Written by Lauren Stepp
Our Guide to Buying and Selling Western North Carolina Residential Real Estate
These mountains didn’t always have curb appeal. Steep and wild, Western North Carolina was the last area in the state to be settled by Europeans. It’s little wonder why: When finding the perfect forever home requires that you stave off wolves and dysentery while swimming through sunless laurel thickets that allegedly swallow grown men, you just pick a different neighborhood.
Today’s real estate market is a bit different. “For sale” signs are popping up in suburban lawns like toadstools, and out-of-towners are flying to isolated coves like swallows. Slices of Blue Ridge pie are getting smaller, more expensive, and harder to come by. A 1979 bungalow in Horse Shoe, a sleepy-eyed town in Henderson County, tells all. In 2014 the home sold for $183,000. Last December, the same dwelling sold for $379,900, roughly $170,000 more than its assessed value, after being listed for less than a week. That’s just business as usual for real estate professionals like Gwenn Frederick, owner of LUXE Home Staging WNC and a licensed agent with Homespun Investment Realty. “Prices are higher than they’ve ever been,” says Frederick. “Homes are going faster than they ever have.”
Truth is, wolves and dysentery aren’t a huge concern in the pursuit of a modern mountain holding, but traversing the peaks and valleys of a booming market still demands grit. Expert know-how can help, too.
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