Fall in Love with The NC High Country

(Mountain towns and villages of Blowing Rock, Boone, Sugar Mountain, Banner Elk, Valle Crucis, Linville, West Jefferson and more)

The North Carolina mountains offer one of the most spectacular displays of Fall color in North America. Thousands of visitors flock to the High Country to witness the beautiful reds and yellows of our deciduous trees. The Blue Ridge Mountains offer one of the most colorful and longest running fall leaf seasons in the world.

Real Estate Report

After the huge 25% jump in sales in 2016, 2017 is holding strong with slower SUSTAINABLE growth.

NC High Country Results:

• Total Sales Volume: Up 6.6% ($237,494,000)
• 1,111 Homes Sold (Single Family Homes & Condos)

The High Country is primarily a second home and resort market, and behaves very differently from nearby cities like Charlotte, Greensboro or Raleigh.

BUYERS: Home buyers searching in this area are usually surprised to find a good inventory with homes on the market for an average of six months. This is how our market looks when it is healthy, and how other resort markets behave. As in any market, well-priced homes with desirable features will sell much faster.

SUMMER SALES: While the market is up overall, the past three months have shown some easing in sales compared to last year in the traditional strength markets of Blowing Rock and Boone, with other 'pure second home' areas such as Foscoe and Valle Crucis showing higher levels of growth.

CONDOS: Condo sales continue to outpace the market, now at 23.1% of total residential units sold. Many buyers are preferring the lower maintenance, especially buyers from areas that get hit by hurricanes. Additionally, the student condo market in Boone continues to be robust.

LUXURY HOMES: This segment of the market continues to show good growth. Year to date there have been 18 sales of homes $1M+, versus 11 at this time last year. There is a very large inventory of homes in the $1M+ range, which is great for buyers. For sellers, the challenge is to price homes competitively, even if that means pricing at a 'loss'. See section below.

SELLING 'SEASON': The traditional 'season' for the NC High Country is changing. Traditionally this was a May through October market. However, with slightly warmer winters and activities bringing people to this area year round, we are seeing strong activity all the way until the end of the year. In fact, the most popular weeks for visitors to this area are Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Want to know more? Contact us at [email protected], or take a look at homes for sale in this area by clicking below.

For Sellers

We have a unique market where homes compete with inventory and stay on the market for 6 months or more.

From a seller's standpoint, pricing right from the beginning is key to having your home considered by increasingly savvy buyers.

And of course, having a compelling listing with excellent photography showing off all attributes of the home is very important.

The biggest complaint I continue to hear is that the photography either prevented them from seriously considering the home or that the listing did not adequately 'describe' the home.

If you are considering selling your home or know someone in the area who is, please refer them to the Leslie Eason Real Estate Team. We get results! For an instant market valuation of your home CLICK HERE.

Bring Your Four Legged Friends to the High Country

The High Country is a wonderful place for your pets, too. We have many activities and businesses that are pet friendly.

Explore one of our many trails of varying difficulty such as Elk Knob State Park, Grandfather Mountain State Park, the Linville Gorge Trail System, Julian Price Lake, and the Moses Cone Estate just to name a few pet friendly trails. Or stay in town and visit the Boone or Banner Elk Greenways. The Boone Greenway is also fully paved and wheelchair accessible. Atop Beech Mountain, visit the Bark Park, on the top of the mountain. With two play areas, an obstacle course, and watering stations, it is a great place to exercise and socialize your pet.

There are also a plethora of pet friendly restaurants that will allow you to bring a pet to enjoy their outdoor eating areas. Grab a beer at Lost Province Brewing, enjoy a mahi salad at Banner Elk Cafe, or check out Bistro Roca in Blowing Rock, which even has pictures of dogs covering the walls. These are just a few options, visit Bring Fido for a list of other restaurants in the area.

CALENDAR: High Country FALL Festivals

Brushy Mountain Apple Festival - October 7

The Brushy Mountain Apple Festival is one of the largest arts and crafts festivals in the southeast. The streets of downtown North Wilkesboro, NC are filled with over 425 arts and crafts, 100 food concessions, 4 different music stages consisting of Blue Grass, Country, Folk, Gospel, and Appalachian Heritage. Cloggers, folk dancers, rope skippers, and square dancers provide additional entertainment venues for festival goers. Appalachian Heritage crafts are highlighted such as woodcarving, chair making, soap making, pottery throwing, and quilting.

Boone Heritage Festival - October 8

Celebrating Appalachian heritage with 18th century living history demonstrations, craft vendors, music jam sessions, children's activities, live music and storytelling, The Southern Appalachian Historical Association and the town of Boone will present the Boone Heritage Festival the second Sunday in October. The festival will be held outdoors in the beautiful wooded setting of the Hickory Ridge Living History Museum. The Boone Heritage Festival includes musical performances, storytellers, historical demonstrations from the colonial/Revolutionary time period, vendors, regional crafts, children's activities, food, and a raffle.

Oktoberfest at Sugar Mountain - October 14-15

Grab your beer stein, put on your lederhosen or dirndl, and head to Sugar Mountain for their annual Oktoberfest. Local artisans and craftsmen will show their wares, a variety of items from food to ironworks are available for purchase. Enter the Bavarian Costume Contest, or enjoy the Harbour Towne Fest Band, an authentic Oom Pah Band. Bring the whole family and enjoy a scenic lift ride when the fall colors are peaking on the mountain.

Valle Country Fair - October 21

What has grown into the largest church Bazaar in the area, the Valle Country Fair offers lots of distractions for every member of the family. There is an activity area where folks can play games, carve pumpkins and busy their hands with arts and crafts. Other diversions include visiting with live alpacas, face painting and laughing at the absurd yarns spun by old-time mountain storytellers. Enjoy food, purchase hand-made crafts, and listen to entertainment on one of the two stages set up for performances.

Woolly Worm Festival - October 21 & 22

Race your woolly worm to help predict the winter forecast according to the worm's stripes. The Woolly Worm Festival in Banner Elk is held the third weekend of October. Since 1978, the residents of this village at the foot of Beech Mountain have celebrated the coming of the snow season with the Woolly Worm Festival. They determine which one worm (out of 2,000!) will have the honor of predicting the severity of the coming winter, and they make that worm earn the honor by winning heat after heat of hard-fought races up a three-foot length of string. You can bring your own worm to race, or purchase one when you get there.