BYRON GREINER • BROKER, REALTOR, SRES • 828-713-7760 • March 2008

Oh, the Real Estate Market. Everywhere you turn the talk is that the market is dead. Not so in the Asheville area. Things are actually selling! I was privileged to have two of my listings sell in two weeks, one in a mere 5 days. Yes it was a great property. Yes, the sellers were receptive to my requests to do a few things to get it ready. Staging and presentation make a big difference. With their help, it sold! The point is that in our market, if a home is priced correctly and possible objections are dealt with before hand, there are buyers. We are fortunate, that people want to live in Asheville. They want to be close to the activities and culture of the area. Prices are not cheap based on a national basis with our average home at 279,000, but people want to be here. There is a great supply of listings so do be shy in looking. Spring will be here shortly. If you are not fortunate enough to live here, plan a visit. If you know anyone who is in need of my services, please recommend me.
Happy St Patricks Day.



Asheville teams help out green makeover

The project won't be easy - demolishing a crumbling house and building a new one for a needy family in just eight days.

But 50 or so Asheville volunteers will take on the challenge next month in New Orleans for the ABC-TV show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

Two Asheville building companies, Deltec Homes and EcoBuilders, are leading the backbreaking construction charge.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said volunteer Robert Tate, part of the Deltec sales staff. "When they told us what they were doing, it was a tearjerker. We are scheduling eight hours a day off, and the rest of the time, we'll be working. I'll feel like I'm back in the military."

Pieces of the home are now being constructed at Deltec's Asheville plant, and a TV crew from show was there Thursday to shoot the progress.

The Emmy-winning program provides a new home to a family in great need of replacement housing. Families may apply, or are nominated, and the winners are kept in the dark almost until the last minute, when a team arrives to take on the job, said Joe Schlenk, Deltec's director of sales and marketing. So far, the program has built 114 homes, he said.

"All I can tell you is that it's in the greater New Orleans area and that five families are potential candidates," Schlenk said. The construction runs March 7-14, according to a Web site for the project. The episode airs at 8 p.m. May 18, Schlenk said.

Asheville contracting firm EcoBuilders will take the construction another step and make the house "green," conforming to the stringent Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards, said company President Rob Moody.

"We will be working our tails off," Moody said. "Just seeing what hell they have been through (in New Orleans) makes you want to help these people." Parts of the city, battered by Hurricane Katrina-related flooding, "still look like a war zone," he said.

The project will require 4,000-5,000 volunteers, Schlenk said. "When you do something like this, a small city gets built around the neighborhood," he said. "We will have hundreds of laborers working 24 hours a day."

Click to see more about our neighbors...

Catawba Falls Preserve
Lot #50 Feather Falls
Old Fort, NC 28762
MLS# 395935
Priced to sell at $65,000
Gated community with year-round mountain views.
Nature preserve adjoining Catawba River headwaters and Pisgah National Forest.
1.12 acres of beautifully wooded views, yet close to entrance with frontage on both Catawba Falls Parkway and Feather Falls.
Trout Streams, Walking Trails & Horse Barn.

This land is your next lush retreat, truly where the mountains meet the sky.
More information

$65,000


 
Mills Gap village has country feel

photo

FLETCHER - The Village at Windstone is a new gated community in the Mills Gap area that will have 114 town houses.

Phase I of the three-phase project is complete, with 32 town houses built, and Phase II should start within the next month or so. Two floor plans are offered, each with three bedrooms, 2.5 baths and an average of 2,025 square feet of space. The community pool, cabana and clubhouse are complete, as is the trash compaction and mail center.

The homes feature stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and wiring for central vacuum and security systems. The community offers walking trails and a clubhouse with a heated pool.

Click here to read more about Mills Gap...
First impressions count, so consider 'staging' your home for quicker sale

The real estate bubble in Asheville may not have burst, but it has certainly developed enough leaks to make home sellers know that the days of multiple offers, quick sales and double-digit profits are waning.

As a seller, how do you get an edge in a sluggish real estate market? Hiring a home-staging professional may be the answer. To understand how this works, I recently sat down with Sandy LeRoy, an accredited staging professional and partner in Sterling Property Services of Flat Rock (www.SterlingPropertyService.com).

Click to read on: "What is home staging?"


Sun Trust Mortage Interest Rates

The rates below are indications for 30 day lock-ins on single family, owner-occupied properties with a loan to value ratio of 80% or less, for applications filed using our Online Loan Application unless otherwise noted as of 2/29/2008. Rates, points and closing costs may vary based on loan features, geography and/or other terms and conditions. Rates, points and closing costs are subject to change without notice. In order to begin the application process, complete your loan application now. Additional rate and point quotes are available, please contact your loan officer for more information.

To see examples of monthly payment terms, view our APR Examples.

Interest Rate Discount Points Origination Fee Annual Percentage Rate
30 Yr Fixed Conventional 5.750% 0.500 1.000% 5.927%
15 Yr Fixed Conventional 5.125% 0.250 1.000% 5.376%
30 Yr Jumbo Fixed 6.750% 0.000 1.000% 6.883%
Portfolio 5/1 LIBOR ARM 30 Yr 5.875% 0.125 1.000% 5.448%
Portfolio 7/1 LIBOR ARM 30 Yr 6.125% 0.000 1.000% 5.679%
30 Yr FHA - Fixed 5.500% 0.875 1.000% 6.431%

This report provided by Tim Batts at Sun Trust Bank

http://
Tim Batts
(828) 350-6012 Office
(828) 225-6917 Fax
(828) 545-9090 Cell
820 Executive Park
Asheville, NC 28801

Sun Trust Daily Mortgage Rates
86 Asheland Avenue • Asheville, NC, 28801 • 828-713-7760 • BTG@MarketingAsheville.com

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