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Land of the Sky

Posted by Catherine Deshayes on Tuesday, June 02, 2009

There are lots of bargains to be had if you look off the beaten track - and international buyers are discovering that Asheville, set in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina, offers some great value property, as well as the largest private home in America...

For home-hungry Brits looking for that dream pad across the pond, now is the time to buy.

Heading for less well-known spots as Asheville, North Carolina, could mean you get even more bricks for your bucks in a market that is already heavy with foreclosure bargains.

Romantically nicknamed ‘Land of the Sky,' due to its setting in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Asheville was pushed into the spotlight by property website RelocateAmerica, which named it the top place to live in America for 2007 and data source Sperling, which put it in eighth place last year.

A mecca for skiers, hikers and active adventurers, the city also attracts culture vultures with its rich architectural legacy, a mix of art deco, beaux arts and neoclassical styles plus the historic Biltmore Estate, the largest private home in America.

The Carolinas are on America's Atlantic coast, midway between Washington DC and Florida. The two million tourists who flock to Asheville each year are drawn by incredible displays of seasonal colour in Craggy Gardens plus fishing, hiking, horseriding and an annual Spring Herb Festival.

The downtown area has experienced huge rejuvenation in the past 15 years, with restaurants, boutiques, galleries and theatres springing up, providing vibrancy rare for such a small city.

The premier attraction is the 175,000sq ft Biltmore Estate. Built in 1888 by George Washington Vanderbilt II, a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family, the house is still owned by his descendants, who lived in it up until 1956, when it was opened to

If you are not keen on the idea of leaving you holiday home unattended whilst you are out of the country, an option that could give you peace of mind is a property within a gated community.

Elisabeth Miller-Fox of PrivateCommunities.com, a firm specialising in gated communities across America, says, "Second homes in exclusive communities make sense for overseas buyers, allowing them to relax knowing that the security and maintenance is being taken care of."

"North Carolina and Asheville in particular, are great choices because quality of life is high while taxes and homeowner insurance remain low," adds Elisabeth.

The Cliffs at Walnut Cove is a private, gated golf course community bordering the Pisgah National Forest and the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway. Set in meadows but only 15 minutes from downtown Asheville, it offers tennis, swimming and nature trails and the architecture is evocative of French and English country manors.

Purchasers can choose from large home sites set high above the golf course to elegant townhouses and streamside cottages, with lots priced between about £200,000 and £1million, and ready-built homes from £400,000 to £1.5million.

Land for sale in Black Mountain, North Carolina is amongst the most coveted real estate. The gated Catawba Falls Preserve, a Bluegreen Community, offers large acreage homesites to build a custom home among the dense woods of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

There's skiing nearby as well as a variety of shopping, dining and entertainment in neighboring Asheville.

Picture of the Biltmore Estate in Asheville by benoitnewton

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