Upended Moving Trends and Conflicting Data

I am surprised by data from the USPS which shows North Carolina as being one of the top states people are departing. What do you think?

This year I have seen numerous articles talking about how the cities have been drawing many young professionals due to the expanding job market. Sales have been up 4% across the state, 7% in the mountains and inventory is just about depleted. Is this data accurate? Are vacation homes buyers making up the difference from the full time residents we may be losing?

See more here:

https://www.bankrate.com/real-estate/moving-data-shows-exit-from-cities/

North Carolina has been rated 5th best state for doing business, #4 in available real estate in an exhaustive report by Area Development!

#WNC #WNCRealty #ncrealestate #economicdevelopment

https://www.wraltechwire.com/2020/09/23/nc-ranks-no-5-for-top-states-doing-business-even-in-a-pandemic/

https://www.areadevelopment.com/Top-States-for-Doing-Business/Q3-2020/overall-results-georgia-ranked-top-state-pro-business.shtml

Reasons to buy a cabin this winter:

- Potential market slow down

- See if home is weatherproofed

- Memories of a lifetime!

https://ventsmagazine.com/2020/09/20/3-reasons-to-buy-a-cabin-this-winter/

Building A Resilient Community On The Heels Of COVID

By James Thieman

FEMA has issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity for Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) and Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Grants. Applications are being accepted from September 30 through January 29, 2021. These programs are intended, in part, to provide local communities with “funding for eligible mitigation activities to strengthen our nation’s ability to build a culture of preparedness by reducing disaster losses and protecting life and property from future disaster damages.” What hazards do you think are most prevalent in Mitchell County?

The FMA program provides funds to communities to help prevent the damage and costs associated with repetitive flood damages while the BRIC program provides grants for hazard mitigation projects to help communities reduce the exposure they face from disasters and natural hazards. The long-term goals of these programs is to reduce the costs faced by the local, state and, federal government in the wake of disasters. Some grants require communities to have drafted and approved mitigation plans prior to receiving federal funds but with these plans in place and shovel-ready projects on paper, it should be a smooth process.

What could we do as a community? Are there areas in Mitchell County that see frequent floods? Could these grants be used to purchase properties for use as public parks? Perhaps retention barriers could be constructed along roadways that face frequent mudslides. Other ideas may help mitigate our risk from forest fires while strengthening our fire departments which have been frequent topics at recent Commissioners meetings. In the time of a global pandemic perhaps we could bring about modernization programs through public and private partnerships? Perhaps bring wide use of touchless payment methods to the area using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or near-field communication (NFC) technologies.

Personally, it’s the wildfires that scare me the most. On the morning of November 8, 2018, as residents of Paradise California were waking up and preparing breakfast, a report of a wildfire first came in. It was a small fire in a remote area off of Camp Creek Road. The first fireman on the scene arrived quickly, however, was unable to access the fire due to the steep terrain. Concerned of the high winds that morning, they reported back the fire was spreading at an accelerated rate. Fueled by drought conditions and near hurricane force winds, the newly formed Camp Fire was now rushing towards town at rates exceeding 80 football fields per minutes! Within the span of four hours, the town of Paradise was burned to the ground. The cause of the fire? Overhead power line dating back close to 100 years old! Now, in response, California communities often face rolling blackouts. To hedge liability, Pacific Gas and Electric strategically cuts power in hopes of reducing the chance one of their lines sparks the next wildfire.

In the wake of an especially violent hurricane season in 2004 when Florida saw hurricanes Charlie, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne rip through numerous communities, the Florida Public Service Commission conducted an especially exhaustive study. They wanted to know the feasibility for burying vital utility lines which, along with spurring wildfires, are prone to coming down during these extreme wind events. Likewise, other communities around the country have done the same; in Virginia after hurricane Isabel hit in 2003, after ice storms hit Kentucky in 2003 (where the weight of snow and ice snaps lines), in Massachusetts after a bad Nor’easter in 2011 and, even in North Carolina after a crippling ice storm in 2002.

Time and again these studies make two primary points. First, the burying of utility lines will be prohibitively expensive, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. Secondly, like our local hotel studies, they almost always cite the need for more studies! Other items of concern they highlight are the occasional water intrusion of buried lines and dig-ins. Dig-ins occur as people cut into lines while working on projects without first having verified the placement of underground cables. So why bother?

There are very strong reasons burying of utilities is looked at time and again after disaster. While it might take 60% longer to find and diagnose an outage with underground cables, they experience far fewer outages. Buried lines protect against windstorms and ice, both of which are prevalent in the mountains of WNC. They also protect against wildfires and would prevent the need of rolling blackouts as seen in California. With advancements in technology, more experience working with buried lines, and their prevalence as they become more common, repair times are sure to drop when outages do occur. And the cost? Yes, the cost is expensive but, once installed, they offer lower maintenance costs compared to those of conventional lines. Though the cost is high, it should be a fraction of the cost spent widening 19 but, with a decades-long lifespan, they don’t have the residual maintenance costs associated with repaving a road every few years.

The need for updating the U.S. infrastructure is widely accepted in the public domain so, to counteract the cost, the state, local government and utility companies could establish a fund providing matching contributions for these improvements. The county could also require new lines be run underground. State Representatives could introduce legislation seeking state funding for such programs, perhaps in conjunction with the forest service which would undoubtedly be a benefactor of any such program. Likewise, our U.S. Senators and Representative could take this opportunity to do the same. Using a combined approach, the costs should be overcome while these new infrastructure projects would provide vital jobs to our rural community.

Why Mitchell county? One of the smaller counties along the Blue Ridge Parkway, we offer a great test platform for our state and communities nationwide. Just as treatments and vaccines for the coronavirus are studied on smaller control groups before introduction into the general public, these officials might want to study the widescale implementation of such a program prior to introducing it to larger markets.

Offering a wide array of outdoor activities, Mitchell County also draws tourists from around the state and the country. While such a program may prove to be a boon for Mitchell county residents, it would benefit all who come here to enjoy the outdoors. Whether visitors stop in to check out the colors of the leaves as autumn turns to winter or enjoy the long-range mountain views throughout the rest of the year, they would enjoy a landscape free of from power lines just as local residents might see a small savings on insurance policies and increases in property values.

I call on our local leaders, service providers, insurance companies, chamber of commerce and other stakeholders to come together to work on innovative programs which might benefit the community while taking advantage of these programs. The burying of utilities is just one idea. At recent Commissioner’s meetings I have heard the needs of our local fire departments, the desire to build a jail, and the challenges which might face our new EMS provider. I don’t know of their specific needs or how they may meet the requirements outlined in the FMA and BRIC programs but, with the Notice of Funding Opportunity issued and the application period open, let’s make sure we don’t miss our opportunity to put forward some well thought out and coordinated requests.

A continuing theme: the market is hot in Western North Carolina! With the threat of COVID looming around every corner, agents were worried about what they year might bring. These worries were relieve as sales surprisingly increased over the course of the spring and summer. While sales are up across North Carolina, many areas saw 2-4% increases in sales prices. In WNC, however, sales have been up a whopping 42% and prices up 7%! FIND OUT MORE

In Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina's most expensive home comes in at a whopping $16.5 million. While the SFGate calls it a Hawaiian inspired home, aside from a few decorations I'm not seeing it. What do you think??? But check out that pool! FIND OUT MORE

Flashback: In the mid 1920’s a debate on creating the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was underway. At that time, the Asheville Real Estate Board came out to declare it’s support in favor of the park. Unlike most of the existing parks which were carved out of federal land holdings, this park would involve the very expensive and almost insurmountable task of purchasing thousands of privately held properties. A fund was established to raise money towards this effort and not a donor was overlooked but, falling short of the goal and time running out, the Hendersonville Real Estate Board approved the park and got involved themselves, ensuring the goals were met so the park could proceed. FIND OUT MORE