In Western North Carolina, Mortgage Demand & Housing Costs Rising

The influx of newcomers to Western North Carolina has boosted both the local housing market and the overall economy, the Asheville Citizen-Times reports.

Harry M. Davis, an economist at Appalachian State University, was among a group of panelists who spoke Tuesday at the state Chamber of Commerce’s annual economic forecast session.

“Asheville is doing well because it’s along the metro corridor. That’s where the growth has always been. The beauty of Asheville is that’s where a lot of people go for second homes and to retire,” Davis said.

But the increase in newcomers has caused the overall housing demand, and subsequently the accompanying North Carolina mortgage costs, to soar.

The region’s population is expected to grow as much as 5.1 percent by 2009, while this sector of the North Carolina housing market could increase by as much as 40 percent during that time.

According to a 2005 study by the Asheville Regional Housing Consortium, a regional affordable housing advocacy group, that could pose problems for many long-time residents priced out of their own market.

“Asheville, just like other areas of the country, will have to come up with some innovative ways to deal with affordable housing,” Davis said.

In related news, North Carolina will be among the 11 states that will see record job growth in the next few years, said Knight Kiplinger, a panelist and editor-in-chief of several financial publications.

“The vast majority of the country’s job growth will occur in just 11 of the 50 states in America. North Carolina is one of those states, joined in the Southeast by Virginia, Georgia and Florida,” he said.

The Tar Heel State had a gain of 133,000 jobs from November 2005 to November 2006. Unemployment stood at 4.9 percent in November. The Asheville area has yet to see the increased inventory that has started to bring down prices in inflated markets, so demand for housing is still high.

The cost of a mortgage loan is still remarkably less in Asheville than it would be elsewhere in the state, and throughout the Southeast, but markets can boom in a hurry. Now is the time if you are looking to make a move.