High Country named one of the nation’s best places to eat

May 22, 2013 By

Describes High Country: Good Food, Good Friends, Good TimesIf variety is want you want, the High Country has it; especially when it comes to dinner.

This week it was revealed that Boone ranked fourth in this year’s 2013 Restaurant Growth Index. Compiled by Nielsen, the Index is meant to screen markets for potential new restaurant establishments based on growth potential and profitability. It also uses restaurant sales, and admits that “smaller markets that are tourist destinations with high transience and heavy thru traffic tend to index high.”

That describes the Boone area, which is home to strong independent local establishments as well as some national chains. This year it jumped more than 30 slots from the 2012 Index.

Boone, North Carolina, reaches the fifth [sic - report itself says fourth] spot this year, rising from #37 in the 2012 RGI. Boone is a tourist destination, drawing 225,000 each year. It’s also home to Appalachian State University, which has seen dramatic growth in the last decade and ranks in the top 5 percent for general business growth in Nielsen’s BGI. The influx of students and tourists helped drive up its RGI score.

The report identifies 170 establishments in the area, with per capita restaurant sales of $18.8 million.

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National parks magazine focuses on High Country area

May 19, 2013 By

The April 2013 issue of National Parks Traveler has a three-page look at the High Country of North Carolina, focusing on the Blue Ridge Parkway experience as it runs through the Boone area.

National Parks Traveler magazine April 2013 coverThe High Country’s strong suit of miles of scenic rural backroads, some of them official state scenic byways, compliment the Parkway and permit loop trips. One side attraction, the village of Valle Crucis, claims the Mast General Store (circa 1880). Charles Kuralt declared it was “America’s premier country store.” Nearby, the Mast Farm Inn is a “Historic Hotel of America” noted for gourmet country fare.

Local gourmet food and luxe lodging are a Boone area trend, and they extend to spa hotels. One of them, Westglow, was named by Travel & Leisure magazine as a top destination spa. Factor in tours and tastings at award-winning local wineries and the sensual side of life has its place in the High Country.

Shopping, skiing, hiking or biking, you will have an appetite and the Boone area’s diverse dining rivals sophisticated urban options “off the mountain.” Many of these restaurants serve traditional High Country fare, like locally-sourced vegetables, fruit, trout, herbs, even pasta, and grass-fed Watauga beef.

The article also lists what it refers to as “Five Overlooked Boone Area Attractions.” It includes a wine tour, waterfall walks, a Doc Watson statue, paddling Price Lake, and great state parks. Among the later is the new Rocky Knob park, “a gradual trail to one of the best views in the North Carolina mountains.”

Consider them “Five More Reasons It’s Great To Call The High Country Home.”

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“Living here in the mountains is indeed a love affair”

May 7, 2013 By

The Blowing Rock Art & History Museum has a fantastic video online showing off the “beauty, recreation, adventure, and health (that) have drawn people to the mountains of North Carolina.” The video is four and a half minutes of High Country beauty.

We come here because we all need beauty, like we need love. And to many, living here in the mountains is indeed a love affair.

We have a gorgeous neighborhood.

High Country landscape

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Real Estate Report: This may be a great time to buy

April 18, 2013 By

First Quarter Sales comparison
Buyers market conditions continue to strengthen in local real estate, with increasing sales but low prices through the first quarter of 2013.

Overall for the quarter there was $55.3 million worth of realtor-assisted real estate sales in Ashe, Avery and Watauga counties, according to the High Country Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

The median sold price for the quarter was $185,000, a 12 percent decrease from last year and a six-year low.

The 765 new listings were the fewest since 2010.

Sales increased each month of the quarter, from 64 in January to 82 in February to 93 in March.

“With the spring weather finally arriving and the ‘summer season’ just around the corner we are looking for buyer interest to become even stronger resulting in a stabilization of home prices,” said Laurie Phillips, executive officer of High Country Association of Realtors.

The READReport, which records all real estate transactions in Ashe, Avery and Watauga counties, reported 544 sales worth $97.68 million in the first quarter. The sales number was slightly higher than the 2012 first quarter (530), but the total value was down 9 percent, from $107,741,400.

The average sold price was down 12%, from $203,286 in the first three months of 2012 to $179,563 this year, according to the READReport.

For the month of March, there were 93 realtor-assisted sales worth $23.56 million in the High Country area. Both amounts are increases over February, when 82 homes sold for $16.52 million.

Nationally, existing home sales continued to climb in February, according to the National Association of Realtors. The sales rate was the highest since November 2009 when a federal tax credit was propping up home sales.

The association said the national median price for existing homes rose 11.6% from a year ago to $173,600. The February gain was the strongest since November 2005 when the median was 12.9 percent above a year earlier.

MARCH REAL ESTATE STATS

Statistic Values Year-to-Year Month-to-Month
Total Sold Dollar Volume $23,557,240 -22.5% +42.58%
Closed Sales 93 -18.42% +13.41%
Median Sold Price $181,040 -8.77% -1.61%
Avg Sold Price $253,304 -4.98% +25.72%
Avg Days on Market 278 days +10.32% +21.93%
Total New Listings 303 -9.01% -38.99%
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Real Estate Report: Sales increase as buyer’s market continues

March 19, 2013 By

YTD All Sales in High Country, Jan 1 through March 1, 2013

Local realtors are enjoying a busy start to 2013, with sales through the first two months of the year the highest in that span since 2008. Yet the demand has yet to result in increased prices.

There were 146 realtor-assisted sales in January and February, a 22 percent increase over the first two months of 2012, according to the High Country Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The MLS records realtor-assisted sales in Ashe, Avery and Watauga counties.

Total sales value was up only 2.6 percent, from $30.86 million to $31.67 million. Yet the median sold price for that period decreased, from $227,500 last year to $197,500 so far in 2013.

“It’s great to see that the activity in our market is picking up a little,” said Laurie Phillips, executive officer of High Country Association of Realtors. “The median sale price has decreased again. This median price, added to the market activity, shows a true picture of our High Country real estate market.”

In February there were 82 realtor-assisted sales worth $16.5 million. It’s the best second month of sales since 2008, when 90 homes worth $24.5 million were sold.

The bottom of that span was February 2010, when just 34 listings worth $7.69 million sold.

Sales have gradually improved since then, but prices have yet to follow. February’s median sale price of $184,000 broke a string of three consecutive months of plus-$200,000 median prices.

“With both warmer weather and buyers continuing to come to the High Country we are hopeful that the market will continue to improve,” said Phillips.

According to the MLS, the average days on the market for a home sold in February was 228. That’s the fastest pace for sales since August last year, when homes sold in an average of 211 days.

The MLS added 218 new listings last month, down from the 244 added in January.

The READReport, which records all real estate transactions in the High Country, both private and realtor-assisted, reported sales of $48.2 million for February. That was a 12 percent decline from February 2012, when $55.02 million worth of real estate was sold.

Nationally, it appears a sellers market is developing. Existing-home sales were up January, with prices continuing to rise above year-ago levels. Sales rose in every region but the West, which is the region most constrained by limited inventory, according to the National Association of Realtors.

“Buyer traffic is continuing to pick up, while seller traffic is holding steady,” he said, Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist . “In fact, buyer traffic is 40 percent above a year ago, so there is plenty of demand but insufficient inventory to improve sales more strongly. We’ve transitioned into a seller’s market in much of the country.”

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Real Estate Report: Best start to new year since 2008

February 12, 2013 By

January is traditionally a slow month for local real estate sales, and 2013 followed that trend, according to the latest monthly Real Estate Report by the High Country Association of Realtors

All 2012 sales in all counties of the High CountryThere were 62 realtor-assisted sales worth $14.98 million in January, as recorded by the High Country Multiple Listings Service. That’s the most home sales to start a new year since 2008.

The last month to record fewer home sales was January of last year, when just 55 sold for $14.2 million.

“This winter started off slow but the past month made up for the late start with snows that made the ski slopes very happy,” said Laurie Phillips, executive officer of High Country Association of Realtors. “January sales are really a reflection of November and December activity since it normally takes one to two months for a property to close after it goes under contract.”

The median sold price for the month was $222,500, an 11-month high. It was also higher than the median sold prices recorded in in January 2012 ($215,000) and 2011 ($220,000). But it was below the marks set the three previous Januarys (2009-10), during which the median sold price for the month never dropped below $230,000.

“It is exciting to see the sales numbers for January considering the weather challenges and showing conditions during that time,” said Phillips. “The High Country MLS is currently showing approximately 135 single-family homes under contract, so that’s very encouraging.”

Housing inventory also increased, with 247 new listings added to the MLS. That was a five-month high.

The National Association of Realtors recently released its 2012 real estate report. It mirrored what was recorded in the High Country, where sales hit a four-year high while the median sold price fell to 2010 levels.

Overall last year, there was $355.72 million worth of real estate sold in the three-county area. That includes all commercial, land and homes sold, according to the High Country MLS.

That was the highest total sold since 2008. It was also a 18.6 percent increase over 2011, but still 53 percent market totals from 2007 ($750.8 million).

Nationally, the preliminary annual total for existing-home sales in 2012 was 4.65 million, up 9.2 percent from 4.26 million in 2011. It was the highest volume since 2007. The median sold price was $176,600, which was only 2 percent higher than the 2010 mark.
NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun continues to see positive signs in national real estate sales.

“Record low mortgage interest rates clearly are helping many home buyers, but tight inventory and restrictive mortgage underwriting standards are limiting sales,” he said. “The number of potential buyers who stayed on the sidelines accumulated during the recession, but they started entering the market early last year as their financial ability and confidence steadily grew, along with home prices. Likely job creation and household formation will continue to fuel that growth. Both sales and prices will again be higher in 2013.”

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Real Estate Report: 2012 sales up, but median price falls

January 31, 2013 By

2012 was the year real estate demand increased in the High Country but prices were held down, according to the year-end report by the High Country Association of Realtors.

Median sold price in 2012Buyers’ market conditions resulted in sales hitting a four-year high. Yet the median sold price fell, matching the lowest such price since the national housing market crashed in 2008.

“We are happy to report that we saw some recovery in the 2012 market,” said Laurie Phillips, executive officer of High Country Association of Realtors. “We have already started to experience an increase in buyer’s interest in January. We hope this trend will continue through this New Year.”

For the year, there were 1,255 realtor-assisted sales, a 23 percent increase over sales in 2011 (when Ashe County joined the MLS), and a 33 percent increase over 2010.

Total sales value was at a four-year high, hitting $312.5 million. That broke a string of three consecutive years of sub-$270 million sales, and represented a 31 percent increase over 2010, when the local market bottomed out.

year total salesYet while sales were up, 2012 saw the median sold price drop 5.7 percent, matching the median price from 2010 – $200,000. It was $212,000 in 2011.

So while more property was sold, buyers were paying less per square foot than they did last year.

Put in historical terms, in 2007, the year prior to the housing collapse, there were 1,825 homes sold worth $560.8 million at a median price of $230,000.

The MLS year-end stats are similar to those of the Erik Lanier’s READReports, which covers all real estate sales in Watauga County including Realtor assisted and private sellers. It recorded total sales in the county at $281.76 million, a 5 percent increase from 2011.

Yet the median price of those properties sold was $160,000, a 9 percent decrease from 2011. The median price for homes, condos and townhomes was also down, 3.5 percent, to $220,000.

The National Association of Realtors has yet to release a year-end report, but based on the first 11 months of 2012 the year should be a record year for housing affordability conditions.

“Although 2012 was highest on record, the excessively tight underwriting precluded many would-be homebuyers from locking-in generational low interest rates,” said Lawrence Yun , NAR chief economist. “Rising home prices and a gradual uptrend in mortgage interest rates will offset improvements in family income, but 2013 likely will be the third best on record in terms of household buying power.

“A window of opportunity remains open for buyers who can qualify for a mortgage.”

While the High Country real estate market has yet to see prices recover, the national market is on a strong uptrend. The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $180,600 in November, up 10.1 percent from November 2011. This is the ninth consecutive monthly year-over-year price gain, which last occurred from September 2005 to May 2006.

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Real Estate Report: Sales decrease as winter season begins

December 17, 2012 By

Median sale price from Nov 2011 to Nov 2012High Country realtor sales declined sharply in November but the median sale price hit a four-month high, according to the latest Real Estate Report by the High Country Association of Realtors.

Yet buyer’s market conditions continue. Overall more listings have sold so far this year (1,142) than all of 2011 (1,017). But the median sale price has fallen 6 percent, from $212,000 in 2011 to $199,506 through November this year.

The median sale price last month was $204,500, the highest it’s been since July but only slightly higher than the median price a year ago in November 2011 ($202,500).

There were 84 realtor-assisted sales last month, as tracked by the High County Multiple Listing Service. That’s a 28 percent decline from October, but only 21 percent less than the monthly average for the year (106).

Total sales were also down, to $20.1 million. That’s the lowest sales value since February.

“Sales usually slow down in the winter,” said Laurie Phillips, executive officer of High Country Association of Realtors. “But with the unseasonable weather and the large inventory we are optimistic that the current trend in the market will continue throughout the winter season.

Of the 84 listings sold, 36 were purchased with cash. That continues a trend seen throughout the year, in which roughly 42 percent of all purchases were with cash.

“The trend is going toward more cash buyers,” said Erik Lanier of the READ Report, which covers all real estate sales in Watauga County including realtor assisted and private sellers.

There were only 177 new listings added last month to the High Country market, which includes Watauga, Ashe and Avery counties. That’s the fewest added in any one month this year, but typical for November. Since 2009, an average of only 181 listings have been added that month.

Nationally, sales figures from October mirror results in the High Country. That month there were 116 local listings sold worth $33.2 million, the best October since 2008. The median price was $196,650.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), October was a strong month nationally. The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $178,600, an 11.1 percent increase from a year ago, and the eighth consecutive monthly year-over-year increase. That’s the longest such streak since October 2005 to May 2006.

Pending homes sales were also up in October. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said buyers are responding to favorable market conditions.

“We’ve had very good housing affordability conditions for quite some time,” he said. “But we’re seeing more impact now from steady job creation, and rising consumer confidence about home buying now that home prices have clearly turned positive.”

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Real Estate Report: 2012 already busiest year for sales since 2008

November 15, 2012 By

Annual real estate sales comparison
2012 is officially the busiest year in local real estate since 2008, with sales through October eclipsing the annual totals for each the past three years.

The demand has been driven in large part by buyers’ market conditions, as well as historically low interest rates, cash buyers and a strong inventory of property in Ashe, Avery and Watauga counties.

“All real estate is local,” said Laurie Phillips, executive officer of High Country Association of Realtors. “We don’t always follow the national trend. Our marker has been improving and our hope is that this continues.”

There have been 1,056 properties sold this year, according to the High Country Multiple Listing Service overseen by the High Country Association of Realtors. That surpasses sales in all of 2011 (1,015), 2010 (938) and 2009 (1,033).

There were 1,284 local properties sold in 2008, the year the national real estate market collapsed. October’s sales figures continued trends not seen locally since then.

There were 115 realtor-assisted sales worth $32.62 million last month, the sixth consecutive month of more than 100 listings sold. That’s the longest such streak since seven months of 100-plus sales from April to October 2008.

It was also the fourth month this year – and third month in the last four – in which total sales surpassed $30 million. There was only one such month last year, and three months total from January 2009 through December 2011.

The median price of a listing sold was $195,000, which signified buyer’s market conditions. That’s defined as strong demand for local real estate, but a large inventory of properties from which prospective buyers can chose. As that inventory shrinks, prices should begin to increase.

There were 241 new listings added to the market last month, and just 227 added in September. In contrast, an average of 382 listings was added each month from March through August of this year.

“The current trend in the market along with the low interest rates indicates that we will experience some increase in momentum for home purchases again next year,” said Phillips.

Another trend supporting realtor optimism is the number of home buyers paying in cash. According to the National Association of Realtors, a decade ago all-cash home purchases were less than 10 percent of the market. But that has increased steadily since 2008, to as much as 30 percent of national sales.

The High Country reflects that dynamic.

In 2009, 34 percent of properties sold were purchased with cash. That increased to 40 percent in 2010, and 41 percent in 2011. So far in 2012, that number stands at 42 percent.

“Research shows a bias toward cash sales for newer and lower priced homes,” said Dr. Grant Ian Thrall, president of the American Real Estate Society. “Many of those sales are occurring within the first 60 days that the home is on the market, and more than half sold within the first 120 days.”

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Real Estate Report: 2012 on pace to be best sales year since 2008

October 17, 2012 By

September 2012 Real Estate Report: Average sales per month since 2008

The High Country real estate market is on pace for its best sales year since 2008, with September the second busiest month for sales in three years.

There were 126 realtor-assisted sales in September, according to the High Country Multiple Listing Service (MLS). That’s the second highest sales mark for the year, behind the 141 sold in October.

Going back even further, it was the fifth busiest month in local sales since January 2008.
Combined August-September sales (267) were the best two-month period since August-September 2009 (272).

“Apparently our fall visitors are looking at more than the pretty leaf colors,” said Laurie Phillips, executive officer of High Country Association of Realtors. “It’s more positive news for our local real estate market.”

September has traditionally been one of the best sales months in the High County. Since 2008, an average of 118 listings have sold during September, the most of any month.

Last year there were 122 realtor-assisted sales in September, then a two-year high. That mark has been matched or surpassed the last three months.

For the year so far, 935 listings have been sold. That averages out to 104 a month. Prior to 2012, there had been only seven months of plus-100 sales since November 2009.

For another contrast, there were 1,015 sales in all of 2011, 938 in 2010, and 1,033 in 2009. All three of those numbers could be surpassed next month.

“Price appreciation is an important driver of our second home market when buyers and sellers see an upward trend our local Realtors can expect more activity,” said Phillips.

Total sales in September were worth $29.85 million, the first time in three months sales didn’t break $30 million. Buyers’ market conditions continue, with the median sold price $236,936. That’s reflected with almost as many buyers paying in cash (53) than with a conventional loan (60) last month.

There were 227 new listings added in September, the fewest new additions since just 188 were added in January.

While the High Country led the national trend in increased sales, it has yet to ride the wave of overall rising prices. That should be changing, according to some analysts.

The Commerce Department reported recently U.S. home sales are at a two-year high. Record-low borrowing, higher demand for homebuilders and a drop in the supply of foreclosed homes is easing downward pressure on prices.

“Builders are a little more optimistic about future sales and buyer traffic and the mortgage environment is favorable,” said Anika Khan, an economist in Charlotte at Wells Fargo Securities LLC, a unit of the largest U.S. mortgage lender. “New-home sales will continue to improve over the next few months and in the coming year.”

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