What's Fairview like??? (Asheville, Black Mountain, Brevard: real estate, houses, college) - Western North Carolina - North Carolina (NC) - The Mountain Region including Asheville - City-Data Forum

Researching Retirement · 11-19-2007, 09:58 PM

Still looking at areas around Asheville from Weaverville to Flat Rock, and Black Mountain to Brevard. One area I haven't seen much on in the forum is Fairview. What is the area around there like......

Traffic/access to Asheville?
Any local area shopping / restaurants or does everyone there just go to Asheville?
Is it scenic -- mountain views, wooded, some elevation -- or is it open farm valley?
Are the housing developments mainly subdivision size lots or is it less dense with larger lots? What is the typical price range? Seems like quite a bit of new development from what I've been able to find listed.
What are your thoughts on the overall feel of the community compared to others in the area (similarities or differences)?

Just haven't seen much about this particular area in the forum (maybe I've missed it.....if so, point me to the right thread and my apologies).

Thanks!

the Parkies · 11-20-2007, 12:41 AM

Well, I can't answer all your questions, RR, but I can tell you what I know. After months of direction from our Asheville realtor, during which we got quite a grand sweep of the area, she finally showed us around Fairview. It had some of the most gorgeous homes we've ever seen here in its price range--I was asking "Who built this?" "Who designed this??" For example, I remember a house (at Stoneledge, maybe?) that had NO standard doorway dimensions (if memory serves). Hallways and doorways were so wide that I saw myself finally sparing my elbows as I raced around the house. And the fireplace--stacked stone--went dramatically all the way to the ceiling. Anyway, there were some really impressive homes in Fairview last year when we researched it.

But there were none with clubhouses and none with a "community feel"--maybe because they were all so new. There was nothing spectacular to recommend the scenery--I remember it as relatively flat and boring (a "Fair View"). The drive was farther than we thought we needed or wanted to go to be in touch with the Asheville scene--something like 20 or 30 minutes from downtown, depending on where you are in Fairview. And finally--the worst part--developments (yes, subdivision-style) were popping up everywhere! Traffic would soon be gridlock because the south of Asheville (at the time) was running out of houses in the price category of Fairview developments.

As our realtor put it, "We really don't have houses in the middle range in the Asheville area. We have houses for up to four or maybe five hundred thousand... and we have houses for millionaires... but we don't have much of anything in between. That $600-$800 market isn't being tapped, and Baby Boomers are on the way. We've been trying to get this through to developers for years!"

So she showed us Fairview, which tries to serve that "middle" market. But we thought Fairview had the feel of a "bedroom community" like the "suburbia" of so many larger cities. It's not for us, but it's obviously for a LOT of folks, especially those who want new housing and need to be somewhat near the city but don't want to be right downtown. We don't see you there, RR.

Jan

Researching Retirement · 11-20-2007, 11:36 AM

Thanks Parkies! You confirmed the impression I was getting from what I was seeing on real estate listings -- bedroom community, very nice homes, and listings that didn't really mention view or scenery. Was hoping it would be a bit more scenic and less just subdivision style development since it did seem to offer some great looking homes in a unique price range for the area. I guess if you put those homes on larger, more scenic lots or in mountain community developments they'd no longer be in that price range!

As always, thanks for the firsthand insight. How's the search going? Are there any specific areas/developments you've found around Black Mountain or out that direction that you are focusing on?

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Zooropa · 11-20-2007, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the Parkies

Well, I can't answer all your questions, RR, but I can tell you what I know. After months of direction from our Asheville realtor, during which we got quite a grand sweep of the area, she finally showed us around Fairview. It had some of the most gorgeous homes we've ever seen here in its price range--I was asking "Who built this?" "Who designed this??" For example, I remember a house (at Stoneledge, maybe?) that had NO standard doorway dimensions (if memory serves). Hallways and doorways were so wide that I saw myself finally sparing my elbows as I raced around the house. And the fireplace--stacked stone--went dramatically all the way to the ceiling. Anyway, there were some really impressive homes in Fairview last year when we researched it.

But there were none with clubhouses and none with a "community feel"--maybe because they were all so new. There was nothing spectacular to recommend the scenery--I remember it as relatively flat and boring (a "Fair View"). The drive was farther than we thought we needed or wanted to go to be in touch with the Asheville scene--something like 20 or 30 minutes from downtown, depending on where you are in Fairview. And finally--the worst part--developments (yes, subdivision-style) were popping up everywhere! Traffic would soon be gridlock because the south of Asheville (at the time) was running out of houses in the price category of Fairview developments.

As our realtor put it, "We really don't have houses in the middle range in the Asheville area. We have houses for up to four or maybe five hundred thousand... and we have houses for millionaires... but we don't have much of anything in between. That $600-$800 market isn't being tapped, and Baby Boomers are on the way. We've been trying to get this through to developers for years!"

So she showed us Fairview, which tries to serve that "middle" market. But we thought Fairview had the feel of a "bedroom community" like the "suburbia" of so many larger cities. It's not for us, but it's obviously for a LOT of folks, especially those who want new housing and need to be somewhat near the city but don't want to be right downtown. We don't see you there, RR.

Jan

While there is a gap in the market at that 600-800 price range...I wouldn't exactly call it the "middle". It's still far above what an average person could afford. I guess it's the middle relative to the what people moving here can afford, but if you look at the wages here it's far above what most anyone trying to make a living here could afford.

Researching Retirement · 11-20-2007, 11:32 PM

Zooropa,

Yeah, I understand what you're saying. It's not the middle for the average income level. It's just the middle of what developers seem to be building (or at least charging) in the area. You have the subdivision type lots and homes in the $200K-$500K range and the $1M+ exclusive mountain / golf communities. The houses in Fairview seem to fall in the middle of those 2 ranges. I'd love to see all of them be cheaper but doesn't appear that's going to happen soon since so many people still want to be there......

Zooropa · 11-21-2007, 07:38 AM

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