Homestead mailing list

["Lisa K.V. Perry" <lisakvperry AT gmail.com>]

On 7/21/06, Linda <intuit AT teleport.com> wrote:
> This is a farming community (was) and every large acreage has a for sale
> sign on it, or HAS sold, and there are 250 new homes being built on the
> land. <snip>  All my eyes see are homes being built left
> and right while the locals are scratching their heads asking how people
> can afford to buy these ridiculously expensive, and too large, homes.


This is what is happening in our county as well.  We moved here in 1999,
bought our farm in 2000.  Our land  was $2k per acre which was average
then.  Now you can't touch any size parcel under $7-8k per acre, with
particularly nice parcels with pasture land near the Blue Ridge Parkway
going to upwards of $15-20k per acre!  It's absolutely unreal.

The people moving here think our land is cheap.  That  included me in 1999,
then we were looking to live outside Asheville NC, but the price then was
$6k+ per acre.  In January, I closed a loan for a couple from outside of San
Fran CA who purchased a 25 acre farm.  They are living the dream and are now
discovering how laborious the homesteading life is, but they're happy.  We
also get retirees from NC and younger retirees (50's) from all over (MA, NC,
WA, MD, PA) who made a killing in the stock market or inherited or
something... who are buying farms and starting B&Bs or just for the heck of
it.

There is some good news, I have met younger adults (30's) who are moving
here to buy a farm to start CSA's and organic farms.  Have closed a couple
of those loans in the last few years and meet more people like that all the
time.

Lisa