It has been a little over a month since the mountains of Western North Carolina received over three months' worth of precipitation in a single day, resulting in historic flooding. The region experienced widespread outages and devastation. Naturally, the real estate market was also heavily impacted. While some areas were left untouched or sustained only minor damage, neighborhoods such as Biltmore Village, the River Arts District, homes and communities bordering the Swannanoa River, and sections of Old Fort face a much longer road to recovery.
Immediately following the storm, real estate activity nearly came to a halt, with just 75 showings recorded during the week of the flooding compared to over 1,200 showings during the same period in 2023. Recently, however, showing activity has begun to recover. In Buncombe County, showings increased from 412 to 614 in the past week—a 49% rise. While encouraging, this is still well below the 1,282 showings that took place during the same period last year.
In McDowell County, showings rose from 60 to 84 over the past week (a 41% increase), though still short of the 125 showings from the same week in 2023. Burke County, which experienced less impact from Hurricane Helene, has shown relatively stable activity, with 173 showings compared to 178 last year. As recovery efforts continue, we anticipate steady growth in showing activity across the region.
Sales activity has also shown improvement. Over the past seven days, a total of 82 homes went under contract across Buncombe, McDowell, and Burke Counties—a 46% increase compared to the previous week. GreyBeard agents have celebrated seven closings and five additional properties going under contract in the same period. Meanwhile, popular attractions including the Biltmore Estate, sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and many local restaurants, shops, and businesses have reopened—an encouraging step toward recovery.
Our hearts remain with the community during this time of rebuilding. GreyBeard Rentals has had the honor of housing 55 displaced families and relief workers at reduced rates, thanks to the generosity of our homeowners. While there is still much work to be done, we are deeply grateful for the progress that has been made so far, and we remain hopeful as Western North Carolina continues to heal and move forward.