Your Second Home: The Carolinas
May 3, 2004
Bill and Angie Marshall live in paradise—in the coastal city of Fort Walton
Beach, Fla., home to some of America’s most beautiful beaches. But they place
their second home in the mountains of North Carolina on a
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The Marshalls’ 3,000-square-foot home at Mountain Air Country Club in North
Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains sits on three concrete piers and floats above
the forest; a footbridge connects the house to the ground. The Marshalls love
the house because it maximizes their views, and the easy access from their
Florida home—just a two-hour flight on Bill’s private plane to the paved runway
at Mountain Air—clinched their decision to build their dream home there. (Click image to enlarge)
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Floridians who purchase second homes in western North Carolina are part of
an established trend. There are so many Florida transplants that local real
estate agents have coined a name for them: “coconuts.” (Click image to enlarge)
Mountain Air Country Club has condominiums and single-family homes ranging in
price from $350,000 to $3 million. For 90 percent of the residents, Mountain Air
is their second home. The community boasts tennis courts, a swimming pool, a
clubhouse and golf, as well as scenic vistas and temperatures that rarely
venture into the 80s. It is just a 30-minute drive from Asheville, an artsy,
eclectic city with great restaurants, cultural events, a vibrant college scene
and an array of outdoor activities. The area also has a world-class spa and the
magnificent Biltmore Estate, with its winery, hotel, artistic treasures and
gardens.
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At 5,000 feet above sea level, Mountain Air in Burnsville, North Carolina, offers cool temperatures, golf on Slickrock Mountain, a private airplane runway and second homes priced from $350,000 to $3 million. (Click image to enlarge)“We have it all,” says Ann Skoglund, a sales associate with
Beverly-Hanks & Associates. “Everyone seems to be happy here.” Skoglund says
that many of her second home buyers want privacy and mountain or golf course
views; others enjoy living downtown and having easy access to its offerings and
nightlife. “Lots of glass” is a frequent request to better enjoy the views as
well as decks and patios, notes Skoglund.
In addition to Mountain Air,
affluent buyers are attracted to Biltmore Forest, which adjoins the Biltmore
Estate (homes priced from $500,000 to $7.5 million); Sunset Mountain, which
offers incredible views close to the city ($300,000 to $2 million); and Grove
Park, which is quaint and has historical interest ($300,000 to $1.8 million).
Flat Rock in the Hendersonville area has estate properties on considerable
acreage that date from the 1800s ($500,000 to $5 million).
In addition to
its high-altitude western areas, North Carolina’s Atlantic coastline has prime
beachfront properties. “The Outer Banks is an area rich in history and offers a
variety of lifestyles and places to live,” says Lee M. Whitley, a broker in
charge of the Kitty Hawk Land Co. in Kitty Hawk, N.C. The Outer Banks has
everything from condominiums and townhouses to luxurious oceanfront mansions and
world-class resorts. Second home buyers tend to congregate in the northern Outer
Banks, from Southern Shores and Duck to Corolla. The Currituck Club, a gated golf community
where prices range from $410,000 to $1.4 million, is also popular.
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