Until recently, Swain County has been spared from the Western North Carolina real estate boom that has been fueled largely by second-home and retiree markets, steadily driving up prices in the neighboring counties of Haywood, Jackson and Macon.

But when the first countywide property re-appraisal in eight years was released last week, many homeowners and landowners learned they were sitting on a small gold mine.

A retired couple who lives along the wide mouth of the Tuckasegee River as it flows into Lake Fontana was shocked to find out their 1.2 acres — valued at $2,187 eight years ago — was now worth $26,000. That does not include the home, just the land.

“There’s something wrong when land jumps that high,” said Clarence Pilkington. Pilkington and his wife, Peggy, were among dozens of residents who lined up at the tax office last week after receiving their revaluation notices in the mail.

The notices instructed taxpayers to call and make an appointment. Nonetheless, bright pink signs posted every few feet directed people through the halls of the county building to a special waiting room where a steady trickle of walk-ins camped out on folding chairs.

When it was the Pilkingtons’ turn, they were called into a makeshift office where Gary Venable — a field appraiser with Wampler Eanez Appraisal, the firm that conducted the countywide reappraisal — asked how he could help them.

There must be a mistake with the value given to their land, the Pilkingtons told him. Venable gently explained that the amount seemed right on target. A one-acre home site with paved road access averages $20,000. So for 1.2 acres, especially near the lake, $26,000 isn’t farfetched, Venable said.

Venable then explained how to protest the values, handed them a stack of forms and directed to the table in the waiting area to fill them out.

Margie Williams was next. She owns 25 acres of family property in Alarka that went up “quite a bit” and she didn’t know why.

“That’s what I’m here to see — why?” Williams asked.

Margaret Varner, a Realtor in Swain County for 30 years, pegs the onset of the Swain real estate boom to around the year 2000. A profile of the most common buyer is someone with kids out of college but not quite retired, she said. They want a lot they can build a house on when they do retire, or a home for the occasional weekend vacation now that will become a part-time residence when they retire.

“With the boomers getting ready to retire, that generation is really pushing the market,” said Varner of Varner Real Estate in Bryson City.

A larger portion of the county’s property is falling into the hands of out-of-towners — people who own property or a second-home here but claim a primary residence in another state. An estimated 40 percent of the Swain County revaluation notices went to out-of-state addresses.

In Jackson and Macon counties, more than 50 percent of property owners list an out-of-state address as their permanent address, a ratio that has held steady for some time.

As a Realtor, Varner has been slammed the past week with questions from the public regarding what they see as sky-high property values. The concern for most is that higher property values will mean higher property taxes, Varner said.

“It is tough for people who have fixed incomes,” Varner said.

Al Walker, who lives in Alarka, is one of those people. He saw the value of his two-bedroom house on 1.4 acres jump from $52,700 to $121,700. But several trailers have recently located across the highway from him, which he said should lower his property value.

“They’ve got my property appraised for more than I could sell it for,” Walker said.

Maybe not, though. According to research Varner did six months ago, the median price for a house in Swain County was $169,900.

Varner was hard pressed to identify the hottest market. Property with mountain views, lake views, river views, lake access, river access, adjacent to the park, near the park, easy access to the park, in Nantahala Gorge, near Nantahala Gorge all rank near the top — and frankly sum up almost the whole county.