← All episodes · Episode 25
4:23 · Published September 1, 2026
Teresa Overcash walks the four-county NC High Country market where 45 percent of every transaction is cash — nearly double the 25 percent national average. That single number quietly protects mountain values from distressed-inventory volatility and rewrites how buyers, sellers, and investors need to think about Watauga, Ashe, Avery, and Alleghany. This episode covers the H1 2026 luxury surge ($188.8 million across 104 closings), why the four counties do not move together, the rental-earnings math where four public sources disagree by more than two times, and the five due diligence tests a buyer should run before writing an offer on a mountain home.
The full article with the four-county tables, the four disagreeing rental sources, the STR-rule disclosure, and the five-test buyer checklist is at homesintriadnc.com/blog/are-luxury-mountain-homes-good-investment-nc-2026-high-country-four-county-analysis.