Avery median home price rises to $510,000

HIGH COUNTRY — Avery County’s median home sales price rose to $510,000 in October, up 6.8% from September, as the county closed on 57 residential properties, according to the High Country Association of Realtors. The High Country Real Estate Market, which includes Alleghany, Ashe, Avery and Watauga counties, had 198 closed sales of single-family properties, including condo/townhouse properties, in October, with a combined closing total of $142.0 million. The median sales price of $517,000 included all four counties for October. Nationally: Pending home sales fell 7.3% from August to September and 11.3% from a year earlier, according to an Oct. 20 report from the National Association of Realtors. All four U.S. regions declined, with the West seeing the largest drop, followed by the South, Midwest and Northeast. “Market conditions weakened in September due to fast-rising mortgage rates,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said. According to HCAR< Yun said job growth and income gains can support home purchases, but affordability is affected more by changes in mortgage rates. He said mortgage rates could be topping out, since they have already risen much more than the Federal Reserve’s short-term rate hikes. Yun added that a limited number of distressed properties is keeping