North Carolina · 719 scored ZIPs · September 2026
North Carolina: the market leans toward buyers.
Conditions easing in buyers' favor. That is the population-weighted reading across 719 scored ZIPs in North Carolina. Typical home value $352K, +0.5% over 12 months on average; listings take 67 days to sell against 60 in the median U.S. ZIP.
North Carolina719 scored ZIPs
Leaning buyer−27
Typical value$352K+0.5% over 12 months, average · Zillow, Aug 2026
Days on market67 daysU.S. median ZIP 60 days · Realtor.com
Listings with a price cut28%U.S. median ZIP 20% · Realtor.com
Typical rent$1,658/mo+2.3% over 12 months, average · Zillow, Aug 2026
Active listings48,875Across 710 ZIPs · Realtor.com
Sale-to-list98.0%19% sold above list, average · Redfin, May 2026
HavenScore54of 100
Average of 719 scored ZIPs, weighted by population · the median U.S. ZIP scores 50
Affordability47
Growth57
Risk53
Momentum62
Livability61
Five parts, weighted. How the score works →
On the map
719 scored ZIPs in North Carolina, colored by market balance.
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BuyersEvenSellers
One dot is one ZIP code; click a dot to open its page. Blue leans toward buyers, orange toward sellers.
Market report
What the latest figures say about North Carolina.
In North Carolina, typical home values rose by an average of 0.5% over the year to August 2026, weighted by population across its 719 scored ZIPs (based on Zillow ZIP-level data).
Figures for a city or a state are averages across its scored ZIP codes, weighted by population, so each ZIP counts in proportion to its residents. Where only some ZIPs report a figure, the sentence names how many.
The average typical home value in North Carolina was $352K in August 2026, weighted by population across its 719 scored ZIPs (based on Zillow ZIP-level data).
In September 2026, North Carolina sat in our Leaning buyer band, with an average HavenScore balance of −27, weighted by population across its 719 scored ZIPs.
The HavenScore balance reads signals such as inventory, time on market and the share of listings with a price cut on one scale, from buyers at one end to sellers at the other. A reading below zero favors buyers, and one above zero favors sellers.
How fast homes are selling
In September 2026, the ZIP-level median time on market in North Carolina averaged 67 days, weighted by population across the 710 of its 719 scored ZIPs that report it, against 60 days for the median U.S. ZIP (based on Realtor.com ZIP-level data).
Days on market here is each ZIP code's median number of days a Realtor.com listing spends on the market, from the day it is listed until it closes or is withdrawn, averaged across the place's ZIP codes.
The share of listings with a price cut in North Carolina averaged 28% in September 2026, weighted by population across the 705 of its 719 scored ZIPs that report it, against 20% for the median U.S. ZIP (based on Realtor.com ZIP-level data).
Active listings across the 710 ZIPs in North Carolina that report them totaled 48,875 in September 2026, according to Realtor.com.
How to read these figures
Each figure names its own month: Zillow's home values and Realtor.com's listings data publish on their own schedules, so the two can sit a month apart. A figure describes that month, not the day this page was updated.
Market cycle
Where each city sits: price momentum against buyer-seller pressure.
13 of 18 North Carolina cities read Softening — prices down over the year with the market leaning toward buyers.
- Buyer's market
- Leaning buyer
- Balanced
- Leaning seller
- Seller's market
- Named city (ink ring)
Cooling5 cities
Prices still up over the year, but the market now leans toward buyers.
Greensboro, Fayetteville, Winston-Salem and 2 more
Accelerating0 cities
Prices rising with the market leaning toward sellers.
No city reads Accelerating now.
Softening13 cities
Prices down over the year with the market leaning toward buyers.
Firming0 cities
Prices still down over the year, but the market now leans toward sellers.
No city reads Firming now.
Every city in the chart
| City | Read | Prices, trailing year | Balance | ZIPs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apex | Softening | −1.5% | −34 | 3 |
| Asheville | Softening | −4.8% | −55 | 5 |
| Cary | Softening | −1.3% | −30 | 4 |
| Chapel Hill | Softening | −0.6% | −31 | 3 |
| Charlotte | Softening | −0.2% | −35 | 23 |
| Durham | Softening | −3.0% | −37 | 7 |
| Fayetteville | Cooling | +0.4% | −40 | 8 |
| Gastonia | Softening | −0.7% | −42 | 3 |
| Greensboro | Cooling | 0.0% | −35 | 9 |
| Hendersonville | Softening | −1.6% | −33 | 3 |
| High Point | Softening | −0.6% | −27 | 3 |
| Raleigh | Softening | −1.1% | −35 | 15 |
| Rocky Mount | Softening | −0.2% | −51 | 3 |
| Salisbury | Cooling | +0.4% | −39 | 3 |
| Williamston | Cooling | +4.2% | −18 | 3 |
| Wilmington | Softening | 0.0% | −21 | 6 |
| Wilson | Softening | −1.3% | −46 | 3 |
| Winston-Salem | Cooling | +0.2% | −31 | 7 |
Top ZIPs
The ten highest HavenScores among ZIPs with 5,000+ residents.
| Rank | Market balance | ZIP | HavenScore | Typical value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | −16, leaning buyer | 27332Sanford, NC | 65 | $298K |
| 2 | −39, leaning buyer | 28056Gastonia, NC | 65 | $349K |
| 3 | −35, leaning buyer | 28075Harrisburg, NC | 65 | $505K |
| 4 | −21, leaning buyer | 27040Pfafftown, NC | 64 | $335K |
| 5 | −30, leaning buyer | 27262High Point, NC | 64 | $213K |
| 6 | −35, leaning buyer | 27288Eden, NC | 63 | $148K |
| 7 | −22, leaning buyer | 27284Kernersville, NC | 62 | $322K |
| 8 | −7, balanced | 27371Troy, NC | 62 | $197K |
| 9 | −41, buyer's market | 28166Troutman, NC | 62 | $387K |
| 10 | −5, balanced | 28501Kinston, NC | 62 | $99K |
The score only ranks ZIPs with 5,000+ residents — thinner markets are too noisy month-to-month. National leaderboards → Every scored ZIP in North Carolina, by county →
Cities
18 cities with three or more scored ZIPs, from the strongest lean toward buyers to the strongest toward sellers.
| Rank | City | Market balance | HavenScore | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Asheville | −55 | 46 | |
| 2 | Rocky Mount | −51 | 56 | |
| 3 | Wilson | −46 | 51 | |
| 4 | Gastonia | −42 | 60 | |
| 5 | Fayetteville | −40 | 51 | |
| 6 | Salisbury | −39 | 54 | |
| 7 | Durham | −37 | 54 | |
| 8 | Greensboro | −35 | 54 | |
| 9 | Raleigh | −35 | 52 | |
| 10 | Charlotte | −35 | 54 | |
| 11 | Apex | −34 | 55 | |
| 12 | Hendersonville | −33 | 50 | |
The other 6 cities, A to Z
| City | Market balance | HavenScore | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cary | −30 | 53 | |
| Chapel Hill | −31 | 48 | |
| High Point | −27 | 61 | |
| Williamston | −18 | 58 | |
| Wilmington | −21 | 54 | |
| Winston-Salem | −31 | 56 | |
Balance and HavenScore, 0–100, are population-weighted averages of each city’s scored ZIPs. All cities, every state →
Counties
88 counties with three or more scored ZIPs, from the strongest lean toward buyers to the strongest toward sellers.
| Rank | County | Market balance | HavenScore | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buncombe County | −47 | 48 | |
| 2 | Edgecombe County | −46 | 52 | |
| 3 | Avery County | −40 | 47 | |
| 4 | Cleveland County | −40 | 55 | |
| 5 | Wilson County | −39 | 51 | |
| 6 | Cumberland County | −38 | 51 | |
| 7 | Gaston County | −37 | 58 | |
| 8 | Durham County | −37 | 54 | |
| 9 | Nash County | −36 | 54 | |
| 10 | McDowell County | −36 | 51 | |
| 11 | Haywood County | −35 | 51 | |
| 12 | Mecklenburg County | −35 | 54 | |
The other 76 counties, A to Z
Each county opens its page of the cheapest scored ZIPs.
Questions about North Carolina
Answers from the latest figures, each with its month.
Is North Carolina a buyer's market?
As of September 2026, North Carolina sits in our Leaning buyer band, with an average HavenScore balance of −27 on a scale from −100 (buyers) to +100 (sellers), weighted by population across its 719 scored ZIPs.
Are home values falling in North Carolina?
As of August 2026, typical home values in North Carolina had risen by an average of 0.5% over the previous 12 months, weighted by population across its 719 scored ZIPs (based on Zillow ZIP-level data).
How long do homes take to sell in North Carolina?
As of September 2026, the ZIP-level median time on market in North Carolina averaged 67 days, weighted by population across the 710 of its 719 scored ZIPs that report it, against 60 days for the median U.S. ZIP (based on Realtor.com ZIP-level data).
What does a typical home cost in North Carolina?
As of August 2026, the average typical home value in North Carolina was $352K, weighted by population across its 719 scored ZIPs (based on Zillow ZIP-level data).
Sources and freshness
Every figure on this page, where it came from and when.
ZillowHome values, rentsAugust 2026
Realtor.comListings, days on market, price cutsSeptember 2026
RedfinSale-to-list, sold above listMay 2026
HavenScoreScore, balanceScored October 1, 2026
Rent and sale-to-list average only the ZIPs that report them.
Figures are population-weighted averages of the 719 scored ZIPs in North Carolina.