BOONE, N.C. — Susan Stelling has lived in the high country since 2002. She is from Alaska but moved to North Carolina to go to Appalachian State University.

What You Need To Know

  • A potential home insurance increase is worrying real estate agents and homebuyers

  • The N.C. Rate Bureau has filed a request to increase homeowner insurance rates statewide

  • One agent says it will affect not just homeowners but also renters in the high country

She and her husband bought a home outside Boone in 2018, before homes became more difficult to find. She is real estate agent for EXP.

"Our inventory is really tight right now. The selection is limited, and a lot of people are all competing in the same price point. I believe our mid-price point is in the 500s," she said.

The N.C. Rate Bureau is proposing an increase in homeowner insurance rates statewide. Some areas could see a rise of over 40%.

Stelling says the potential for a large increase in insurance premiums has her concerned.

"I thought I had read something wrong or misunderstood," she said.

She says it would affect the high country as a whole.

"It really is going to impact folks that are on either a tight budget or that fixed income and they don't have much wiggle room in their monthly payments," she said. "It could find a way to renters, how much they are going to pay on a nightly basis."

Miles Washburn, who's looking for a second home in the area, believes a rate increase would affect where people choose to buy homes.

"I think it will affect real estate and real estate agents. People will be less likely to buy houses that have a tendency to get wet near rivers, near lakes, near shores, the coast," Washburn said.