ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Home prices in Asheville and the rest of Buncombe County have stopped climbing, and a new quarterly review of sales from July through September shows the local market sitting closer to an even split between buyers and sellers than it has in years.
The review, put out by an Asheville real estate firm, found enough homes listed to cover about six months of sales, the level housing economists treat as neutral. Median sale prices across the city and county have barely moved since 2025, with the countywide median at $477,000. Homes below that figure still draw heavy interest, and outside the city limits listings under $450,000 sat closer to four months of supply.
Sellers are adjusting. Brokers say about 210 of roughly 1,800 homes for sale in Buncombe County cut their asking price each week, close to 9% of what is listed. A typical home in the county now needs about 75 days to sell, and across a seven-county mountain region that includes Henderson, Haywood and Madison counties the average stretches to 121 days.
Big national builders are helping hold prices down. In the last 12 months, a handful of builders, just four firms, delivered 123 new houses in the county priced below $460,000, roughly 30% of all new-home sales. Without them, the median price of a new home would have been $550,000.
Borrowing costs could tip the balance. The Federal Reserve raised rates on Sept. 16 for the first time in three years, and mortgage rates rose past 7% late in September, which tends to cool demand and give cash-ready buyers more leverage through the end of the year.
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