Fayetteville home prices are cheapest in NC yet rising the fastest. Here's why.
With prices averaging $199,438 in May, Fayetteville is one of the cheaper places to buy a house in the United States, and the cheapest in North Carolina, according to a recent study by the SmartAsset financial advice company.
Among 532 cities evaluated, Fayetteville ranked 470th in average home price. At the same time, Fayetteville home prices rose faster between May 2022 and May 2023 than in any of the 13 North Carolina cities included in the survey. Prices here jumped 14% in that time, the study says.
The study used Zillow’s ZHVI All Homes Index to compare the average prices for single-family homes, condos and co-ops in May 2022 and May 2023, the report says. It has data from 532 cities across the United States with a population of at least 65,000.
The study has some gaps. For example, it does not include Cary, a Raleigh suburb with about 174,000 people. It also leaves out Honolulu, Hawaii, and Anchorage, Alaska.
More: Which city or town in Cumberland County is No. 1 in personal income?
City | May 2023 Home Price | NC Rank | Price change 2022-23 |
Asheville | $457,007 | 1 | +4% |
Raleigh | $431,389 | 2 | -1% |
Durham | $395,303 | 3 | -1% |
Wilmington | $388,131 | 4 | +7% |
Charlotte | $384,762 | 5 | 0% |
Concord | $370,513 | 6 | +1% |
Gastonia | $282,395 | 7 | 0% |
Greensboro | $246,904 | 8 | +6% |
Winston-Salem | $241,575 | 9 | +10% |
Jacksonville | $233,139 | 10 | +10% |
Greenville | $228,359 | 11 | +8% |
High Point | $227,331 | 12 | +7% |
Fayetteville | $199,438 | 13 | +14% |
What is causing Fayetteville’s price increases?
“Our real estate prices have been so low, comparatively speaking, for so long that … there’s quite a bit of catching up, as far as like-product-type between Fayetteville and the other metro areas,” said Wendy Harris of Team Harris Real Estate.
She and Melissa McKinney, president of the Longleaf Pine Realtors association, the local real estate trade group, said the prices in the Fayetteville area have been driven by high demand for a shortage of homes.
As of Monday afternoon, there were 432 homes listed for sale in Cumberland County, said McKinney, who is with Everything Pines Partners Real Estate. “I remember the days, back, even six, seven years ago, when we had 3,000 on the market,” she said.
Sellers are doing well while buyers are struggling to find homes, she said.
Some factors in the low supply and high demand, based on interviews with Harris and McKinney:
Fayetteville’s relatively low prices are attracting residents from other communities with higher prices.
The low prices are also attracting out-of-town investors.
Construction dropped off during and after the Great Recession and it hasn’t caught up to today’s demand.
Members of the Millennial Generation are hitting their prime home-buying years and seeking homes.
Homeowners who might sell are hanging onto their homes because they can’t find new homes to move to.
Building regulations in Cumberland County are making it slower and more difficult to build here than in nearby areas.
The highest and lowest prices
Other bits of information from the SmartAsset data:
Asheville homes were the most expensive in North Carolina in May, an average of $457,007. Asheville ranked 215th nationwide. Homes in Asheville cost more than homes in Phoenix ($404,818), Las Vegas ($394,870), Atlanta ($384,388), Dallas ($314,185 ), Pittsburgh ($226,383) and Chicago ($286,482).
The city with the most expensive home was Palo Alto, California ($3.16 million).
The city with the least expensive home was Flint, Michigan ($47,498)
Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville home prices are fastest rising in NC yet still cheapest
