See ‘majestic’ N.C. mountain views from this record-setting $8.5 million estate
Vernon and Marie Krause are finally back home in the North Carolina mountains after 40 years away.
The couple couldn’t be happier with the mountain estate they closed on this month for $8.45 million: 510 Cloud Top Way in The Cliffs at Walnut Cove private community in Arden, 15 miles south of Asheville.
The sale set an all-time record in all of the Cliffs communities in the Carolinas — not just the 33-year-old ultra-luxury The Cliffs at Walnut Cove, Walnut Cove Realty agent Kyle Olinger said. The transaction also represents the highest-priced single-family home sale of 2024 in the Asheville area and Buncombe County, Olinger said.
Olinger listed the property, and Walnut Cove Realty agent Rebecca Dougherty brought the Krauses to the transaction.
Arden-based Walnut Cove Realty is affiliated with Western N.C. luxury market leader Allen Tate/Beverly-Hank.
The Cliffs at Walnut Cove community includes an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus golf course, 18,000-square-foot wellness center and hiking trails.
Couple owns 23 auto dealerships, 1 near Lake Norman
In a Walnut Cove Realty statement, the Krauses said the “natural beauty” in and around The Cliffs at Walnut Cove plus the home’s many features sealed the deal.
The Krauses own 23 auto dealerships in the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida through their Krause Auto Group, including Asheville Lincoln, Asheville Ford and, in the Lake Norman area, Huntersville Ford on Statesville Road.
At 2,800 feet, the home has “majestic” and “pristine” views of Pisgah National Forest, the Blue Ridge Parkway and The Cliffs at Walnut Cove golf course, according to the Walnut Cove Realty statement.
Plus long-range views of Biltmore Estate, downtown Asheville and mountain ridges.
Another attraction: summer temperatures rarely above the low 80s.
Design and construction of the mountain modern-style home involved Dillard-Jones Builders, DOMA Architecture and Tribus Interior Design.
Features include a wine cellar, personal gym, a bunk room for children and retractable screens on the main deck.
“Our new Cloud Top home has everything we were looking for,” Vernon Krause told The Charlotte Observer on Friday. “The house is beautiful and has many distinctive features. The elevation gives us the cooler temperatures we want.
“And we have access to golf and all the other things to do at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove,” he said.
A new kind of luxury home buyer
The sale of 510 Cloud Top Way reflects several major trends in Western North Carolina’s luxury second home market, Allen Tate/Beverly-Hank spokesperson Kyle Parks said in announcing the sale.
“The higher end of the market continues to be extremely strong,” Parks said. “More than 50% of these buyers pay in cash, so higher mortgage rates are not a concern.
“Meanwhile, more working professionals are joining the ranks of luxury home buyers, who have long been dominated by retirees.”
Of the 19 luxury homes over $1 million sold by Walnut Cove Realty/Allen Tate/Beverly-Hank in The Cliffs at Walnut Cove this year, 11 were to working professionals or business owners, Parks said.
