Asheville Market for STRs

[Scott Deetlefs]

Hello BP community,

I am a newbie real estate investor and looking to get my first investment property. 

I stay about an hour out of Asheville and have been interested in this market for a little while now, while learning and growing my capital.

I was wondering if the Asheville STR market is doing well again since the catastrophic hurricane last year?

Looking to finally pull the trigger and get that first rental this year.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Derek Robinson]

Quote from @Ken Boone:

Quote from @Collin Hays:

Just an hour west of Asheville is the Maggie Valley-Waynesville-Cataloochee area. This is a somewhat less commercialized version of Gatlinburg, and might be worth considering.

I drive through this area all the time.  The realtors are pushing Waynesville as if it’s a destination place for people wanting to visit Asheville because it’s only “20 minutes to Asheville” so it’s in the hot bubble for the Asheville market.  I don’t see it.  I know people visit Maggie Valley but man every time and I mean every time I pass through there it is just dead.  No traffic. Stores and restaurants only have a handful of cars in front of them.  It doesn’t matter when I go through there. It’s always like that. Been that way for years. 

Spot on.  Waynesville always seemed like a stretch to me...more like 30 to 45 mins from Asheville if you are talking city center to city center.  A good spot for groceries, a nice downtown, and close to some great outdoor recreation...but it's no Asheville and no one wants to drive 40 mins into Asheville everyday.  Plus, areas like this are at a discounted price because of the distance.  Maggie Valley...I really wanted to see this area thrive, but I've watched it for 12 plus years and it just hangs on.  Dead all around, even on nice weekends.  Apparently Ghost Town made the town thrive, but since it shut down, things have been dead.  People keep hoping for Ghost Town to reopen, but I can't see that ever happening.