About Us
Jonika Houk is the new owner and broker in charge of Country Places Realty. She purchased the business from a long-time (25+ years) local realtor, Kathy Hendricks. Kathy retired in October 2021 but still does referrals!
Jonika grew up on a small farm in the foothills of East Tennessee. Her father was a registered land surveyor, and she worked with him for many years. Jonika often spent days in the mountains surveying large tracts of land. Later in life, her topo and plat map skills came in handy when she was a backpacking and nature guide in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Jonika has also worked seasonally as a horseback trail guide in Colorado and New Zealand. She has called Madison County her home since 2011.
“I love the community here. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, gardening, playing music, singing, and spending time with my dogs, chickens, and horses. Many of our friends are also engaged in homesteading, and we all share our experiences. I have lived off-grid for the last 15 years and enjoy the rustic lifestyle.”
“I love to help others see the potential in old grown-up farms and raw tracts of land. I can share my personal experience of finding that perfect piece of property. I can assist my clients with ideas on house sites, gardening, spring water development, and permaculture. I have an environmentalist’s outlook on development in these mountains. Over-development is becoming an ever-increasing issue in the greater Asheville area.”
“I’m not afraid to hike some steep properties with you! I’m experienced with listing and showing houses, but if you are searching for or selling a farm or raw land in Madison County- that’s my specialty!”
Testimonials
12/29/2021 - Kyle Kennedy
Bought a Single Family home in 2021 in Hot Springs, NC.
Jonika was absolutely incredible to work with. She knows the area and knows what to look for and what questions to ask when viewing properties. She is responsive, professional, and went above and beyond for us while we were looking for a home from 1000 miles away. So happy with our experience and would not hesitate to work with her again. She came highly recommended and did not disappoint - hands down the best experience I’ve ever had working with a realtor.
12/29/2021 - 5sgxxdmzfx
Sold a Vacant Land home in 2021 in Marshall, NC.
Jonika is amazing!! She listed and sold property for us! She is a great communicator! She is very knowledgeable of NC property laws and the area itself. She handles both transactions smoothly and negotiated great deals! We would highly recommend her
07/13/2019 - aufdeutschbittebitte
Bought a home in 2018 in Spring Creek, Hot Springs, NC 28743.
I cannot recommend Jonika enough. She answers e-mails and telephone calls promptly, she is down-to-earth, knowledgeable, and experienced. She was also proactive and tenacious during the entire process. Her advice and expertise in negotiation got the sellers to drop the agreed upon price by an additional $10,000. We were moving across the country and she jumped in and did a lot of the legwork for us. She went above and beyond on so many occasions (before, during, and after the sale) that I can't even list them all!
11/04/2018 - altamont03
Bought land in 2018 in Mars Hill, NC 28754.
Jonika helped me find a great piece of buildable land that met my solar requirements. I had a tough want list, and she kept at it until we found just the right spot!
10/02/2018 - zuser
Bought land in 2018 in Marshall, NC 28753.
If you are buying, or selling real estate in Madison County, I highly recommend Jonika Houk. She knows the area, and made the buying process a breeze. Jonika is a good listener and only showed us properties that met our criteria. She was accessible from the initial showing through closing.
09/10/2018 - ncendoftheroad1
Sold a Single Family home in 2018 in Marshall, NC.
Jonika was fantastic to work with. Professional and hard-working, we couldn't ask for a better person to help us sell our unique log home and land in rural Madison County.
Thank you, Jonika for all you did!
Richard and Liz Sims
03/06/2018 - chargardens
Bought a home in 2018.
Don't let Jonika's low key presentation fool you! It's because she's grounded, and she's listening! If what you want is a realtor who knows the territory she works within, who actually went through the process you're about to go through looking for the right property in Madison county, and now is living on the land there... if you want someone who is totally on it, will listen carefully to what you want, and patiently help you find that special place you're looking for... you'll be so glad you have her steady help. Jonika also has a quality that is simply invaluable: integrity. She won't tell you what you want to hear just to sell you something. She's the real deal: honest, sincere, hardworking.
There are so many land-specific issues that come in this process- and you definitely want someone who's going to take the care to walk you through them. The bits after, too. She was always right there to answer a question, address a concern, bounce a thought off of, or print out a map or doc that was useful. I feel so lucky to have had the experience of working with her! Beginning to end, rock solid!