Events kick off with a Woolly Worm Ball on Saturday October 10 at Beech Mountain’s Buckeye Recreation Center. This event includes a silent auction, heavy hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. Proceeds to benefit the Buckeye Recreation Center playground expansion, as well as the Festival co-sponsor, the Avery Chamber of Commerce.

Saturday morning, October 17, is the Woolly-Worm “Woad Wace,” a Five-Mile foot race through some of the beautiful back roads of Avery County, North Carolina.  It kicks off at 10a.m. at the Lees McRae College track. For non-runners, there is also a One-Mile Woolly Worm “Fun Wun,” starting shortly after the other race.

The “Main Event” is the racing of the Woolly-Worms throughout the day on Saturday, to determine the grand prize winner, whose owner will take home $1,000 in prize money and who will be used to help “forecast” the weather for the upcoming winter.

Traditionally, the 13 stripes of the woolly worm represent the 13 weeks of winter–with each brown stripe representing a “mild” week, and black ones representing “severe” weeks. The winning Woolly Worm will be used to predict how severe the High Country’s winter will be this year.

There are always vendors on hand selling food, crafts, home-made goodies and more than likely–my personal favorite…caramel apples!  Why not check out this year’s Woolly-Worm Festival?

I need a break like everyone else, so I enjoy things like the Woolly Worm Festival, but my real passion is Boone NC Real Estate. I love helping sellers meet their goals in real estate and I love working hard to find buyers the exact property to meet their needs. Let me know how I can help you!

We’ll talk again,

Lisa

P.S. For all the Festival details go to http://www.woollyworm.com/

According to an Appalachian State University biologist, Howard Neufeld, the conditions are right for a colorful Leaf Season in the High Country this year. Neufeld is a physiological plant ecologist who looks at environmental factors that affect plants. “If weather stays like it has….sunny days with cold nights, we will have good fall colors,” Neufeld said. “If it’s cloudy, there’s not as much photosynthesis.”

Neufeld applies observation and comparison of past years in making his determinations, and he is one of the main prognosticators for the North Carolina Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development. Beginning Sept. 14, he will be featured at VisitNC.org.

Neufeld said if trees have a good September, they can still keep compounds in leaves that contribute to bright yellows and reds. “An absence of severe drought, with a clear, sunny and cool September, usually means a really colorful year,” he said. “It looks like it’s going to be early this year.”

Despite last year’s drought, trees made a recovery in September, evidence of the short-term change that can offset other climate factors. Neufelt explains that trees cue in on day length, linked to latitude, and cue in secondarily on temperature.

“If you get a certain day length, generally here at this elevation, peak color is in mid-October,” Neufeld said. “If it is a really cool, they think it is in the fall season. Unusually low temperatures this summer could have some effect on the fall colors, as trees respond to long-term temperatures.

Just like the weather, though, color tends to vary with location. “Because temperature is such a factor, the peak in Boone is normally in mid-October, but fall color starts first at the higher elevations,” Neufeld said. “For every thousand feet, you can go down about a weak (for fall color).”

The reason people enjoy viewing the leaves changing in the High Country? “We have a greater diversity of trees,” Neufeld said, citing Elk Knob and Howard’s Knob as the best places to get 360-degree views of the mountains.

Is it any wonder why we love living in these mountains? We have something to look forward to with each season! Boone NC Real Estate and Blowing Rock NC Real Estate are two of the other reasons I love living here–I love helping clients find the just-right second home and helping seller clients meet their goals in relocating.

Let me know how I can help…and we’ll talk again,

Lisa

I sent a front-page article from the “Charlotte Observer” to all of my seller clients a couple of weeks ago. The headline read: “Bargains Selling, Everything Else–Sitting.” It went on to say that the median home price of “recently solds” for 2009 was significantly lower than 2008.

I told my seller clients–it could have been written about the Boone and Blowing Rock Real Estate markets. With an increased number of foreclosures and short-sales available, there are some bargains available that we typically do not see in our market. There are also some obvious need-to-sell situations where sellers have slashed asking prices to attract an offer.

I just compared year-to-date 2009 sold numbers to the same period of 2008. While the total number of housing units sold is only down 5%, the total selling price is down over 26%.

What kind of Blowing Rock Real Estate or Boone Real Estate are you looking for? Second home? Cabin? Looking to relocate? I LOVE helping buyers find that just-right get-a-way, or the home of their dreams!

My passion is my Boone NC Real Estate business, and I’m “committed to excellent client care.”

Let me know how I can help…and we’ll talk again,

Lisa

“Donna the Buffalo” is the headliner group that will wrap up Saturday’s events at 9pm on the main stage at Horn in the West in Boone. The old-time-rock-reggae-zydeco powerhouse has an extremely loyal following, affectionately known as “The Herd.” Their fans will reportedly be coming to Boone from Tennessee, Missouri, Virginia, South Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Vermont, Oregon and more!

But, I’m getting ahead of myself, because everything starts Friday with the “Dr. Edwin Arnold Daniel Boone Symposium” at ASU with, historians and authors, Robert Morgan and Randell Jones, giving presentations on the life of Daniel Boone, including his time in the High Country. It sounds very interesting…and will include an “historical scavenger hunt” in downtown Boone! Cool!

That evening is the “Fess Parker Wine Dinner” at the Gamekeeper Restaurant on Shull’s Mill Road. The restaurant will be serving wild game entrees similar to what Daniel Boone would have eaten along with wines of Fess Parker, TV’s original Daniel Boone.

Saturday’s festivities will kick off at 1:00 and include a Daniel Boone look-a-like contest, storytelling with Orville Hicks, arts and crafts vendors, kids’ activities, and music by The Sheets Family, Upright & Breathin’, Larry Keel & Natural Bridge, and more. There is slated to be a “world record attempt” to benefit the Watauga Education Foundation, and my personal favorite—the Watauga Arts Council Fiddlers’ Competition.

Yes, I’m still working hard in real estate, but everyone deserves to have some fun! So do you–come on up to the mountains this weekend and kick back and enjoy some old-time mountain food, music, and more!

We’ll talk again,

Lisa

P.S. For details on the festival, check out www.DanielBooneDays.com

ASU Football Season is almost here! That’s just one of the reasons why FALL is my favorite time of year in the High Country!
Fan Fest is this Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium, here in beautiful Boone NC. It begins at 4pm and ASU Coaches and players will be on the field for photos and autographs till 5:30. Then the team will have an inter-squad scrimmage at 6pm. It’s always a fun time for people like me who just can’t wait for football season!
Congratulations to ASU Quarterback Armanti Edwards for being included on the watch list for the Manning Award. The news was announced Monday that he is the first NCAA Division I FCS player ever included on the official watch list. The Manning Award has been presented annually to the nation’s top quarterback since the 2004 season.
At Fan Fest, the new “Yosef” mascot will be unveiled also–See you Saturday at The Rock–it is going to be fun for all ages!
I know I’ve been talking about football…but my real passion is Boone NC Real Estate and Blowing Rock NC Real Estate. I can help you find Boone Homes for Sale and Blowing Rock Homes for Sale or help you market your Boone Real Estate For Sale, because I’m committed to Excellent Client Care.
We’ll talk again,
Lisa

Since that time–the beginning of June 2009–The Blowing Rock real estate and Boone NC Real Estate markets have seen 79 homes closed, and 95 more have gotten under contract! [By comparison, in March only 39 homes closed in the Boone NC Real Estate market.]

Just a few days ago, one of my listed Boone Homes For Sale received two offers on the same day! My sellers are happy to be under contract…and are looking forward to a successful closing!

I hope the rest of the U.S. is seeing the increase in activity that the Blowing Rock NC Real Estate market and the Boone NC Real Estate markets are both seeing, along with the surrounding areas.

The Blowing Rock NC Homes for Sale in particular seem to have an increased activity level. Of the homes sold (under contract) in the last 30 days, 21% are in the area noted as Blowing Rock NC Real Estate For Sale, whereas only 6.5% of the ACTIVE listings are in the same category.

Well, I’d love to chat more with you, but I DO have clients to serve, and I’m committed to providing them with Excellent Service!

Take care & we’ll talk again,

Lisa

Through December 2009, first-time home buyers are assisted by an $8000 refundable tax credit which helps out like never before. The credit is “refundable” meaning even if a buyer does not owe $8000 in taxes in 2009, they receive a refund for the difference. The credit applies to homes bought in 2009 as long as the purchase price is greater than $80,000. (Purchasers of homes less than $80,000 receive a credit equivalent to 10% of the purchase price.) Full details on the tax credit are availlable at www.irs.gov.

Home prices in the Blowing Rock real estate market and Boone real estate market have not lost value like so many other areas of the United States…likely because they never saw huge jumps in “appreciation” just prior to the current housing decline across the nation.

While other areas of the country have been left wondering when their market will “bottom out”…the NC High Country areas of Blowing Rock and Boone have seen very little, if any dip in prices. A strong market would seem to be a great place to continue (or begin!) investing.

Contact me if I can help!

Lisa

Did you know that over-pricing your home to begin with can end up hurting you in the long-run? Especially where it hurts worst–the bottom line.

Agents across the country agree, when a home is priced right, it will end up selling faster and at a better price than a comparable house that enters the market over-priced.

Your professional Realtor will look at many factors when right-pricing your house for sale. With inventory levels high, it is more important than ever to enter the market at a price-point that will generate excitement instead of causing potential buyers to be critical, looking for flaws.

Our Boone NC Real Estate market is no different than the rest of the country. In this challenging market, it is more important than ever to right-price a property entering the market.

Please check back here again, I’ll be discussing some of the houses for sale in Blowing Rock NC as well as Boone NC homes for sale that I currently have listed.

We’ll talk again,

Lisa