Mountain Life Realty at Keller Williams High Country

Mountain Life Realty at Keller Williams High Country The Mountains Are Calling…Are You Listening? NC License 308007 / 308927

09/16/2026

Mountain homes are full of character, and a lot of that character got added over the years: the basement somebody finished into a guest suite, the bedroom above the garage, the bunk room in the loft that's been called a bedroom for 15 years. 🏠

If that finished space was never permitted and doesn't show up in county records, an appraiser may not be able to give you full credit for it. You price the house on 2,400 square feet, it appraises at 1,900, and that gap is real money coming out of your pocket.

That extra bedroom can also run past what your septic permit was approved for, so one project can leave you with a bedroom count problem, an appraisal problem, and a disclosure problem at the same time.

Watch the full video: https://youtu.be/oqCrzTSCYlo

Terri Boyer | Mountain Life Realty | Keller Williams High Country
Call or text: (828) 719-9483
Email: [email protected]
Book a call: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeA-QwM4ruZp1aeH0OOjoYEP5ERuZVtEaM1W3Pxc9FpinfP3g/viewform?usp=header

Does your home have any finished space that was added along the way?

09/15/2026

If you're on a private well, and a lot of us out here are, your water is going to get tested when you sell. If your buyer is using an FHA, VA, or USDA loan, you can definitely count on it. 💧

Mountain water has its own personality. A lot of our wells run soft and some run low on pH, and low pH water is corrosive enough to eat at copper plumbing and pull copper and lead into your water right out of your own pipes. It's something we do see up here.

The state recommends testing an existing well for bacteria every year, and for heavy metals, nitrates, lead, and copper every couple of years.

Watch the full video: https://youtu.be/oqCrzTSCYlo

Terri Boyer | Mountain Life Realty | Keller Williams High Country
Call or text: (828) 719-9483
Email: [email protected]
Book a call: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeA-QwM4ruZp1aeH0OOjoYEP5ERuZVtEaM1W3Pxc9FpinfP3g/viewform?usp=header

When was the last time your well was tested?

09/14/2026

Plenty of homes up here sit on a steep gravel driveway off a road shared with three or four neighbors, where everybody agreed on a handshake to chip in when it needs grading. When it comes time to sell, that handshake can sometimes kill the deal. 🏔️

Every major loan program has an access standard called an "all-weather surface," which means a regular passenger car, and more importantly an emergency vehicle, can reach your house year-round. A conventional buyer raises the bar again, because Fannie Mae generally requires a recorded road maintenance agreement that spells out who pays for what and carries forward to future owners.

Watch the full video: https://youtu.be/oqCrzTSCYlo

Terri Boyer | Mountain Life Realty | Keller Williams High Country
Call or text: (828) 719-9483
Email: [email protected]
Book a call: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeA-QwM4ruZp1aeH0OOjoYEP5ERuZVtEaM1W3Pxc9FpinfP3g/viewform?usp=header

Is the agreement on your road written down and recorded, or is it still a handshake?

09/12/2026

If your home is out in the county, there's a good chance it runs on a septic system, and that system comes with a piece of paperwork most sellers have never seen. Somewhere in your county health department's records is a permit that says exactly how many bedrooms your system was approved for. 🏡

Here in Watauga and Ashe Counties that record lives with AppHealthCare, and over in Avery it's with the Toe River Health Department. You can search the permit database by name, tax ID, or address, and for an older system you may need the year it went in and the name it was installed under.

Every so often the county can't locate a permit at all, and that's worth knowing about well before you list.

Watch the full video: https://youtu.be/oqCrzTSCYlo

Terri Boyer | Mountain Life Realty | Keller Williams High Country
Call or text: (828) 719-9483
Email: [email protected]
Book a call: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeA-QwM4ruZp1aeH0OOjoYEP5ERuZVtEaM1W3Pxc9FpinfP3g/viewform?usp=header

Have you ever looked up the septic permit on your own home?

09/09/2026

Average sold price per square foot came in at $371 in August, a slight increase over July. That small move is more interesting than it looks, because 2026 has been genuinely volatile on this number.

Here is the year so far. January ran around $330 and February dropped to about $307. March and April climbed hard, reaching $480 and $515. Then it came back down through May at $389, June at $363, and July at $348.

August at $371 interrupted several straight months of decline. I want to be measured about what that means, because one month up does not make a trend. What it does suggest is that pricing may be finding a floor and starting to stabilize.

Full August update: https://youtu.be/WvcHjgTDizE

If you want to know what price per square foot looks like in your specific town or neighborhood, call or text me at (828) 719-9483.

09/08/2026

Here is the number everybody asks me about, and the reason it deserves a second look.

The average sale price in the High Country rose about 4% in August, landing near $774,000. In the same month, the median sale price was down roughly 4% compared to this time last year.

Those two numbers pointing in opposite directions is telling us something real. The mix of homes selling has a heavy influence on the average, and we are still seeing strong activity at the higher end of the market. Strength at the top does not mean every property is appreciating at the same pace.

So if you own a home here, I would be cautious about looking at $774,000 and assuming that is what yours is worth. And if you are buying, I would be equally cautious about assuming prices are coming down across the board. This market is very property specific right now.

Full August update: https://youtu.be/WvcHjgTDizE

Want a real number for your actual house? Call or text me at (828) 719-9483.

09/07/2026

We averaged about 173 homes sold in the High Country in August, which is down roughly 11% from July. Compared to last year, closings are down about 7%.

I want to be careful about how that gets read, because slower closings do not mean buyers left the market. What I am seeing is buyers being far more selective. They are taking their time and looking much more closely at condition, location, pricing, and the overall value of the home.

That matters more here than almost anywhere else. Two mountain homes can look nearly identical on paper and carry dramatically different values once you account for views, access, elevation, rental potential, road conditions, and how close you actually are to the things you want to be near.

Full August update: https://youtu.be/WvcHjgTDizE

If you are trying to figure out where a specific property lands on that list, call or text me at (828) 719-9483.

09/06/2026

Inventory in the High Country told two different stories in August, and both of them matter if you are shopping right now.

New listings coming onto the market were down about 3% compared to July, which at first glance sounds like things are tightening up. Then you look at the year over year picture and median active inventory is running roughly 7% higher than it was this time last year.

For buyers that gap is the whole story. The hardest part of buying here for the past several years was finding the right property before someone else got to it. There is more breathing room now to compare properties, take a little more time, and in some cases ask for more at the negotiating table.

Watch the full August market update here: https://youtu.be/WvcHjgTDizE

If you want to know what inventory looks like in one specific town, call or text me at (828) 719-9483 and I will pull the numbers for you.

08/19/2026

Here is something worth understanding before you move to Boone: mountain living changes the way you think about distance. 🚗

Boone sits off the major interstates, the roads wind through the hills, and what looks like a short hop on the map tends to take longer than you expect. We like to say that mountain miles are not city miles. Your nearest larger airports are a drive, roughly a couple of hours to Charlotte, with options like Tri-Cities Airport in Tennessee as a shorter run.

Day to day, Boone has what you need, with groceries, healthcare, shopping, and the university all close by, so you are living comfortably. Just factor in that drive if your week depends on catching a flight.

Would that slower pace feel like a trade you would happily make? Tell me below. 💙

08/18/2026

If you are picturing small mountain town prices in Boone, I want to prepare you for a surprise. 🏔️

There is only so much buildable land in these mountains, and students, families, retirees, second-home buyers, and investors are all competing for the same limited inventory. That is what we call the mountain premium, and you feel it most on housing.

The good news is that everyday costs like groceries and services stay pretty reasonable, and if you are coming from a big metro area, the lifestyle can genuinely be an upgrade for the money. Just go in with clear eyes, because what your budget buys shifts a lot depending on whether you want to be in town, near campus, or tucked away with a mountain view.

Curious what your budget could buy up here? Send me a message and let's talk it through. 💙

Address

643 Greenway Road, Suite H2
Boone, NC
28607

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 8pm
Tuesday 9am - 8pm
Wednesday 9am - 8pm
Thursday 9am - 8pm
Friday 9am - 8pm
Saturday 9am - 8pm
Sunday 12pm - 6pm

Telephone

+18287199483

Website

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