January 31, 2024

Contact: Kim Walker, 704-940-3149

CHARLOTTE, N.C. —  At the end of 2023, home sales throughout the 13 counties where Canopy MLS tracks data, were down 16.7 percent compared to sales in 2022, with 10,028 properties sold during the year. The Asheville region had slightly more than 2,000 sales in 2022, than this past year.  Since February 2022 the region has sustained 23 months of year-over-year declines, with 2023 closed and pending sales activity falling to the level of activity not evidenced in the region since 2017. Canopy MLS sales represented in this report are for single-family, condo, and townhome sales only.

During December, the region’s sales were down 9.7 percent as 717 homes sold compared to 794 that sold in December 2022. Compared to November sales were down by 8.7 percent as buyers hurried to capitalize on mortgage rates that fell throughout the month.

Total pending contracts at yearend showed demand was down 11.4 percent compared to 2022 with 10,095 homes under contract last year.  In 2022 the region had nearly 1,300 more contracts than at yearend 2023.  During December 2023 contracts rose 12.9 percent marking four consecutive months of rising demand.  Month-over-month however activity was down 20.7 percent.  

Total new listing activity for the region topped out at 12,588 listings offered last year, down 10.5 percent, as sellers in 2022 listed slightly more than 14,000 new listings.  New listing activity during December rose for a third consecutive month by 6.5 percent year-over-year as 571 new listings were added to inventory.  Canopy MLS Showing report indicated that showing activity, which tracks buyer interest, was highest last year in the Asheville MSA, followed by Burke, Rutherford, and Transylvania Counties. Overall, showing activity was down 11 percent compared to activity in 2022. 

“This past year the Asheville region and MSA’s housing markets continued to move towards stability. Yearend sales activity shows the region and MSA may have hit bottom,” said Steve Barnes, a Canopy MLS Board of Director, and VP/Managing Broker with Allen Tate/Beverly-Hanks Realtors®-Waynesville. “Higher mortgage rates were the biggest constraint for potential homebuyers last year. Mortgage rates moved lower throughout November and December, which is why we saw more buyer and seller activity in fourth quarter. The increased listing activity over the last few months continues to help boost inventory and supply, which is a promising trend for buyers later on this spring.”

The region’s inventory at yearend rose 8.5 percent year-over-year to 2,171 homes for sale compared to only 2,000 during the previous year, while months of supply increased 23.8 percent to 2.6 months of supply compared to 2.1 months at yearend 2022.

While inventory continues to grow, a balanced market, which is six months of supply, and favors neither buyers nor sellers is a long way off.

The median sales price for all of 2023 was $402,990, which is up 6.1 percent compared to the 2022 median sales price of $380,000, while the average sales price for 2023 was $494,497, which is up 6.5 percent compared to 2022.  At yearend, the average list price was 9.3 percent higher than in 2022, at $558,191, which brought the original list price to sales price ratio to 95.9 percent.

 
“The region has weathered double-digit price growth every year since 2020, climbing as high as 15 percent from 2020 to 2021. Fortunately for buyers, price growth at the end of 2023, has fallen back into a more normal range, with median sales price growth at 6 percent year-over-year, a sign that prices are moderating, said Barnes.”

At the end of 2023, time on market showed the time properties were on the market had increased. The List to Close metric increased 7.1 percent to 90 days, compared to 84 days in 2022, while days on market, the metric that accrues for “Active” and “Under-contract-show” statuses increased 33.3 percent to 40 days on market in 2023 compared to 30 days on market in 2022.

Asheville MSA 

Closed sales for the Asheville MSA at yearend 2023 were down 15.9 percent with 6,682 units sold last year compared to slightly less than 8,000 closed sales in 2022.  Similar to the region, the MSA has had 23 months of year-over-year declines which started in February 2022. During December 2023 sales were down 11.6 percent as 473 properties sold compared to 535 sold in December 2022.

Contract activity at yearend showed close to 6,700 properties went under contract in 2023, which is down 10.5 percent compared to 2022.  However, pending contracts rose 14.5 percent in December 2023, for a third consecutive month, as a little over 400 properties were in pending status. Compared to November’s activity, pending contracts were down 29.8 percent.

The MSAs new listing activity for all of 2023 was only off by 10.9 percent compared to 2022, with sellers listing 8,151 homes for sale. The previous year, sellers listed only 1,000 more properties.  New listings increased in December 2023, rising 5.1 percent as sellers brought 348 homes to market during the month compared to 331 newly listed properties offered in December 2022.

Inventory throughout the MSA increased in December, rising 5.3 percent to 1,272 homes for sale at report time or 2.3 months of supply. Supply is up 21.1 percent compared to yearend 2022 when the MSA had 1.9 months of supply.

Prices at yearend showed moderate appreciation, as the MSA’s median sales price for 2023 topped out at $437,000 and the 2023 average sales price climbed to $539,473, both increasing 5.3 percent and 7.4 percent year-over-year respectively.

The 2023 average list price was $594,526 which is up 8.4 percent compared to the 2022 average list price. This brought the 2023 original list price to sales price measure for the MSA to 96.6 percent.  The time properties spent on market continued to increase, with days on market until sale rising 35.7 percent year-over-year to 38 days in 2023 compared to 28 days in 2022.

Barnes also said, “Asheville and the western region of NC continue to receive national acclaim for tourism, food, arts, and entertainment and we are quickly becoming a retirement and relocation destination. This ensures that the region will continue to grow, which means housing, both new construction and existing homes continue to be the most crucial infrastructure for our growing community.”

County Summaries reflect yearend/annual figures only. See data for December 2023.

Buncombe County had 3,603 closed sales in 2023, which is down 18.9 percent compared to the 4,440 homes that sold in 2022. Contracts totaled 3,541 at yearend, a decline of 15 percent year-over-year. In 2022, there were 626 additional contracts written than last year. New listing activity was down 14.6 percent year-over-year as 4,315 new listings were offered by sellers in 2023 compared to slightly more than 5,000 that were newly listed in 2022. Inventory at yearend showed 652 homes for sale, which is an increase of 5.7 percent over last year and 2.2 months of supply compared to 1.8 months at the end of 2022. The 2023 median price of a home in Buncombe County is $467,655, which is an increase of 5.5 percent compared to last year, while the 2023 average sales price topped out at $597,710, which is up 7.6 percent over last year’s average price. The average list price for 2023 is $655,703, an increase of 8.8 percent over 2022’s average list price. This brings the original list price to sales price measure to 96.8 percent, while days on market for the year rose 35.7 percent to 38 days compared to 2022’s faster-pace when homes averaged 28 days on market until sale.

Haywood County had 1,021 homes close in 2023, a decline of 13.5 percent year-over-year, as only 160 sales separates activity in 2023 from closed sales activity in 2022. Pending contracts were down by 6.6 percent, with 1,054 properties under contract last year compared to 1,128 properties in under contract status in 2022. Sellers in Haywood County listed 1,272 homes for sale last year, which is down 12.5 percent compared to the previous year. Sellers in 2022 listed nearly 180 more homes for sale than in 2023. Inventory however was down 18.6 percent compared to last year and showed 192 homes for sale at report time compared to 236 that were for sale at the end of 2022. Supply moved down 12 percent to 2.2 months of supply compared to 2.5 months of supply at the end of 2022.  Both price indices yearend rose by nearly 12 percent.  the 2023 median sales price for a home in Haywood is $369,900, while the average sales price at year end was $424,062.  The 2023 average list price is also up by 12 percent to $479,698. This brought the original list price to sales price measure for the year to 94.8 percent while homes averaged 44 days on market in 2023 compared to 32 days on market in 2022.

Henderson County home sales at yearend showed 1,761 homes sold in 2023 compared to 2,020 that sold in 2022, a decline of 12.8 percent year-over-year. Contract activity was only off by 5.8 percent as buyers drove 1,794 homes into under contract status last year compared to 1,904 that were pending in 2022. New listing activity at yearend was only down 4.3 percent year-over-year as sellers listed 2,178 homes for sale last year, a difference of 97 listings separates activity in 2022 from activity in 2023. Inventory rose 18.8 percent to 341 homes for sale or 2.3 months of supply. Months of supply is up 27.8 percent compared to last year.  The 2023 median sales price ($434,900) for a home in Henderson County increased 7.4 percent year-over-year, while the 2023 average sales price ($500,347) increased 7.8 percent over the 2022 average price. The average list price for the year ($551,910) also rose by 7.3 percent compared to the 2022 average list price. This brought the original list price to sales price measure to 97.5 percent for the year, while days on market showed homes averaged 34 days on market until sale in 2023 compared to 26 days on market in 2022.

Notably, closed sales in Henderson County during the month of December 2023 rose 19.2 percent compared to last year; contracts rose 9.1 percent year-over-year in December 2023, while new listing activity rose 16.1 percent year-over-year during December 2023.

Madison County at yearend 2023 had 297 homes closed during the year compared to 303 that closed in 2022, a decline of 2 percent year-over-year.  Pending contracts increased at yearend rising 8.6 percent year-over-year as 304 homes went under contract compared to 280 during 2022. New listing activity for the year rose 3.8 percent to 386 new listings compared to 372 that were listed during 2022. Inventory and supply both rose at year end, 27.9 percent and 17.2 percent respectively.  Inventory showed 87 homes for sale and 3.4 months of supply at yearend 2023. The 2023 median sales price ($406,390) of a home in Madison County increased 8.4 percent over 2022’s median price, while the average sales price ($461,919) was 3 percent higher than in 2022. The 2023 average list price of $528,054 was up by 4.5 percent compared to 2022. This brought the original list price to sales price measure for 2023 to 95.1 percent while days on market last year showed homes averaged 52 days on market compared to 39 days on market in 2022.

Other counties around the region

Burke County home sales in 2023 totaled 776 at yearend, a decline of 12.5 percent year-over-year, while contract activity showed 787 homes went into under contract status last year, a decline of 6.9 percent. New listings were down 5.8 percent at year end and showed sellers offered 924 listings in 2023 compared to 981 new listings in 2022. Inventory at report time showed 136 homes for sale at yearend, an increase of 11.5 percent year-over-year while months of supply increased 23.5 percent to 2.1 months in December.  The 2023 median sales price for a home in Burke was $250,000, while the 2023 average sales price topped out at $299,343; both price indices are up by 8.7 percent and 8.5 percent year-over-year respectively. The 2023 average list price of a home in Burke rose 3.3 percent over 2022’s list price to $321,914. This brought the original list price to sales price ratio for the year to 95.9 percent while homes averaged 32 days on market until sale in 2023 compared to 27 days on market in 2022.

Jackson County home sales at yearend 2023 showed 230 homes sold last year compared to 271 in 2022, representing a 15.1 percent decline in activity, while contracts for the year totaled 230, which was down 11.9 percent compared to 2022.  New listing activity was only off by 7.5 percent year-over-year as sellers offered 320 new listings last year compared to 346 offered in 2022. Inventory rose 12.1 percent at report time to 74 homes for sale, while months of supply rose 30 percent to 3.9 months of supply in December. Both the 2023 median sales price ($372,700) and the 2023 average sales price ($505,203) rose by 11.7 and 11.5 percent year-over-year respectively, while the 2023 average list price was up by 1.5 percent to $638,423. This brought the original list price to sales price measure to 93.5 percent while days on market showed homes in Jackson County averaged 57 days on market until sale in 2023, versus 45 days on market in 2022.

McDowell County had 384 homes sold in 2023 compared to 475 that sold in 2022, a decline of 19.2 percent, while contract activity declined 11.1 percent year-over-year to 402 total contracts during the year.  There were 50 more homes in under contract status in 2022, than in 2023. New listing activity was relatively unchanged, down 0.4 percent, compared to last year with sellers offering 545 listings in 2023.  Inventory in December rose 18.9 percent to 113 homes for sale or 3.4 months of supply. Prices were mixed at year end 2023.  The 2023 median sales price of $295,000 was up 4.4 percent year-over-year while the 2023 average sales price declined by 4.2 percent to end the year at $353,160. The 2023 average list price increased 11.1 percent to $433,195 bringing the original list price to sales price for the year to 95 percent. Days on market for all of 2023 showed homes averaged 35 days on market until sale which is unchanged compared to 2022.

(Due to smaller sample sizes in counties where there is a smaller pool of listings, percentage increases or decreases may seem extreme)

Mitchell County had 150 closed sales in 2023, a decline of 25.7 percent year-over-year when compared to closings in 2022. Contracts for the year totaled 150, which was a decline of 21.1 percent when compared to contract activity in 2022. New listings for the year showed sellers listed 200 homes for sale in 2023, which is down 23.1 percent when compared to the 260 new listings offered in 2022. Inventory at report time showed 47 homes for sale, which is down 6 percent, at 3.8 months of supply, which is up 18.8 percent over 2022.  The 2023 median sales price rose 8.7 percent over 2022, to $264,000, while the 2023 average sales price is up 5.5 percent over 2022 to $308,711. The 2023 average list price was up 23.9 percent to $400,538 which brought the original list price to sales price for the year to 90.2 percent, down 3 percent from last year’s 93 percent. Days on market in 2023 showed homes averaged 64 days on market until sale compared to 54 days on market in 2022.

(Due to smaller sample sizes in counties where there is a smaller pool of listings, percentage increases or decreases may seem extreme)
Polk County had 284 homes to close in 2023 a decline of 16.7 percent year-over-year compared to 341 that closed in  2022. Pending contracts were down 9.5 percent to 296 homes under contract last year compared to 327 that were under contract in 2022. New listing activity was off by 5 percent year-over-year as sellers listed 402 homes for sale, 22 less than were listed in 2022. Inventory rose 22.7 percent at report time to 92 homes for sale or 3.7 months of supply, which is also up 32.1 percent compared to supply in 2022. The 2023 median sales price was up 1.5 percent year-over-year to $405,000 while the 2023 average sales price was up 4.1 percent to $544,852. The 2023 average list price topped out at $666,060, which is up 14.6 percent over the 2022 average list price, bringing the original list price to sales price metric for the year to 95.2 percent, compared to 96 percent in 2022.  Days on market in 2023, showed homes averaged 43 days on market until sale compared to 37 days on market in 2022.

Rutherford County had 731 homes closed in 2023 a decline of 22.5 percent compared to 2022, when 943 homes sold.  Pending contracts totaled 760 in 2023, a decline of 14.4 percent year-over-year, while new listings were off by 10.9 percent as sellers listed 990 homes for sale in 2023. Inventory at report time was up 17.1 percent to 199 homes for sale or 3.1 months of supply, which is also up by 34.8 percent. At the end of 2022 there was only 2.3 months of supply. The 2023 median sales price of a home in Rutherford County was $257,000 which is up 2.8 percent over the 2022 median sales price while the 2023 average sales price is unchanged at $326,352.  The average list price increased 10 percent to $394,621, which brought the original list price to sales price ratio for the year to 94.5 percent, while days on market showed homes averaged 40 days on market until sale in 2023 compared to 29 days on market in 2022.

Notably, during the month of December 2023, closed sales in Rutherford County increased 16.7 percent year-over-year; contract activity also increased year-over-year by 27.8 percent, while new listing activity showed seller confidence up significantly in December 2023, rising 45.5 percent compared to December 2022.  

Transylvania County home sales in 2023 declined 18.3 percent to 497 homes sold last year, compared to 608 that sold in 2022. Pending contracts declined by 18.2 percent to 486 homes in under contract status in 2023 versus 594 that went pending in 2022. New listings for all of 2023 totaled 651 compared to 743 listing that sellers offered in 2022, a decline of 12.4 percent year-over-year. Inventory rose 25 percent and showed 130 homes for sale at report time or 3.2 months of supply. At the end of 2022, Transylvania County only had 2.1 months of supply. The 2023 median sales price was relatively unchanged, dipping 0.1 percent to end the year at $462,000. The 2023 average sales price however rose 2.8 percent to $ 596,158 for the year.  The 2023 average list price also increased significantly, rising 22 percent to $732,234. This brought the 2023 original list price to sales price measure to 94.8 percent while days on market showed homes averaged 46 days on market until sale in 2023 compared to 37 days on market in 2022.

Notably, during the month of December 2023, both closed sales and new listings rose in Transylvania County.  Closed sales rose nearly 8 percent compared to the month of December 2022. New listings rose 24 percent compared to new listing activity in December 2022, helping to boost supply entering the new year.

(Due to smaller sample sizes in counties where there is a smaller pool of listings, percentage increases or decreases may seem extreme)

Yancey County closed sales in 2023 totaled 219 compared to 291 in 2022, a decline of 24.7 percent while pending sales were down 19.3 percent as a total of 218 homes went under contract during the year compared to 270 in 2022.  New listings declined 22.8 percent to 294 new listings for the year, compared to 381 that sellers listed in 2022.  Inventory at report time showed 81 homes for sale which is down 12 percent compared to last year but supply was up 9.8 percent to 4.5 months of supply. Prices at yearend softened.  Both the 2023 median sales price ($340,000) and the 2023 average sales price $439,675 declined 5.6 percent and 0.6 percent year-over-year respectively, while the 2023 average list price rose 7.8 percent to $573,539. This brought the original list price to sales price ratio to 92.4 percent for the year while days on market in 2023 showed homes averaged 71 days on market until sale compared to 44 days on market in 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.

Canopy MLS is a wholly-owned subsidiary corporation of Canopy Realtor® Association and is the private broker cooperative used by Realtors® to bring buyers and sellers together with access to thousands of residential listings in a multicounty service area, including Charlotte, Asheville and Catawba Valley regions spanning across North Carolina, South Carolina and outside of the Carolinas. Canopy MLS, which has 21,000 subscribers, provides the most trustworthy, timely, accurate and complete property data along with proprietary tools for showings, market stats, predictive analytics, and more. Canopy MLS is used by its members to support consumers in their residential real estate transactions, whether selling, buying, investing or renting.

Original Publish Date: 1/31/2024