Beverly-Hanks President Neal Hanks, Jr. has delivered the 2016 End-of-Year Market Report. Watch the video below for his short report, or continue reading for a summation.
2016 EOY Commercial Activity:
2016 was an interesting year for commercial real estate in Western North Carolina.
Leasing activity was up, but sales transactions were down. While the number of sales was down, the average sales price was up significantly. For example, there were 276 transactions in 2016 for $452.6M and 406 transactions in 2015 for $524.2M—that’s an average sales price of $1.64M in 2016 vs. $1.29M in 2015.
That’s a trend we saw across all categories: number of transactions down, average sales price up. In 2016, there were 66 land transactions for $51.7M versus 129 transactions in 2015 for $85.7M. In the multi-family sector, 25 sales for $207M this year versus 34 sales for $100M last year.
We think these trends will only continue in 2017, as inventory in all categories continues to tighten and demand stays relatively high.
On the leasing front, the market is strong. Transactions and rents are up while vacancy is down. In 2016, there were a total of 381 lease transactions across industrial, office, and retail spaces. This is compared to 364 lease transactions in 2015. Overall vacancy in the four-county MSA dropped to below 3%.
2016 EOY Residential Activity:
Overall, our housing markets are breaking records. For the past 12 months, we’ve been experiencing the fastest sales pace in the history of our seven-county region. Sales were up 9% for the year.
In the seven-county region, there are 62% fewer homes for sale now than there were when supply levels peaked in 2011. Many communities have dropped to the lowest supply level in a decade. That means that finding homes under $300,000—$600,000 is some neighborhoods—is becoming increasingly difficult.
Because of the strong market, the Federal Finance Housing Agency reported that Asheville MSA’s home prices appreciated 7% in 2016. Buncombe County recorded the highest median sales price in the region at $254,000. Rutherford County was the lowest at $162,000.
Read more about Q3 EOY residential activity.
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