Beverly-Hanks & Associates REALTORS® Asheville Real Estate | Hendersonville Real Estate | Waynesville Real Estate | Lake Lure Real Estate | Brevard Real Estate

Having moved from the sea to the mountains of Western North Carolina, I thought I would share some of the those reasons why Waynesville and the area mean so much to me. 

Waynesville, NC offers a small town atmosphere along with all of the larger city amenities. The mountain views, pure stream, cool summer weather, and friendly people make Waynesville one of the few pristine places in the Southeast. Walking and hiking trails abound. Even the recreation department has a walking trail that meanders along the side of a rushing stream.

The farmers’ market sells fresh vegetables, fruits, and flowers in season. Waynesville, NC also has several festivals throughout the year with exciting entertainment on Main Street. Christmas in Waynesville is magical with caroling and hot cider served to all that shop on Main Street.

Waynesville and the surrounding area offers a large variety of homes sure to please everyone. Whether you are looking for small homes or large tracks of land, log homes, or custom built houses-Waynesville real estate is worth visiting. 

So, if you are thinking of relocating or investing in a second home, take time to explore Waynesville homes for sale. You will be overwhelmed by this friendly place and its people. See you soon!

Beverly-Hanks & Associates attended the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World International conference held last week in Las Vegas, NV.  The attendees represented 100 of the nation’s top 500 companies (as designated by “Real Trends”).  

Leading RE teamed up with RESPRO, the Real Estate Service Providers Council, for affiliated businesses to hold back-to-back conferences.

The conference featured a diverse list of speakers including Guy Kawasaki of Apple Computer; FHA Commissioner Dave Steves and Ron Peltier of HomeServices of America. 

Both Neal Hanks, Jr., the President of Beverly-Hanks & Associates and Larry Zapf, Relocation Director, attended the conference. Larry Zapf is a member of the Network’s Broker Member Advisory Council and was a conference presenter.  His topic addressed the complexities of Short Sales, how Beverly-Hanks & Associates is educating its agents on the process, and offering an assistance program to the home owners we represent who are addressing a potential short sale on their own homes. 

Beverly-Hanks & Associates was honored once again at the conference for their outstanding performance in identifying, generating and closing outgoing referrals to other agencies through the United States.  In fact, Beverly-Hanks also successfully referred a buyer to Panama who purchased a property there, making us truly an international real estate agency. 

To be fortunate enough to have been recognized consistently speaks volumes to the caliber of our sales associates and the efforts of our Relocation Team. The public relations value of this recognition with our peers is tremendous and positions Beverly-Hanks as the “go-to company” in Western North Carolina. We are all proud of the fact that Beverly-Hanks & Associates is recognized nationally as one of the premier real estate firms in the country.

Overview of Active Inventory Trends

To be able to establish market trends you must first establish a base period and then monitor the number as you go forward in the months and years. For purposes of this analysis, the based year will be 2008.

How does 2009 and 2010 compare to 2008?  Beverly-Hanks & Associates services several counties in Western North Carolina Real Estate however; this brief analysis will only apply to the counties of Buncombe, Haywood and Henderson.

Reviewing the first two months of 2010 as compared to the same period in 2009 and 2008, we find in Buncombe County, the active inventory of homes, condos, townhomes has decreased in 2010 approximately 7% since 2008 and only 3% decrease since 2009. The number of months inventory based on the average number of solds each month during the first two months has changed dramatically. In 2008, there were 15.7 months of inventory on the market. It then jumped to 26.4 months or a 68% increase in one year. The good news is that this number has decreased 6% in 2010 to just over 2 years of inventory.

Haywood County has also seen some changes in the active inventory from 1037 in 2008 to 1019 in 2009, a slight decrease however inventory levels have increased 4% in 2010 to 1059 properties available for sale. Haywood’s months of inventory based on closed sales has increased from 24.1 months in 2008 to 29.5 months in 2009. 2010 finds the month’s inventory has jumped 33% over to 39 months.

Finally, in Henderson County, the active inventory was 1502 in 2008, 1562 in 2009 and 1540 in 2010 for only a 1% drop since last year. The months of inventory available has increased from only 14.9 months in 2008 to 28.7 months in 2009 to 29.9 months in 2010.

Bottom line is this, the Western North Carolina Real Estate market continues to see moderate improvements in active inventory over 2009 here in 2010 but the real challenge is the months of active inventory available to home buyers remains at least over 2 years in Buncombe County and Henderson County while Haywood has over 3 years of inventory.

With historically low interest rates, homebuyer tax credit deadline approaching, and a great inventory of homes for sale there has never been a better time to purchase WNC Real Estate.  Let’s get started.

Submitted by: Judd Richardson, Managing Broker

Hendersonville Office

Beverly-Hanks and Associates, proudly endorses Asheville’s Google Fiber initiative. You can learn more about our community efforts by visiting http://googleavl.com

Here are a few links to get you started:

1. How to nominate Asheville in 3 simple steps http://googleavl.com/how-to-help-in-3-easy-steps/
2. 5 Ways you can help bring Google’s Fiber Optic Network to Asheville http://googleavl.com/2010/03/22/5-ways-you-can-help-bring-googles-fiber-optic-network-to-asheville/
3. Join GoogleAVL on Facebook  http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=302144763214
4. Follow the efforts on Twitter http://twitter.com/googleavl
5. Upload videos to Youtube http://www.youtube.com/group/googleavl
6. Add a Badge to show your support http://googleavl.com/asheville-google-fiber-website-badge/

You can also follow the latest news on http://googleavl.com

A big thanks to everyone involved in the efforts.  We will work on a few videos of our own and add a badge to our blog to show our full support.  Thank you Asheville.

Beverly-Hanks and Associates, Realtors
http://beverly-hanks.com

(Asheville, NC) On Thursday, March 25th, the Andrew Institute along with Keller Williams Realty is honored to bring to Asheville the internationally respected leadership expert, speaker, and author John Maxwell to benefit the work of the Eblen Charities and the Eblen Center for Social Enterprise. The program will be held at Biltmore Baptist Church in south Asheville with doors opening at 6:00 PM with the program beginning at 7:00 PM.

Dr. Maxwell is the founder of EQUIP, a non-profit organization that has trained more than 5 million leaders in 126 countries worldwide. Each year he speaks to the leaders of diverse organizations, such as Fortune 500 companies, foreign governments, the NFL, and the United Nations. A New York Times best selling author, Dr. Maxwell books have sold 18 million copies.

“It seems everyone is talking about leadership during these difficult times. No matter who we are, we all see the importance that leadership has in our lives. Whether in the field of business, education, government, or public service, we are acutely aware that there is no replacement for strong leadership and being able to connect with those we work with to move forward in these troubled times,” states Neal Hanks, president of Beverly-Hanks & Associates and board member of the Eblen Charities, “John Maxwell is the leading author and speaker on leadership in the world and to have him here in Asheville especially in a venue such as Biltmore Baptist Church is a rare opportunity for our community. And to know that the proceeds from this great event goes to assist families in times of need in our community through the Eblen Charities makes this all the more important.”

Founded by respected businessman and community leader Dewey Andrew, the Andrew Institute for Leadership and Public Service offers to the public and private sector a like to access to the top business and thought leaders as well as best selling authors. The Andrew Institute for Leadership and Public Service brings to western North Carolina corporate training and motivational leadership that has been seen across the world. In a unique partnership, the Andrew Institute not only benefits those seeking business training and leadership development but also serves to benefit those that Eblen Charities serves through direct assistance programs.

Corporate Sponsors for Maxwell on Leadership event are Keller-Williams Realty, Dewey Andrew, Joe Eblen, Northwestern Mutual, Dixon-Hughes, Beverly-Hanks and Associates, Rick and Denise Guthy, First Citizens Bank, Tri-Meck Mechanical, Michele Swicegood, Clear Channel Radio, WLOS-TV,, Park Ridge Hospital, Sheila Pelle, Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, Buncombe County Schools, Applied Solutions, Asheville Radio Group, Biltmore Baptist Church, The Biltmore Company, and Frankie Bones.

Individual tickets for the evening presentation are $50 each and are available by visiting www.maxwellavl.com and entering the discount code Andrewinst. For more on Dr. Maxwell, please visit his website at www.johnmaxwell.com

For more information on the Andrew Institute for Leadership and Public Service and the Maxwell on Leadership event, please contact Bill Murdock at the Eblen Charities at 828-242-2848 or via email at eblenfound@aol.com

Well it would seem the word on Asheville is growing (but that’s not surprising to those of us who live here, nor the lucky folks who have getaway homes here or visit regularly). 

The editors of Livability.com have selected five of the most livable cities in the U.S. based on the cost of living, available jobs, quality of life, etc.  Knowing that we live in a very mobile society these days, they are giving entrants the chance to win a VIP trip to visit one of these cities through a sweepstakes they have launched on their website.

Winner’s will be the guest of the Chamber of Commerce and treated to meals, tours, etc., and maybe even looking at homes to buy! 

Aside from Asheville NC, the other four cities in the Relocate to a Better Life sweepstakes are Albuquerque, NM; Eugene, OR; Nashville TN; and Pueblo CO. 

To find out more and vote Asheville the most livable city click here. 

But if you ask me, Asheville’s the winner HANDS DOWN!

 Asheville ranks number 9 in list of 10 Best Places for Second Homes.  At long last, the market for luxury real estate in Asheville is coming back to life.

From the Article on Barrons.com

9. Asheville, N.C. Nestled in the mountains of North Carolina, Asheville offers a four-seasons lifestyle with just enough culture and good restaurants to keep urban-withdrawal pangs at bay. Some homebuyers come from the Northeast, and many come from Florida to beat the heat. The locals call them “halfbacks,” since Asheville is halfway up the East Coast. The town has a university and a thriving art scene. We like the 1920s-vintage Tudor homes in the Biltmore Forest district, once part of the adjacent Biltmore Estate. The funky Grove Park neighborhood is also worth a look.

Median Price: $700,000
Drop From Peak : 38%
Neighbor : Andie McDowell

Read the Full Luxury Real Estate Article on Barrons.com

From WCNC

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Tiger Woods’ first U.S. golf course is under construction near Asheville.

The owners of the first home in the community just closed on the house. The couple from Charlotte gave NewsChannel 36 an exclusive tour of the house.

“You’ve got a panoramic view of western North Carolina,” said Kathy Levy, describing the spectacular view outside her new home.

A Charlotte-based retired doctor, Levy and her husband are the first official homeowners at The Cliffs at High Carolina.

“Look around you. The piece of property is spectacular,” said developer Jim Anthony. “This is an incredible piece of land.”

Property prices range from several hundred thousand to $3 million before the house is even built. The views go for 50 miles because the elevation is up to 4,000 feet.

Woods has already claimed his mountain top.

“Tiger’s picked out his home site up on the ridge there,” Anthony said as he pointed out where the golfer plans to build.

At the 2007 grand opening, Woods told prospective buyers about plans to play in the North Carolina mountains.

Read The Full Article on WCNC

A recent article on MarketWatch.com discusses the 100 best places to retire list, and highlights Asheville as the #1 destination. In fact, Asheville has topped the list since 2007.

Asheville is a long-time favorite, said Brady. Part of its ongoing appeal is its climate (it’s mild year round); its location (it’s in the Blue Ridge Mountains; there’s water everywhere for fishing and boating, and its downtown is walkable and dynamic); its housing stock (there’s a wide range of upscale housing opportunities for seniors). What’s not so special is that Asheville gets crowded in the summer and over-development is coming.

Read the entire article here