Springing into the Real Estate Market: Insights from Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina

Ever wondered what's stirring in the real estate pot? Buckle up for a whirlwind tour through Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina's property scene with the George Real Estate Group's latest market insights. Spring brings more than just blooming flowers; we're serving up a fresh slice of industry analysis, discussing how local vibrancy intersects with national trends, and the importance of skilled advocacy in current buying and selling dynamics. We'll navigate the complexities of the market, from multiple offers to crucial home inspections, ensuring you're equipped with the knowledge to stay a step ahead.

This episode is a treasure trove for anyone keeping a pulse on the real estate heartbeat. We dissect the '5 Ds' driving market movement, tackle the rarity of foreclosures, and share how our team consistently outperforms expectations by adapting to the ever-changing landscape. Whether your interests lie in second homes, investment properties, or simply understanding the current market fluctuations, we've got insights tailored for your next power move. Plus, we're dishing out a heartfelt 'thank you' to our clients with a special Pie Day celebration, because nothing says appreciation quite like a delicious giveaway.

Wrapping up our property pow-wow, we shine a spotlight on the unique characteristics of each home and market situation, emphasizing the importance of clear, personalized information. Mortgage trends, the surprising surge of cash purchases, and the anticipation of rate changes all get their due attention. As we stand by over 1400 families who've trusted us with their real estate needs, we invite you to tap into the wealth of expertise the George Real Estate Group offers, right from the heart of Henderson County. Remember, whether you're dipping your toes or diving deep into the property waters, we're here to keep you afloat with guidance and insight.

Quality Home Consultants
Over 35,000 Home Inspections since 1998, Quality Home Consultants are ready to serve you.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hello friends, thank you so much for being here. This is the George Real Estate Group podcast, which is a production of our live weekly radio shows hosted on multiple radio stations here in Hendersonville, north Carolina. The George Real Estate Group serves Western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina and it is a privilege to share positive news about our local real estate market and community. Thanks so much for subscribing and, of course, if you have any real estate questions or if we can help you in any way, be sure to reach out. Visit us at George real estate group radio comm for more information. Good morning and welcome to the George real estate group live radio broadcast here on the queue every Monday morning. It's the middle of March. I mean March madness is going on. The, the blooms of the cherry blossoms, the real estate markets moving. I mean there's so much going on and so much to be thankful for, grateful To spend time with you this morning, share with you about the local real estate market, the national real estate market Got some stats to share with you as well. The market is moving. There's also the big news I mean there's a lot of news in there in the real estate market about the National Association of Realders settlement and how that might play out, and there's some changes coming up. Real, see, it's gonna continue to happen. It might look a little different, but I think there's gonna be a need, more than ever, to have someone there to advocate for you, whether you're buying or selling. Of course it's. This has always been the case. Real estate commissions are negotiable Whether you're representing a, whether it's a buyer looking for representation or a seller looking for representation. It's gonna be interesting to see how we're, how that's gonna evolve and how that's changing. But you know, the thing that's not gonna change again Is the is the need for advocacy, the need for real estate professional there to walk you through the buying and selling process. And and again, there's a tremendous amount of value there as real estate agents are advocating for their clients. Whether you know again, are you buying before you sell? Do you sell before you buy? Do you navigate? How are you? You know, how are you pricing your home? Can you? You know some. In a lot of cases we're seeing multiple offers and and giving the exposure in the marketing and all the things that go involved with. You know, working with real estate Agents and clients. And again, we're here to help and if we can help you anyway, give us a call it. 828-393 0134. 828 393 0134 would love to interview for the job. There's no pressure, there's no cost, there's no obligation to have the consultation free, confidential consultation. You can find us online at real estate buy gregcom. He can also stop by our office at 27 20 Greenville Highway there in flat rock. You can also subscribe to our podcast or we. We podcast all of our radio shows and grateful For the platform here to share about positive news about the real estate market, positive news about our community and again, so much to be thankful for. And and here we are to this morning. I want to, before we get started, certainly want to give a thanks to our radio show sponsors.

Speaker 1: 2:54

Quality home Inspections they are incredible. Jim Rawlings and in his team They've done over. Excuse me, quality home consultants Jim Rawlings and his team. They've done over 35,000 home inspections and they also do septic Repair, septic installation, septic inspections, in addition to pests and radon as well. You can call them directly at 828-687-7221. 828-687-7221.

Speaker 1: 3:24

Quality home consultants Jim Rawlings and his team. They've done over 35,000 home inspections and I think that number continues to go up Every single day as they're navigating and helping buyers and sellers. You don't even have to be buying or selling. Maybe you want somebody to get into your you know, go check out your crawl space, someone that get on top of your roof. Maybe you want to have a septic inspection. You know, maybe you have some challenges that they are. They are absolutely worth calling they. They do an tremendous amount of work in our community and we're grateful as our buyers, as our buyers, are navigating through you know.

Speaker 1: 3:57

Do they buy? You know North Carolina's and as is state. So you know it's so critical that buyers have their homes inspected before they go through. While they're going through what's called the due diligence process and that's what you know, real city just can help buyers navigate through the buying Process, and again, north Carolina's and as is state. However, buyers can investigate the property their expense. They can just determine what is satisfactory to them or not. They don't.

Speaker 1: 4:22

Buyers are not obligated to buy during what's called the due diligence period. Sellers are not obligated to To do anything actually, but the buyers and sellers can negotiate for, you know, repairs, that can negotiate for credits. I mean, anything is negotiable during that due diligence period. It's a second set of negotiations. Clearly, you know anything's negotiable at the beginning, but then anything can be negotiated. You know if the buyer and seller agree, they can negotiate what's right. You know what's what's genuinely a win-win for both sides.

Speaker 1: 4:51

So the market, the market. You know it's so fascinating it's. You know the market continues to move. It's so interesting. You know, really, when you look back at the US numbers in the United States, the annual Median, annual median home price they're projecting 2024 to end up at about 398. That's the median home price. You know our median home prices is around 420 here in Henderson County and around our area, but the median home prices, if they're expected to end up at 398, are average. Single family home price in Henderson County is over $528. That's the average single family home prices at $528. It's really fascinating. Just to look back over the last 15 years at the amount of appreciation that we've had, really, and then the amount of homes being sold. I mean, really, from 2020 to 2022, annual appreciation was over 12% across the United States. Last year in the United States, though, that number dropped below 1%, but that was across the country. In the last 12 months, we saw over 7% appreciation here in Henderson County.

Speaker 1: 6:10

Henderson County, a little different. We've always known that we like to brag on how amazing our community is and I do tell people I am biased. I think we live in one of the most spectacular places and you see that with the demand that's outpacing the industry, the demand In regards to number of homes for sale, number of homes selling I mean Henderson County over the last 12 months we're averaging some 120 homes a month selling. Over the last six months that number has dropped down, I think seasonally, to around 100 homes a month. But it's interesting when you look at the number of homes selling, the number of homes selling in 2023 versus the number of homes selling versus the last two years.

Speaker 1: 6:56

In 2021, we were at 6.1 million homes sold in the United States. In 2022, that number dropped to 5 million and then in 2023, that number in the United States dropped to 4.1 million. And, for context, yes, that's a big drop. It was a 2 million. Number of homes dropped was 2 million homes less 2 million homes sold in the United States from 2021 to 2023. And they're anticipating 2024 to be around the same mark.

Speaker 1: 7:32

But, for context, in 2005, at the top of the market in that previous cycle, the number of homes sold got up to 7.1 million and then in 2008, 2009 and 2010, that number dropped down to the 4 million range, and that's interesting. Here we are again in the 4 million range, again, some 15 years previously. The difference is this though the prices. The difference is significant because in 2010, 2011,. Everybody remembers the depressed prices that we saw, and that was because of the foreclosures. That was because of the incredible inventory levels that we had. It is not the same. It is not the same as what it was before and before. The number of homes selling, even though we're similar in the number of homes selling this cycle. Right now, the difference is the prices keep going up, and that's because of the low inventory levels. It's also because of the number of distressed sales there was over well, in 2008, there was 40% of the homes were distressed, and then it got into the 30s and then a third of the homes were either foreclosures or short sales, and we are, over the last six years, between 1% to 2% of distressed sales. That is significant difference.

Speaker 1: 9:04

If you're in trouble right now and you're having financial challenges and you need to sell your home, the market will absorb your home because of the low inventory levels. The low inventory levels here locally, but also nationally. I mean, right now there's only well, there's less than 300 active single family homes for sale. And then when we're averaging some 100 homes a month selling over the last three months, I mean we have a three month supply. It's interesting that in 2022, across the United States, there was 5.4 million homes that hit the market number of new listings. In 2023, there was 4.8. And then when we look at what's happening here locally compared to nationally, it's similar in the sense that we have less homes going on the market. So when you have less inventory and the demand is continuing, that's why you see prices continuing to go up. And again, nationally, they're saying the number, the percentage, is only going to be around, you know, one or 2% appreciation. We in Henderson County have seen over 7% appreciation. Again, it's just not the same, even though it's similar in the sense of the number of homes selling has dropped to that 4 million mark. I mean there's still we got to remember there's still 4 million homes being sold in the United States every single year. That seems to be a new baseline as to, or maybe the bottom of, just because life happens.

Speaker 1: 10:29

I was trying to remember. You know, there's 5Ds that correlate to why people might be buying or selling and you have death. I mean, that's just death happens. You also have divorce. Divorce happens. You also have debt. People get into financial trouble with debt. You also have diamonds people getting married and getting engaged, starting new families, and then you have diapers. I was trying to remember all five diapers. People's families are growing, people's families, you know. Then, of course, you have death and divorce and you have debt and you have diamonds, the five D's of real estate. Why real estate happens? It's life happens. Therefore, real estate happens and you know, I think we're gonna continue to see that real estate is gonna continue to happen.

Speaker 1: 11:18

But the market that we're in, it's funny. People ask well, hey, I'm looking for foreclosure. The truth is, you're gonna see less than 2% of the homes sold across the country or either gonna be foreclosures or short sales, compared to the four years of 2008, 2009, 10, and 11, when you were seeing over 30% of the homes sold were distressed. It's just that's why prices were plummeting. We're just not gonna see that we would have to see a significant turnaround in the inventory. We would have to see increases of inventory, which a lot of people are locked into these low two and three and 4% mortgage rates, and so, therefore, people are saying, hey, why I don't know if I'm gonna sell, because if I don't have one of these big life events happening, I don't need to sell right now. And so a lot of less people are considering selling their homes.

Speaker 1: 12:11

But I'm giving you all this context to share with you about the local market and the sense that our market is very healthy. We have a great supply of homes. It's relative, right, we have less than 300 homes available, but we're averaging around 100 homes a month selling. The point is we're helping people every single day buy and sell. Life happens. Therefore, real estate's happening and we have an incredible group of agents. We have an incredible group of agents at the George Real estate group that are here, ready and able and willing to help you navigate through the buying and selling process. There's no cost, there's no obligation, there's no pressure to have a confidential consultation with us at the George Real estate group, with incredible agents. We're helping people every single day.

Speaker 1: 12:54

The people are considering do we buy before we sell? Do we sell before we buy? Do we are we selling our second home? There's a lot of people considering the Airbnb market is so saturated right now and there's a lot of people that got into it are saying, hey, I think I wanna sell. It's not what it was not what I thought it was going to be. And so we're helping people sell their second homes, we're helping people sell their investment properties. I mean, we're just here to help. Whatever it might be Again, it could be an investment property, it could be. Maybe you're looking to sell land. We've had a lot of success with selling land and so maybe you're thinking about what it would look like. Whatever it is, your home, your investment property it could be undeveloped land, it could be improved land, it could be a commercial property. Whatever you're selling, we have the tools and the systems and the experience to help you navigate through the buying and selling process.

Speaker 1: 13:48

The George Rillsay Group we had the experience of helping over 1,400 families throughout the years buying and selling. We are growing. We are outpacing what the market's doing. The market has had a decline, but because of the incredible group of agents and the hard work that they're putting in and again we are it's sort of tongue in cheek I tell my team we're not gonna participate in the downturn. And lo and behold, we haven't. We're actually up significantly this year compared to last year and that's not what the market's doing. And when I say the market's going, when I say the market's declining, it's declining in the number of homes selling and, like I said, nationally it went from two years ago over six million homes sold to 2023, a two million home drop. So the number of homes selling nationally is similar. I mean we had a drop from almost 150 homes a month selling in Henderson County down to 100 homes. I mean almost a 30% drop in the number of homes selling here locally.

Speaker 1: 14:47

But the challenge can be is when you get hung up on looking at what's happening versus looking ahead to the future. I mean the point is life is happening, therefore real estate's happening and we're helping people. There's so much positive going on. So many people's lives are being changed for the positive, finding that right home, whether you're downsizing or upsizing or rightsizing, maybe you're moving into a retirement community, maybe you're trying to age in place, maybe, whatever it might be, and whether you're not even. I mean, if we can help you, we have contractors and lenders and appraisers and surveyors and attorneys and tax consultants and we have an entire team that we have ready to help you and we'd be honored to interview for the job. Give us a call at 828-393-0134, 828-393-0134,. Find us online at realestatebygregcom. You can also call us directly at 828-393-0134.

Speaker 1: 15:43

Be sure to subscribe to our podcast. You can subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, but we have a short break coming up, so stay tuned in. We'll be right back. Good morning and welcome back. You're listening to the George Rilsate Group live radio broadcast here in the queue every Monday morning, sharing with you positive news about your local Rilsate Market and community and excited to be here. We had a great pie day last week. It was 314. We had a lot of fun giving away pies. It was something we love to do. It's truly because of our clients. We're so thankful for our clients. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for our clients and, like I shared before we went to the break, we've had the experience of helping over 1400 families with their Rilsate needs, whether buying or selling or investing in Rilsate, and we'd love to interview for the job Again.

Speaker 1: 16:33

If you're just curious about what your home is worth, if you're curious about what's happening in the market, it is. Every home is unique and different. Every situation is unique and different. The market's the market and that's where we can provide clarity and we can provide information so you can decide what it might look like for you and how you want to navigate through the market and how you can just decide what's right for you. And I think at the point is, when you have information, you have information, you can navigate and make decisions for what's right for you. And so I think it's going to be it's the more information we provide. And here's the thing you don't even have to be buying or selling. If you just were curious what the market is, you can make a decision. We're here to navigate through all of that, so give us a call. 828-393-0134. 828-393-0134. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast. We podcast all of our radio shows. We are just grateful to and we've had the privilege of having some great guests here on the radio show throughout this year, and we're continuing to have guests.

Speaker 1: 17:48

It's just interesting the national trends in housing. There are people looking to sell their homes and they're anticipating even though there's been a drop in the number of homes hitting the market. They're anticipating the normal seasonality of new homes hitting the market. We have new homes hitting the market every single day. Well, that's an exaggeration, not every single day, every week. We have homes hitting the market. We're working every day with buyers and sellers, but certainly if we're going to see more inventory hitting the market. The other fascinating thing is prices continue to go up because there's not enough homes for the amount of buyers. And then the other interesting thing is the number of the days on market continue to drop, because it went up a little bit, but because of the low inventory levels we were seeing the days on the market go up, and then now they're going down again. So the thing is, the buyers are out there. I think people have accepted the fact that the inventory is what it is. People have accepted what these mortgage rates are.

Speaker 1: 18:56

Mortgage rates have been fluctuating. I knew a lot of people. Especially if you're buying, mortgage rates are certainly on the top of your mind. The rates climbed as high as 8% last year, and so that certainly put the brakes on for a lot of people, but still people were buying. It is interesting, though Top three reasons buyers paused their decision to buy and it was 72% of the time was mortgage rates. 34% of the time it was because of the low inventory levels and then 17% was because of affordability. It's interesting, three quarters of the buyers said we're going to we're out because of mortgage rates. But the thing is, mortgage rates have come down from their peak last October and there's still obviously some day-to-day volatility of rates. They are projecting that rates should continue to drop as long as inflation gets under control, and so they're anticipating rates to get below 6% at the end of 2024. And that would be a game changer for a lot of buyers.

Speaker 1: 20:02

But these interest rates, when you look at it in context interest rates over the just the last 40, 50 years we know that these interest rates aren't the highest they've ever been. Actually, if you look from 1972 to 2023, the average historical average is actually at 7.74%. If you look from 1990 to 2023, the historical average is at 5.98%. I mean, a lot of people remember back in the early 80s when interest rates got into the 18s. 15, 16, 17, 18% were mortgage rates in the early 80s and guess what? Houses still were selling.

Speaker 1: 20:53

It's interesting too that, regardless of the interest rates, there is a large percentage of buyers and because more and more homeowners actually have their home paid off, that number is getting closer and closer to 40%. It's over 30% of homeowners in the United States have their home paid off, so it's not a surprise when I tell you that almost over a third of the homes sold in Henderson County single family homes sold in Henderson County over the last 12 months were purchased with cash, and so that might seem surprising, but also when you look at in the context of the number of people that have their homes paid off, again that makes sense. And so the thing is, two thirds of home buyers are impacted by mortgage rates, and so buying a home is still very desirable and people still dream about it. People want to do it, but a lot of people are waiting for the mortgage rates to come down to do that. They said four out of 10, this is a recent article from Realtorcom four out of 10 Americans looking to buy a home in the next 12 months would consider if rates drop below 6%, and so that's a lot of people that said they would get back into the market.

Speaker 1: 22:13

Buying the mortgage rates are nearly impossible to predict. The optimism from experts should give you, though, some insight into what's ahead, so maybe you put your plans on hold to buy. There could be some light at the end of the tunnel, and so it might be worth looking into. I mean, here's the thing with buyers we recommend you talk to. If you're not, if you're not paying cash, you need to have your ducks in a row. You need to. You know, buying a house is not a quick decision, but you have to be able to act quickly. Let me say that again buying a home is not a quick decision but you have to act quickly.

Speaker 1: 22:50

And when you look at the low inventory levels, we're still seeing multiple offers. You we're still seeing bidding wars. Homes that are priced appropriately and quickly are appropriately in and in line with the market because of the the, the demand. The demand is still there, albeit lower than what it was last year. The demand is still there. Relative to the end to the inventory. We're still seeing multiple offers, and so that's where you have to be prepared. If you want to make an offer especially if you're wanting to make an offer over the weekend being prepared with all your ducks in a row. If you're going to be paying cash, making sure you have the proof of funds letter available. If you're going to be using a mortgage, making sure you have your ducks in a row with your lender, that pre-approval letter. Those things matter if you're a seller and you receive multiple offers on your property and you're going to be making sure that the the T's are crossed, the eyes are dotted and making sure that you have the buyer has all their ducks in a row, because it does make a difference for a buyer, especially if your sellers are considering what to do.

Speaker 1: 23:54

I thought I'd give a highlight of some of the new inventory that we have in the market. There's this beautiful property at 2118 Lamb Mountain Road that's over three acres actually over three and a half acres, unrestricted R3, has a, has a creek on it and it has just beautiful mountain property. It has a currently a two bedroom, one bath farmhouse on it with three outbuildings for storage, but it could. There's opportunities to subdivide if you want to put in more homes there or maybe you're looking for a little mini farm. You know, over three and a half acres. 2118 Lamb Mountain Road great property only 325. It's a great property that you should consider. 321 18 Lamb Mountain Road. Just want to give you a heads up on that property as well. We also have a condo for sale in Asheville, 2005 Abbey Circle in Asheville. It's a. It's a two bedroom, two bath condo built 1989 for 279. It's a great deal on a condo 2005 Abbey Circle. So there's some great inventory these.

Speaker 1: 25:05

A lot of times you might be curious, like why do I not mention the listings? A lot of a lot of our listings go under contract before. I mean, these listings just went on the market last week. A lot of these listings go under contract before we even get a chance to mention them to our radio listeners. But we have a. There's a category called coming soon and we have a beautiful property in Timber Creek. It's in Hendersonville but in the Laurel Park area 2000. Excuse me, 209 Camelia Way. This is a stunning house and it's in coming soon status right now in Laurel Park with the Hendersonville address and we're actually having an open house this Sunday 2 to 4. J Foy tick on our team is the listing agent. He's hosting the open house this Sunday. The showings are not. The showings don't start actually till Friday. But if you'd like to show it, like to see it, you can. You know you can schedule a showing for Friday. But 209 Camelia Way stunning house, over 2500 square feet, you know, three bedrooms, two bath. Also has a bonus room, double car garage. It's in the very desirable Timber Creek and there's this category called coming soon, which gives listings time, the time to percolate, you know, to get the exposure out there. The kitchen, stunning big kitchen, big updated kitchen, beautiful, beautiful, you know. Sunroom, multiple sunrooms actually, and then just beautiful landscaping as well, and that's on the market for only $5.97. That house is not going to last long, but come out to the open house this Sunday. 209 Camelia Way two to four. This is a beautiful new listing.

Speaker 1: 26:49

Again, just a sampling of some of the listings and inventory that we carry at the George Rill State Group. We constantly have listings coming on the market and if you're curious about what we have available maybe you're just curious what you know if you're selling and you want to buy, or you want to buy and then sell, I mean, whatever your situation is, we'd love to interview for the job. Oh, I do want to mention we just did a price reduction on two acres in Blue Ridge Estates on Holiday Drive. This property is beautiful, it has its own little waterfall and creek, two acres and this is a very, very motivated seller and we're now on the market for only $56,000. I want to make sure you're aware of that. One on Holiday Drive in Hendersonville. Again, just a sampling of the many listings that we have available. And if you're curious about any of our listings or want to get put on a listing alert, we can do that for you.

Speaker 1: 27:45

And then again, if you're thinking about a career in Rill State, it's really interesting. You know, half of the real estate agents in the United States haven't even made one sale in the last 12 months. You might have heard of the 80-20 rule, but 20% do 80% of the business. And you might be thinking this industry is going through a lot of changes. There's going to be a lot of you know, dynamics that are going to. You know the real estate industry is going to look different, but the thing you know what's not going to change is the need for someone there to advocate.

Speaker 1: 28:11

You know, through the real estate market and at the George Rill State Group, we have an incredible team, we have incredible agents and if you're thinking about a career in Rill State, we're outpacing what the market's doing.

Speaker 1: 28:21

I mean, like I said, even though there's been a decline in the home selling, we've actually seen an increase and I'm so grateful. I think year to date we're already over 30 families that we've helped year to date and we're so grateful for that. So if you're thinking of buying or selling, we'd love to interview for the job. If you're thinking about a career in Rill State, give us a call. If you just want to have a conversation about maybe what's happening in the real estate news in the industry, we can have that conversation too. But give us a call 828-393-0134. Always grateful to be here with you every Monday morning and again, you can call if you just want to have a conversation. But thank you for tuning in. Have a wonderful day. And I will end it up by saying congratulations to the NC State Wolf Pack. What a game it was. Enjoy that NCAA tournament and have a great day.

Speaker 3: 29:06

Hey guys, it's Lucy Miller, george, your favorite 9 year old, and I'm here to talk about the George Rill Estate Group. Are you ready to sell your home and move on to bigger and better things? Well, let me tell you my family knows a thing or two about selling houses. We have the experience of helping over 1300 families and, let's be real, selling your home is a big deal, but with our expert guidance and our terrible dad jokes and Lucy jokes we will make the process as easy and painless as possible. Want to hear a joke? Why did the real estate agent cross the road To get to the other listing? Okay, maybe our jokes aren't the best, but our selling skills are definitely are. Give us a call today 828-393-0134. Have a nice day.

Speaker 2: 30:06

The George Rill Estate Group has the experience of selling over 1200 properties and serving over 1200 families with their real estate needs in Henderson County and throughout Western North Carolina. The George Rill Estate Group is located in Flat Rock, north Carolina, near Hendersonville in Henderson County. You can find them online at realestatebygregcom. The George Rill Estate Group can be reached at 828-393-0134 or stop by their office at 2720 Greenville Highway, flat Rock, north Carolina. Tune in live each week on Monday mornings at 9 0 5 on WTZQ FM 95.3 and 1600 AM, or stream online at WTZQcom.