Western North Carolina market, please don’t hesitate to reach out or visit us at one of our 4 office locations in Asheville, Black Mountain, Lake James, or Old Fort.