Pristine Mountain Cottage

This special cottage, located in Black Mountain, is pristinely maintained and offers its new owners an enviable location, just a five minute walk from the town of Black Mountain and Lake Tomahawk.

The three bedroom, two bath home features gleaming hardwoods and an up-to-date kitchen with granite countertops.

While it would make a wonderful second home or retirement home, it also can be used as an in-town rental property.  For more information on this cottage or other Asheville real estate property, please contact Greybeard Realty.

For last year, Buncombe County had a 4% increase in homes sold while nationally the number of existing homes sold increased a modest 1.7%. BlackMountain, which stayed strong in the housing market for longer thanBuncombeCounty, had a 23% increase in number of homes sold for the year.

Asheville Real Estate Market Bears Studying

In another positive sign, the number of housing units on the market decreased during the year.  InBuncombeCounty, the number of homes on the market decreased 16 % while that number inBlackMountaindecreased 22%.  Nationally the available inventory of homes on the market has decreased as well.

There are still signs of softness in the market.  For example, average home prices for the last year decreased 5% inBuncombeCountyand 7% inBlackMountainand days on market continues to be lengthy.  Both of these numbers are lagging indicators and will not show signs of improvement until the market has gained strength.

A quick glance at land sales in the area indicate that bothBuncombeCountyandBlackMountainexperienced an increase in land units sold, though we are still far from the peak that occurred in 2006.  Also, land units on the market have decreased in both markets.

The Feds recent announcement that interest rates will remain low until at least 2014, combined with the positive numbers reported in our markets for the 2011 year, lead me to believe that the housing market in our area is edging upward.  As we head into our busy market time, we should see continued growth, a sign that we may be leading the national housing market into recovery.

Natural Beauty of Mountain Laurel

Carl Silverstein, Executive Director for SAHC summarized the importance of the purchase on his organization’s website. “This acquisition is particularly exciting because the size and location of the property strengthens the protected landscape between the Asheville and Bee Tree watersheds. This provides a positive impact on water quality as well as keen advantage in protecting wildlife habitat, forest quality, and other conservation values.”

SAHC, one of only 9 accredited lands trusts in N.C., has protected 49,846 acres since incorporating in 1974.

The land, situated within Laurel Ridge, contains about 4 miles of streams, rises 4800 feet in elevation, and harbors acres of hardwood forest. Laurel Ridge, a Black Mountain gated community, offers varied terrain with privacy and tranquility.  Greybeard Realty has several homes and land parcels for sale in this beautiful community. For more information about these properties, please contact Greybeard Realty.

More beer headed our way?

Rumored to be studying Black Mountain and Buncombe County very seriously, this brewery can only enhance Asheville’s recognition as a premier beer community.  Buncombe County, home to 10 craft breweries already, has won the Beer City USA designation for the last three years.

Black Mountain already boasts of one major craft brewery, Pisgah Brewing Co.,  and that company’s founder told a local journalist that adding another major craft brewery would increase local tourism. The new brewery, thought to be a West Coast business, would offer brewery tours and
have a restaurant.

For more information or to check out local real estate offerings, please contact Greybeard Realty.

President Obama at the podium earlier

Asheville and North Carolina but across the nation.  In his remarks, however, he paid special tribute to Asheville.

“I love Asheville,” he told the crowd.  “Every time I meet somebody I say have you guys gone down to Asheville?  Our family has great memories of staying here, and it’s always nice to get out of Washington and breathe some of that mountain air.”

The President and Mrs. Obama last visited Asheville in April 2010 and made several stops at local hangouts.  It’s always nice when someone recognizes what those of us who live here have known all along.  Asheville is a special place.

For more information about Asheville Real Estate, please contact Greybeard Realty.

With the rental restrictions, many Realtors reported that homebuyers looking for second homes were often deterred by the rental restrictions.  It is not unusual for people planning to retire in Buncombe County to buy a home prior to retirement and put it into the rental market until they are ready to relocate to the area permanently.  The restrictions meant that was no longer a legal option.

Rental Restrictions for Buncombe County revized.

With the commissioners’ action which allows rentals countywide, homeowners will now have that option restored.  In addition, visitors to the Asheville area will have more rental properties from which to choose.  Many tourists prefer to stay in a home and have a more authentic mountain cabin experience than a hotel room may provide.

For more information about Asheville area homes and rental properties, please contact Greybeard Realty.

Check out real time weather at Greybeard's webcam

With the arrival of the autumnal equinox comes varying weather in the Asheville area.  Greybeard’s webcam lets you see road conditions in real time.  As a property owner, do you need to know when the cold hits so you can winterize your home?  Are you worried about whether roads are passable? As a potential buyer are you eager to see what winter means in Black Mountain?  If so, tune in to our webcam and vicariously enjoy a beautiful mountain day.

For more information or to explore real estate offerings in the Asheville area, please contact Greybeard Realty.

Presently used as a five bedroom home, the home has a lower level that can be used as a self-contained apartment.  The first level features a master suite and an open floor plan with large gathering rooms and a deck. 

Pristine mountain home in Montreat on the market.

 With the intercom/alarm systems and top of the line appliances, this uniquely built, half-log-construction home offers mountain simplicity with modern amenities on a gently sloping site. 

In addition to the visible external eco-friendly elements, this home also has a geothermal heating/cooling system that utilizes the property’s well water. In addition, the log-structure-enclosed generator provides power to selected appliances including the gas fireplace heater, ensuring that residents remain safe and secure in the event of a power loss.

To experience the special tranquility of this superior home, please contact Greybeard to arrange a showing. 

Asheville rental cabins give an authentic mountain experience.

Home buyers in our area often buy homes with an eye for the future.  They purchase now with the intention of renting the home until they reach retirement age.  By limiting which homes can become rental properties, the current ordinance restricts the Asheville real estate market.  When potential buyers learn that they cannot rent a specific home within certain zones, they decide against purchasing in this area.  The present ordinance sends potential real estate buyers into other mountain communities that will allow renting.

In another economic blow, the restriction of rental properties also reduces occupancy and sales tax when renters go to other communities instead of renting here. In addition, the work force is reduced when home cleaners, maintenance and repair people, and landscapers, to name a few, are no longer needed for the upkeep of rental homes. And finally, tourism is reduced.  With the restriction of rental properties comes the limiting of renters which in turn limits the seasonal tourism dollars which our communities are so dependent on for a vibrant economy.

For more information about the Asheville real estate market and Greybeard’s offerings in the area, please contact Greybeard Realty.

In considering the first two months of market numbers for Buncombe County and Black Mountain, there are some numbers that seem solid.  The number of homes sold for Jan/Feb this year, compared with last year’s numbers, are steady. In addition, in Black Mountain, the 14 homes sold are only two less than the 16 units sold for this period during 2008 before the national real estate market decline.  The County comparison for homes sold this year to date compared with 2008 during the same period, however, represents a 32% decline.

Sales volume comparison for the same period for 2011 versus 2010 in the County shows a 10% decline.  Black Mountain sales volume for these first two months of 2011 shows a 12% increase over the same period in 2010.  Those numbers parallel the average price trend, which has Buncombe County declining 9% and Black Mountain increasing 4%.

One area of concern is Days on Market which has increased in both the County and Black Mountain.  The number of days, 187 for both markets, is about double what we would like to see in a growing real estate market.  It’s also interesting to note the number of homes on the market which has remained steady in Black Mountain and decreased in Buncombe County.  While that would seem like a positive, there is no way without further study to determine if those numbers are that way because people are removing their homes from the market or holding off putting them on the market until the market picks up a bit.

Again, different people will consider these numbers and perhaps have a different slant to put on them.  But I look at these numbers and the market trends over the last few years, and I feel very comfortable noting that with spring here and summer around the corner, we are entering an active period for home sales.  And if buyers enter the market willing to offer fair price, they should be able to buy a home that will meet their needs now and provide them with a solid investment for the future.

For more information about the Asheville Real Estate market, please contact Greybeard Realty.