Asheville Metro Economic Report – 2017 Second Quarter
Johnson Price Sprinkle PA provides Asheville Metro Economic Report – 2017 Second Quarter. JPS is a sixty-year-old accounting firm serving Western North Carolina with dedicated CPAs providing small-to-middle-market businesses with tax, business consulting, audit, and technology services.
Highlights:
The second quarter saw a continuation of long-term growth in the four-county Asheville metro (Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson and Madison counties). Positive monthly year-to-year job growth has continued uninterrupted for nearly seven straight years. The metro has held the lowest unemployment rate in the state for the last twenty-eight consecutive months; two and one-third years. Permitting for new residential building totaled 780 units with a value of $154.7 million. This marks the highest quarterly permit value since the third quarter of 2007.
⦁ In the second quarter of 2017, Asheville metro added an average of 3,500 net new jobs from a year earlier, earning an average growth rate of 1.9 percent. Positive monthly year-to-year job growth has continued uninterrupted for eighty-three straight months; one-month short of seven years.
⦁ Averaging 3.4 percent over the second quarter of 2017, Asheville metro’s unemployment rate continues to hold well below the nation and state. The metro has held the lowest unemployment rate in the state for the last twenty-eight consecutive months; two and one-third years.
⦁ The Health Services sector added 1,100 jobs over the year; accounting for one-third of Asheville metropolitan area’s employment growth, as it had in the first quarter. Positive job creation was experienced in nine of eleven major industry sectors. Two sectors experienced no change. No sector saw declines.
⦁ Buncombe County Hotel/Motel Sales set a new all-time second quarter high at $93.4 million; 6.9 percent above the second quarter of 2016. However, the growth rate is the weakest in four and one-half years; following double-digit growth in the previous eleven consecutive quarters.
⦁ Existing homes sold in the second quarter totaled 909, while the average sales price equaled $344,024. The number of homes sold is 22 percent lower than one-year earlier, while over the same period the average sales price gained 18 percent. This marks the fourth consecutive quarter with the number of homes sold declining when measured year-over-year, while average prices continue to increase; likely indicating limited inventory amid strong demand.
⦁ Permitting for new residential building totaled 780 units in the second quarter with a value of $154.7 million. This marks the highest quarterly permit value since the third quarter of 2007. In percentage terms, the number of units permitted is up 28.3 percent from one year earlier, the total value up 20.9 percent. Multifamily unit permits accounted for 35 percent of all residential units issued in the second quarter.
Detailed Analysis:
Employment
In the second quarter of 2017, Asheville metro added an average of 3,500 net new jobs from a year earlier, earning an average growth rate of 1.9 percent (Figure 1). Positive monthly year-to-year job growth has continued uninterrupted for eighty-three straight months; one-month short of seven years. Employment averaged 191,600 over the quarter; setting a new all-time second quarter employment total.
Figure 1
Total Employment
Monthly Year-Year
Percent Change 
Source: NC Division of Employment Security
Asheville’s employment growth rate over the second quarter of 2017 places it fifth among the state’s 15 metros (Figure 2). Asheville’s growth rate continues above both the national and state; 1.5 and 1.4 percent respectively. Four of North Carolina’s metros lost employment over the quarter; Greenville, Fayetteville, Goldsboro and Rocky Mount.
Figure 2
2017 2Q Average
North Carolina Metros Employment
One-Year Percent Change 
Source: NC Division of Employment Security
Averaging 3.4 percent over the second quarter of 2017, Asheville’s unemployment rate continues to hold well below the nation and state; both averaging 4.2 percent over the quarter (Figure 3). The unemployment rate translates into 7,737 residents unable to find employment.
Asheville’s average unemployment rate for the quarter continues as the lowest among all the state’s fifteen metros (Figure 4). The metro has held the lowest unemployment rate in the state for the last twenty-eight consecutive months; two and one-third years. Seven of the state’s metros have quarterly unemployment rates exceeding the national average.
Figure 3
Unemployment Rates (%)
Source: NC Division of Employment Security
Figure 4
Unemployment Rate (%)
2017 2Q Average
Source: NC Division of Employment Security
The Health Services sector added 1,100 jobs over the year; accounting for one-third of Asheville’s employment growth, as it had in the first quarter. Positive job creation was experienced in nine of eleven major industry sectors (Figure 5). No sector saw declines. Of the nine, five reached new all-time second quarter employment highs in 2017; Health Services, Retail Trade, Leisure & Hospitality Services, Professional & Business Services and Transportation, Warehouse & Utilities.
Figure 5
Asheville Metro – 2017 2Q
Major Industry Employment
One-Year Change
Totals rounded to nearest 100
Source: NC Division of Employment Security
Earnings
Private industry average hourly earnings in Asheville equaled $22.38 in the second quarter, a slight increase of 0.9 percent from a year earlier; marking the seventh straight quarter with positive year-over-year gains (Figure 6).
Asheville’s second quarter hourly earnings place it seventh among all fifteen metros in the state; remaining below the statewide and national averages (Figure 7). Three of the state’s metros continue to hold average hourly earnings above both the national and state averages; Raleigh, Charlotte and Durham-Chapel Hill.
Figure 6
Asheville Metro
Average Hourly Earnings
Private Industry
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Figure 7
North Carolina Metros – 2017 2Q
Average Hourly Earnings
Private Industry
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Leisure & Hospitality
Buncombe County Hotel/Motel Sales set a new all-time second quarter high at $93.4 million; 6.9 percent above the second quarter of 2016 (Figure 8). However, the growth rate is the weakest in four and one-half years; following double-digit growth in the previous eleven consecutive quarters.
Figure 8
Buncombe County
Hotel/Motel Sales
Source: Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority
Average Hotel Room Rates in Buncombe County rose by 2.5 percent from one year earlier, closely matching the pace in the first quarter (Figure 9). The room rate averaged $150 in the second quarter.
Figure 9
Buncombe County
Average Hotel Room Rate
Source: Smith Travel Research, Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority
Total Passenger Traffic at the Asheville Regional Airport equaled 241,105 in the second quarter of 2017; up 13.8 percent from a year earlier (Figure 10). This marks the third consecutive quarter with double-digit passenger increases.
Figure 10
Asheville Regional Airport
Total Passengers
Source: Asheville Regional Airport
Housing
Existing homes sold in the second quarter totaled 909, while the average sales price equaled $344,024 (Figure 11). The number of homes sold is 22 percent lower than one-year earlier, while over the same period the average sales price gained 18 percent (Figure 12). This marks the fourth consecutive quarter with the number of homes sold declining when measured year-over-year, while average prices continue to increase; likely indicating limited inventory amid strong demand.
Figure 11
Asheville Area
Existing Home Sales
Source: NC REALTORS
Figure 12
Asheville Area
Existing Home Sales Trends
Quarterly Year-Year Change (%)
Source: NC REALTORS
At 8.5 percent, Asheville’s Same-Home Annual Appreciation Rate in the third quarter ranks fourth among all the state’s metros and holds above both the state and national rates (Figure 13). This marks the seventeenth consecutive quarter of positive Same-Home Appreciation Rates in Asheville. The Goldsboro metro experienced home price depreciation in the quarter, down 3.3 percent.
Figure 13
Housing Price Index
North Carolina Metros
Same-Home Annual Appreciation Rate (%)
2017 2Q
Source: Federal Housing Finance Agency
Permitting for new residential building totaled 780 units in the second quarter with a value of $154.7 million (Figure 14). This marks the highest quarterly permit value since the third quarter of 2007. In percentage terms, the number of units permitted is up 28.3 percent from one year earlier, the total value up 20.9 percent. Multifamily unit permits accounted for 35 percent of all residential units issued in the second quarter.
Figure 14
Asheville Metro
Residential Building Permits
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Retail Sales
Taxable retail sales collections in Asheville totaled $1,842,488,120 ($1.8 billion) in the second quarter; 5.5 percent above collections for the same period one-year earlier (Figure 15). The total sets a new all-time second quarter record for retail sales in the metro. Retail sales have experienced positive year-over-year growth over the last fourteen consecutive quarters; averaging an annual increase of 9.6 percent or $138.8 million.
Figure 15
Asheville Metro
Taxable Retail Sales
Includes collections of penalties, interest, and sales & use tax; and may reflect activity from prior periods.
Source: NC Department of Revenue
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