Home sales up 20% in March compared with month earlier
Seems like everyone is looking for a house these days? (Photo: Tony Mecia/The Mountain Ledger)
The spring real estate market appears to be arriving in Watauga County, with closed home sales up more than 20% in March compared to February.
The county recorded 57 residential closings in March 2026, up 21.3% from the prior month, according to the High Country Association of Realtors. The median sales price came in at $501,000 — down slightly from February but still firmly in the half-million-dollar range.
New listings surged as well. Watauga saw 119 new residential listings hit the market in March, an 85.9% jump from February, pushing total active inventory to 300 properties.
HCAR president James Kemper said the market is moving in the right direction, noting that warmer weather and increased activity after a long winter are reasons for optimism heading into spring.
On the land side, the county closed 18 land sales at a median price of $57,250, with 436 active land listings and 58 new land listings — representing about a two-year supply of available land.
Across the broader four-county High Country region — Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, and Watauga — there were 113 total residential closings in March totaling $81.5 million, with a regional median of $450,000. —Tony Mecia