Sara Yakira

I am delighted to be a recent transplant to Asheville (she and her husband moved here several years ago). Growing up in Brooklyn, NY, I fell in love with the Blue Ridge Mountains as a child, spending summers at Camp Judaea in Hendersonville. After graduating with a degree in Drama/Dance from Bard College, I escaped the East Coast for San Francisco. Appreciating the sense of “the big city inside a small town,” I lived there until moving to Asheville – all except for five years in Jerusalem, Israel. My parents had moved to Israel and it became important for me to spend time with them during the final chapter of their lives. I became a real estate agent there, serving a widely diverse clientele, many of whom were buyers from overseas, seeking retirement or vacation properties.

Making people feel at home is one of the joys in my life. And this is what I bring to serving my clients – helping them find the home that will become their nest, their place of celebration, comfort and safety. Or helping sellers prepare their homes for the market, so they can leave the nest for whatever their goals are.

I am proud to be serving as the Real Estate Consultant on the Steering Team of Housing Options for Aging in Place (HOAP), an Age-friendly Buncombe County Initiative.  In just a few years, one in five residents of the County will be age 65 or older. The purpose of HOAP is to create a comprehensive, coordinated initiative that knits together diverse stakeholders across multiple domains to effectively work toward a community where older adults have the ability and choice to age in place. Our goals are for the community to recognize and support safe, accessible, affordable housing as a social determinant of health for older adults; to create new and modified policies and practices (both governmental and organizational) which support and promote affordable and accessible housing options.

Upon arrival in Asheville, I became very active in my synagogue community, Congregation Beth Israel. A regular attendee at services, I am a member of the Ritual Committee, and I often step up to volunteer for events and ad hoc committees. I also serve on the Steering Committee for the Center of Jewish Studies at UNC Asheville. You can find me at one of the Asheville’s many superb restaurants (she happily describes herself as a foodie) or fine theaters (you may even find her on stage now and then), and most definitely at Tourists baseball games. Elie and I love adventuring – continuing to explore the areas in and around Asheville – which broadens and deepens my knowledge of my new home. I can’t wait to help you find yours!