
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.
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