"The market started falling apart every place
else, and we were just chugging right along," says Tom Tveidt, director
of research at the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce.

But this year — belatedly but unmistakably — the
housing slump struck the Asheville area. Though home prices haven't
fallen drastically, sales have. The primary cause has been a drop-off
in out-of-state buyers.

"We're a destination market," says Terry Horner, president of the Asheville Board of Realtors. "It's a desirable place to live."

Several areas of the country, especially in
Florida, have served as what Horner describes as feeders for
Asheville's real estate. Those areas include retirees who live in
Florida part of the year and head north to Asheville to escape the
tropical summer heat, he says. Some others who are able to work from
home have moved to the Asheville area to enjoy a scenic mountain
getaway.

But after the real estate booms in other states
crumbled, they eventually helped dry up Asheville's home sales. In
addition, local families have grown more reluctant to buy first homes
or to move up to bigger homes because of higher gas prices and economic
worries.

Still, unlike in many other areas, Asheville's
real estate slowdown hasn't been compounded by huge job losses or waves
of foreclosures. Last year, tourism was the No. 1 industry, Tveidt
says. Among the attractions are the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway and the
Biltmore House, the largest privately owned home in the country.

Though the area has lost many textile and
manufacturing jobs over the past 15 years, they've been replaced by
others in the health care field, the fastest-growing industry in the
Asheville area, Tveidt says.

Numerous U.S. housing markets have experienced
overbuilding and speculation that fueled sharp price appreciation. That
hasn't happened in Asheville. In part because the area is so rocky and
mountainous, home developers haven't been able to widely expand into
new areas.

"We've held our own," Horner says, "and
consequently, we've not seen the big depression and dip in prices when
the market slowed down."

Once the economy starts to improve in other parts of the country, Horner predicts that home buyers will return to Asheville.

The most expensive

Charlie and Troy Ball, who are
developers of Whisper Mountain, a
green community in the mountains
west of Asheville, are selling a
Tudor revival home built in 1927.

Price: $6.9 million
Bedrooms: 6
Bathrooms: 6 full baths, 7
half-baths
Size: 12,000 square feet
Features: A 7-acre estate with
guest quarters, chef’s kitchen,
great room, domed breakfast
room, wine cellar, spa room, media
room, fireplace, three-car garage.

Median-price home

This house, built in 1925, is on
the market.

Price: $208,900
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 2
Size: 1,234 square feet
Features: A bungalow, close to
downtown Asheville, vintage hardwood
floors, deck.

This article was taken from USA Today article by Christine Dugas