January 2023 Market Update
It's a new year, and we have new market data to share! Here's what the January data for Buncombe County tells us:
The number of homes sold looks like a dramatic drop from December; however, this is expected seasonally - the winter months right around the holidays are typically slow for real estate transactions. In a more positive trend, the number of new listings jumped 27% from December to January, indicating that sellers are perking up in the new year and ready to add more inventory to the market.
An indicator of velocity is the Median Days On Market stat - in December 2022 we were at 31 days, and that dropped 13% down to 27 days in January. Looking back a bit further, this number was 14 in November 2022. Many of us are remembering the days from late 2020 to early 2022 when that number was in the single digits for many months, and that is highly unusual. 27 as the median is still really low. According to FRED, the national median days on market in January was 75. So put in perspective, things are still moving really quickly in our area.
The Months of Available Inventory number is how many months the current active listing supply would last if no new listings were added or removed given the current pace of home sales. This shows us how balanced the market its, or whether we're in a buyer's or seller's market. Again, a year and a half ago or so, we were looking around 2 weeks of available inventory, so January's whopping 1.4 months of inventory may seem like a big shift. However, a balanced market is indicated when there are around 4 months of inventory available. Nationally, we are at around 3.4 months of inventory available, so while the national data shows a more balanced market, our region is still very much a seller's market.
Homes are still selling at around 98% of their list price at the time the offer was made, and the average sale price went down a tick from the previous month (and up from the previous year). Our average sale price in Buncombe County was $519,000 in January, and the median sales price was $423,500. Nationally, the most recent data was have was from December 2022 (January's numbers will be out before the end of February) - and the median sales price was just under $367,000.
All this is to say that you may be hearing in the national media that the market has shifted and things are slowing down - and in many areas, that is the case. However, looking at our local data is much more important to anyone living here or hoping to live here, and to anyone with real estate goals this year. Buncombe County is still a hot market, and things are still moving quickly.
Our team's goal is to help our clients - buyers and sellers - determine what your next best move will be. Whether it's leveraging your equity in your current home, exploring the best loan products for your first home purchase or getting the best possible outcome for selling and buying, we've got you covered. Give us a call today at (828) 771-2339 to chat with one of our agents or click here to book an appointment!
