A year after it faced setbacks from Tropical Storm Helene, a parade will soon return to Asheville, focusing on resilience through repaired homes and the region’s diverse solutions to increase housing stock, organizers say.
Dozens of homes across Buncombe and Henderson counties are opening their doors to guests the weekends of Oct. 11-12 and Oct. 18-19 as part of the 44th annual Western North Carolina Parade of Homes. Visitors from across the country will be making their way to WNC neighborhoods to view homes with popular designs, like a Provence, France-inspired home in Black Mountain, and those with unique designs, like a home with foldable walls, a home with a “living roof” and an energy efficient “round home.”
For some homebuilders, the parade is an opportunity to showcase products as many are still adjusting from Tropical Storm Helene, said Megan Carroll, Executive Officer of the Builders Association of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Some pivoted their business to repairs after the storm, while others helped address immediate needs by cleaning up and cleaning out their neighborhoods and towns from mud, debris and fallen trees.
Data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency indicates that 19,951 homes in Buncombe, Henderson, Madison and Transylvania counties were damaged by the storm with 1,400 likely needing to be replaced, according to a 2025 Housing Needs Assessment of the “Asheville region,” compiled by the real estate research firm Bowen National Research. This year, an underlying theme of the parade is resilience, Carroll said, as some homes were damaged and required repairs after the storm.
Deltec Building Inc. built the “Raven House” in Black Mountain, which will be showcased in the 2025 Western North Carolina Parade of Homes.
To underscore the theme of resilience, seven “renewed spaces” will be available for virtual tours in this year’s parade, including one home in Fairview that was deemed a “complete loss” after multiple tree strikes during Helene, according to the parade website. Scroggs Construction Services rebuilt the structure from the foundation walls.
More: Asheville residents still repairing homes over 8 months after Helene; ‘However long it takes’
Another “renewed space” is the remodel of a home in the East End Neighborhood that was saved by the Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County after it was set for demolition in 2021.
“Nearly a year later, whether the house sustained damage or potentially the builder had to deal with some things and couldn’t be part of this past spring parade, we are excited to showcase that work,” Carroll said.
Falcon Development of NC built 117 Rough Bark Trail in Asheville. The home will be showcased in the 2025 Western North Carolina Parade of Homes.
The homes also vary greatly in size and price. The parade features the 388 square-foot “Origami Home” built by Compact Cottages that was recently featured in a showcased by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as example of homebuilding innovation in America.
It also features the 8,200 square-foot “Bear Flower Retreat” in Arden, which is on the cover of the parade’s magazine. Behind the push for a variety of homes is to give parade-goers the opportunity to explore new neighborhoods in WNC, Carroll said.
In Black Mountain, Sineath Construction’s home “Modern at Elevation,” will be featured in the 2025 Western North Carolina Parade of Homes.
“It kind of forces you to get outside your comfort zone in that way,” Carroll said. Homes open for in-person tours are located in Arden, Asheville, Black Mountain, Fletcher, Hendersonville, Horse Shoe and Weaverville, according to the parade’s website.
Want to tour?
Tours of the homes the weekends of Oct. 11-12 and 18-19 are open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tours are self-guided and visitors are encouraged to pick up a Parade of Homes magazine to plan their tour. Magazines are located at member businesses or can be read on the parade website at wncparadeofhomes.com.
More: Answer Man: Why are trees along Asheville’s rivers tagged with orange flags?
More: Despite government shutdown, Helene housing program to ‘continue as normal,’ state says
Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at [email protected] or message will_hofmann.01 on Signal.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: WNC’s 2025 Parade of Homes to feature house formerly deemed total loss
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