Highlands is expensive, but the number depends on what is being measured. In a small, luxury-heavy mountain market, asking prices, closed-sale prices, and price-per-square-foot figures can point in different directions.
As of August 2026, Realtor.com reported a median listing price of $1.705 million for Highlands, a median sold price of $1.035 million, 269 active listings, and 90 median days on market. Redfin, using a different reporting period and methodology, reported a median sale price of about $670,000 for the three months ending July 2026; its data included 19 sales in July.
Those figures are not necessarily in conflict. They reflect different measures, time periods, and potentially different market boundaries. In Highlands, a relatively small number of transactions can move a median sharply. A condominium, an older cottage, and a multimillion-dollar mountain estate may all be grouped under the Highlands label, even though they serve entirely different buyers.
The underlying explanation is more durable than any one monthly statistic: Highlands combines limited, highly desirable mountain property with substantial seasonal and second-home demand. At the same time, adding new homes—or replacing older ones—can require more site planning, infrastructure work, and permitting than construction on an ordinary level lot.
First, define what “Highlands” means
“Highlands” is often used as both a place name and a lifestyle description. A property marketed as Highlands may be inside the incorporated Town of Highlands, in Highlands Township, within ZIP code 28741, elsewhere on the Highlands Plateau, or in a nearby community identified with Highlands because of its proximity to town. Some may be located across county or state lines.
That distinction matters. Jurisdiction can affect zoning, watershed rules, utility availability, septic requirements, road maintenance, permitting authority, property taxes, and the comparable sales used to estimate value.
A home ten minutes from Main Street may offer much of the Highlands lifestyle without being subject to Town of Highlands rules or served by town utilities. It may also compete with a different set of properties at resale. Before treating a listing as a Town of Highlands home, buyers should verify its actual location, governing jurisdiction, and available services.
A small town serves a much larger seasonal population
Highlands has a limited housing base serving demand well beyond its year-round population. The 2020 Census counted 1,072 residents and 2,307 housing units in the incorporated Town of Highlands, a relationship that reflects the town’s long-standing role as a seasonal, second-home, and visitor destination.
The Town of Highlands Community Plan estimates that 1,473 homes in town are used as seasonal residences or rentals. The plan also estimates that the broader Highlands Plateau population rises from roughly 3,200 people to approximately 18,000 during peak season.
That does not mean every seasonal residence is a short-term rental, or that rentals alone explain local prices. Census seasonal-use categories do not directly measure every short-term rental arrangement. Still, the town’s planning documents identify seasonal residences and rentals as factors that reduce the number of homes available for year-round occupancy.
For buyers, the practical result is a narrow supply of certain property types. A walkable in-town cottage, a newer home with a view, a private estate with guest space, or a home near golf and club amenities may each appeal to a different buyer. A property that combines several of those attributes is rarer still.
Buyers are purchasing more than a house
In Highlands, the setting is often central to the purchase. Main Street sits at approximately 3,850 feet in elevation, contributing to the cooler temperatures that attract seasonal residents from warmer parts of the Southeast. The town’s historic character, established downtown, inns, restaurants, shops, cultural offerings, golf communities, and access to outdoor recreation all contribute to its appeal.
The surrounding mountain landscape matters as well. Highlands is located in the Nantahala National Forest region, where forested slopes, streams, waterfalls, ridgelines, and long-range views are part of the experience buyers seek. Those qualities do not create a fixed dollar premium for every property, but they help explain why a limited number of homesites and homes can command strong interest.
Two homes with similar square footage may have very different value profiles. One may be walkable to Main Street, have easy year-round access, and offer a gentle driveway and usable outdoor space. Another may be more remote, accessible by a steep private road, or located on a site with limited parking and more difficult maintenance. Neither is inherently better, but they are not close substitutes for many buyers.
In Highlands, value is often shaped by the combination of location, climate, privacy, access, utilities, views, and what the land can realistically support—not by square footage alone.
Vacant land is not always buildable land
A map may show vacant parcels around Highlands, but vacant land and readily buildable land are not the same thing. Mountain sites can be steep, irregularly shaped, heavily wooded, crossed by drainage features, limited by access, or constrained by utility and septic conditions.
A large parcel may contain only a modest area suitable for a house, driveway, parking, septic field, drainage improvements, and outdoor living space. The cost and complexity of reaching that usable area can materially affect whether the lot represents an opportunity or an expensive challenge.
Within the Town of Highlands, development standards are also designed to protect water resources, slopes, streams, lakes, and the mountain landscape. Depending on the parcel, a project may need to account for minimum lot sizes, watershed-overlay requirements, built-upon-area limits, buffers, slope conditions, drainage requirements, and erosion-control measures.
Most land within town limits lies in a watershed overlay district. Residential construction may require a zoning certificate, a watershed permit, and a county building permit. These requirements do not make construction impractical, nor do they prove a one-to-one cause of home prices. They do require earlier and more detailed site planning than a typical level subdivision lot with public sewer and utilities already in place.
At Hillcrest Homes Inc., we encourage buyers to evaluate a site beyond its acreage and views. A smaller parcel with practical access, manageable grades, utility availability, a suitable building envelope, and a clear septic path may be more valuable than a larger lot that requires extensive engineering, excavation, retaining, and infrastructure work.
Utilities, septic, and access can reshape the budget
Some of the most important characteristics of a Highlands property are not visible in listing photography. Sewer availability, septic capacity, road access, drainage, and utility service can all affect what may be built, renovated, or added to a property.
The Town of Highlands provides water, electricity, and garbage service, but sewer is available only in some residential areas. Where public sewer is unavailable, septic feasibility becomes a major consideration. County health approvals can affect the number of bedrooms a home can support, the placement and size of a house, the feasibility of a guest suite, and the potential for an addition or replacement home.
An existing septic system should not automatically be assumed to support a larger home, more bedrooms, a new guest wing, or a different site layout. For lot buyers, a favorable septic determination can be among the most valuable parts of pre-purchase due diligence.
Access deserves the same scrutiny. A mountain parcel may require driveway construction, culverts, retaining walls, drainage structures, road improvements, or easement coordination before building begins. Construction equipment and material deliveries need safe access; the finished driveway must work for owners, guests, service providers, and changing weather conditions.
Questions to ask before buying a lot or teardown candidate
- Is the property inside the incorporated Town of Highlands, and which jurisdiction’s rules apply?
- Is public sewer available? If not, what septic system is approved or realistically feasible?
- What building envelope remains after setbacks, buffers, slopes, easements, and other site constraints are considered?
- Can the site support the desired bedroom count, garage, outdoor living areas, and guest accommodations?
- What driveway, grading, drainage, retaining, or road work may be required?
- Are water and electric service available at the site, and what extensions or upgrades may be needed?
- Which zoning, watershed, health, and building approvals are required before construction can begin?
- For an existing home, do the septic system, utility service, access, and footprint support the intended renovation or replacement?
Why custom construction can cost more here
Market value and replacement cost are related, but they are not the same thing.
Market value is what a buyer will pay for an existing home in the current market. Replacement cost is what it would take to design and build a comparable home on a specific site today. An older home may have been built on a favorable lot years ago, under different material costs and construction conditions. A new custom home may be planned for a steep undeveloped parcel that needs a driveway, utility extensions, septic installation, retaining structures, drainage systems, and extensive excavation.
There is no honest universal percentage for a “Highlands construction premium.” Some lots are relatively straightforward. Others require significant planning and site work before foundation excavation can begin.
Costs can be influenced by:
- Steep, rocky, or irregular terrain
- Excavation, grading, and spoil management
- Driveway construction and construction access
- Retaining walls and site-specific foundation design
- Drainage, stormwater, and erosion-control measures
- Utility extensions, upgrades, and service coordination
- Septic design, installation, and reserve-area requirements
- Surveying, engineering, architecture, and permitting work
- Delivery logistics and trade access on mountain roads
The most successful custom homes are designed with the land rather than imposed on it. Early decisions about home placement, driveway alignment, foundation strategy, drainage, utility routes, and view protection can materially affect both the budget and the finished experience of the home.
Before committing to a lot or finalizing a design, it is wise to coordinate the builder, architect, surveyor, engineer, septic professional, and permitting authorities. A site review cannot eliminate every unknown, but it can identify major cost drivers while there is still time to revise the plan.
High asking prices do not mean every home sells immediately
Highlands has many expensive listings, but an asking price is not the same as a verified market value. Listing prices reflect seller expectations. Closed sales show what buyers paid, though those sales must still be evaluated in light of location, condition, lot quality, amenities, and timing.
Realtor.com’s August 2026 report of 90 median days on market is a useful reminder that Highlands is not a market where every listing sells quickly or above asking. A well-positioned, well-priced home can attract strong interest. A luxury property with dated finishes, difficult access, limited usable land, or an ambitious price may take longer to find the right buyer.
Pricing often turns on details such as:
- Whether the property is in town, outside town limits, or simply marketed as Highlands
- Proximity to Main Street, clubs, golf, and community amenities
- View quality, privacy, sunlight, and elevation
- Driveway grade, road access, and year-round usability
- Condition, renovation quality, and the age of major systems
- Bedroom count, floor plan, guest accommodations, and outdoor living areas
- Lot usability, septic capacity, utility service, and expansion potential
- How the home compares with recent closed sales rather than active listings
Active listings are useful for understanding available inventory and seller expectations. They are not a substitute for carefully selected closed comparables. In a market with wide variation among property types, buyers distinguish between a home that is genuinely scarce and one that is simply priced aggressively.
The practical explanation for Highlands prices
Highlands pricing is not simply a matter of luxury branding. The town and surrounding Plateau offer a limited supply of mountain homes and homesites in a location with substantial seasonal and second-home appeal. Adding new supply can be difficult because terrain, access, utilities, septic capacity, watershed requirements, drainage, and permitting all shape what can realistically be built or improved.
That does not mean every Highlands property is equally valuable or equally expensive to build. An in-town cottage, a golf-community home, a remote ridge property, a condominium, and a vacant parcel outside town limits may all be part of the Highlands market while having very different value drivers.
The clearest way to evaluate a purchase is through two separate lenses: what is the existing property worth based on recent comparable sales, and what would the site require if the home needs to be renovated, expanded, replaced, or built from the ground up?
For buyers considering a Highlands lot, teardown candidate, major renovation, or custom home, early site evaluation is essential. Access, buildability, home placement, septic and utility considerations, permitting, and likely site work can determine whether an attractive property becomes a sound long-term decision.