Airport traffic, another indicator of area growth, has increased significantly in recent years. From August 2021 to August 2022, Asheville Regional Airport activity increased by 26.7 percent, according to Riverbird Research, a data and systems analysis team established by the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce. This traffic increase has bumped AVL to the third busiest airport in North Carolina and to the 104th busiest out of the United States’ 478 commercial service airports, according to Asheville Regional Airport.

Riverbird Research also reported that the Asheville Metro area has seen new residential construction permits increase by 13.8 percent to 2,630 year-to-date compared to this time last year. Values of these construction permits also increased by 24.8 percent.

Looking at residential real estate activity, days on market for properties for sale decreased by 33.3 percent to 28 days, and median home prices increased by 15.0 percent to $410,650 during the same time period for the Asheville Metro area, according to Riverbird Research. Meanwhile, the median rent estimate for a two-bedroom apartment has increased by 20.8 percent to $1,273.