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ZIP 28761 · Nebo, NC · 7,884 residents · September 2026

Nebo 28761: the market leans toward buyers.

Conditions easing in buyers' favor. Typical home value $376K, −0.1% over 12 months; listings take 94 days to sell against 60 in the median U.S. ZIP.

Sources beside every figure · Zillow, August 2026 · Realtor.com, September 2026 · Census ACS 2023 · FEMA NRI

Market balanceSeptember 2026

BuyersSellersEven
Leaning buyer−29

In Mar 2026: −54

Typical value$376K−0.1% over 12 months · Zillow, Aug 2026
Days on market94 daysU.S. median ZIP 60 days · Realtor.com
Listings with a price cut18%U.S. median ZIP 20% · Realtor.com
Fair market rent$990/moHUD fair market rent, 2 bedrooms, FY 2026
Active listings80+29% vs a year ago · Realtor.com
Sale-to-list94.9%0% sold above list · Redfin, May 2026
HavenScore48of 100

Higher than 37% of scored ZIPs · #8,221 of 13,130 ZIPs with 5,000+ residents

Affordability37
Growth48
Risk48
Momentum75
Livability50

Five parts, weighted. How the score works →

The reading

Where the balance sits this month and what moved it.

Month by month, since the gauge began

  1. Mar 2026−54
  2. Apr 2026−34
  3. May 2026−34
  4. Jun 2026−38
  5. Jul 2026−37
  6. Aug 2026—no reading on record
  7. Sep 2026−29

Each block is one month’s reading, −100 (buyers) to +100 (sellers). The series starts in March 2026. A dashed block has no reading on record. How the balance is measured →

What is pulling the needle

  • 94 days on marketslower than the U.S. median ZIP's 60 days
  • 18% of listings cut pricefewer than the U.S. median ZIP's 20%
  • Sale-to-list 94.9%homes close below asking · Redfin, May 2026
  • 80 active listings+29% vs a year ago

Blue pulls toward buyers, orange toward sellers. Realtor.com, September 2026; Redfin, May 2026.

Softening: prices −0.1% over the trailing year, with the market leaning toward buyers.

Asking price vs sale price
Typical value (index)$376,235Zillow ZHVI · Aug 2026
Median sale price$344,000Redfin · May 2026
Sale-to-list94.9%Redfin · May 2026
Sold above list0.0%Redfin · May 2026

Zillow's figure is a smoothed index of typical value, not a list price; Redfin's are closed sales for the month shown.

Last 90 days

How the typical value and the listings moved over the last three months.

Typical valueHavenMay → Aug · Zillow
Active listingsHavenJun → Sep · Realtor.com
Days on marketHavenJun → Sep · Realtor.com
Listings with a price cutHavenJun → Sep · Realtor.com
The 90-day changes for this ZIP are part of Haven.
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Prices

Typical home value since 2016, and how far it moved over each window.

1 year−0.1%
3 years+5.1%
5 years+15.5%
10 years+80.5%
From peak−1.6%

Zillow Home Value Index · ZIP 28761 · monthly, through August 2026

The listings, days on market and market heat series on this chart are part of Haven.With the % change view and the state and U.S. reference lines.
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Zillow ZHVI peaked at $385,055 in March 2025; the latest value is −2.3% from that peak, 17 months on. Since January 2019 it is +61.7%. The sharpest 12-month move was −0.8%, ending August 2026.

Zillow's typical home value here, $376K in August 2026, is 30% above the median U.S. ZIP's $289K. Over the 12 months to August 2026, Zillow's typical home value moved −0.1% here and +2.8% in the median U.S. ZIP.

Price tiers and bedrooms
Bottom tier$162K
Middle tier$376K
Top tier$905K
Single-family$374K
2 bedrooms$348K
3 bedrooms$388K

Starter homes here rose 9% in five years while top-tier homes rose 27% (Zillow ZHVI tiers) — the top of the market outpaced the bottom.

3-bedroom homes here run 11% above 2-bedrooms (Zillow ZHVI by bedroom); the NC median premium is 47%.

Zillow typical values by price tier, home type and bedrooms, August 2026.

How it ranks

Appreciation by window

WindowChangePer yearU.S. rankNorth Carolina rank
1 year−0.1%−0.1%/yrHigher than 26% nationallyHigher than 33% in North Carolina
3 years+5.1%+1.7%/yrHigher than 40% nationallyHigher than 56% in North Carolina
5 years+15.5%+2.9%/yrHigher than 29% nationallyHigher than 8% in North Carolina
10 years+80.5%+6.1%/yrHigher than 50% nationallyHigher than 22% in North Carolina
Since 2016+88.3%+6.2%/yr——

Zillow ZHVI · rank among scored ZIPs

This time of year Haven
The seasonal chart for this ZIP is part of Haven.With the reading of which months run highest and lowest here.
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Cycle position Pro
Where prices sit in the cycle is part of Pro.Prices against the model's value estimate, and the payment's share of income against five years ago.
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Forecast

Where the typical value is likely to be over the next 3 to 12 months, with the range the model has earned, and up to 36 months with Pro.

Last three years, then the forecast band

HavenScore Forecast Model (v1) · run October 1, 2026
$320K$340K$360K$380K$400K$369K202420252026$320K$340K$360K$380K$400K$369K202420252026
3 months$369K−2.0% · $362K–$379KHigh confidence
6 monthsHaven
12 monthsHaven
24 monthsPro
36 monthsPro
The 6- and 12-month ranges are part of Haven.The 3-month reading is free. Haven adds what moves the forecast.
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A forecast is a range, not a promise; the confidence word says how wide it is. How the forecast works →

Of the 3-month ranges we published since December 2025, 54% contained the actual price.

Zillow's own published forecast has this ZIP's typical value rise 0.1% over the twelve months from August 2026 (Zillow Home Value Forecast).

Payment

What a typical home here costs each month, against the typical income.

Monthly payment

$2,79849% of the median household income here ($68,152)
Principal and interest$2,221
Property tax$257
Insurance$108
Mortgage insurance$212

Above the 36% line lenders use for total debt, for a median earner here. Rate is the Freddie Mac average for September 2026; tax is the state's statutory rate.

Insurance uses the average homeowners premium insurers reported for this ZIP in 2022, $1,299 a year (Treasury Federal Insurance Office).

Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms$990
vs
Payment on a typical purchase$2,798

Buying costs $1,808 a month more than the HUD fair market rent for a 2-bedroom here (FY 2026), before tax effects and maintenance.

Like for like: the HUD fair market rent for a 3-bedroom here is $1,260 a month (FY 2026), against a typical 3-bedroom value of $388K (Zillow, August 2026) — a 3.9% gross rent yield.

Price-to-income ladder

Median home value ÷ median household income · Zillow ZHVI, Census ACS · under 4× has historically been comfortable

Cost of owning over time Haven
The 1-, 5- and 30-year cost of owning here is part of Haven.
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The place

What it costs to own here beyond the price, and what the neighborhood is like.

Median household income$68,152Census ACS
Price to income5.5×long-run average 4.3×
Property tax0.82%statutory, state
Insurance$1,299/yrtypical premium
Commute27 minmedian, one way
Walkability5 / 20EPA index
Hazard ratingRelatively ModerateFEMA NRI · wildfire 79 · flood 77
Population change+0.6% a year2018–2023, Census ACS
Median year built1993Census ACS
Owner-occupied85%Census ACS

Typical homes cost 5.5× the median household income here, against 4.5× in the median NC ZIP and 4.3× in the median U.S. ZIP (Zillow, August 2026; Census ACS 2023). Median household income is $68,152 here, against $71,388 in the median U.S. ZIP (Census ACS 2023).

Hazard ledger
Overall riskRelatively Moderatescore 57 of 100 · county median 65
Flood77 of 100county median 83
Wildfire79 of 100county median 83
Hurricane57 of 100county median 57

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release, refreshed annually · tract-level rolled up to ZIP · not a property-level rating · no future-year projection · the tick is the median of 3 scored ZIPs in McDowell County.

Housing cost burden
Owners spending over 50% of income3%U.S. median ZIP 5%
Renters spending over 30% of income36%U.S. median ZIP 39%

Census ACS 2023 five-year estimates · the tick is the U.S. median ZIP.

Behind the score

The inputs behind each of the five parts, against the U.S. median ZIP.

Affordability

37

Growth

48

Risk

48

Momentum

75
Haven
See every input behind the five parts, with its value and source
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Livability

50
Walkability5 / 20EPA Smart Location DatabaseLeast walkable
Transit access—EPA Smart Location DatabaseNo transit data
Job density17 jobs per sq miCensus LODESFew jobs nearby

Nearby

2 scored North Carolina ZIPs within 12 miles; the ones below score within ten points and cost less.

Sources and freshness

Every figure on this page, where it came from and when.

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ZillowHome values, rents, price tiersAugust 2026
Realtor.comListings, days on market, price cutsSeptember 2026
RedfinSale-to-list, sold above listMay 2026
Census ACSIncome, commute, population, housing stock2023 five-year
FEMA National Risk IndexHazard ratingsDecember 2025 release
EPAWalkability2021
HUDFair market rent, 2 bedroomsFY 2026
Freddie MacMortgage rateSeptember 2026, monthly average
HavenScoreScore, balance, forecastScored October 1, 2026

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