Auto dealer Vernon Krause and his wife, Marie, have returned to the Asheville area after about 40 years away and bought a mountain home for $8.45 million. The sale of the 7,640-square-foot home, which offers views of Pisgah National Forest, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Biltmore Estate and downtown Asheville, represents the highest-priced single-family home sale this year in Buncombe County, according to Walnut Cove Realty.
The August sale of the home in The Cliffs at Walnut Cove in Arden is the highest-priced home sale in the 33-year history of The Cliffs Communities, which is owned by Charlotte-based South Street Partners. The sale also represents the growth in Buncombe’s luxury housing market, with 10% of homes sold in the county in the second quarter of this year fetching $1 million or more, according to Walnut Cove Realty.
For 33 years, Vernon Krause has built an auto group with 23 dealerships in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Krause Auto Group includes Asheville Ford, Asheville Lincoln and Huntersville Ford in Mecklenburg County. Krause and his wife, Marie, still work in the dealership business, which includes 11 dealerships in Florida, five in Georgia and seven in South Carolina. They have raised their children in Florida and Georgia.
The sale also reflects several trends in western North Carolina’s luxury second home market, according to Walnut Cove Realty officials. The higher end of the market continues to be extremely strong: More than half of these buyers pay in cash, so higher mortgage rates are not a concern.
Also, more working professionals are joining the ranks of luxury home buyers, which have long been dominated by retirees. Of 19 Cliffs at Walnut Cove homes of more than $1 million sold this year by WCR, an affiliate of Allen Tate/Beverly-Hanks, 11 were to working professionals or business owners.
The home was built in 2021 in collaboration with Dillard-Jones Builders, DOMA Architecture, and Tribus Interior Design. It includes a wine cellar, a personal gym, a bunk room for kids and retractable screens on the main deck.
The Cliffs at Walnut Cove includes an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus golf course, an 18,000-square-foot wellness center, hiking trails and more. It is one of seven private communities collectively known as The Cliffs.