May 2025 MLS REPORT
The High-Country Real Estate Market, consisting of Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, and Watauga counties, saw 138 closed sales on single-family and condo/townhouse properties in May 2025, up 34.0% compared to April 2025. Inventory was up 26.6% compared to April 2025.
The combined closing total of sales for May 2025 was over 87.9 million compared to a closing total for May 2024 of $ 86.5 million. However, the combined median sales price for all four counties was $504,998 for May 2025, up 17.9% compared to May 2024. Hopefully, this is the beginning of an upturn for the High Country Real Estate market.
Nationally: According to a recent report by the National Association of Realtors, the following was reported: At the REALTORS® Legislative Meetings in Washington, D.C., this week, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun took a moment to laud members of the National Association of REALTORS® for their work: “Thank you, to everyone here, for trying to shift this aspiration into future reality.” Over the past two years, it hasn’t been easy.
Residential sales in 2023 and 2024 were the lowest they’ve been in 30 years, Yun said at Tuesday’s Residential Economic Issues & Trends Forum. A range of factors are working against would-be homeowners today—from lack of affordable inventory to recent indications the Fed will delay further rate cuts.
Still, with continued pent-up demand, more inventory coming online, and rate cuts expected in the fall, Yun expects an upturn in the second half of 2025. He’s forecasting a 6% increase in existing home sales in 2025 and an 11% increase in 2026. New-home sales, which have been a bright spot thanks to generous builder incentives, are expected to be up by 10% in 2025 and by 5% in 2026. And Yun predicts the median price nationally will continue to rise—by 3% in 2025 and by 4% in 2026.
INVENTORY: Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, and Watauga Counties had 995 active single-family and condo/townhouse listings during May 2025, with 421 new listings coming onto the market. This is a 7.2 month’s supply of inventory, up 58.6% compared to May 2024.
LAND: There were 56 closed sales in the 4 counties in the month of May 2025, making the land sales combined at $7.5 Million. There were 1,355 active land listings during May 2025, with a 24.2 month (about 2 years)’s supply of local land inventory; this is up 23.5% compared to May 2024.
COMMERCIAL: There were 6 active commercial properties listed in the High-Country Multiple Listing Service during May 2025. There was only one commercial sale within the four counties during May with a closing price of $300,000.
Alleghany County: Realtors closed on thirteen residential sales in May 2025, up 62.5% from April 2025. The county's median sales price for May 2025 was $380,000, up 5.0% compared to April 2025. There are currently 90 active residential listings, up 12.5% from April 2025 and 30 new listings in the county. There were three land closings in May 2025, down 57.1% compared to April 2025, with a median sales price of $63,000. There are currently 243 active land listings and 12 new listings in Alleghany County.
Ashe County: Thirty-five residential sales closed in May 2025, up an impressive 105.9% compared to April 2025 and the median sales price was $383,000, up 18.9% compared to April 2025. There are 164 active residential properties in the inventory, and Ashe County added 92 new listings during May 2025. Eighteen land sales were also reported for May 2025; the median sales price was $70,000. There are currently 351 active land listings and 40 new land listings in Ashe County.
Avery County: Twenty-six residential properties closed in Avery County in May 2025 with a median sales price of $590,000 up 104.9% from May 2024. There are 319 active residential properties in inventory for Avery, and 100 new listings were added in May 2025. There were ten land sales in May 2025, up 66.7% from April 2025, with a median sales price of $60,000 up 11.6% from April 2025. There were 305 active land listings in inventory and 41new land listings in Avery County in May 2025.
Watauga County: The market in Watauga saw 64 residential properties close in May 2025, with the median sales price being the largest of the 4 counties, at $608,500, up 25.2% from May 2024. There were 422 active residential properties in inventory and 199 new listings in May 2025, up 68.6% from April 2025. Twenty-five land closings were recorded for May 2025, up 13.6% from April 2025. The median sales price was $60,000, down considerably at 45.5% from May 2024. There are currently 456 active land listings in the Watauga County inventory and 51 new listings for the county in May 2025.
Disclaimer: Figures are based on the High-Country Multiple Listing Service information. Data is for informational purposes only and may not be accurate due to MLS reporting processes. This data reflects a specific point in time and cannot be used in perpetuity due to the fluctuating nature of markets.
Report graphics generated from Domus Analytics pulled from the HCAR Web API feed. HCAR Realtor® members can access these detailed and customizable reports and graphics for professional use by logging into the HCAR dashboard. A public graphic is available on our website homepage at highcountryrealtors.org.