2009 Year End at Headwaters at Banner Elk

By: John Haynes

The Year 2009 witnessed a sea of change in the real estate business including that of second home communities. The list of floundering and bankrupt communities grew steadily through the year and included many high profile communities.  However, it appears that things have begun to stabilize.  At least that’s what we’re seeing at The Headwaters.
 
Our tour traffic and scheduled appointments for January and February are up over the same time last year.  We ended 2009 with 12 closed arms length transactions and went into 2010 with five pending transactions that will close before the end of the month.  It is important to point out that these transactions are “arms length” when comparing the sales claims of other communities.  There are those in this business that advertise sales figures that include inter-company sales or transactions with closely held parties in an effort to boost their sales figures. (Remember Enron?)

Our advice is to do your homework and ask area Realtors, folks at the local Chamber of Commerce, the county inspections department, local builders, and others in the business as to the most stable and successful communities.  If you do so with The Headwaters, you’ll hear that we are leading the way in regard to sales and new home construction activity in the Banner Elk area.
 
In 2009 alone, we saw construction start on six new homes, five of which are custom homes for existing property owners.  Plans for two others have been submitted for approval and we will soon break ground on the first of our Lakeside Villas town homes.  These will feature two and three bedroom floor plans overlooking our two lakes.
 
In your search for a mountain home, now is a great time to invest.  There are still concessions to be had and building costs are down.  However, it is important that you look for a community that is built on stability and a proven track record.  The Headwaters is just that.  We’ve been here for four full years now, closed 99 transactions and completed 31 residences (custom homes, cottages, and condominium villas).  We encourage you to plan a visit to see why so many others have chosen to call The Headwaters home.  Now is the perfect time.