Real Estate Market Update for the Asheville, NC Area
June 26, 2026
Summer is here, and the Asheville area is busy with tourism season! It sure is nice to be another year removed from Helene. You can really feel the energy this summer, especially on the weekends. It has also been dryer than usual, so the extra sunny days have made this summer a great time to enjoy the Blue Ridge Mountains!
Note: The numbers below (with the exception of the mortgage rate chart) are through May. In the graphs below, the Asheville MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) includes Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison, and Transylvania Counties.
Interest Rate Update
As of June 26, 2026, the national average for a fixed rate 30-year mortgage is 6.53%, down slightly over the last month.
Please contact us so we can recommend the best mortgage lenders in the Asheville area, including our own in-house Howard Hanna Mortgage team. If you have already been pre-approved with a lender, did you know Howard Hanna Mortgage can offer a free second opinion to make sure you’re getting the best loan product and the best terms for your specific situation?
New Listings
The numbers of new listings declined in May, which signals the end of our busy listing season. But what a listing season it was! Except for last May (2025), May 2026 was the busiest May since 2019. The Asheville MSA saw 1250 home listings, and Buncombe County had 644 of those. While the number of new listings will likely drop again in June, there will always be a few new listings every day, so be sure to sign up for automatic listing notifications so you don’t miss a new listing.
Inventory
As is typical for our listing season, inventory rose in May. During the listing season, new listings always outpace closed sales. It’s likely that our inventory will peak later this summer. But for now, if you’re shopping for a new home or have very specific criteria, there are some great options on the market!
Months Supply (Absorption Rate)
Our months supply of homes (absorption rate) is now just under 6 months of inventory, except in Black Mountain (7.6 months). This is skewed towards a buyers’ market. Buyers definitely have options, but well-priced homes in desirable locations are still moving quickly. So if you find the perfect home, don’t wait to come to see it!
Closed Sales (Units)
Closed sales increased slightly across the Asheville MSA in May. This was a modest increase (630 closings in May compared to 613 in April). This modest increase was not surprising, considering the interest rate spike in April. Fortunately, rates seem to have stabilized and are actually going down slowly.
Negotiation
The average closed price to list price ratio in our area is just below 94%. Sellers are usually willing to negotiate in this market, especially on homes that have been on the market for a couple of months or that have already had a price reduction. In the chart below, you can see that Black Mountain (the dark grey line) bounces around a lot due to the small sample size.
Days on Market
“Days on market” didn’t change much from April to May. In fact, across the Asheville MSA, it actually dropped from 70-66 days.
Home Prices
Median home prices and average home price are slightly down from their Covid-era peaks, but have been mostly stable over the last year.
Median Home Price (Month-over-Month)
***Note the Black Mountain line (in dark grey) bounces around a lot because Black Mountain is a small market and just 1 or 2 sales can skew the data in either direction.
In Buncombe County, the median home price in May was $495,000. In May 2025, it was $502,500. In May 2024, it was $505,000. This represents only a slight 1.4% decrease over 2 years.
Median Home Price (Previous 12 Months Activity)
It can be easier to see the trends in pricing when viewing the previous 12 months of activity (as opposed to month over month). Looking at Buncombe County (the orange line), the median home price based on the previous 12 months was down $490k to $475k. In the Asheville MSA, it was only down from $455k to $450k.
Average Home Price (Month-over-Month)
Average home prices are actually up across the area compared to May 2025. Asheville is up 3.3% (from $607k to $627k), Black Mountain is down 2.2% (from $596k to $583k), Buncombe County is up 7.9% (from $596k to $643k), and the Asheville MSA is up 3.8% (to $567k from $546k).
Average Home Price (Previous 12 Months Activity)
Looking at the trailing 12 months shows a slight increase in average price.
Luxury Home Closed Sales
Some of the increase in average sales price can be explained by the increase in luxury home sales in May. For the purpose of this discussion, luxury sales are those that closed at $1,000,000 or higher. All the areas in this chart had more luxury closings than in May 2025, except for Black Mountain (14 luxury closings in May 2026 compared to 17 in May 2025).
Land Sales
Closed land sales increased for the second straight month, and encouraging sign before summer.
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