Asheville home buyers no longer paying over asking price, on average; home prices $644K
ASHEVILLE - It was the epitome of a hot market: Local buyers so anxious to snap up a house, they wouldn't even bother to haggle with the seller. In fact, they would offer more than the asking price.
Now, that Asheville area trend appears to be cooling slightly.
According to recently released home sale data for a 13-county Western North Carolina region, sellers in June got on average 97.7% of the list price. That's down from 100.4% in June 2022, numbers from Canopy MLS released July 28 said.
The trend was most pronounced in Buncombe County (including Asheville), where last year sellers on average got 102% of the list price. This year that number was 98.4%.
Asheville real estate agent Dave Noyes, speaking to the Citizen Times July 31, attributed the slowdown to rising mortgage rates.
"It took 25-30% of the buyers out of the market," said Noyes, a Canopy MLS board member and Realtor/broker with eXp Realty. Mortgages rose from around 3% to more 6% in the past year, following interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve meant to tamp down inflation.
That, of course, doesn't mean homes in the area suddenly became cheap. Sales still aren't far below the list prices. And while sale prices for the city of Asheville dropped 0.8% over the last year, the average buyer still paid $643,751, the highest in any of the areas analyzed.
That is higher than the $457,007 average calculated for a similar time period by Smart Asset, but that also included homes not for sale. Another report for the first quarter of 2023 put the median sales price for Asheville at $465,000 and $426,995 for Buncombe County, not including Asheville. Median is different than average in that it means half are above, half below.
Countering the effect of higher mortgage rates are an influx of buyers who are less beholden to lenders, Noyes said. That is because they have cash after making a large profit from selling their homes, often in more expensive markets, such as the Northeast. That also motivates them to buy because it's a little like "burning your ships when you arrive in the Americas," he joked.
He said those buyers seemed like a mix of retirees and workers with remote jobs.
Affordability?
The numbers quantify the discouragement many middle- to lower-income residents feel when they look into buying a home, say local affordable housing advocates.
"This data confirms what many people know intuitively, that the affordability of our housing market is not improving and home prices are continuing to be out of reach for many in Asheville and there remains a lack of housing options at varying price points," said the city's affordable housing officer, Sasha Vrtunski.
City Council member Sage Turner said she was deeply concerned about rising costs "and unattainability of affordable housing in our community."
She noted with the average sales price in Asheville of $643,751, a 30-year mortgage with a $20,000 down payment and 7% interest rate would amount to a monthly payment of $3,850 with taxes and insurance. To meet the best practice of not exceeding 30% of your income, that would mean a monthly income of $13,000 − or $156,000 annually. The latest figures show the Asheville area median family income is $90,300.
"We are doing everything we can to keep up, including reviewing and updating every housing and affordability policy to respond to the fast changing market," Turner said.
Sales, listings
City of Asheville
Average sales price
June 2023: $643,751 (-0.8% change)
June 2022: $648,777
Portion of listing price paid
June 2023: 98.6% (-3.0% change)
June 2022: 101.7%
Buncombe County
Average sales price
June 2023: $599,957 (+1.7%)
June 2022: $589,874
Portion of listing price paid
June 2023: 98.4% (-3.5%)
June 2022: 102.0%
Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area (Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson and Madison counties)
Average sales price
June 2023: $549,932 (+1.7%)
June 2022: $540,573
Portion of listing price paid
June 2023: 98.2% (-3.2%)
June 2022: 101.4%
Asheville region (Buncombe, Burke, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania and Yancey counties)
Average sales price:
June 2023 $496,348 (0%)
June 2022 $496,418
Percent of listing price paid
June 2023: 97.7% (-2.7%)
June 2022: 100.4%
Other average sales prices drops: Henderson County at -1.5% to $500,994, Madison County at -5.8% to $463,247, Transylvania County at -5.9% to $572,698, Jackson County at -35.3% to $351,681, McDowell County at -9.6% to $329,101, Burke County at -0.2% to $294,693, Swain County at -9.8% to $340,817, Rutherford County at -10.4% to $338,485.
More: Airbnbs in Asheville: How many of Buncombe's 5,000 are in city limits? How many are legal?
Undertaxed? $40M Asheville estate only taxed for $3M; county looks to change mansion taxes
Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville home buyers no longer paying over asking price, on average
