Real Estate Market Update for the Asheville, NC Area
January 16, 2026
Happy New Year! It is cold in Western NC, but this is still a great time to visit, especially with local ski resorts open for business and fewer crowds at your favorite restaurants. And, January is a great time to walk land or tour homes. For land, it’s easy to see the topography and view potential in the winter. And for existing homes, bidding wars are less common in the winter.
Note: The numbers below (with the exception of the mortgage rate chart) are through December. In the graphs below, the Asheville MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) includes Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison, and Transylvania Counties.
Interest Rate Update
Just a few days ago, we saw 30-year mortgage rates dip just below 6% to 5.99%. Yes, that’s just barely below 6, but it was nice to see a 5, even if only for one day! Right now, we are seeing the lowest interest rates since September 2022. The chart below shows a national average of mortgage rates, so keep in mind that well-qualified borrowers will likely be able to find better rates. Please contact us so we can recommend the best mortgage lenders in the Asheville area!
Inventory
We saw a significant decline in inventory in December. This is typical for this time of year, but it was a steeper decline than usual. As you’ll see in the charts below, we had strong sales in December, so a lot of the inventory decline was due to houses being sold. Some of the decline was due to homes being pulled off the market. This is also typical in the Asheville market. Many homes that haven’t sold by the end of the year are withdrawn from the market; many of them will be back on the market in the spring.
Months Supply
Our months’ supply is right around 5 months. Last month, it was around 6 months. This metric has been trending downwards since August. This is another sign that our housing market is recovering from the combination of rising interest rates and Hurricane Helene.
New Listings
New listings dropped in December to a level that we would expect. New listings were higher in December 2024 due to Helene delaying the typically busy October listing window. Over the next few months, new listings should increase. The holidays are behind us and spring is rapidly approaching. If you’re considering listing your home, now is the time to focus on important repairs, maintenance, and improvements in anticipation of the spring selling season. Contact us if you’d like to discuss getting your home ready for the market. We can help determine which winter and spring projects will result in the highest return. Home sellers that contact us in the winter and then use the next 2-3 months to get their home ready routinely experience fewer days on the market and higher prices. If your home is ready now for showings, this is a great time to be on the market with minimal competition.
Closed Sales (Units)
December 2025 was the best December for closed sales since December 2021 (the height of the Covid market). We always expect an uptick in December (compared to November) because a lot of contracts signed in October close in December. Even so, December 2025 was a great month for closed sales and hopefully the sign of things to come for 2026!
Negotiation
The average closed price to list price ratio remained at 93.5% for Asheville and Black Mountain, and it only dipped slightly across Buncombe County and the Asheville MSA (from 93.7% to 93.5%). Buyers still have some leverage in this market, especially for homes that been on the market for a couple of months or that have already seen a price reduction.
Days on Market
On average, listed homes stay on the market for about 2 – 2.5 months before they go under contract. Homes in good condition and priced correctly are the most likely to sell in less time.
Home Prices
Median home prices have been mostly flat over the last 12 months, while average sale prices have been more volatile – up one month and down the next, but usually in small increments. From November to December 2025, we saw very little change in either.
***Note the Black Mountain line (in blue) bounces around a lot, but Black Mountain is a small market and just 1 or 2 sales can skew the data in either direction.
Land Sales
The land market remains very soft. A lot of this is due to high building costs and limited availability of lots with good topography. But mostly, buyers are opting to buy existing homes rather than go through a lengthy building process.
Talk to a Local Agent About the Asheville Real Estate Market
Please feel free to contact us to speak with a local Asheville real estate agent about the real estate market in Asheville, NC and the surrounding areas.
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