When it comes to quintessential mountain living, most people think of beautiful views.  Of course, to get those views, you usually need to gain elevation, which often involves negotiating a steep driveway or gravel road.  But that's not always the case.  Laurel Ridge, a neighborhood just north of Black Mountain, is home to some of the most incredible mountain views in Western North Carolina, and you may be surprised how easy they can be to access.

39 Great Aspen Way

This home in Laurel Ridge offers many of the features that vacation home buyers desire - great year-round views, a fireplace, and easy access to town.  In this case, we are talking about downtown Black Mountain, which features a wide variety of restaurants, shops, and galleries.  For folks looking to retire, other requirements usually include one-level living (including the master suite on the main level), a garage, and easy entry to the house (few steps).

This home is unique in that it has a very flat driveway (and the road to the house has a gentle grade), as well as a 3-car garage, which is a bit of rarity in the Asheville area for a home with a view.  Above the garage is 700 square feet of unfinished (studs in place) apartment space and another deck.

Inside, the wood flooring and beadboard ceilings give the home a very "mountain home" feel.  And what mountain home would be complete without an expansive deck to take in the view!

To view more available homes in the Laurel Ridge community, click here.

Despite the downturn in real estate markets across the nation, Greybeard Realty experienced growth in 2008. Our market share within the Asheville Board of Realtors has increased, as our firm climbed from 19th overall to 11th. In 2008, we represented buyers or sellers in 49 home sales transactions. By comparison, we represented clients in 50 [...]

With buyers focusing more and more on energy-efficient home designs, modular home construction has become increasingly popular in the Black Mountain and Asheville area.

Modular constructions provides other advantages, including a more environmentally-friendly building process that helps minimizes construction waste.

Some modular companies [...]

Laurel Ridge has a Black Mountain fire substation that acts as first responders for the North Fork Valley area.  This area includes the Asheville Water Shed, Grove Stone Quarry, the residents who live in the area, as well as the north side of Montreat.  Laurel Ridge has nine volunteers that respond to the first alert and 911 calls, which means that in case of an emergency, a Laurel Ridge neighbor will be showing up at your home first.  Our community also has it's own water supply, with four 40,000 gallon water towers and many hydrants through the nine miles of roads.

Above the fire station we have a new community room called "The Lodge."  This is where we have the new First Friday community potlucks, the annual "Gathering" in October, and holiday parties.  This facility can also be rented out by Laurel Ridge residents for family functions. 

Under the leadership of our new POA President, Lyons Williams, the residents have instituted an emergency response team that is putting together plans for natural emergencies and interruption of food supply and utilities.  This is just one of the twelve committees of volunteers who work to make Laurel Ridge such a well-running community.

-Sharon Came (Greybeard Realty agent and Laurel Ridge resident)

I've been concerned with the best way to convey the current real estate market in Black Mountain. A preliminary look at the numbers comparing sales volume and units sold in 2008 to 2007 shows a very steep decline in both categories. Sales volume and units sold were down 38% and 41% respectively. At the same time, average and median prices [...]

The New York Times did a nice article on Black Mountain and the area in the summer of 2007.  We thought it might be of interest to share with you again. We have had several clients that identified the article as reason for their visit to our area.

For the first time, looking at the latest real estate numbers provided by Multiple Listing Service (MLS) it is possible to see the national downturn in the market creeping into our [...]

Congratulations are in order for Charlies Sparks and Black Mountain Bungalow Company!  Charlie is a local builder and a Greybeard Realty client.  The "Chips Bungalow," located in Black Mountain's Village of Cheshire, has been named "Home of the Month" by The News and Observer.  Click here for the article.

Any time I start tracking land sales, I get sidetracked by all the variables in each sale.  For example, a remote, steep 20 acre tract of land in the outreaches of Black Mountain can sell for much less than a ¼ acre tract within the Black Mountain city limits.  The mix of size and location of property sales makes it very difficult to [...]

I thought it would be interesting to study this year's ending numbers as I did last year's, if only to confirm my feeling that the Black Mountain housing market continues to do well, bucking the national downward trend.  What I found in my analysis was surprising from two [...]