Realtors: Market is recovering
Halfway through 2012 there is continued evidence the High
Country real estate market is recovering.
Listings sold are up 31 percent compared to this
time last year, and more than 42 percent compared to the first six months of 2010, according to the
High Country Association of Realtors.
The average time for homes to be on the market is
declining. Inventory is staying strong. And the dollar value of sold properties continues to slowly
increase, according to the association.
The boom is due in great part to buyers’ market
conditions, as recorded by the High Country Multiple Listing Service, which tracks Realtor-assisted
sales in Ashe, Avery and Watauga counties.
The median price of a listing sold this year was
$199,900, which is below the median price sold in 2008, at $230,500. With more buyers exploring the
market, prices should begin to rise, according to the association.
“Parades and festivals
attract many visitors to the High Country during this time of year as people escape the heat and
head for the mountains,” said Laurie Phillips, executive officer of High Country Association of
Realtors. “It’s also a busy time for our local Realtors taking calls and showing properties to those
visitors who want a place of their own in the mountains.”
In the first six months of 2012,
there were 543 Realtor-assisted sales in the High Country worth $135.3 million. Both figures are
four-year highs and significantly higher than 2010, when only 381 listings worth just $93.98 million
were sold, yet well short of 2008 levels.
“After a high in 2006 and a low in 2010, the real
estate market in the High Country is recovering nicely,” Phillips said.
The average time on
the market for a listing was 248 days, the lowest such mark since 2006. Meanwhile, 2,079 new
listings have been added to the MLS this year.
The trend month to month is up, according to
Phillips. There were 114 listings sold in June, matching the year-high set in March. Sales were
worth $26.2 million, second highest for 2012.
The median price of a listing sold last month
was $181,000, the lowest such monthly figure recorded since February 2011, she said.
