High Country Real Estate Sets Yearly Records Published: 14 January 2021 More area homes were sold in 2020 than during any other year on record, according to the year-end real estate report by the High Country Association of REALTORS. Real estate professionals in the four-county area sold 3,253 residential listings worth $1.182 billion, both metrics record highs, in a year marked by a national pandemic, historically low interest rates and North Carolina becoming a top destination state for people looking for a new home. At year’s end, the number of High Country homes sold was up 25 percent from 2019 and the sales value was up 48 percent. That’s according to the High Country Multiple Listing Service. It records all REALTOR® transactions in Alleghany, Ashe, Avery and Watauga counties.