I've been asking myself the same question you're probably asking: What is actually going on with the Asheville real estate market?
So instead of just giving you my take, I went and got other people's takes too. I sat down with three real estate agents, a mortgage broker, and a short term rental management company to get a full picture from people who are in it every day. Different parts of the market, different vantage points. And I'm going to give you the honest version, not the hype.
Whether you own rental property here, you're thinking about investing, or you're just trying to figure out what's happening, this one's for you.
2025 Was Not What Anyone Expected
Let's start with what actually happened. Hurricane Helene hit in October 2024. That was essentially the starting gun for a pretty rough stretch, and the hangover lasted way longer than most people expected.
Coming into summer 2025, there was this collective assumption that we'd bounce back fast. We didn't. Tourism was slow. Businesses that had reopened were struggling with foot traffic. I heard from people who were walking through downtown Asheville mid summer on a Friday evening and it felt empty. For a city whose economy runs heavily on people coming here, that's a real problem.
Here's what surprised me personally, and I'll admit I was wrong about this publicly. I thought rents were going to shoot up after Helene because supply would tighten. The exact opposite happened. People who bought at the height of the market and couldn't afford to take the loss couldn't sell their homes. So what did they do? They put those houses on the rental market. We had a flood of supply. Rents went down. We're still feeling some of that today.
That's the fun part about predictions. You can feel completely confident, and the market can go in the total opposite direction.
The Short-Term Rental Market: Fear and Opportunity
Kaya from Key Collection manages about 55 high-end luxury short-term rentals here in Western North Carolina. His company took about a 10 to 15% dip in revenue coming out of Helene, while a lot of other operators were getting hit with 40 to 50% drops. The difference is that he runs a tight operation and knows his numbers cold.
But here's the more interesting piece: holiday reservations for late 2025 came in stronger than he's ever seen. Properties that were booking at $1,500 a night at their peak were suddenly touching $2,000. That's not a coincidence, that's a signal. A lot of supply left the market post-Helene, and Asheville keeps getting featured in high-traffic travel newsletters and publications. When supply drops, and demand keeps growing, the math starts looking pretty good for operators who are still standing.
His 2026 outlook is bullish. Mine is too, for the long-term rental side.
His advice to anyone thinking about getting into short-term rentals: get your hands dirty. Don't buy at the top of the market prices and expect a great return because the place has a mountain view and a hot tub. Get scrappy. Find your margin in the deal, not the design.
What the Sales Market Is Doing
Colin O'Berry from Ultima Property Group at Keller Williams gave me what I thought was the most grounded take on residential real estate. His point: this isn't a broken market. It just looks a lot more like 2015 to 2019 than it does 2021. That means 60 to 120 days on market for a lot of properties, more inventory, and sellers who actually need to prepare their homes and price them correctly.
Nobody's panicking. The sky is not falling. But price growth has flattened, and if you bought near the peak and need to sell, you're in a genuinely tough spot. A lot of those sellers can't follow the market down because they don't have the equity cushion to absorb the loss.
Andrew Lanteri echoed a similar sentiment. The buyers who are out there right now are more patient and more selective than anything we've seen in years. They'll do multiple showings, talk themselves out of a property, and only move forward when they can't talk themselves out of it anymore. That's a completely different mindset than even 18 months ago.
One thing that genuinely surprised Elena Kovrigin, a buyer's agent who's been working the Asheville area for nine years: the number of transactions being driven by divorces. She didn't see that coming, and honestly, neither did I. Apparently, there's been a wave of it, pandemic stress, interest rate pressure, people who relocated here and couldn't make it work. That's been a quieter but real driver of inventory this year.
The Interest Rate Reality
Mitch Davidson from Movement Mortgage put it plainly: we've been above 6% on a 30 year mortgage for 39 straight months. That's the new normal. And the "gold handcuffs" problem isn't going away. Millions of homeowners locked in at 2 to 3% who refuse to sell, which is keeping inventory suppressed everywhere.
The good news for buyers in Asheville specifically is that you have time. People are doing multiple showings before making a decision. Sellers are negotiating. There are concessions happening that weren't even a conversation two years ago. If you're a buyer, this is the most breathing room you've had in years, so use it.
What This Means If You Own Rental Property in Western NC
From where I sit as a property manager and landlord myself: long term rentals in this market still make sense. The influx of supply that drove rents down was mostly from reluctant landlords, people who put their homes on the rental market because they had no other option. Those aren't long term operators. That inventory is finite, and the market will correct.
What I keep telling investors: don't make a 12 month decision. If you're thinking 12 years, Asheville and the surrounding area are still a great place to put your money. Black Mountain is growing. Weaverville is growing. Hendersonville is growing. Canton is going to be popping in 10 to 15 years as the old paper mill site gets redeveloped. The surrounding communities are opening up in ways that people from outside the area still don't fully appreciate.
And at the macro level, people from California, New York, Florida, and Texas are still looking to move here. They want to. The ones we talk to aren't canceling plans, they're delaying them. Usually, because they can't sell their own home first. Once those markets start moving, a lot of that pent-up demand flows right into Western NC.
My Overall Take on 2026
I'm not someone who loves making bold predictions. I'd rather prepare than predict. But I do think 2026 is going to be meaningfully better than 2025 for landlords, investors, and the local economy overall. We need at least one more full tourist season of normalcy to rebuild confidence with people who still think Asheville is closed or struggling. Once that happens, a lot of what's been pent up is going to start moving.
The fundamentals here are good. That's what I keep coming back to.
Follow the Experts
Want to dig deeper into any of these conversations? Here's where to find everyone featured in this video:
Kaya, Key Collection — Short term rental management, Asheville @keycollection.io
Colin O'Berry, Ultima Property Group — Residential and luxury real estate altamontpropertygroup.com / @altamontpropertygroup
Andrew Lanteri, The Andrew Lanteri Group — Residential real estate, Asheville theandrewlanterigroup.com / @theandrewlanterigroup
Mitch Davidson, Movement Mortgage — Home loans and investment property financing movement.com/lo/mitch-davidson / @mitchlender
Elena Kovrigin, Nesting Dolls Realty — Buyer's agent, Living in Asheville nestingdollsrealty.com / @elena.kovrigin
Thinking About Your Investment Property in Asheville?
If you own a rental home in Asheville or anywhere in Western North Carolina, or you're considering one, I'd love to walk through what makes sense for your situation. Schedule a free call or get a free rental analysis to see what your property could actually earn in today's market.
