Press release from Canopy MLS:
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — August home sales for the Asheville region, the 13 counties where Canopy MLS tracks housing trends, declined 21.6 percent to 902 homes sold. Looking back to last August 2022, the region had 249 more homes sold during the same time period. Month-over-month sales however were up 12.3 percent, with nearly 100 more homes sold in August, than in July. Jackson County was the only county in the region with positive sales, that rose 7 percent year-over-year in August. Sales represented in this report represent single family, condo and townhome sales.
Pending contracts, continued to show buyer demand down 7.7 percent year-over-year, as a little more than 1,000 homes wend under contract. However, month-over-month, demand rose by 2.2 percent. A closer look at the numbers shows that buyer demand is not that far off from last year, as last August 84 more homes were under contract than this past August.
New listing activity, declined 7.6 percent year-over-year as sellers brought 1,212 homes to market in August, which is 99 units less than last August. Month-over-month the region’s new listings activity was up by 10.7 percent an indication that sellers are still active in the market. Seller activity has already boosted supply, which increased 19 percent to 2.5 months of supply across the 13 counties. Inventory at report time dipped 5.9 percent to 2,163, however since July 2023, 119 units have been added, representing a slight increase of 5.8 percent.
“A look at August sales activity shows resiliency in the market, as current figures aren’t that far off from previous years,” said Steve Barnes, a Canopy MLS Board of Director, and VP/Managing Broker of Allen Tate/Beverly-Hanks, Waynesville. “This summer’s sales activity shows buyers adapting to present interest rates in a slowing market. When compared to the past couple of years high competition, buyers now have a welcome reprieve and the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the increased leverage they have and should not be deterred from buying now, if all other factors align favorably.”
The region’s median sales price ($413,150) increased by 4.9 percent year-over-year, while the average sales price increased 9.7 percent to $513,831. The average list price also had a modest increase of 5 percent year-over-year to $548,731, which brought the original list price to sales price measure for the region down slightly to 96.4 percent in August.
Time on market continues to increase in buyer’s favor, as List to Close averaged 79 days, compared to 76 days in August 2022, while days on market, the metric that accrues for “Active” and “Under-contract-show” statuses, showed the region’s homes were on market 34 days compared to 26 days in August 2022.
Asheville MSA
Sales throughout the MSA were down significantly, falling 22.5 percent as 599 homes sold compared to 773 homes that sold throughout the four-county metro area a year ago in August. Roughly 31 sales separated closed sales activity in July and August, which was down 5.9 percent. Pending contract activity showed buyers still pushing for homes in metro-Asheville, as 655 homes went under contract compared to 718 in August 2022. Month-over-month contract activity or buyer demand was stable and unchanged. New listing activity was only down by 3.9 percent, with sellers listing nearly 800 homes for sale in August 2023. Only 32 listings separate August 2022 and August 2023 listing activity. Seller confidence as seen through new listing activity was up 14.3 percent month-over-month, helping to ease supply, which is up 15.8 percent to 2.2 months, and inventory which was down 11.7 percent at report time to 1,237 homes for sale. Prices continue to move toward stabilization, with all price metrics rising modestly in August, likely due to inventory falling during the month. The median sales price of $440,000 and the average sales price ($542,732) rose 4.8 percent and 9.9 percent year-over-year respectively, while the average list price increased 6.3 percent year-over-year to $593,444. This brought the original list price to sales price measure, to 97 percent, which still shows sellers in the MSA receiving nearly all of asking price for their homes, which were on market for 31 days in August, compared to 24 days in August 2022. Showing statistics still show listings in the city of Asheville receiving high interest from buyers, at 4.8 showings (or potential buyers) per listing.
When looking at a 12-month rolling average from September 2022 to August 2023, buyers are still predominantly finding homes in the $300,000 to $500,000 range with the number of closings higher this year for condos and townhome property types. Condos and Townhomes priced $400,000 to $500,000 had a 24.7 percent increase in sales compared to last August, while condo/townhomes priced from $500,000-$600,000 had a near 18 percent increase in closings. Condos and townhomes price $600,000 to $700,000 saw a 39 percent surge in closings compared to last August.
Barnes continued, “Buyers continue to be drawn to the MSA not only to be close to job centers and amenities, but also the diversity in home types that the metro-area offers. Even though the inventory of single-family homes is down across the region, condo- townhome inventory is up nearly 25 percent compared to last August, with quite a bit of inventory available in the $300,000 to $400,000 price range.”
Buncombe County home sales in August declined 27.3 percent year-over-year as 319 homes sold compared to 439 that sold a year ago in August 2022. Pending contracts were also down 16.3 percent as 338 homes went under contract, compared to 404 that under contract during the same period last year. New listings declined by 7.6 percent as sellers listed 424 homes for sale compared to 459 that were listed in August 2022. Inventory dipped 4.1 percent to 693 homes for sale at report time or 2.3 months of supply. Supply a year ago was as low as 1.8 months. Prices increased. Both the median sales price ($470,000) and the average sales price ($605,334) increased 4.6 percent and 11.8 percent year-over-year respectively, while the average list price increased 6.6 percent to $660,372. This brought the original list price to sales price metric to 96.9 percent. Last year it was 98 percent, but sellers still received nearly all of asking price for their homes this past month. Days on market lengthened to 32 days compared to 23 days this time last year.
Haywood County home sales declined 25.8 percent this past month in Haywood County, as 95 homes sold compared to 128 that sold this time last year. The majority of home sales were focused in Waynesville this past month (50 closings). Pending sales increased slightly, 0.9 percent as 113 homes went under contract during the month –nearly the same amount under contract a year ago. Similar to closings, the majority of contract activity was focused in Waynesville, where contract activity was up 20.5 percent year-over-year this past month. New listing activity was down slightly 7.9 percent year- over-year as sellers listed 128 homes for sale, just 41 homes less than was listed in August of 2022. Both inventory and supply fell at report time, with inventory down 22.3 percent to 209 homes for sale and supply down 11.5 percent to 2.3 months of supply. The drop in both inventory and supply, pressured prices this past month. Both the median sales price $399,000 and the average sales price ($444,137) increased 14 percent and 11.9 percent year-over-year respectively, with prices slightly less in Waynesville, compared to the overall county. The average list price surged 27.2 percent to $518,218 in August, which brought the original list price to sales price measure down 0.1 percent to 95.5 percent. time on market lengthen by 60 percent and showed homes averaged 40 days on market until sale compared to 25 days this time last year.
Henderson County home sales were only off by 20 sales compared to last year, down 10.9 percent as 164 homes sold compared to 184 that sold in August 2022. Contract activity was nearly in line with last year, dipping 2.2 percent as 174 homes went under contract, just four less units than were under contract a year ago. New listing activity was up, rising 2.9 percent as sellers listed 213 homes for sale compared to 207 that were listed during the same period last year. The majority of new listing activity was concentrated in Hendersonville (0.8% with 130 new listings). This modest rise in listing activity caused both inventory and supply to increase. Inventory rose 1.9 percent to 318 homes for sale, while supply increased significantly, 23.5 percent from 1.7 months in August 2022 to 2.1 months of supply this past August 2023. Both the median sales price ($439,500) and the average sales price ($494,831) enjoyed modest increases of 7.3 percent and 7.2 percent year-over-year respectively, while the average list price declined 4.6 percent to $518,728. This brought the original list price to sales price measure to 98.3 percent while days on market showed homes still selling quickly, averaging 24 days on market until sale in August 2022.
(Due to smaller sample sizes in counties where there is a smaller pool of listings, percentage increases or decreases may seem extreme)
Madison County home sales declined 4.5 percent year-over-year as 21 homes sold compared to 22 in August a year ago. Contract activity rose 25 percent year-over-year as 30 homes went under contract during the month, while new listings jumped 33.3 percent to 32 homes listed for sale compared to 24 homes newly listed in August 2022. Both inventory and supply rose, 11 percent to 91 homes for sale, while supply increased 16.1 percent to 3.6 months of supply. Prices also increased, in line with demand. Both the median sales price ($405,000) and the average sales price ($411,896) rose 18.4 percent and 8.5 percent year-over-year respectively, while the average list price increased 26.4 percent to $504,638. This brought the original list price to sales price measure to 93.8 percent while days on market showed homes averaged 40 days on market until sale compared to 35 days in August 2022.Other counties around the region
Jackson County Home sales increased 7.1 percent year-over-year as 30 homes sold compared to 28 that sold in August 2022. Contract activity increased 20.8 percent as 29 homes went under contract compared to 24 that were under contract a year ago. New listing activity dropped 30.8 percent as sellers listed 27 homes for sale compared to 39 that were listed in August 2022. Inventory slipped 6 percent year-over-year to 78 homes for sale while supply increased 8.6 percent to 3.8 months of supply. Both the median sales price ($431,000) and the average sales price ($569,651) rose 42.5 percent and 3.1 percent year-over=year respectively, while the average list price dropped 40.1 percent to $475,915. This brought the original list price to sales price measure to 92.1 percent while days on market trended at 43 days until sale.
Polk County sales declined 10 percent year-over-year as 27 homes sold compared to 30 that sold in August 2022. 22 homes went under contract during the month compared to 30 that were under contract a year ago. New listing activity dipped by 3.1percent to 31 homes listed versus 33 that were listed in August 2022. Inventory declined at report time by 15.3 percent to 72 homes for sale or 3.1 months of supply, which is up from 2.7 months of supply in August 2022. The median sales price dipped 2.6 percent to $380,000 while the average sales price increased 22.8 percent to $545,644. This brought the original list price to sales price measure to 95.3 percent while days on market increased 131.8 percent to 51 days on market compared to a much faster market (22 DOM) in August 2022.
Rutherford County home sales declined 23.1 percent to 60 homes sold compared to 78 homes that sold in August 2022. Pending contract activity was somewhat aligned with last year down 3.7 percent as 79 homes went under contract compared to 82 that were under contract in August 2022. Sellers listed 100 homes for sale during the month, which is 14 less than were listed in August 2022, representing a decline of 12.3 percent compared to last year. Inventory declined 10.4 percent at report time to 181 homes for sale or 2.9 months of supply. Supply is up 16 percent compared to last year when there was 2.5 months of supply. Prices declined. Both the median sales price ($229,000) and the average sales price ($355,467) dropped by 18.2 percent and 14.4 percent year-over- year respectively, while the average list price increased 2.2 percent to $387,525. This brought the original list price to sales price measure down slightly from 96 percent last year to 95.6 percent in August 2023. Dyas on market showed homes sold fairly quickly, averaging 28 days on market until sale compared to 26 days on market this time last year.
Transylvania County home sales declined 28 percent year-over-year as 50 homes sold compared to 61 that sold in August 2022. Contract activity was somewhat aligned with last year as 49 homes went under contract compared to 51 that were under contract in August 2022. New listing activity was also aligned with last year, as sellers listed 56 homes for sale compared to 58 newly listed during the same period last year. Inventory increased 8.1 percent to 133 homes for sale while supply grew by 39.1 percent to 3.2 months of supply. Last August there was only 2.3 months of supply. Both the median sales price ($521,889) and the average sales price ($688,364) increased 25.8 percent and 18.9 percent year-over-year respectively, while the average list price rose 4.2 percent to $687,769. This brought the original list price to sales price ratio to 95.4 percent while days on market showed homes averaged 46 days on market until sale compared to 20 days on market this time last August.
(Due to smaller sample sizes in counties where there is a smaller pool of listings, percentage increases or decreases may seem extreme)
Yancey County had 23 homes sold compared to 32 homes that sold in August 2022. Contract activity showed there were 24 homes under contract or in pending status compared to 26 in August 2022. New listing activity declined 18.9 percent as 30 homes were listed during the month compared to 37 that were listed in August of last year. Inventory fell 11.1 percent to 96 homes for sale or 5.1 months of supply. Both the median sales price ($365,000) and the average sales price ($402,152) declined by 8.8 percent and 3.3 percent year-over-year respectively, while the average list price increased 48.1 percent to $562,798. This brought the original list price to sales price metric to 93 percent while days on market increased 128.9 percent to 87 days on market compared to 38 days on market in August 2022.For more residential-housing market statistics, visit www.CarolinaHome.com and click on “Market Data.” For an interview with a Realtor®/broker representing the Canopy MLS service area in the western/mountain region of North Carolina, please contact Kim Walker.
But who is buying the homes? Investors? Second-home buyers? Cash or mortgage?