A second-generation real estate agent with 22 years of experience, Mosaic broker Justin Mitchell knows how to make the most of life in Western North Carolina as an avid cyclist and outdoor enthusiast. Drawing from his adventure-seeking savvy, along with his skill as a seasoned videographer, Mitchell can be trusted to give both buyers and sellers a thorough picture – quite literally – of the perfect Asheville home.
What brought you to Asheville, and what drew you into real estate?
I grew up with a highly successful mother and father in the real-estate business in Nashville. While on summer breaks in college, I worked on a framing crew and learned about construction first-hand. I moved to Asheville in 2007, for the most part drawn to the quality of life that this city has to offer – the mountains and great music scene. I wanted a cool smaller town, but it also needed to have a vibrant live-music scene. Mountain biking and river sports were also at the top of my list.
Justin Mitchell blends biking into Asheville life
Elaborate on your biking life, its inception and how your biking interests have evolved over the years.
I was raised around bikes, and spent a lot of my youth competitively racing BMX. I had backyard BMX tracks, half pipes, and it definitely was a huge part of my life. When I went off to college in Knoxville, I got a mountain bike, and that’s when I started the sport. I was coming up to Pisgah [National Forest] in the early ’90s to hit the popular mountain biking trails here, so I have a long history of riding the “classics.”
What makes Asheville such a great city for the biking enthusiast?
The thing that appeals most to me as a mountain biker is the diversity you find here, everything from beginner-friendly trails at Bent Creek [Experiential Forest] to really advanced bike parks and challenging trails in Pisgah and the surrounding communities. Bike parks like The Riveter [in Fletcher], Bailey Mountain downhill bike park [in Marshall], and Ride Kanuga [in Hendersonville] will pretty much allow you to go as big as you want to go – in fact, Kanuga was built by a pro World Cup downhill champion. The parks certainly give me my BMX-background fix for big jumps and more progressive riding.
Although Asheville is limited by its layout and historic nature of the roads to be conducive to riding bikes around town for transportation, there have been a lot of gains on that front in the 12 years I’ve lived here.
Elaborate on how you’ve found ways to weave your love of biking, your love of Asheville, and your career in real estate into one.
Being a part of the Asheville mountain bike culture since the ’90s, there’s a thread that makes it easy to connect with other people who are into the sport. I’m able to impart my knowledge of the mountain biking community in Western North Carolina, the various resources, the different trail systems, everything. When biking is such a huge part of a person’s lifestyle, and they want their new home in Asheville to help facilitate that lifestyle, it helps to work with someone who can see the area through that same lens.
Justin Mitchell on green homes in Asheville
Talk a little about the Green Home Bike Tour, and how it combines two of your passions.
I’ve been involved in new construction since the beginning of my real estate career. Green homes and the desire to learn more about them was another thing that brought me to Asheville. When I moved here and realized there were so many green homes within a short distance of each other, I had an idea to organize a green home bike tour that centered on educating others about the benefits of green homes, and I used the opportunity to put together a ride that toured North Asheville, West Asheville, and the town center. It was definitely a good way to blend two of my top interests, and it was a great experience.
Your videography savvy stands out in the industry. How do you weave such skills and knowledge into your work as an agent?
My love for travel and documenting my outdoor experiences via GoPro [action cameras] and photography is a passion that’s turned into a very beneficial skill set to help my clients market their homes. It’s also helped buyers in situations where they can’t be physically present to tour homes. My videography skills definitely take it up a notch: This isn’t simply using an iPhone to snap shots of a home – I use highly specialized gear to capture aerial images and create visually rich virtual home tours.
My technological knowledge and gear have enabled me to broker several “long-distance” real estate deals in Asheville in the past year where I didn’t even meet the buyers in person; their first tour of their new homes didn’t occur until the walkthrough, or after closing. My goal as an agent is to use technology to make purchasing properties from afar as easy and informative as possible.
Learn More: About Justin Mitchell
Connect with Justin: justin@justinasheville.com or 828-713-9400
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