Buncombe County, NC real estate

What the numbers say

Buncombe County, NC real estate at a glance

By AstroCore · Realtor.com, US Census and Freddie Mac data

In September 2026, the median home in Buncombe County listed for $595,000, down 0.8% from a year earlier. That is 49% above the North Carolina median of $400,000.

Homes spent a median of 84 days on the market, slower than 78 days a year ago. That makes Buncombe County the #48 fastest-selling of 53 North Carolina counties we track.

Homeowners in Buncombe County pay a median of $2,222 a year in property taxes on a median home value of $391,800, an effective rate of about 0.57%. The North Carolina average is 0.66%, which makes Buncombe County the #25 lowest-tax of 100 counties in the state with published tax data.

Renters pay a median of $1,362 a month, and $1,412 for a two-bedroom. At today's prices a typical home costs about 36 times a year's rent, which generally favors renting over buying in the short term.

With 20% down and today's 7.24% average 30-year rate, the monthly payment on a $595,000 home here comes to about $3,773 including property tax and insurance. Lenders typically want that to be under 28% of income, which works out to roughly $162,000 a year (the median household here earns $74,436).