Archive for the 'Black Mountain' Category

Building a green home in Asheville just got easier. The North Carolina State Energy Office, the NC Solar Center, the NC Home Builders Association and other professional building organizations joined forces to create the North Carolina HealthyBuilt Homes Program.

A statewide voluntary certification program, HealthyBuilt Homes offers a recognized green certification, technical assistance, field consultation, and other services that enable small and medium sized home builders to increase their green building expertise. These builders become more efficient and build better green homes and eco-conscious Asheville home buyers win! Help the environment, help the local economy and live in a beautiful home in Asheville.

Here are some Healthy Built homes in Asheville and the area:

33 WORDSWORTH ROAD Black Mountain

37 Shady Park Lane Asheville

There are also many homes in Asheville with recent green technology updates. This one is particularly notable: 250 North Griffing Boulevard Asheville

While Black Mountain may have been one of the last markets hit by the economic downturn, we believe it is one of the first markets to begin recovering.  While sales in Black Mountain and Buncombe County are down from the previous year by an average of 30%, statistics from the Western North Carolina Regional MLS show that we have may have reached the bottom and are beginning to rebound.

For the first time since March 2008, home sales (# of units) in Black Mountain have exceeded the sales from the same month in the previous year, and currently, 22 homes are under contract. And while the average cost of homes significantly dropped from last year, we are finally seeing an upswing — the median price of homes in Black Mountain has increased by 2% year-to-date.

The good news continues for August.  In August 2008, there were 3 homes sold in Black Mountain.  As of the date of this posting (August 29, 2009), there have been 7 closed sales this month.

Greybeard Realty has become the leader in high-end home sales in Black Mountain and Montreat.  Having sold 50% of all homes in the $400,000 and above market since August 2008, Greybeard’s success testifies to our experience, knowledge, and, most importantly, to the trust of buyers and sellers alike.

“We have increased marketing expenditures by 30% in a down economy, resulting in our website has seeing nearly double the traffic from the previous year, and our vacation rental reservations have increased dramatically over the last several months,” noted Chip Craig, owner of Greybeard Realty.

According to sales figures from the Asheville Board of Realtors, Greybeard is ranked #1 for total market share in Black Mountain and #11 for the entire Board.  Says Craig, “We are thrilled to be competing so well with larger firms.  We have 9 full-time agents, while the firms ranked ahead of us in terms of market share have dozens, if not hundreds.”

Just a few of the Luxury Homes sold by Greybeard Realty

Greybeard Realty of Black Mountain announces the opening of Greybeard Realty Commercial, with offices at 706 N Highway 9 in Black Mountain.  Jane Shockey, a Black Mountain native with more than 20 years of commercial brokerage experience in Western North Carolina, has joined Greybeard to oversee the operations of this newest area for the real estate company.

For Chip Craig, president and founder of the 10-year-old company, the move into the commercial property business is a natural progression for Greybeard. (more…)

Greybeard Realty, Black Mountain’s largest real estate office, announces the opening of their new auxiliary office at 706 NC Highway 9 South in Black Mountain. In conjunction with Creston Community, this additional office location will be open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. A Greybeard sales agent will have information regarding Creston Mountain properties as well as other properties.

“We are very pleased with the new relationship with Creston Community,” explains Chip Craig, president and founder of Greybeard Realty. “We feel that the responsible development going on at Creston is a very positive addition to the Black Mountain community, and we are also excited to have an office with such a high visibility location.”

Creston Community, an 1100 acre development with 135 home sites, offers a perfect blend of homes, hiking trails, long range views, waterfalls and natural beauty.  The high quality of Creston’s development has made it one of the most successful real estate projects in the area and at present approximately 40 lots remain on the market.

Greybeard Realty, currently celebrating 10 years of service in the community, has 9 real estate sales brokers as well as five rental management staff who oversee 245 vacation and long-term rental homes in the area. Greybeard’s main office is located at 204 East State Street in Black Mountain. For more information about our new office or other aspects of Greybeard Realty, please contact us at 828-669-1072 or online.

“Trouble is only opportunity in work clothes.” Henry J. Kaiser (1882 – 1967)

At first sight it is hard to see the opportunity in a difficult time, but more often than not we may find that it is the very time to reevaluate and make plans for the future. From the outset of the economic downturn, Greybeard Realty has intentionally used our time to do just that.

We are honing our website so that when we market your properties or you search for properties to buy, we are in the lead with user-friendly links for the seller and buyer.

One of our best characteristics is the personal service we offer buyers and sellers. We know that it is of utmost importance right now to give careful attention to our listings and to be creative in looking for the best options for our buyers. One way we do this is to communicate regularly with each other about properties we know about. And we are genuinely excited about the area we “sell.”

One of our buyers recently said, “Once again, you were so very helpful and so proud of your area it made us really not want to rule this place out.” We are seeing the results in the increase in market share that Greybeard Realty is experiencing.

In the first quarter of 2009, Greybeard Realty has sold 37% of the Black Mountain real estate market – up from 19% market share in 2008. 19% is the next largest of any other local firm.

If you include Montreat sales, Greybeard Realty accounts for 49% of the Black Mountain and Montreat real estate sales for the first quarter of 2009.

We hope you will take advantage of our “opportunity” in troubled times and make it yours as well. And give us your feedback…we want to hear from you!

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Whether it’s a choice to bring sustainability and healthy living indoors or the desire for energy efficiency, there are countless reasons to buy “Green.” For a home to be certified requires third party verification. ENERGY STAR homes have met the requirements set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These homes have energy-saving features that typically make them 20-30% more efficient than standard homes. (more…)

When it comes to quintessential mountain living, most people think of beautiful views.  Of course, to get those views, you usually need to gain elevation, which often involves negotiating a steep driveway or gravel road.  But that’s not always the case.  Laurel Ridge, a neighborhood just north of Black Mountain, is home to some of the most incredible mountain views in Western North Carolina, and you may be surprised how easy they can be to access.

(more…)

Despite the downturn in real estate markets across the nation, Greybeard Realty experienced growth in 2008. Our market share within the Asheville Board of Realtors has increased, as our firm climbed from 19th overall to 11th. In 2008, we represented buyers or sellers in 49 home sales transactions. By comparison, we represented clients in 50 home sales in 2007.

Click to see our 2007 and 2008 home sales (*large PDF files).

We are very grateful to all of our clients, and we look forward to the opportunity to continue to serve our community!

With buyers focusing more and more on energy-efficient home designs, modular home construction has become increasingly popular in the Black Mountain and Asheville area.

Modular constructions provides other advantages, including a more environmentally-friendly building process that helps minimizes construction waste. (more…)