OCTOBER 2008
Buncombe County is the home of Asheville, NC.
Buncombe County and the surrounding areas of Asheville, Leicester, Black Mountain, Biltmore Forest, and Arden, like the rest of the country, have been experiencing many of the trends that keep the real estate markets unsettled.
There has been a slight change in the market conditions compared to last month, but only slight. The continuing bad news is that the number of homes over or close to $1 million are not moving and the broad inventory is still hovering around the record high numbers, although there has been a turn to the down side.
Until mid-summer the Asheville area has historically been immune from the negative real estate trends that the rest of the country has been experiencing. This is different now. The market "slumps" in most of the country has now had an impact on the Asheville area, at least as far as homes over the $275,000 mark.
This story is the same as last month, but the Asheville area has continued to see a dramatic slow-down of Sold homes, a moderately fluctuating inventory, and a noticeable drop in "pending" listings. The two numbers that seem to tell the continuing story of the Asheville market appear to be the small percentage of homes under $100,000 (although these numbers increased again slightly in October) and the high number of homes over $1,000,000, considering we sell only about 3 homes per month in that price range.
The record number of Active Listings in Buncombe County is 3,493 which was set in September, 2008.
The trend indicator below is for the current month compared to last month.
Residential Properties = Single Family Homes, Condos, Townhouses & Mobiles on Owned Land
BUNCOMBE COUNTY October 2008 - Current Inventory by Price Range
Asheville, Buncombe County, NC Real Estate Market Statistics -
Active and Sold - September 2008 and 2007 Comparisons
Our Active Residential Listings have increased 19% from this same time last year.
The Average Asking Price has increased 4.6% and Median Asking Price has increased almost 3.5%.
The real problem we still face is the SOLD numbers and the SOLD prices are down. As you can see by the chart below, we have been down significantly on our SOLD numbers all of the last 12 months, yet our inventory has increased.
The number Sold in September 2008 is down 29% from last September 2007 and the Average Sold Price is down 11%.
Also the number of Days on Market is at the highest levels in over 5 years.
Residential Properties = Single Family Homes, Condos, Townhouses & Mobiles on Owned Land
AR Members: Post your listings and market reports at the Group: http://activerain.com/groups/CityStateListingsReports
SEPTEMBER 2008
It has always been difficult to say exactly what a "healthy" real estate market should look like. Prices and inventory seem to set the theme and "location, location, location" is not always the final judgement of health or desirability.
In the Asheville area a "normal" real estate market is estimated to be where the housing inventory of homes for sale should be somewhere around 6 to 7 months supply. Asheville and Buncombe County are holding steady at about 15 months supply, on average.
The news nationally, almost constantly, is about the home prices going down as inventory goes up.
In Asheville, we are continuing to see a slow reduction in home prices, as the inventory sits at the top of recent high numbers.
The real area of concern continues to be about the homes over $400,000. The worrisome market is the homes at or over $1 million. The number of sales per month compared to the existing inventory suggests a rather long term for that inventory to either shrink or see prices drop by large percentages.
Sales of homes under $285,000 seem to be stable with only a small excess in inventory. This would indicate that the "average" buyer has plenty of homes to choose from and most of them are at fair market value.
The question is....where are the buyers? It looks like September and October are going to be two of the worst months this year for unit sales, and the inventory usually picks up a little until November.
Residential Properties = Single Family Homes, Condos, Townhouses & Mobiles on Owned Land
Vacant Land, Lots, and Acreage - Buncombe County, NC - September 2008
Buncombe County includes the cities or areas of Asheville, Weaverville, Leicester, Black Mountain, Arden, Skyland, Candler, and Biltmore Forest.
Vacant land sales can be an indicator of the health of the real estate market overall. Buncombe County land sales in 2008 have averaged about 57% of sales in 2007,
305 parcels have been Sold in 2008 with an Average Sold Price of $147,093, a decrease from August prices.
A breakdown of those sales, year to date, looks like this:
1 acre or under - 147 parcels sold with an Average Sold Price of $83,326.
1 to 2.99 acres - 97 parcels sold with an Average Sold Price of $131,158.
3 to 4.99 acres - 24 parcels sold with an Average Sold Price of $139,400.
5 to 9.99 acres - 11 parcels sold with an Average Sold Price of $204,700.
10 to 20 acres - 9 parcels were sold with an Average Sold Price of $312,681.
There are currently 2296 parcels of any size on the market with an Average Asking Price of $289,059.
The Average Asking Price of the 3,457 Residential homes "for sale" in Buncombe County is $461,090.
It is fairly obvious that the high cost of vacant land has a great affect on the overall cost of homes in our area.
(The above 3.06 acre lot in Leicester, NC can be purchased for $140,000 with underground utilities/DSL/phone and is ready to build on. Broker/Owner)
SEPTEMBER 2008
Buncombe County is the home of Asheville, NC.
Buncombe County and the surrounding areas of Asheville, Leicester, Black Mountain, Biltmore Forest, and Arden, like the rest of the country, has been experiencing many of the trends the rest of the country has, or is, experiencing.
There has been a slight change in the market conditions compared to last month, but only slight. The continuing bad news is that the number of homes over or close to $1 million are not moving and the inventory is still hovering around the record high numbers.
The Asheville area has historically been immune from the negative real estate trends that the rest of the country was experiencing. This is different now. The market "slumps" in most of the country has now had an impact on the Asheville area, at least as far as homes over the $275,000 mark.
This story is the same as last month, but the Asheville area has continued to see a dramatic slow-down of Sold homes, and returning increase in inventory, and a noticeable drop in "pending" listings. The two numbers that seem to tell the continuing story of the Asheville market appear to be the small percentage of homes under $100,000 (although these numbers increased slightly in Sept) and the increasing number of homes over $1,000,000.
The record number of Active Listings in Buncombe County is 3,493 which was set in September, 2008.
The trend indicator below is for the current month compared to last month.
Residential Properties = Single Family Homes, Condos, Townhouses & Mobiles on Owned Land
BUNCOMBE COUNTY September 2008 - Current Inventory by Price Range
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Innovation in Real Estate Since 1984. 1st Exclusive Buyer's Agent in WNC. 1st Discount Listing Service Provider in WNC. REALSEARCH provides Buncombe County Real Estate Statistics, Trends & Refer
Today, I am a Research and Referral conduit for Sellers and Buyers. I rarely take new listings or work with new buyer clients. I work primarily as a referral agent. At this time, I work only with past clients and the referrals they send to me. After over 20 years in the business in Asheville, I am able to go in that business decision.
The benefit, to Sellers and Buyers looking for agents to work with in our market, is I have learned how to determine which agents are truly successful in their field of expertise, in all those years of my experinece in this market As a result, where I can be of the most assistance to a Buyer or Seller is to guide the Buyer or Seller in the "right" direction in their choice of the agent they may decide to work with. I refer you to the most qualified agents among the masses of the "old -timer" established, the newbies, the good ones and the ones that may best be suited for the particular needs of you, the client. I also help you avoid considering the agents that may not deliver the services you are expecting. All this is done through my research of the history of the agents best suited for the job based on their past production and legacy. There is NEVER a charge to the Buyer or Seller for the referral. The receiving agent pays my fee from their commission, when a sale is completed. For Sellers, the referral I make is based on the price range of the property, the location, the time frame desired to sell, and to an extent, the personalities of the parties. There are agents who think they are "multi-talented", but today, agents are no longer all things to all people. There are agents that specialize in, or just plain do better with homes under $250,000. There are agents that specialize in homes from $200,000 to $500,000, those that only do well if the home is over $450,000, those that don't do much outside the city limits, those that prefer only new homes, etc. I sort through all of that to pinpoint the one best suited for the job based on the facts, not hyperbole. For Buyers, the referral is based on the longevity of the agent and the background necessary to truly appreciate the special relationship a buyer and the agent should have. I avoid any agent that believes in dual agency as the "best" solution to helping buyers and sellers. Buyers and Sellers are adversaries and the agent needs to understand that the buyer should be given every fact to put that buyer in the best negotiating position possible based on the facts and knowledge of the market. A great buyer's agent should be a great researcher, not a bulletin board reader. The referral and research that I do is not based on a "buddy" system! It is based on the pure facts resulting from an MLS search of the sales in the area of interest of the client. It is my job to see who is doing what in the marketplace using my research skills. If you need to know which of the 1,900 Asheville agents might be the best agent for you, give me a call or email. It costs you nothing unless YOU pick the wrong agent without having a little help. Now, with that said, sometimes even the "best" will not give you exactly what you had hoped for, but we will try to find the "best" suited to your needs. www.asheville.com for the latest in "Things to do in Asheville."
REALSEARCH 
Market condition statistics, especially current trends, can be very useful to some buyers and sellers. Since market conditions affect how we market and, the expectations we have, I do a great deal of statistical research (not just 3 listing CMAs) to help my clients, the local newspaper, the Chamber of Commerce, other brokers, and clients of other agents, etc. with the research they find necessary. As a Realtor, I find many fellow Realtors, because it can be time consuming and tasking, do not pay a great deal of attention to in-depth statistics and trends.
That is where REALSEARCH comes in.
This research service, for both real estate professionals and the general public, compiles the data that is a roadmap into the market conditions in Western North Carolina (specializing in, but not limited to Buncombe County/Asheville), for at least one year back, on a monthly basis (some research is done daily) for Buncombe County single family residential real estate market, which includes single family homes, condos, townhomes, and mobile homes on owned land.
This is NOT a "Crystal Ball" approach and is not a forecasting program, but rather a gathering of the statistics gained from the Western North Carolina Regional Multiple Listing Service (WNCRMLS). It is designed to show trends. It provides data about the number of Active listings (daily), as well as the number of Listed, Pending, Sold and Expired (monthly). The "Average List Price" and the "Median List Price" and "Days on Market"(DOM) are displayed. The "Year to Date" number of "Sold" compared to a year ago and the percentage difference is recorded.
The Asheville/Buncombe County reports are provided in Windows format on Excel (data and charts) and Word. $50 for first report, which includes the last quarter "Year in Review" and then $25 per report (provided monthly, for any month desired) thereafter. Customized research is also possible on an hourly basis.
You tell me what data you need, and I will do the research for you.
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