2022 Year in Review
Our latest market update starts below and was published on January 26, 2023. You can also skip down to our section of real-time Real Estate Statistics for the Asheville Area.
In our last few market updates, we continued to watch interest rates and prepare for an inevitable shift in the market. It took some time, but as we look back on the 4th quarter of 2022, we can finally see that shift starting to take place.
As of the end of 2022, a 30-year interest rate was around 6.25 – 6.50 percent. That’s pretty close to where rates stand today. Many industry forecasts expect the Fed to continue to raise rates in early 2023 as it tries to tame inflation. However, higher rates have led to a dramatic decrease in mortgage applications, which helps explain why mortgage rates aren’t higher than they are, and why some experts think mortgage rates will drop in 2023. This could be good news for homebuyers in 2023, especially if prices start to drop (more on this in a moment).
Inventory may have Finally Bottomed Out
For the last couple of years, our real estate market updates have discussed the lack of inventory for sale. Starting with the COVID pandemic, the number of homes for sale was well below historical norms. That remains the case for now. However, 2022 was very similar to the prior year in terms of inventory numbers, marking the first time in at least 4 years that inventory didn’t drop significantly. There is still a long way to go before inventory returns to levels that provide more of a balanced market, but for now, it looks like we may have hit the floor.
Months Supply of Homes has Increased Slightly
For the first time since December 2020, we saw a 2-month supply of homes on the market across Buncombe County (in November 2022). A balanced market would be around 4 months supply. As of the day of this post, this metric has dropped to just under 2 months. But that drop is seasonal. Hopefully, we’ll see this number creep back higher when more listings come on the market in the spring.
New Listings Dropped in 2022
Even though buyer activity is down, the decline in new listings has kept the market skewed in favor of sellers. But since homes are taking longer to sell, buyers had more choices when they went home shopping in 2022. This helps explain the seemingly contradictory statement of “new listings were down and months supply were slightly up last year.”
Overall Sales Figures Reverted back to 2020 Numbers
It was no surprise that 2022 saw a drop in sales, but those figures were still very similar to 2020 numbers, which was still a wild year for real estate. We expect 2023 to bring fewer sales than 2022, which would be more in line with pre-pandemic sales figures.
Finally, Buyers can Negotiate Price
For the first time since before the pandemic started, the average percentage of list price paid by buyers is dropping. We’ve been expecting this for some time, and it was happening in a lot of real estate transactions. But there were still enough multiple offer situations and bidding wars to keep this metric around 100% across the broader market. But beginning in August 2022, we saw that sellers were willing to negotiate. For buyers who have lost out in previous bidding wars, this is a welcome sign.
Home Prices May be Leveling Off
Median and average sales prices may be leveling off, but we’ll need more data over the next few months to know for sure. Black Mountain showed an increase in median price, but it’s a small market. Buncombe County rose slightly in the 4th quarter of 2022 and Asheville started to flatten out. The same can be said for average price.
Land Sales Fell in 2022
Land sales fell to pre-pandemic levels. We credit this to rising construction prices and rising interest rates working as a double-whammy for people wanting to build a custom home. It’s still less expensive (in most cases) to buy an existing home than to build new.
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Asheville & Black Mountain Area Real Estate Trends and Statistics
At Freestone Properties, we’re a little bit geeky. We love statistics, especially when they help to identify trends in the market. The statistics in this section of our website are updated in real-time. We’ve included many different charts and graphs based on geographic area, price range, square footage range, and other factors. The graphs are interactive, so hovering your mouse over the graphs will show the detailed figures.
We hope you find this information useful if you’re considering selling your home or considering moving to the Asheville area. Keep in mind that statistics such as days on market, sale-to-list-price ratio, price per square foot and other figures can vary greatly depending on a lot of factors. Each property is different, so contact us to discuss a specific property.
Residential Real Estate Statistics and Trends by Geographic Area
Buncombe County Statistics (Countywide Data)
Arden Statistics
Asheville Statistics
Black Mountain Statistics
Brevard Statistics
Candler Statistics
Fairview Statistics
Hendersonville Statistics
Montreat Statistics
Swannanoa Statistics
Weaverville Statistics
Residential Real Estate Statistics and Trends by Property Type in Buncombe County (Countywide Data)
Land
Luxury Homes ($1 Million and Above)
Distressed Properties (Includes Foreclosures and Short Sales)
If you’d like to see a specific statistical graph that we haven’t provided, please ask us to create it.
