The Asheville area has been recognized by a wide range of national publications as one of the top places to live

Situated in the gorgeous French Broad River valley amid the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky mountains, Asheville’s natural beauty sets the tone for a place you will remember with your heart. Selected by AARP magazine as a top 15 dream town, “one of the best places to reinvent your life,” it offers a little bit of something for everyone.

Gargoyles keep watch over an Art Deco skyline in a bustling downtown filled with high-tech and retail businesses. The great outdoors here are so spectacular that they netted Asheville the ranking of number 1 of 10 Great Adventure Towns by National Geographic Adventure magazine. 

America's largest home (Biltmore Estate) is in Asheville:

Asheville’s size makes it the largest city in Western North Carolina, but surrounding towns in Buncombe County offer small town flair and varied amenities. Asheville Regional Airport serves the region for air travel, and a professional hockey team and a minor league baseball team mean that sports fun isn’t hard to find.

Asheville holds the distinction of having both low unemployment and strong job growth. Fueling the area's sound business climate are stable population growth, a healthy housing market, expanding professional services, robust small business and healthcare industry growth, and a steady tourism market. The manufacturing sector remains diverse and secure. Over 400 manufacturers employ more than 22,000 people in the area, with key clusters in plastics, electronics assembly, medical equipment, and automotive related components. Asheville-Buncombe County is leading the way in evolving the WNC region toward innovative engineering solutions and highly-efficient manufacturing. Additional economic strength comes from a growing and innovative sector of knowledge-based entrepreneurial firms involved in multimedia, IT/Software development and telecommunications.  

Population is approximately 69,000 in the city and 215,000 in the county. Asheville’s MSA is currently estimated at 386,000. The four-season climate with relatively low snowfall in the winter and very temperate summer temperatures makes a comfortable living. Average elevation is 2,165 feet above sea level with surrounding mountain elevations of up to 6,685 feet at Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi River. Because of this broad range of elevations and corresponding climates and plant growth, the area is one of the most biodiverse in the United States and the world.

The quality of life in Asheville is outstanding, with low crime rate, broad employment opportunities, incredible educational opportunities with two universities and many colleges nearby, and diverse housing markets for rental, purchase and retirement.

Home Appreciation Rates Top State
The current annual rate of home appreciation in the Asheville metro area is 9.4 percent, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO). The Asheville figure trails the national one-year rate of 12.9 percent, but easily tops the state's 4.9 percent rate and is second only to the Wilmington metro area among all of North Carolina's 14 metros. 
Over the last five years, homes in the Asheville area have appreciated 39 percent. The five-year rate is more than ten points higher than in any other North Carolina metro and 16.8 percentage points above the state. Nationally, the five-year rate is 48.4 percent.

Buncombe Realty, 1104 Hendersonville Rd., Asheville, NC 28803 (view location map)
Phone (828)301-2021   Toll-free 888-932-8001   Fax (828)277-1240