1000 x 90

High Country Real Estate: Second Quarter Real Estate

July 25, 2023 Brace yourself…there are  only about 157 shopping days left until Christmas. Shocking, right? I know, I could have chosen a better way to remind you that the first half of 2023 has already passed and in the past, and we are almost 1/3 of the way through the third quarter already. What did Real Estate in the High country look like in the first half of 2023?  By Jim Lewis, REALTOR

Read more

June 2023 MLS REPORT

July 14, 2023 A recent report from Showing Time said that the U.S. Real Estate Market is facing mixed trends with an overall decline in existing home sales and a rise in home prices in certain regions. That is true with the market here in the High Country as we see sales down 16.2 percent compared to this same time last year.

Read more

High Country Real Estate: Lead Based Paint in Real Estate

July 6, 2023 Lead is a naturally occurring element in the earth. It’s symbol is Pb on the Periodic Table of Elements and it’s atomic number is 82. It is a soft metal, dense, yet malleable, ductile but corrosion resistant. Lead has a relatively low melting point making it an ideal metal for industrial and manufacturing uses.  By John Thomas, REALTOR

Read more

Real Estate in the High Country: May Real Estate

June 8, 2023 Was May 2023 a good month for real estate in the High Country? May-be! According to the High Country Association of REALTORS, there were 183 residential sales in May of 2023. The lowest listing price was $68,000, the lowest sales price was $55,000. The highest listing price was $3,2000,000, the lowest sales price was $3,100,000. The average listing price was $576,286 and the average sales price was $559,489. The median listing price was $450,000 and the median sales price was also $450,000. By Kaitlin Crawford, REALTOR

Read more

High Country Real Estate: Real Estate by the Numbers

June 1, 2023 We’ve all heard the saying, “The numbers don’t lie.” But at the same time, most of us have heard Mark Twain’s famous quote, “There’s lies, damn lies, and statistics.” Still, looking at data, or statistics, if you will pardon us Mr. Twain, does provide valuable insight into what is actually happening beyond headlines, opinions and suppositions. Tom Gidley, REALTOR

Read more

April 2023 MLS REPORT from High Country Association of Realtors

May 11, 2023 Quoting Ed Gianos, Founder of Domus Analytics, he says concerning statistics across the country: “In short: it’s still a market that’s changing rapidly and can’t decide what direction it’s going. Inventory is increasing until it’s not. Prices are falling until they don’t. DOM is increasing until it isn’t. The increasing mortgage rate environment seemed to put a damper on things over the winter, but rates wiggled, prices are still increasing in some markets, and sales and closings are still happening. A good listing priced fairly will still sell. As we head into the traditionally busy summer selling season, it will be interesting to watch where the market moves.” 

Read more

High Country Real Estate XII: The Power of Flowers

May 10, 2023 We’ve all heard the old adage, “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” But we’ve also been told “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” In a recent article from RIS Media entitled: Mulch Matters! How Curb Appeal Can Spark (or Sink) A Sale REALTOR® Alex Chingas relayed the following: “We recently had an appointment with a home stager to come look at a house that we would be listing,” he says. “The stager remarked to the client right at the front door that ‘Before I even come inside, I have to tell you that you have the wrong color mulch.’ She said that red mulch was a hindrance, and, while she happened to like it personally, that sellers don’t get big money with that color.”  By Becky Morgan, Realtor

Read more

High Country Real Estate: Article XI

May 4, 2023 If the old saying about April showers bringing May flowers is true, May should be one blossom after another this year! With April done and dusted, let’s talk about the real estate numbers… There were 139 residential sales in the High Country in April with a volume of $74,714,772. List prices ranged from $59,950 to $3,750,000 with an average list price of $560,126 and median list price of $424,500. By Karen Cleghorn, Realtor

Read more

High Country Realty: The Economy and The Housing Market in the High Country

April 27, 2023 Walking the aisles of the grocery store, or filling the gas tank of your car, it might be hard to believe, but the numbers are in, and  inflation is the lowest it’s been in 2 years. Last week, for the fifth straight week mortgage rates dipped. For those in the market to purchase a home, this is good news.  By Todd Rice

Read more

High Country Realty: The Economy and The Housing Market in the High Country

April 20, 2023 Walking the aisles of the grocery store, or filling the gas tank of your car, it might be hard to believe, but the numbers are in, and  inflation is the lowest it’s been in 2 years. Last week, for the fifth straight week mortgage rates dipped. For those in the market to purchase a home, this is good news. It’s also pretty good news for homeowners looking to sell their current homes.  By Todd Rice

Read more

High Country Real Estate: Article VIII – First Quarter 2023 Statistics

April 13, 2023 Last time, Real Estate in the High Country looked at the sales numbers for the first quarter of 2023. This time, as promised, we’re going to be looking at more than just pricing statistics for the same time period. All data is courtesy of the High Country Association of REALTORS and the High Country Multiple Listing Service.  By Bill Aceto

Read more

Housing Regulatory Study Completed for High Country Region

April 13, 2023 Boone, NC: A Housing Regulatory Study has been completed for the High Country region (Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, and Watauga) by Bowen National
Research. The study was requested by the High Country Association of REALTORS® and funded by a grant from the National Association of REALTORS®.

Read more

High Country Real Estate: First Quarter 2023 Real Estate in the High Country

April 4, 2023 It’s hard to believe, but the first quarter of 2023 is already in the history books. Despite the rise in interest rates and general concern over the economy, real estate closings in the High Country from January to March were still fairly healthy, with a total volume of $274,145,344 reported to the High Country Association of REALTORSⓇ. By Tracy Simms

Read more

High Country Real Estate: Article VII

March 29, 2023 Sometimes words (and their meaning/concepts) are so closely related, it is difficult to discern the difference. A great quote to demonstrate this is from the humor writer, Cynthia Heimel, when she wrote, “We must eschew anything trivial. We must embrace all that is frivolous.” At first glance, this might seem like a contradictory statement; at least until you truly think about the difference between the trivial and the frivolous.  By Bill Aceto

Read more

High Country Association of REALTORS® has extended the deadline for submission of scholarship applications to April 15th, 2023

March 29, 2023 High Country Association of REALTORS® has extended the deadline for submission of scholarship applications to April 15th, 2023. The High Country Association of REALTORS® awards four scholarships to the four-county jurisdiction they cover: Watauga, Avery, Alleghany, and Ashe Counties. One scholarship is granted for each county. This includes homeschoolers in these counties. This scholarship can be used for any student pursuing a degree in post-secondary education.
Please access the application via the HCAR.Realtor website or contact the association at 828-262-5437. Please email your completed application to anna@highcountryrealtors.org or drop it off in person at our office, 4469 Bamboo Rd, Boone, North Carolina.

Read more

High Country Real Estate: PANTONE® recently announced their pick for 2023’s color of the year

March 22, 2023 Viva Magenta is very vibrant. Very. Don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with vibrant colors. Nothing at all. And if you have been waiting your whole life for the color of the year to be in the magenta family so you could paint your entire house magenta and be 100% on point for the year…WOOHOO! Congrats! It’s finally happened! But what happens when PANTONE® announces 2024’s color of the year? Trust me, it’s not going to be Viva Magenta again. It’s just not.  By Bill Aceto

Read more

High Country Real Estate 

March 16, 2023 Spring springs next week and the clocks sprang forward this past Sunday. Did you change the battery or batteries in your smoke detector or smoke detectors? If not, stop reading, go grab a ladder and some batteries and change them. You back? OK. Good. A lot of real estate columns and blogs will give you tips and tricks and advice on the best improvements to make to your home to “add value” to your investment. Likely, this column will too, eventually. By Bill Aceto

Read more

High Country Real Estate Part IV: Everything is Relative

March 9, 2023 It’s hard to miss all the doom and gloom in the media regarding the economy lately. Traditionally, when the media evaluates the economy they talk about two things: unemployment and the housing market. However, the pandemic from 2020 through 2022 running with the “The Great Resignation” of 2021-2022 has irrevocably skewed the unemployment numbers for quite some time. Throw in the relatively new found revelation that it is possible to not just work from home, but to work from anywhere, and the uptick in the gig economy, jobs data has become a slippery statistic to grasp and therefore, an unreliable indicator of the overall health of the economy. By Bill Aceto

Read more

February 2023 MLS Report:  Brought to you by High Country Association of Realtors

March 9, 2023  In the High Country Real Estate Market four-county area of Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, and Watauga counties the High Country MLS reports during February 129 Closed Sales of Residential Single Family, Condo/Townhouse properties. Those sales came to a combined total of $61.1 million. The Median Sales Price was $372,250, just over what the National Association of Realtors® reports the median for the nation, at $359,000. Median Days on Market for February shows 68 days. All these numbers are very similar to this same time last year where we saw 166 closed sales with a median sales price of $392,500.00 and 64 median days on market. 

Read more

High Country Real Estate: Statistically Speaking – The Pandemic and High Country Real Estate Part 2

February 16, 2023 In the last article for High Country Real Estate, the number of homes sold was analyzed, showing the growth in number of units pre-pandemic through the end of 2021, noting a 63% increase in units sold from 2018 to 2021. As promised, this article will take a look at the increase in home values from 2019 through 2022. For the purposes of this article, data is drawn from the High Country Association of REALTORS® for the seven counties (Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Mitchell, Watauga, Wilkes) that make up the North Carolina High Country. As the article title indicates, median prices of homes in the High Country will be used, since extreme data points can easily throw off averages.  By Bill Aceto

Read more

High Country Association of Realtors® Strengthens Focus on Fair Housing with $3,000 Grant

February 9, 2023  Boone, NC – The High Country Association Realtors® is proud to announce that it has received a $3,000 Fair Housing Grant from the National Association of Realtors® to host a course for its members called Bias Override: Overcoming Barriers to Fair Housing. The course will be conducted by Robert Morris, a leadership consultant and broker who has been recognized as Tennessee Realtor® of the Year. 

Read more

High Country Real Estate: Statistically Speaking – The Pandemic and High Country Real Estate Part 1

February 9, 2023 The North Carolina High Country is made up of seven counties: Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Mitchell, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey.  From Boone to Burnsville, Blowing Rock to Banner Elk, Wilkesboro to West Jefferson, the High Country is filled with the beauty of nature, the small town spirit with big-hearted hospitality, and more points of interest than can ever be seen. In early 2020, when the CoVid-19 pandemic began, the world changed. Not just with the universal use of masks, social distancing, the rush to create a vaccine or the incredibly sad loss of life around the world, but in ways that could never be predicted. One of those changes was a shift in the real estate market, most markedly in the North Carolina High Country. By Bill Aceto

Read more

High Country Association of Realtors Recorded $124 Million in Sales in December; Yearly Total of Sales Reached $1.43 Billion for 2021

January 11, 2022 The 2021 MLS Market Report for the High Country Association of Realtors® saw agents finish out the year with records in sales volume and some comparable numbers to the historical totals we saw in 2020. As for December of 2021, the High Country MLS recorded 249 homes sold for $116 million. There were 289 homes which sold for $124 million in December of 2020. The median sold price increased by 9 percent this year to $355,200 compared to $325,000 last December. Professionals in the High Country MLS sold a total of 3,222 residential listings worth $1.43 billion by the year’s end. Home sales volume totaled $1.18 billion the previous year. The High Country MLS records for 2020 reported 3,269 total residential properties sold. The number of High Country homes sold was down a mere 1.4 percent this year from 2020, however, the sales value was up 20 percent, a pattern noted across the US according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The agency also stated that the price increase accounted for the largest annual home price increase in the history of the agency’s House Price Index. 

Read more