August real estate report: land listings see surge in sales | Local News
HIGH COUNTRY – With the unofficial start of autumn in the High Country, Realtors® in the region are preparing for the second round of the sales season. However, as housing stock dwindles, buyers move on to land purchases, according to the High Country Association of Realtors®.
Land sales are on the rise as buyers realize that in order to have a slice of mountain living they can turn their options on vacant land to build their homes.
Residential: A total of 294 homes were sold in the High Country in August, compared with 372 homes sold last August. Alleghany Realtors® sold 18 homes for a total of over $ 5 million. Ashe County Realtors® sold 47 homes for a total of $ 13.5 million. Avery County Realtors® sold 72 homes for a total of nearly $ 37 million. Watauga County Realtors® sold 131 homes for a total of nearly $ 68 million. While sales are in decline, the market is still pretty strong in terms of sales volume. High Country MLS reports total sales of over $ 135 million for August. That is over 45 percent more than two years ago (before market inflation).
High Country residential unit sales continue to decline while residential property sales rise, according to the High Country Association of Realtors®. The median sales price for the month of August was $ 340,000, compared to last August which had a median price of $ 319,900. With housing remaining scarce in the area, another option for buyers is to turn to land.
country: 149 lots in Alleghany, Ashe, Avery and Watauga were sold for a combined total of over $ 17.2 million in August. This compares to last August when the High Country recorded 114 lots in August 2020 that sold for $ 10.3 million. The lots sold last month totaled 914 acres.
In August of that year, 57 tracts were sold in Watauga County for $ 7.12 million. Ashe County was the second top-selling land with 39 lots grossing over $ 3.7 million. Avery County followed with 24 tracts for over $ 3.2 million and Alleghany with nine tracts that sold for just over $ 460,000. All counties, except Watauga, recorded an increase in land sales in August compared to the previous month.
advertising: The High Country again recorded a total of five commercial properties sold in August. The combined properties totaled over $ 5 million. The sold property in Watauga County accounted for $ 4.2 million. Alleghany ($ 145,000), Ashe ($ 85,000) and Avery ($ 950,000) each saw commercial property sales in August. And there was an additional commercial property that sold for $ 168,000 in MLS that was in a neighboring county.
Alleghany County: Alleghany County Realtors® sold 18 homes for $ 5.6 million. The average sales price for these properties was $ 295,000 – a 68.57 percent increase from August 2020.
Ashe County: Ashe County Realtors® sold 47 homes for a total of $ 13.59 million. The average retail price was $ 279,000 – a 5.42 percent decrease from August 2020.
Avery County: Realtors® sold 72 homes in Avery County for a total of nearly $ 37 million. The average sales price for these properties was $ 303,000 – a 7.62 percent decrease from August 2020.
Watauga district: Watauga County Realtors® listed 131 homes that were sold for nearly $ 68 million. The average retail price was $ 405,000 – a 6.8 percent increase from August 2020.
interest charges: With inflation accelerating and economic growth stabilizing, Freddie Mac predicts mortgage rates will weaken for the remainder of the year. The mortgage company reports that 30-year mortgages rose slightly to 2.87 percent on September 7, according to the High Country Association of Realtors®.