Each year it seems Labor Day truly invites Fall in the mountains. The air is dry and clear, the sun is bright and warm but a bit lower in the sky, and the nights are definitely cooler. I hate to see summer leave us so quickly. But Fall is beautiful and brings tourists to see the color … leaves peak the third week of October.
Cathey on top of the world at Mtn. Mitchell.
- Our Appalachians … oldest mountains in the world! 250M years ago as high as the Himalayas.
Real estate sales still lag … like the rest of the country, but seem to be picking up a bit. From June 1 – Sept. 1, 2009, 181 homes, $250K – $500K have sold in Buncombe County (Asheville) with 446 new listings in the same time period. Twenty-nine homes have sold in the $500K – $750K range with 99 new listings since June 1.
In the $750K – $1M, 15 homes have closed with 173 new active listings, while only 2 in the $1M-$1.5M have sold. There are 24 new listings in that price range. Nothing over $2M has sold since June 1, but there are 11 new active listings over $2M. I am happy to supply information about specific neighborhoods for anyone interested.
Many sellers in the upper end have reduced prices up to 30%. And those homes that have sold are still selling around 95% of list price. But money remains tight and those buyers coming from other areas … as well as locals … are usually faced with selling in order to buy. And even with excellent credit and sufficient assets, folks are jumping through hoops to secure loans.
So Realtors have time on their hands these days to enjoy the beautiful Asheville area. We were visited this Labor Day weekend by our daughter and husband who live in Houston. When they come to town, there’s a flurry of activities. Saturday was a glorious day so we decided to hike Mount Mitchell, in the Black Mountains of the Appalachians … the highest peak east of the Mississippi. We climbed a strenuous trail to 6500’ above sea level. Thank goodness for my aerobic step class and a little weight training. If you need some ideas about where to hike when you visit Asheville, a great resource is Hiking the Carolina Mountains by Danny Bernstein who lives in Asheville.
Sunday we played 18 holes of golf at the Biltmore Forest Country Club and I actually parred one hole and managed to keep my score fairly decent on the other 17. I have played several wonderful golf courses over the years in the area and happy to give you golfers some hints.
Son-in-law, George, in the rough but ended up a great shot!
Hope to meet you in Asheville …
Cathey
