Imagine unlocking the secrets to thriving in the ever-evolving real estate market. That's exactly what we're handing over in today's podcast. We're busting myths, examining the significance of home inspections, and prepping you for shifts in buyer's agent compensation that could redefine the playing field.
Have you ever pondered the influence of Gmail's journey from its infancy to a giant with 1.8 billion users on the real estate industry? We celebrate two decades of digital communication excellence and draw parallels with our own milestones at the George Real Estate Group. This episode is a treasure trove of insights—from market stats that could impact your next move to the subtle art of determining your home’s worth, and why the timing of your listing can make all the difference.
We're not just about numbers and transactions; we're about the human touch that transforms a daunting process into a delightful journey. Tune in for this engaging episode that weaves together the professional and personal touchstones of the real estate trade, all while keeping you informed and entertained.
Quality Home Consultants Over 35,000 Home Inspections since 1998, Quality Home Consultants are ready to serve you.
Pure Haven Photography Pure Haven Photography offers real estate visual solutions including photography, videography, drone
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Imagine unlocking the secrets to thriving in the ever-evolving real estate market. That's exactly what we're handing over in today's podcast. We're busting myths, examining the significance of home inspections, and prepping you for shifts in buyer's agent compensation that could redefine the playing field.
Have you ever pondered the influence of Gmail's journey from its infancy to a giant with 1.8 billion users on the real estate industry? We celebrate two decades of digital communication excellence and draw parallels with our own milestones at the George Real Estate Group. This episode is a treasure trove of insights—from market stats that could impact your next move to the subtle art of determining your home’s worth, and why the timing of your listing can make all the difference.
We're not just about numbers and transactions; we're about the human touch that transforms a daunting process into a delightful journey. Tune in for this engaging episode that weaves together the professional and personal touchstones of the real estate trade, all while keeping you informed and entertained.
Quality Home Consultants Over 35,000 Home Inspections since 1998, Quality Home Consultants are ready to serve you.
Pure Haven Photography Pure Haven Photography offers real estate visual solutions including photography, videography, drone
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Speaker 1:
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 georgerealestategroupradiocom for more information. Good morning and welcome to the Georgia Real Estate Group live radio broadcast here on April 1st. Thankful to be here with you and happy Monday, happy April and a lot to be thankful for and grateful to be here with you, sharing with you about positive news about the local real estate market, the national real estate market. We're going to dive into some of the numbers of what's going on in the market Also have a conversation Again. There's a lot of news about the real estate market and maybe some misconceptions about what's going on or what the news is saying, and we're going to jump into that Again. Want to just welcome you here to the show Before we get started, want to say thank you to our radio show sponsors, quality Home Consultants, jim Rawlings and his team. They've done over 35,000 home inspections and they are just incredible. They're an integral part of our process when we work with our buyers and our sellers, whether it's pre-inspections or home inspections. You've got septic well, pests, radon, all the things. You can call them directly at 828-687-7221, 687-7221. Quality Home Consultants on Asheville Highway, jim Rawlings and his team. I mean they are an integral part of what we do and, again, thankful for their radio show sponsorship of the Georgia real estate group radio show here on the queue Every Monday morning. We also podcast. We also podcast all of our radio shows. You can find that on your favorite podcast platform, whether it's Apple, amazon, spotify, alexa wherever you listen to your podcast. Subscribe to the Georgia Real Estate Group radio show. We frequently have different guests here on the show, whether it's local businesses or service providers or lenders. We've had nonprofits on the show which we're grateful to support. I mean there's a lot of things happening in this community which we're so thankful to be part of. And if you're tuning in for the first time ever the Georgia Real Estate Group we have the experience of helping over 1,400 families throughout the years.
Speaker 1:
Again, grateful for my career in real estate. I actually was running some numbers In my career. I actually got my license in 05. I've actually had the privilege of helping and selling over 30, almost 300, excuse me, not 30, 300. We're getting closer and closer to $350 million of real estate sold in my career and again, that's through the incredible efforts of the team, and our team is growing.
Speaker 1:
If you're thinking about a career in real estate, you might think why would anybody want to get into the real estate industry? Well, the real estate industry is so rewarding to help our clients navigate through the buying and selling process and we're here to help our clients. And whether you're selling, whether you're buying, whatever it might be, again, it could be a really positive reason. It could be a challenging reason. We know real estate happens around life and we'd be honored to walk through and interview for the job. There's no pressure, there's no cost, there's no obligation. Give us a call at 828-393-0134, 828-393-0134. We'd be honored to interview for the job and have a conversation. You know it's interesting.
Speaker 1:
There's a lot of news out there about real estate commissions and the National Association of Realtors. The interesting thing is the real estate industry, specifically the real estate here in North Carolina. Commissions have always been negotiable, and again it's hitting the news and there's a lot of discussion about how the industry is changing. So there's going to be some changes where, on the MLS, compensation for what's called a buyer's agent is not going to be advertised. It doesn't mean that buyer's agents aren't going to be negotiating commissions with buyers for services offered, and also it doesn't mean that sellers aren't going to be offering concessions. I mean, this is interesting with the industry because a lot of buyers do not have the cash to pay their buyer broker on top of the costs for a purchase.
Speaker 1:
They're going to often seek out the homes offering seller concessions, and so as a seller, you have to decide whether you're going to offer concessions, because you're going to be competing against other sellers that do, and you might find that buyers that choose. You might find buyers that do not choose to view your home or are not willing to pay as much for it because they don't have enough funds. A lot of buyers would prefer to pay a higher purchase price in order to have assistance in paying their costs and fees. Buyer's agents may actually counsel their buyers who are short on cash to consider viewing only those offering concessions. And so sellers have to decide as we move forward are they going to be offering any concessions or is it going to be part of the negotiations? And so sellers are going to have to decide how to price their home that allows them to feel comfortable offering concessions to attract as many buyers as possible to their home. But again, commissions and concessions have always been negotiable here in North Carolina, so that's going to be evolving in how the conversations and the understanding for buyers and sellers. Sellers certainly want to be competitive when they put their house on the market. It's interesting we are going to jump into some of the numbers of what's happening here locally.
Speaker 1:
And then buyers part of buyers when they choose to hire a buyer's agent, they're going to have to decide. I mean, one of the changes is real estate agents are not allowed to show properties to buyers without a written agreement, and so the agreement, the buyer's agency agreement, the buyer agent commission, is going to be clearly laid out in the buyer agency agreement which, by the way, in North Carolina that's been the case. I mean we've had that disclosure, you've had that component of the buyer agency commission. It's interesting. Commissions are negotiable and they have been here in North Carolina. But all the services that a buyer's agent provide in regards to not just finding the home but all the things that go into place with the inspections and the attorneys and the lenders, and you know finding out what the buyer wants, you know understanding, helping the buyers, you know meeting their budget, you know there's so many components that go buyer and the buyer's agent find a home that they love and they actually successfully close on it. You don't owe an agent a penny unless you successfully go through with the transaction. And also, a lot of sellers are willing to offer buyer concessions, and so it's interesting how this is going to play out.
Speaker 1:
But we're leaning into this and we're facing this and we're having conversations and, again, from an understanding and educational perspective, in discussing this with our clients because, again, commissions are negotiable by law, they always have been and also, again, just putting this in the context of what's happening in the industry, where commissions for the buyer's agents aren't going to be broadcast on the MLS. Again, we're going to continue this conversation. I'd encourage you, if you're curious how this impacts you, whether you're buying or selling. I mean currently, right now, nothing has changed. I mean, this is a proposed settlement that's again in the news. We're facing this head on. But again, the ability for buyers and sellers to negotiate commissions, that's always been in place here in North Carolina and we're continuing to have those conversations. But we're here to advocate for our clients buying and selling, whether you're looking to buy before you sell or whether you're looking to sell before you buy. Again, encourage these conversations and we're having them every day as we're helping so many people buying and selling here in Western North Carolina.
Speaker 1:
We also do upstate South Carolina as well. Like I said, I'm very grateful. I had the experience quickly approaching $350 million worth of real estate sold in my career. Over 1,400 homes sold with our team throughout the years. And again, if we can help you with any of your buying or selling, give us a call at 828-393-0134. Find us online at realestatebygregcom. We also podcast all of our radio shows. You can also stop by our office at 2720 Greenville Highway there in Flat Rock.
Speaker 1:
And, like I said, too, we're growing. We're hiring more agents. There's a need for great agents here in the community and the interesting thing is the market. I shared that we would jump into some of the market details and what's happening here locally, the prices continue to go up. If you look at the last 12 months, versus the previous 12 months, we've had a 7% appreciation. The average single-family home price in Henderson County is at 529. That's a 7-plus percent appreciation in the last 12 months and that's in light of we've had a 9% decrease. 9% decrease in the number of homes selling and I use single-family homes as the barometer and litmus test a 9% decrease. But we continue to see the demand and so we're averaging over the last 12 months about 120, 122 single-family homes a month selling in Henderson County and when you look at the inventory levels, right now there's only 280-some active single-family homes on the market, so we have less than a three-month supply, so that's why prices keep going up.
Speaker 1:
You might say how can prices keep going up? By the way, our median home price in Henderson County over the last year and so far this year is at $450,000, is the median home price, and when you look at that in context of the national numbers, the median home price in the United States in 2023 was at $390,000. Our median home price was $60,000 higher than the national median home price and I think we're going to continue to see prices to go up, especially and we're watching and, of course, no one can predict what's going to happen with interest rates and where interest rates are going to go, because interest rates impact affordability. Now, affordability is certainly playing a part in the number of people buying homes. I mean we've seen a nine percent part in the number of people buying homes. I mean we've seen a 9% decrease in the number of homes selling this 12 months versus the previous 12 months.
Speaker 1:
And also, for context, when you look at the number of homes selling in the United States over the last two years, I mean, or three years, in 2021, there were 6 million homes sold. That was the peak of the most recent cycle and then in 2022, it dropped down to 5 million. Last year, the 2023 in the United States that number dropped to 4.1 million homes sold. The last time we saw only 4 million homes sold in the United States was back in 2009, 10, and 11. The difference is the inventory. The difference is the reason why prices are up significantly, versus prices were down. I mean almost 40% of the homes sold in 2010, 11, and 12 were distressed. We have less than 1% of the homes sold in 2010, 11, and 12 were distressed. We have less than 1% of the homes sold in the United States right now are distressed.
Speaker 1:
I mean, if someone's having financial challenges and you're faced with selling your home, even though maybe you didn't want to, or maybe you're facing a divorce or a death, or maybe you're having some financial challenges, the interesting thing right now, if you're forced to sell right now because prices are so high, you got a little bit of a golden parachute and again it doesn't mean it's not painful and doesn't mean you weren't wanting to sell, but there is a silver lining in the market right now because of the inventory level. So, the appreciation we've experienced, the appreciation we experienced really, if you look at the boom of the pandemic housing and then the high inflation, and then you look at the low interest rates, I mean we saw a 20% appreciation really from 2020 to 2021 to 22. Really all-time high, peaked up. The peak was March 2022 when we saw that 21% appreciation, but then we've had the drop down. But the thing is that the number of buyers on the market I mean there's still 4 million homes sold and the market's still moving and because of the low inventory levels, specifically here locally, but also nationally, because of the low inventory levels. That's why prices keep going up, and that's in spite of these interest rates.
Speaker 1:
If you look at the historical average from 1972 to 2023, the historical mortgage rate average is at 7.74%. So I mean almost 8% is a historical average. So we're actually below that right now. And then if you look really from 1990 to 2023, that historical average is right below 6% 5.98%. But they're anticipating and they've announced a couple interest rate drops, and I'm not talking about mortgage rates. Mortgage rates are tied to the Treasury bond, but they're talking about the Feds dropping the interest rate, and so there's a ripple effect. When the Feds drop the interest rate, they're not dropping the interest rate of mortgages, but mortgage rates are tied to the Fed rate, and so that's just, and that's another conversation.
Speaker 1:
But you know, what's so fascinating is, in spite of these interest rates, we still saw almost 1,500 homes sold in Henderson County. We still saw in the United States some 4 million homes sold. But this is really fascinating Almost 38% of the homes sold in Henderson County in the last 12 months single family homes sold. Almost 38% of the homes sold were actually purchased with cash. Cash. Buyers are out there and that's actually an increase. Only 30% of the homes sold in the previous 12 months were purchased with cash, and so we're actually seeing more cash buyers. And I think there's a lot of reasons for that Obviously, interest rates being where they're at, but also because more and more people have their home paid off. We're seeing more and more people when they sell their home, they're going to take the cash from selling their home.
Speaker 1:
One of the reasons another positive reason for home ownership is, if you've lived in the home two out of the last five years, you do not pay capital gains as an individual for the first $250,000. And as a married couple filing jointly, you don't pay capital gains on the first $500,000. So there's some significant benefit where you can sell your home. You don't have to reinvest it. You don't even have to buy another home. You do not have to pay capital gains on and again, depending on your situation, whether you're single or married and again, it could be $250,000 of the first $250,000 profit. I'm not talking about selling your home for 250. I mean, you got what you paid for it and any improvements and then costs of selling the first $250,000 of capital gains as an individual and $500,000 as a married couple.
Speaker 1:
All that to say again, there's a lot of components that go into the buying and selling process and that's why it's important to have a real estate agent, an advocate, someone there in your corner navigating through the market. Every home is unique and different. Every situation is unique and different. Every situation's unique and different and at the George Real Estate Group, we have an incredible group of individuals and agents and staff here ready to help you navigate through the buying and selling process. We're going to continue to see life go on. Therefore, we're going to continue to see real estate go on and, again, it's fascinating to see where the numbers are going. But if you're thinking of selling, we'd love to interview you for the job. Give us a call at 828-393-0134, 828-393-0134. Find us online at realestatebygregcom. Maybe you're not even looking to sell or buy, but you maybe need a recommendation for a contractor or an electrician or a plumber or a surveyor or an appraiser or an attorney. I mean, we'd be glad to help you in any of those regards and you can call us again at 828-393-0134.
Speaker 1:
One thing that I saw and this is not April Fool's, but this is so fascinating, something that we all use every single day, most likely is Gmail. Today is actually Gmail's 20th birthday. Can you imagine that? I remember very early on getting a Gmail account, but it's the 20th birthday for Gmail. Initially there was just a handful of users and it was actually by invite only. I remember getting an invite in the early 2000s for Gmail. Now, two decades later, gmail actually has an estimated 1.8 billion users. It's incredible. Gmail is definitely part of our everyday lives and so it's amazing how it's involved with all of our lives. I mean the amount of storage and then again it's email. But it's 20th birthday of Gmail, which I use every single day.
Speaker 1:
You're listening to the George Real Estate Group live radio broadcast here on the Q every Monday morning. 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 Georgia Real Estate Group live radio broadcast here on the Q and we also podcast this, so be sure to subscribe to our podcast. You can find it on your favorite podcast platform. I want to say thank you to Quality Home Consultants who sponsor our radio show. You can reach out to them directly or we can connect you with them. They're amazing. They've done over 35,000 home inspections and they've probably done a majority of ours. We've recently reached over 1,400 families. Recently, over 1,400 homes sold. We're quickly approaching $350 million worth of real estate sold since I got my real estate license in 05.
Speaker 1:
Again, if you're thinking of buying or selling, I mean the market is still moving and it's interesting. I mean the industry has evolved in where actually you know what's interesting. Buyer's agency is a fairly new thing in regards to the last 50 years of real estate. I mean the buyer agency is a new component and it's evolved and it's there to advocate buyer's agents advocating for the buyers. And then you have the education of the buyers, the understanding what the buyers are looking for, preparing the buyer, all the steps, the timeline for the housing, for hunting for the house, for the mortgage approval, going through the closing, looking at statistics of the local market and the data and how it impacts the buyer, and identifying the average days on the market, looking at cost per square foot versus maybe other ways to calculate value. There's this absorption rate which we talk about, and here our absorption rate in Henderson County is less than three months, understanding all the costs associated. I mean there's literally over 100 things that go into the steps of working with a buyer and understanding the work that buyers' agents do when working with buyers. And so, again, if you're just curious about that, if you're just curious about what it looks like buying and selling in the market today, if you're thinking about selling before buying or thinking about buying before selling, we'd love to interview for the job. There's no pressure, there's no cost, there's no obligation to have a confidential consultation. You can call us directly at 828-393-0134. You can find us online realestatebygregcom. You can subscribe to our podcast. You can also go to georgerealestategroupradiocom. We'd love to connect any way we can. And we got our finger on the pulse of the market here. I mean, the market continues to move, prices continue to go up, and that's in spite of. We've had a 9% decrease in the number of homes selling, but guess what? Homes are still selling.
Speaker 1:
A lot of people are thinking this time of the year, this might be the perfect time to start the process. I mean, the experts say the best week to list your home is just around the corner. The recent Realtorcom study looked at housing market trends over the past several years, with the exception of 2020, because that was the pandemic year. That was an unusual year, but found the best week to put your house on the market. This year is April 14th through the 20th, it says in the study. Every year, one week stands out from the rest as that perfect stretch of time when it's great to be a home seller. This year, the week of April 14th through the 20th is the best time to sell. That is if sellers want to see a lot of interest in their homes, sell quickly and pocket some extra cash, according to realtorcom data. And so while the spring market is a great time to sell, no matter the week, this may be the peak sweet spot, and so if you've been putting your plans on the back burner and waiting for the right time to act, this could be the nudge you may need to make your move happen.
Speaker 1:
Another comment from Hannah Jones. She's the Senior Economic Research Analyst at Realtorcom said the third week of April brings the best combination of housing market factors for sellers. The best week offers higher buyer demand, lower competition from other sellers and fewer price reductions than the typical week of the year. So again, reach out to our team at the Georgia Real Estate Group. We're glad to provide numbers. We're having daily conversations with sellers that are just curious about what their home is worth, how they navigate through the buying and selling process and getting the balance between what is the data saying? What is the market saying about what my home is worth?
Speaker 1:
Again, what do you need to do to get your home ready to put your house in the market Again? Getting your house ready for professional photography, all the things that we do. Staging the house, getting the house ready for that first impression Again, especially right now? I don't I actually this is on a personal note actually we had some work done in the yard where we had some landscaping. I recently learned about pre-emergent, also learned about aerating, and it's so funny. I had some friends stop by and they're like this is maybe a week ago and they just were commenting on how green the grass looked in my yard and I was like, well, we actually had some work done. But these are these outdoor projects that can really boost the curb appeal. It's that first impression when people look at your home. Again, the green grass or having some lawn care service or upgrading your landscaping. A lot of people are maybe doing a new deck or a new patio, but, again, understanding what's worth doing or not doing and getting your home ready to go on the market.
Speaker 1:
You might know this, but North Carolina is an as-is state. Sellers aren't obligated to do anything. But if you want retail prices, your home needs to be in retail condition and it matters the condition of your house. And even though you're not obligated to do anything, you can avoid so much hassle once you go under contract on your home. I mean, buyers are going to do their home inspections and if you want to get ahead of the game, you can do a pre-inspection. Jim Rawlings and the Quality Home Consultants can do a pre-inspection on your home and it can matter because it's less surprises. You can deal with things ahead of time. But that first impression matters.
Speaker 1:
And the other piece of the puzzle at the George Real Estate Group is we use professional photography. Professional photography matters because not only is the first impression, the curb appeal, but the first impression is also the professional photos, and so we take that extra step whether it's the professional photography or drone photography that matters and getting the home the most exposure possible as we put your house on the market, to give you that extra advantage when selling your home and standing out in the inventory Again. So if you want to have the conversation, give us a call 828-393-0134, 828-393-0134. If you also want to reach out to our office. We have different guests on the radio show, but if you have suggestions for topics about the radio, we'd love to have those suggestions. You can reach out to us through our radio website, georgerilsteadgroupradiocom, if you'd like to send us a note there on any suggestions or topics you'd like us to cover or guests you might like to have us have on the radio show. We're always looking for suggestions and to bring great content. We're going to continue the conversation about the changes in the real estate industry and again we're just facing things. The thing is, the real estate industry is going to continue. There's going to be a need for someone there to advocate and to represent and to ultimately give sellers the representation to get the best price possible and that's also true for buyers, having buyers agents representing their best interests. And again, we'd love to interview for the job. Give us a call 828-393-0134.
Speaker 1:
I'm going to mention a few listings that we have on the market that just hit the market. We have an incredible listing at 1341 Chanteloup Drive and Chanteloup Estates there, right off of Irkwood and a great location there in town, 1341 Chanteloup Drive. This home sits on an acre. Beautiful, beautiful, updated home, 2,500 square feet, four bedrooms, two and a half baths. 1341 Chanteloup Drive. Also have a listing at 828 Foster Hill Drive.
Speaker 1:
Year-round, literally million-dollar views, year-round views. You can see Craggy Mountain, mount Mitchell, pisgah, you can see it all. It's stunning. You can certainly the sellers tell us during the 4th of July you can see all the fireworks from downtown Hendersonville. This is an incredible property at Blue Ridge Estates, 828 Foster Hill Drive in Hendersonville.
Speaker 1:
Also, we have 2118 Lamb Mountain Road. 2118 Lamb Mountain Road recently did a $50,000 price adjustment $275 for three acres with a two-bedroom, one-bath home on it, 1,400 square feet. 2118 Lamb Mountain Road, unrestricted three and a half acres on Lamb Mountain Road, $50,000 price adjustment. They are aggressively pricing that home now to move. And then also 2005 Abbey Circle in Asheville, a great listing that we have in Asheville, a condo there, a beautiful condo in Asheville. And then 209 Camellia Way in Timber Creek. So we have some great new listings that just hit the market. If you're curious about any of them or want to schedule an appointment, we'd be glad to facilitate that and show you those properties.
Speaker 1:
And again, if you're thinking about a career in real estate, we're growing, we're hiring, we have more agents joining our team. We'd love to interview for that If you're considering a career in real estate or looking for something different. Our model is a team approach which is ultimately there to serve our clients, and so, if we can help you in that regard, too, well, we're ultimately there to serve our clients, and so if we can help you in that regard, too Well. Time flies when you're having fun. Thankful to be here with you every Monday morning bringing you positive news about your local real estate market and national real estate market. Give us a call at 828-393-0134 or stop by our office. But happy April, enjoy this warm weather.
Speaker 2:
Have a great day and we'll see you next Monday. Hey guys, it's Lucy Miller, george, your favorite nine-year-old and I'm here to talk about the George Real 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 1,300 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 3:
The George Real 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 real estate group is located in flat rock, north carolina, near hendersonville in h Henderson County. You can find them online at realestatebygregcom. The George Real 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 9.05 on WTZQ FM 95.3 and 1600 AM or stream online at WTZQcom.
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