The real estate and construction industries are rapidly growing in Western North Carolina. According to Riverbird Research, both of these industries within the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area have a job growth rate that outpaces the state’s overall average.

The 2016-2021 jobs growth rate of 41 percent in the real estate and rental and leasing segments outpaced the state's overall rate of 12 percent. In 2021, there were 967 payrolled business locations in this industry. For construction, the 2016-2021 jobs growth rate of 20 percent outpaced the state's overall rate of 19 percent, and in 2021, there were 1,757 payrolled business locations in the Asheville MSA.

Within the Asheville MSA in 2021, there were 2,914 total real estate jobs within the Asheville MSA, 2,290 of which were located in Buncombe County, and 417, 184, and 22 jobs were located in Henderson, Haywood, and Madison Counties respectively, with an average wage of $47,409. There were 8,090 total jobs in the Asheville MSA in the construction industry. Buncombe County was the host of 6,354 jobs while Henderson, Haywood, and Madison Counties were host to 2,240, 895, and 249 jobs respectively, with an average wage of $52,793.