Monday, November 20, 2023 / by Amy Brown
Ahhh, it's a beautiful thing, welcome to a balanced real estate market
The seller's market streak has broken for the first time since 2018, we are now in a balanced market lending opportunity to both buyers and sellers alike. This is a unique time and never has there been a better time to buy or sell a home in the mountains. With equal competition across the board sellers can be assured that they will still receive a strong market value price for their home yet buyers will now have more room for negotiation, time to shop for the right home, and less competition between other buyers when it comes time to make an offer.
Let's take a sigh of relief and look at the numbers.
These numbers pertain to Buncombe county as a whole for single family homes. Numbers will trend up or down depending upon the type of home considered and the area of the county in which you desire to purchase.
Overview
We are currently sitting on 5.65 months of inventory countywide putting our market at almost perfectly balanced. Sellers should expect to receive 97.4% of list price and homes are taking approximately 49 days to sell at an average price of $517,086. While this is not an astronomically long time for a real estate transaction, it is significantly longer than we have seen in recent years trending up on average 11.36% month over month.
Inventory
Inventory is on the rise and I predict that trend to continue into the winter months having increased 13.2% since last month and 119.8% since this time last year. Buyers have more choices now than ever.
Active Listing Price
The median list price for a home in Buncombe county is holding steady at $595,000 with no real change since May 2023.
Days on Market
As is normally the case during the winter season when buying tends to cool along with the weather, days on market is on the rise and should peak around 100 days towards the end of next month.
Summary
While many sellers may be discounting my claim that a balanced market is good news, remember that sellers are also buyers in most cases. The trouble over the past 3 years has been that yes, homes were selling at fantastic prices but getting into another one required every bit of profit that was made on the last one and sometimes a bit more. Even with a strong offer, many sellers found themselves at the closing table with nowhere to go but a rental house.
A settling of the market is good for all involved as today's transactions will be less about emotions and conducted with more certainty and confidence as buyers have time to make an educated decision. Also, interest rates have steadied for the meantime further decreasing volatility.
Maybe winter wasn't what you had in mind for a move but you might want to reconsider. Trends are looking favorable to make this winter season an ideal time to get into real estate.
Let's take a sigh of relief and look at the numbers.
These numbers pertain to Buncombe county as a whole for single family homes. Numbers will trend up or down depending upon the type of home considered and the area of the county in which you desire to purchase.
Overview
We are currently sitting on 5.65 months of inventory countywide putting our market at almost perfectly balanced. Sellers should expect to receive 97.4% of list price and homes are taking approximately 49 days to sell at an average price of $517,086. While this is not an astronomically long time for a real estate transaction, it is significantly longer than we have seen in recent years trending up on average 11.36% month over month.
Inventory
Inventory is on the rise and I predict that trend to continue into the winter months having increased 13.2% since last month and 119.8% since this time last year. Buyers have more choices now than ever.
Active Listing Price
The median list price for a home in Buncombe county is holding steady at $595,000 with no real change since May 2023.
Days on Market
As is normally the case during the winter season when buying tends to cool along with the weather, days on market is on the rise and should peak around 100 days towards the end of next month.
Summary
While many sellers may be discounting my claim that a balanced market is good news, remember that sellers are also buyers in most cases. The trouble over the past 3 years has been that yes, homes were selling at fantastic prices but getting into another one required every bit of profit that was made on the last one and sometimes a bit more. Even with a strong offer, many sellers found themselves at the closing table with nowhere to go but a rental house.
A settling of the market is good for all involved as today's transactions will be less about emotions and conducted with more certainty and confidence as buyers have time to make an educated decision. Also, interest rates have steadied for the meantime further decreasing volatility.
Maybe winter wasn't what you had in mind for a move but you might want to reconsider. Trends are looking favorable to make this winter season an ideal time to get into real estate.
