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Real Estate

Real Estate Inventory Levels Affecting Sales and Pricing Across the High Country; Home Sales Down 33% From July Last Year

August 11, 2021. Low real estate inventory is directly affecting the high sale prices and low total sales we are currently experiencing locally, as well as nationally. Residential and land inventory in the High Country continues its slow climb after hitting record lows in April. However, when compared to inventory levels and recorded sales this time last year, we see a stark comparison… with the total number of homes sold down by 33%. July of 2020 began the Real Estate surge for the High Country. Inventory was good, sales were growing at a steep pace, and prices were beginning to rise. Flash forward to our current real estate market. The real estate boom has left us, along with the rest of the nation, seeing low inventory levels. With a 1% increase in inventory over last month, August began with 576 residential listings in our four-county region. This time last year, our MLS recorded an inventory of over 860 properties. That shows a decrease in inventory of over 48% year-over-year. With inventory levels lower than previous years, we see the relationship between our inventory and recorded total sales.

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Patti Turner Named Managing Broker of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty’s Banner Elk and Blowing Rock Sales Galleries


July 16, 2021. Premier Sotheby’s International Realty has named Patti Turner as the new managing broker of the company’s Banner Elk sales gallery, located at 3990 NC Highway 105 South, Suite 3 and the Blowing Rock office, at 1127 Main Street, Suite A. A top affiliate in the Sotheby’s International Realty® network, the brokerage is No. 1 in closed dollar volume year-to-date in High Country and has the highest average sales price among all competitors. Patti has served as a top-producing broker associate with the company’s Blowing Rock office since 2016. A seasoned professional who has called High Country home for 30 years, she is a skilled agent and passionate mentor who is deeply invested in her community. She is a member of the High Country Board of REALTORS® and the National Association of REALTORS®.

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High Country Realtors Have Sold 1,500 Homes in the First Six Months of 2021

July 14, 2021. Realtors are welcoming the summer selling season and the High Country is still bustling with buyers. Unit sales total 1,500 homes sold this year, with June accounting for 287 of those sales. Last month most homes sold in less than 60 days of the list date. The High Country MLS reports the median sold date within 44 days of being on the market. It is evident that buyers are looking for homes quickly, which increases the demand for inventory. With a 16% increase in inventory over last month, June residential listings were embraced by home buyers. The beginning of July shows 569 active residential listings in the High Country compared to early June’s 488 listings. The inventory increase is good news, however, when compared to June of 2020 our MLS inventory shows a decrease of nearly 50 %. This inventory decrease is the same across the country, The National Association of Realtors® released research in early June, which was collected from the Rosen Consulting Group, estimating that between 5.5 million and 6.8 million new construction houses are needed to meet the demand across the nation.

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Spring Home Sales in the High Country Continue Record Pace; Over 1,200 Homes Sold in 2021

June 21, 2021. Housing inventory increased for the second consecutive month in May as total unit sales in the four-county area broke 1,000, a record pace according to the High Country Association of REALTORS© monthly sales report. A hectic spring buying season was evidenced by the sale of 1,213 homes worth $515.33 million so far this year, a 35 percent increase in unit sales compared to the first five months of 2019. (The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic impacted sales last year, though REALTORS© still sold 815 homes for $250.73 million). Another impressive metric is how fast homes are selling. In May alone, homes were on the market a median of just 49 days, the fastest turnaround recorded for a month within the High Country Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

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High Country Real Estate Activity Steady in May; 148 Area Homes Sold During the Month


June 12, 2020 Regional home sales were down almost 40 percent in May compared to a year ago but were higher than in April as High Country REALTORS™ continued adapting to serving their clients in the midst of the COVID pandemic. North Carolina’s Phase 2 opening in mid-May, as directed by Gov. Roy Cooper, allowed increased movement in the state. This encouraged more potential buyers and sellers to engage with members of the High Country Association of REALTORS™ (HCAR), who have all been deemed an essential service. “Inventory remains low, down about 34 percent from where it was last year at this time,” said Pam J. Vines, 2020 HCAR president. “The lack of listings is expected to keep sales growth down in the near future, but at the moment attractive listings are going fast.”

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Number of High Country Homes Sold up 11 Percent in 2019


January 13, 2020. Homebuyers could not get enough of the High Country market in 2019, according to the year-end real estate report by the High Country Association of Realtors. Realtors set a new high mark in home sales, registering 11 percent growth over 2018. The total sales dollar value was up 34 percent thanks in great part to the demand in high dollar homes. Realtors sold more million-dollar homes last year than in all of 2018 and 2017, combined. Sales occurred as interest rates fell to near-record lows in September. At the start of 2019, the 30-year fixed-rate averaged 4.51 percent. They remain below 3.75 percent heading into 2020. The falling rates helped spur year-long activity in the High Country. Realtors sold a total of 2,617 residential and multi-family homes worth $809.07 million. That’s according to the High Country Multiple Listing Service, which records all Realtor activity in Alleghany, Ashe, Avery and Watauga counties.

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