EP# 352: Redefining Luxury Real Estate In Western North Carolina with Real Luxury Life

What if luxury real estate had nothing to do with price and everything to do with how you’re treated? We sit down with broker Alicia Bean MacDonald of Christie's International Real Estate to unpack a service-first approach that helps buyers, sellers, and investors in Western North Carolina make smarter moves with less stress. Alicia explains why accurate pricing on day one creates momentum, how strategic comps and absorption data guide better list decisions, and why the “overprice then negotiate” tactic often backfires in today’s shifting market.

We also dig into buyer myths—especially the idea that you need a massive down payment. Alicia lays out accessible lending options, including programs with zero-to-five percent down, and shares how to evaluate readiness with income, credit, and property type in mind. For investors, she breaks down cap rates, rental benchmarks, and honest expense modeling to stress-test returns. With the local market evolving over the past 12 months, she shows how real-time data can protect margins and keep offers competitive without overreaching.

Beyond the numbers, Alicia opens up about a childhood challenge that forged her resilience and empathy—qualities that now anchor her client relationships. That story underlines her philosophy: luxury is a standard of service, accessibility, knowledge, and integrity for every client, whether it’s a first-time buyer or a million-dollar seller. If you want clear strategy, grounded expectations, and a steady hand from search to closing, this conversation delivers practical steps you can use right away.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend who’s navigating a move, and leave a quick review to help others discover conversations that make smarter real estate decisions possible.

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place

(00:02):
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Skip Money.

SPEAKER_00 (00:12):
Well, hello everyone, and welcome to the
Good Neighbor Podcast.
So I am um very excited thismorning to have a very special
guest in our studio for thefirst time.
And I'm sure I'm excited tolearn all about them and their
business, and I'm sure you willbe as well.
Because today I have thepleasure of introducing your
good neighbor, Miss Alicia BeanMcDonald, who is a broker with

(00:35):
Christie's International RealEstate.
Alicia, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_02 (00:39):
Thanks.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (00:41):
Like I said, we're excited to learn all about you
and your company.
So if you don't mind, why don'tyou kick us off by telling us
about uh about your business?

SPEAKER_02 (00:50):
Uh my business in Western North Carolina is Real
Luxury Life.
Um, that's my real estate brand.
I'm affiliated with Christie'sInternational Real Estate, and I
support folks in the process ofbuying and selling homes and
investment properties.

SPEAKER_00 (01:06):
And tell us about your journey.
How did you land here?

SPEAKER_02 (01:12):
Well, my entire career, I've been in service to
others.
I started with Makeup WishFoundation, where I was first
employed.
And after college, I went on tojoin the banking sector.
And I worked closely andsupported the lending
departments as the vicepresident of marketing.
And then I took a step back frommy corporate career to raise a
family.
And then I naturallytransitioned my skills into real

(01:35):
estate sales about 11 years ago.
I absolutely love assisting mycommunity in housing
transitions.
Through life, I've experiencedthe same changes that spark the
need for new housing, likerelocation, settling estates,
upgrading, downsizing, andinvesting too.
So I have a really goodunderstanding of what my clients
are navigating, and that'spartly why I can help them be

(01:57):
successful in reaching theirgoals.

SPEAKER_00 (01:59):
In the real estate industry, which you have a lot
of experience, uh what uh whatare some myths or misconceptions
in what you do?

SPEAKER_02 (02:09):
Um, I can think of two.
Um sometimes sellers believeoverpricing their property
leaves a buffer to negotiategetting the actual sales price
that they really want, but oftenit'll leave the property to sit
on the market for a much longertimeline, and then they'll be
faced with having to processprice reductions.
The best approach is to price itaccurately from day one and then

(02:33):
maximize on the initial showingsas a new listing on the market.
And the second is that buyershave to have a substantial down
payment in hand to purchase.
That's a myth sometimes.
There are a number of lendingprograms that cater to zero to
five percent down.
While there are qualificationsthat they have to meet, just

(02:56):
like any loan, I encouragebuyers to explore these options.
Often they find themselvessurprised by their own
capabilities.

SPEAKER_00 (03:04):
So, and I'm sure there's many more.
There's many misconceptions.
There's a lot.
There's a lot.

unknown (03:10):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (03:11):
Yeah.
Well, those are two good ones,though.
So um, who are your targetcustomers and how do you how do
you reach them?

SPEAKER_02 (03:19):
My target clientele is anyone that's a buyer or a
seller or an investment um or ana real estate investor in
Western North Carolina.
Um I love helping people in thathousing transition.
Um, but I also love helpingthose real estate investors look

(03:41):
for a property that's going toreturn.
Um so I'm so happy to provideall of the market analysis data
for buyers, for sellers, um,market um comparative analysis.
So we know that you're eithermaking an appropriate offer in
terms of pricing, or you'repricing your property

(04:04):
appropriately before listing iton the market, or um also
running cap rate calculationsfor investors to know uh what
the percentage of return wouldbe, um, and also running some
rental rate analysis in themarket.
Things are changing, um, andwe've experienced a pretty hefty

(04:26):
change in the past 12 months.
So that that marketing um, thatmarket data analysis is is more
important than ever.

SPEAKER_00 (04:34):
I couldn't agree more.
So um you it sound like youknow, being being in real
estate, I know is a demandingjob, um, but hopefully there's
some time outside of work uhthat you get to enjoy.
Uh if so, what do you like to dofor fun?

SPEAKER_02 (04:49):
You know, as much as I love selling homes, I love
being at home.
Homesteading, walking thetrails, and welcoming guests.
Um, I also love to travel andattending live music events
whenever I can.

SPEAKER_00 (05:05):
Well, you live in a great place for that too.
There's tons of tons of shows.
Absolutely.
Well, uh, let's switch gears forjust a second.
Um, Alicia, if you could umthink of a hardship or a life
challenge that you've overcomeand how it made you stronger
when you came out the otherside.
Anything come to mind?

SPEAKER_02 (05:25):
You know, um I think I'll have to roll that all the
way back um to my childhood.
Um, when I was a kid, I wasreally overweight.
I loved eating and I lovedsugar.
And I was mercilessly ridiculedfor it.
But I knew I wasn't a bad personbecause I was heavy.

(05:47):
Um, so with my family's supportand love, I was able to brush
off the bullies and still find away to love myself.
I eventually lost the weight,but I didn't lose myself.
Was still the same happy gal.
That experience has transcendedthrough my adult life.
I know when I'm getting beat upby the world, that can't change
my loving spirit.
I'll always have that inside ofme.

SPEAKER_00 (06:09):
Great story.
Um, so if um Alicia, if youcould think of one thing, the
one thing that you'd like ourlisteners and viewers to
remember about you and about uhuh your uh Christy's
International Real Estate and uhreal luxury life, what would
that be?

SPEAKER_02 (06:30):
I want your listeners to know that my luxury
real estate business is notdefined by value, but by level
of service.
I believe luxury standards aresteeped in quality service,
accessibility, knowledge, andexpertise.
So whether you're amillion-dollar client or a
first-time homebuyer, I do notwaver in providing luxury-level

(06:50):
service to all of my clients.

SPEAKER_00 (06:54):
Service makes the difference.

SPEAKER_02 (06:57):
Agreed.

SPEAKER_00 (06:58):
Absolutely.
Well, let's say some of ourlisteners' viewers uh are in the
market looking for a home orwanting to sell their home, or
perhaps an investor uh isinterested in learning more.
How can how can they do that?

SPEAKER_02 (07:13):
They can find me at my website, RealLuxury Life.
I'm sorry, realluxury.life tolearn more about my services and
of course contact me.
Um I would love, I would love toknow how I can support your
listeners and their families.

SPEAKER_00 (07:32):
Awesome.
Realluxury.life.

SPEAKER_02 (07:36):
Realluxury.life.
That's my website.
And they could also GoogleAlicia D.
Macdonald um and see.
Um I have a I have a Googleprofile and they can see all my
reviews on there as well.

SPEAKER_00 (07:52):
All right, very good.
Well, Alicia, I can't tell youhow much I appreciate you taking
time out of your busy scheduleto tell us all about you and uh
and your your real estatebusiness.
And we wish you, your family,and your all your clients and
company all the best movingforward.

SPEAKER_02 (08:08):
Thank you, Skip.
Thanks for taking the time tohave me today.
I really appreciate being a partof the Good Neighbor Podcast.

SPEAKER_00 (08:15):
Well, we're thrilled to have you as a part of the
podcast and would love to haveyou come back sometime.

SPEAKER_02 (08:20):
Yes, sir.
I'll love that.

SPEAKER_00 (08:23):
All right.
You have a great rest of theday.

SPEAKER_01 (08:26):
You do.
Thank you for listening to theGood Neighbor Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on the
show, go to GNP Tri-DashCities.com.
That's GNP Tri-Dash Cities.comor call 423-719-5873.