Real estate sales in western North Carolina were slow at the beginning of 2025, but there are reasons to believe that sales will improve as another year begins.

Neal Hanks Jr., president of Howard Hanna Beverly-Hanks Real Estate, said a slow first-half of 2025 was expected due to the area still showing signs of Hurricane Helene’s aftermath.

“We were kind of digging out from the storm, but in the third and fourth quarters (of 2025), business was significantly better,” he said. “I think a lot of that just has to do with the continued improvement of the region and some better press. We were in the media for a long, long time showing images of the devastation, which did not help us get people to town. I think all businesses suffered from it, like the tourism industry, where we just didn't have people here.”

According to a third quarter market report produced by Howard Hanna, 2,307 homes sold across Western North Carolina in the third quarter of 2025, which was a decrease of 6.9% from the pre-Helene numbers.

The current numbers are higher than the post-COVID numbers. The lowest quarter after the pandemic was Q1 in 2022 when only 889 homes sold.

Hanks said that the majority of sales his firm made during the first quarter of 2025 was for locals who needed to move their residence or their business due to weather-related issues.

“In the third quarter, we started seeing visitors come back. You could see it downtown as weekends started being busier and we saw it in our business, as well,” Hanks said. “That's continued (into the fourth quarter) and we've got good activity going on. We had a good November and December's looking pretty good. So all that to say - I'm feeling pretty good about continued improvement.”

Other interesting points made by the third quarter report from Howard Hanna Beverly-Hanks Real Estate, included the number of homes for sale was 4,295 (as of October 1, 2025), which was down from the Q2 numbers but above last year’s 3,201. The report also stated that homes stayed on the market – actively – for 114 days, compared to 105 in 2024.

Aston Peters, a Broker, Realtor with Ivester Jackson Blackstream, also noted how the number of properties on the market has increased.

“Obviously there was a large period where everybody just needed to start to rebuild, deal with damage and repairs, take care of themselves, get through all of the trauma of the event,” Peters said. “When we got into this year, I think it's been interesting to me, because inventory has been rising across all price points.”

What this has led to, according to Peters, is buyers who take more time to make decisions. Buyers are asking questions, including inquiries about flood plains or landslides, that weren’t previously in the discussion between buyer and realtor. 

Peters said the increase in inventory and the extended length of time properties stay on the market is leading to a more “balanced market.”

“I really think that that's the trend that we're going into, it's going to be a more balanced market,” Peters said. “With all of this inventory rising, and we've got buyers who are asking more questions, taking more time, they're really thinking things through, and they don't have a sense of urgency right now. We're not showing a property and then the next day, or the same day, getting an offer, which is what we saw for a long time. Now buyers are going to take their time and make sure that they get all of our questions answered first. They know that they have a little bit more time to think about things, so they're taking it.”

Hanks said that an improvement in wages and recent changes in the interest rate have helped the real estate market. The hope is that additional interest rate changes will occur in 2026.

“Those are trends that are heading in the right direction that are going to help,” Hanks said, “and we're getting a little bit more inventory. So all those things that, in my mind, kind of point to continued improvement in the real estate market.”

There was also a lower median price in last year’s Q3 ($436,590) compared to  Q3 in 2024 ($525,000). “I think that's a reflection on the fact of what was selling and who was buying it,” Hanks said. “But we have seen a significant surge in the upper end of the market in the second half of the year.”

While the residential side of real estate may have started 2025 slowly, the commercial side was active, as many businesses needed new space or temporary spaces. 

“We're optimistic about commercial business (in 2026), too, because I think businesses are going to do better,” Hanks said. “So hopefully all that it's tied together, as when the local businesses do well, their employees are doing well. People are buying and moving. Real estate is very much tied to the local economy and I think it's going to be a better year for Asheville and the surrounding areas next year than it was in 2025.”