MAY 2009

Buncombe County is the home of Asheville, NC.

This statement is redundant from the past reports, but: 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 have kept the real estate markets unsettled, higher than normal inventory and lower number of units sold. However, unlike most of the country, our prices have basically held fairly firm with only a modest drop of about 5% in 2009.

For more on that story: The Asheville Citizen Times has the story at Holding Value 

The Active listings inventory normally increases this time of year as expected. An EXCESS in the inventory numbers, which is beginning to develop, is not desirable. High inventory numbers will most likely mean prices must go lower, on average, in order to clear out any excess. 

There has been a slight change in the market conditions compared to last month, but only slight.  

Until mid-summer of 2008 the Asheville area had historically been immune from the negative real estate trends that the rest of the country had been experiencing, but we, along with the rest of the country, are showing signs of an anemic market, at least as far as the number of home sales over the $275,000 mark.

This story is the same as last several months, 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. There is a noticeable increase in homes on the market that are pre-foreclosure and many that are "short sale" candidates, both negatively affecting the market.

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 May 2009 - Current Inventory by Price Range

Copyright by Don Davies©