The Asheville Market Over the Years

I moved to Asheville more than 15 years ago as a 21-year old transfer college student. I shared a house with roommates off Brevard Road, just one mile from the Asheville Outlets. At the time, the outlets housed a fledgling indoor shopping mall from the days of yesteryear. Much of the housing developments and multi-unit residential buildings along NC-191 didn’t exist. If my roommates and I drove a few miles up the road to Haywood Road for a meal or a beer, we would basically be limited to the Westville Pub (not complaining). Not to mention, homes were selling for approximately $112 per square foot ($135k) all over the popular West Asheville corridor. These same homes are selling for $375 per square foot ($450k) and up today. West Asheville certainly isn’t the only area of the city that has seen rapid growth in the last decade and a half. The South Slope of 15 years ago is largely unrecognizable from what it is today. Mainstays of the beer industry like Wicked Weed, Hi-Wire, and Burial didn’t exist yet, there were no restaurants, and the only frequented establishment of the South Slope would have been the Orange Peel. These two examples illustrate the point of just how significant the development of Asheville has been in 15 years, but it doesn’t stop with West Asheville and the South Slope and it doesn’t stop with the City of Asheville either.

All of Western North Carolina has seen rapid growth over the past couple decades and for good reason. The region provides a temperate climate with good annual rainfall and four glorious seasons with little to no extreme weather events. This provides ample opportunities for outdoor recreational tourism, a significant driver of our economy. As people come to explore Asheville’s mountains and trails and rivers, they also dine at our restaurants, drink at our breweries, and stay in our hotels. Some of these tourists decide the area might be a good place to live or start a business or both. Sustainable growth can be really good for the economic vitality of a region and I believe we are headed in that direction. That being said, there are some issues when growth falls into the category of unsustainable.

When development in regions is unsustainable, infrastructure often has a difficult time keeping up. Traffic increases, pollution increases, the unhoused population increases, and many other infrastructure-related concerns begin to pop up. Some would argue Asheville and surrounding areas are already experiencing some of these issues. It feels hard to argue otherwise sometimes, but I believe the economic vitality of the region will help provide the resources necessary for helping with some of the problems. One of the biggest problems our area faces is a shortage in housing, not least of which is affordable housing. Local governments recognize this and efforts are being made, but it’s important for citizens to keep the pressure up and hold our elected officials accountable. I also believe necessity is the mother of invention and while Asheville is already one of the premier destinations of the Southeast, the best is yet to come.