By Sarah Paynter

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A castle-like home in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains has sold for $15.85 million, setting a state record even as the area rebuilds from widespread damage caused by September's Hurricane Helene.

The roughly 13,500-square-foot home is located in Banner Elk, an affluent vacation destination about 80 miles northeast of Asheville, according to Marilyn Wright of Premier Sotheby's International Realty, who had the listing with colleague Rob Garrett. Listed for $14 million in September, the five-bedroom stone house has Gothic arches and stained glass, said Wright. It sold for more than its asking price because the buyer bought it furnished with rugs and furniture, including art, antiques and armor, said Wright.

Seller Thomas Rouse, co-founder of the Texas medical-device company Berkshire Biomedical, bought the 7.64-acre lot with his wife, Sandra Rouse, for $1.25 million in 2007. The couple built the house, which has extensive mountain views, around 2008.

Buyers' agent Chad Vincent of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Vincent Properties declined to identify the purchasers, but said they are local. Vincent represented the buyer with colleagues Jay Vincent and Melissa Boone.

The Rouses couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

The home went into contract in only 12 days, just as Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida. The house wasn't damaged in the storm, but the closing was delayed until electricity and power could be restored, said Wright. The buyer visited the house soon after the storm to assess the damage to the community, but decided to move forward with the sale after seeing the rapid pace of repair to local amenities including a local golf course, said Wright.

The Rouses, who live primarily in Dallas, sold because they are spending less time in the area, but are buying a smaller house nearby, said Wright.

The home's castle-esque design was inspired by the couple's travels to Europe, said Wright. Largely surrounded by forest, the house has ornate woodwork and hand-painted murals. Amenities include a home theater, a gym, two elevators, a wine cellar and a bar. An indoor-outdoor porch has a summer kitchen, she said.

The buyer liked the home's quality of construction and mountain views, Wright said.

The transaction comes on the heels of a $14 million sale in nearby Linville that closed in October, days after the hurricane devastated the region, said Wright, who had the listing. Florida-based car dealer Alan Wildstein was the buyer of the 5.9-acre estate, said his agent, Natalie Earnhardt of Premier Sotheby's International Realty. Wildstein couldn't be reached for comment.

Wildstein sold his vacation home in Linville several years ago but recently decided to return to the region and purchase this property, Earnhardt said. The five-bedroom, roughly 8,750-square-foot home was first listed for $29.75 million in 2022.

The seller was Carol Strickland, who now lives in Florida. Strickland's late partner, apartment builder Charles Weber, spent about $15 million assembling the land and building the estate with a golf simulator and a "Hobbit door" inspired by the "Lord of the Rings" movies.

Local real-estate agents in the mountains navigated road closures, internet outages and closed government offices -- not to mention damage to their own homes -- to close the Wildstein deal, said Wright.

The house lost only a few roof tiles, but neighboring homes lost windows and had significant roof damage, said Strickland. It took days to access the property after the storm due to road closures and downed trees, said Earnhardt, who represented Wildstein with colleague Josh Aldridge. Wildstein considered backing out of the deal in the face of the local devastation, but ultimately decided to move forward, she said.

"He was really concerned," said Earnhardt, "That kind of spoke to the longstanding relationship we had with this buyer, that he trusted us to see that once the community recovers, it's going to be fine."

Avery County, where Linville and Banner Elk are located, is part of a mountainous area that has become an attractive destination for high-net-worth individuals buying vacation homes, according to Wright. The town of Highlands, about 85 miles southwest of Asheville, has the state's most expensive listing, asking $50 million.

Outside of this corridor, North Carolina's ultraluxury market is largely confined to the coastal Wilmington area and Lake Norman, a wealthy vacation area north of Charlotte, Wright said. Before the Rouse and Wildstein deals, the North Carolina record was a $13.9 million waterfront sale in the Wilmington area, she said.

Write to Sarah Paynter at Sarah.paynter@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 23, 2024 09:00 ET (14:00 GMT)

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