Some of you are not mountain people. And that’s OK. I don’t really understand, but what the heck. There’s a lot I don’t understand.

This last weekend someone rented the house next to me for the long weekend to see if they like it up here. They came up a day after our low reached 2 degrees. It warmed up, maybe, to the mid-30s while they were here and then started snowing. Not a lot, but enough to cover the ground, to change the world a bit.

They wrapped up and took walks to town, they built a good fire. They loved it.

I understand that. I’m the same way. A fire in my new woodstove, warming the house. A big comforter on my bed. A pot of spaghetti. A glass of wine. Netflix (I’m currently watching season 2 of The Tutors). And the snow is falling as I write…

I love this time of year. The winter views are awesome: you know what’s out there. As long as it’s not too icy, this is a great time of the year to take hikes.

And it’s a great time of the year to look for property up here. Just put on a coat and hope we don’t slide off the driveway…. (just kidding).

The top picture to the right, by the way, is from my deck. The one below that shows my Lake Toxaway listing: the entire cove was frozen. The other two are from lot that I have at Toxaway: the snowy creek and the falls. (It was hard to get a great pic: I didn’t want to fall in….)

2008 was a difficult year, and who knows what 2009 will bring. We’re all hoping for a “Happy New Year,” but no one really has a clear understanding of what to expect. We may have a significant downturn yet to come…or we may be near the proverbial bottom, poised for a rebound. I’m not going to claim to be the expert–nor do I trust the “experts” out there who seem to know so much. After all, just a few months ago, we were told adamantly that we’d never see gasoline prices under 4 bucks ever again.

Highlands is not immune to the real estate slowdown–not by a long shot. The 2008 numbers are discouraging, as most sellers have realized.

But because of the unique climate up here and the fact that for over a century, this is the place in the Southeast to escape the heat, the area is not in the crash mode we see elsewhere. Many sellers, if they can’t get an offer at least in the ball park of what they want, simply sit. Maybe after a few months of continued bad news, they’ll reconsider, but for now, they don’t “have” to sell, and they’re not going to. In fact, many will just take their property off the market, waiting until times get better. And they know that it may, indeed, be a while before we see the turnaround.

Others, though, are ready. They’ve seen portfolio values tank, and even if they’re not getting the money they’d hoped for, they’re ready to cash in. Some sellers are ready to cash in because they need the money; others want the cash to be in a position to take advantage of the weak markets, to be in position to buy low.

Thus, we’re seeing for the first time in a long while, the possibility of buying low in the Highlands real estate market too. Not everything, by any means, is the steal that many potential buyers may want, but the deals are out there for those who are ready to look.