The Foxfire Report

 

December of 2022 saw a total of 38 properties sold for a total monetary value of $5,712,784.00.

There were 18 homes sold, along with 15 parcels of land and 3 commercial properties.  

November of 2022 saw a total of 58 properties sold for a total monetary value of $8,827,000.25.  

There were 31 homes sold, along with 26 parcels of land and 1 commercial property.

October of 2022 saw a total of 59 properties sold for a total monetary value of $12,936,500.00.

There were 32 homes sold, along with 21 parcels of land and 2 commercial properties.

 

Who’s Coming and Who’s Going?

71% of buyers working with Realtors this month were from out of area, and 68% of all buyers were from out of area.  47% of all sellers were also from out of area. 

In November 78% of buyers working with Realtors were from out of area, and 69% of all buyers were from out of area.  55% of all sellers were also from out of area.

In October 69% of buyers working with Realtors were from out of area, and 81% of all buyers were from out of area.  54% of all sellers were also from out of area. 

 

Winners & Losers?

The properties that sold via partnership with a Realtor this month in Mitchell County saw an average return of 131.8%.  This is simply outstanding!  

Then there are the “Money Losers.”  Those that sold as “For Sale By Owner” (FSBO), who garnered a whopping -24% return.  Unfortunately, in Mitchell County, there is always that group of folks, that for some reason, consciously choose to leave money on the table.  

In this case, 24 people chose to lose a combined $3,567,483.40, or divided out: $148,645.14 per property, all because they chose not to utilize the services of a real estate firm.  

In November Realtors delivered a 179% return for sellers, which was 95.32% more than FSBOs, and in October Realtors delivered a 161% return for sellers, which reflected a 81.29% increase over that of FSBOs. 

 

What Is The Overall Mitchell County Market Doing?

December saw a significant drop in the total monetary amount of home sales since November— more that 50%.  December was at a total of $3,229,000.00 in total sales, verses November: $6,651,500.00, October: $9,416,500.00, and September: $7,967,200.00.  It is not a cause for panic, because it is normal in this area to see such a slow-down at this time of year. 

The average price per square foot on all homes for December was $145.78, which is on par for November: $132.00, October: $108.23, and September: $150.88.   

The average price per square foot on homes less than 20 years old for December was $202.57 versus November: $234.19, October: $251.03, and September: $219.55.  

 

Home Investments in Mitchell County
Beat Stock Market Investments!

The total average per year return on homes that people invested in for December was 22.16% which tops all stock market averages on return.  This number was 37.8% in November and 28.21% in October.  

The most expensive home that sold in December was for $765,000.00, which equated to $379.84 per square foot, with the owner having owned the home for just 2 years (age of home = 24 years old), and producing a 355% return on investment!   

There was a total of 301 acres of raw land sold during December, for a total monetary value of $1,380,500.00, and an average price per acre of $6,762.77 per acre.  This is also down nearly 50% compared to the two previous months— November: $11,498.76, and October: $11,370.00.  However, for an interesting note, September was at $6,237.32 average price per acre. 

Wooded unimproved residential lots under 10 acres averaged $6,971.10 per acre this month.  $7,319.60 in November and $14,690.00 in October.  

 

Land Investments in Mitchell County
Beat Stock Market Investments!

The most expensive land sale for December was $137,000.00 which was $10.514.00 per acre.  The total average per year return on land sales for December was 15.78%, once again beating out the best stock market average returns.  This number was 13.83% for November and 17.39% for October. 

 

The Building Scene

In December there were 2 building permits for new residential construction issued, 1 commercial construction permit and 1 single wide home permit, and 0 double-wide home permits.  There were 3 certificate of occupancy permits (COs).

November saw 3 building permits issued for new residential construction, 1 commercial, 1 single-wide home permit, and 0 double-wide home permits.  There were 3 COs. 

In October there were 3 building permits for new residential construction, 1 commercial construction permit and 3 single-wide home permits, and 2 double-wide homes, and 1 CO. 

 

Notable/Sensational Sales For 2022

All home and land sales are notable for those that bought and sold— from the smallest amount to the most expensive.  These are a few that we feel are interesting and remarkable for our county as a whole. 

June 7th— The Grassy Creek Golf & Country Club sold for $1,125,000.00.
 
June 26th— The most expensive home in the Grassy Creek Golf Course sold for $800,000.00 to a notable major construction contractor
 

July 14th— The Subway/CJ’s BBQ shopping/office center sold to an out-of-area investor for $825,000.00

July 20th— The organization that purchased the Grassy Creek Golf & Country Club purchased an additional 6.2 acres adjoining the Fairway Lane Condominiums for $400.000.00.

October 20th— Mitchell County Commissioners purchased the former textile plant in Bakersville for the purposes of a sheriff’s office for $915,000.00— the property had previously been purchased 11 years earlier by private individuals for $350,000.00.

October-November— The organization that purchased the Grassy Creek Golf & Country Club sold $602,000.00 worth of residential lots in a sale (previous to this month), making back 54% from their initial previous purchase just 4 months prior.

December 29th— Neighbors Feeding Neighbors Food Ministry purchased 7.28 acres of land and a metal bldg. (former VFW Bldg. & another improvement), for $1,075,000.00 on Jacksontown Road in Spruce Pine, making it the most expensive commercial purchase in Southern Mitchell County for the quarter.  The property had previously been purchased for $333,000.00 several years prior. 

 

Fun Fact

Mitchell County, NC is currently worth $2.426 Billion ($2,426,085,000) in tax value.

 

Conclusion

The market has been good to Mitchell County for the most part. It is normal to see a slow- down at the end of the year for this area.  It is still a better ending quarter than those past.  It is our belief that the record increase in home prices has served to elevate Mitchell County home prices to the levels that they should have been at all along compared to other mountain area markets.  

In reviewing this data, one has to keep in mind that we are discussing “existing home sales” and land.  Like all such reports, we have to be careful in extrapolating predictions— especially since, unlike other areas, we simply do not have new construction homes that sell in this county— which is an issue that needs addressing by county leadership in our opinion.  

We have gathered data from multiple sources ranging from private enterprise to government agencies.  Our firm naturally collects a lot of data in the course of our business both by natural attrition and deliberately in order to establish the necessary knowledge for our clients to make the right decisions concerning their property assets.  In many areas governmental agencies provide data similar to this as a resource for residents, investors and potential industry, but this is a missing element in Mitchell County, and we at Foxfire have purposed to make this valuable information available to the public. 

This is a painstaking and time consuming task due to the nature and condition of the local government sources, so we have worked very hard to make sure that it is as accurate as it can possibly be, but there is always a chance for some minor errors, so keep that in mind as you utilize this resource.  

We have a great deal more data that we use in house for our clients and marketing techniques,  and both our data and our means of collecting it are proprietary, but as for this data that we have made public— everyone is welcome to use it and hopefully it will serve for the betterment of Mitchell County as a whole.  Foxfire is the tip of the spear for local real estate marketing and if you would like to learn more, or to have your home marketed by the Foxfire Firm— the best in the business— then please do not hesitate to give us a call at (828) 766-9509 or reach out to us via email: info@foxfireelite.com.  Please check out our website:  FoxfireElite.com.