George Real Estate Group Radio Broadcast

The Local Reality: Western NC Real Estate Market Update

• George Real Estate Group

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The real estate market constantly evolves, but rarely have we seen such a significant shift as what's happening right now in Western North Carolina. This week, we dive into the remarkable surge of inventory hitting Henderson County – 53 new listings in just the first week of April, bringing our total active single-family homes to 460. That's a substantial jump from our typical 400-home inventory level.

What's particularly fascinating is the parallel trend of price adjustments, with 54 price reductions occurring simultaneously. Despite these changes, average home prices remain surprisingly stable at around $550,000, demonstrating the underlying strength of our market even amid economic uncertainty. Most telling: one-third of all homes sold in our area continue to be purchased with cash, insulating many transactions from interest rate concerns.

The psychology behind housing decisions fascinates me, and I share a profound insight that recently stopped me in my tracks: "People don't want to live longer, they want more memories." This perspective transforms how we might approach homeownership. Your dream house – the one that once brought immense joy – can eventually become a burden that limits your freedom to create those meaningful experiences that truly enrich your life.

We're witnessing this transition with many clients who find themselves asking hard questions about their living situations. When the maintenance, size, or location of your home no longer serves your current life goals, what's keeping you there? Sometimes the most beautiful gift we can give ourselves is permission to rightsize our lives to match our true priorities – whether that means downsizing, relocating closer to family, or finding a home that requires less of your precious time and resources.

If you're contemplating such a change or simply curious about your options in today's shifting market, the George Real Estate Group brings over 100 years of combined experience to help provide clarity without pressure. Call us at 828-393-0134 or visit one of our upcoming open houses in Flat Rock to continue the conversation. After all, your environment profoundly impacts your well-being – shouldn't it support the life you truly want to live?

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 George Real Estate Group live radio broadcast here on the queue every Monday morning, sharing with you positive news about your local real estate market and community and reflections on life. Sometimes we're so grateful to be here. What a beautiful Monday morning and with this beautiful rain, and we're so thankful for the rain. I know it's incredible relief from the fires which it just seems just so recently but seems so far away as well, just like the hurricane, but we're grateful to be here with you. We're going to share with you about what's going on in the local real estate market. Certainly a lot of conversations about the economy and interest rates. I mean there's a lot of challenges that we're facing. And again, the markets. We're going to talk about the local market, the national market, and we'll dive into some conversations about some of our. We have some wonderful inventory and listings. We have a bunch of open houses. We had a very successful open house yesterday in Flat Rock and we have a number of additional open houses coming up. We have an open house coming up during the week and a couple on Sunday and we'll talk about the new inventory we have at the George Real Estate Group.

Speaker 1:

If you're tuning in for the first time ever the George Real Estate Group, we're located in Flat Rock. We serve all of Western North Carolina and we serve upstate South Carolina as well. We have an office in Flat Rock on Rainbow Row. We're with our dear friends at the Flat Rock Bakery Hubba Hubba Barbecue, campfire Grill, hubba Lou, the Wrinkled Egg all those great local and independent restaurants and businesses. The George Real Estate Group's local and independent as well. We have the experience of helping over 1,500 families throughout the years and we also this is my 20th year with my broker's license we also have a combined experience with over 100 years of combined experience at the George Real Estate Group and if you're thinking of buying, selling or investing in real estate or even a career in real estate, we'd love to have the conversation. You can give us a call at 828-393-0134, 828-393-0134.

Speaker 1:

I want to say thank you. It's been incredible. I don't think I acknowledge it as much as I should the phone calls we get from our listeners and it's friends of listeners. And we know radio works and we know we're so grateful for the people that call in and frequently, you know, we're always asking well, who recommended us? How did you find us? Where did you get connected with us? And frequently it's the radio. So we're grateful for our radio listeners and friends of the radio. So again, we know the message is getting out and again we're so enthusiastic and grateful to serve our community through real estate.

Speaker 1:

And real estate is, you know, we know real estate happens around life. It can really be a really beautiful celebration while you're buying or selling, really be a really beautiful celebration while you're buying or selling. And then we've also, conversely, we walk alongside during the very somber moments, the challenging moments. It could be a job loss or a death or a divorce. It could be, you know, just real life happens and so we don't take it lightly and whether it's you know, whatever the situation is positive or challenging. We are grateful to help provide clarity and information so you can decide what's right for you and it could be your primary home. You're thinking of buying or selling? We also work regularly with investors and their real estate portfolio.

Speaker 1:

Maybe you're considering a 1031 exchange and I'll share a little bit more about the 1031 exchange a little bit later in the program. It's an opportunity to be strategic with your tax strategy in regards to your investment property, whether it's a rental you might have or commercial property or even land that you have. You're considering selling. There's options to consider when you're selling the property and the tax implications on that. Certainly, there's implications on your primary home. That can be beautiful options with your primary home, whether if you've lived in the home, two out of a five-year period, it could be. If you're an individual, it's the first, $250,000 is tax-free and then if you're married, it's $500,000. Again, there's a lot of nuances to the buying and selling and again we walk alongside that with our clients. And again, you can call us directly at 828-393-0134.

Speaker 1:

Find us online at realestatebygregcom. You can also follow us on social media. That's where we post all of our open houses and new listings and again can connect with us and follow us on Facebook or Instagram. We also podcast all of our radio shows. We've been podcasting for a couple of years now. We've been doing the radio program. My first radio program actually started in 2011, when the market was actually at its worst. I mean, our tagline was positive news about the real estate market.

Speaker 1:

And the thing is again the economy, the interest rates, whatever's going on, the real estate market continues because it's such an essential part of our lives and does it adjust and change? Of course, does it look different. I remember very early on, when I got my real estate license, the demand it's so fascinating, the things you remember. But in 2005, when I got my real estate broker's license, the internet was being adopted, in a sense that the internet was not that old in the sense of how it was affecting real estate, but the old ways of doing things the print advertising, the newspaper advertising, how things were being marketed. And again, the early adoption that we embraced of the internet marketing and the professional photography on every listing and the social media, the things that we did, the early adoption that we did to get ahead of you know, and again, the ever-changing industry. You know, in the real estate, it's fascinating. And then the market, the prices, the interest rates. It's so the stories are the same in the real estate it's fascinating. And then the market, the prices, the interest rates. So the stories are the same in the sense of, like you know, life happens, therefore real estate happens, and so you know.

Speaker 1:

If you're curious about what your home is worth, you know, do you sell before you buy? Do you buy before you sell? What do you need to do? Again, there's options to consider and that's where we provide clarity and information. So give us a call. 828-393-0134. Follow us on social media. Follow us on your favorite podcast platform. We'd love to connect with you or just stop by our office In the last seven days in Henderson County.

Speaker 1:

Now here we go. This is the first week of April. This is pretty common. We had a massive uptick in new listings and it's true here, locally 53 new listings in the first seven days of April listings in the first seven days of April. There's also this is also interesting too 54 price drops.

Speaker 1:

And when you look at the total number of single family homes on the market in Henderson County, we're at 460 single family homes on the market in Henderson County and over the last 12 months we're averaging some 124 homes a month selling over the last 12 months, which, if you look at really the last 24 months, that number's been holding steady. I mean we had a significant drop. Again, from context, you look at 2021, 2022, and then the 2023 and 2024, there's been this gradual decline in the number of single family homes selling, but it does seem to have plateaued at about 124 single-family homes a month selling. But currently there's 460 active single-family homes in the market. So that was a bit of a jump. But just in the last seven days, 53 new listings. There were, by the way, 32 homes that went under contract. 32 homes went under contract in the last seven days and then 34 homes closed. Now 34 homes closed seems on the lower side of things, but it's also the first week of the month.

Speaker 1:

We typically see more homes selling and closing. A lot of people tend to close towards the end of the month. So again, just a snapshot of what's going on. But we do see this increased number of price reductions. The right price will cause a property to sell and we've experienced that. Again, as a seller, you get to decide and try out and test out any price you want, but ultimately the market tells you what your home is worth. The average single-family home price has been holding steady and it's been hovering around the $550 single-family home average close price. This is single-family, just to clarify. I'm not including condos or townhomes or land. It's just looking at single-family homes, average price and technically well, specifically it's at $548 and change we still see about one in three single-family homes sold over the last 12 months were purchased with cash and over half of the homes days on market were sold in the first 30 days. But the days on market is increasing. Of the 14, almost 1,500 homes sold in the last 12 months, there were over 100 homes that took over a year to sell.

Speaker 1:

And again there's this ebb and flow and so your price point, your condition, your location I mean there's so many factors that go into play with buying and selling and so we take a very candid approach and look at your situation, your home, your location, your circumstances. We take a fresh approach. It's an objective approach and you want to hear. You know, maybe you do, maybe you don't, but we're going to if you invite us and give us the opportunity to interview for the job. We're going to shoot straight with you. We're going to now. Obviously there's so much care and concern that we bring to the table because we know real estate is again, it happens around life and it's not just numbers. And, by the way, it's always time versus money. It's. Every seller has to decide between time and money, but there is a price that will cause the home to sell, based on the location and the condition and, again, the market is the market. So we provide all this information so you as a buyer or seller can make a decision for what's right for you. We have a number. We had a. Well, last week we had two open houses and a lot of activity, which is we are so grateful for all the activity. We are also continuing to have open houses. We have an open house this Sunday. We have actually two open houses this Sunday in Flat Rock, one at 140 Old Mill Road.

Speaker 1:

In Flat Rock. It's at the Millhouse Lodge, which is a unique conversion. It was a lodge. It was a lodge. You could stay there nightly. They condominiumized them. It was a lodge. It was a lodge. You could stay there nightly. They condominiumized them. It's a unique setup. It's right across the street from Bon Clarkin, so it's a condo, and this particular condo is a one-bedroom, one-bath condo efficiency. It's less than 400 square feet but it looks right over the lake. It is a one-of-a-kind freestanding and this is the interesting thing. This particular unit is freestanding studio condo on the lake in beautiful historic Flat Rock and so within the millhouse lodge, and it's a small mountain community where the historic millhouse, with the waterfall and the stream, it has a private patio and entrance of the private lake. Again, this is a unique property and short-term rentals are allowed there, and this particular property is only $175. And so, if you want information about it or want to plan to come out this coming Sunday, from 2 to 4, april 13th, so check out and consider that listing that we have on the market. So, again, that's one of the listings that we have.

Speaker 1:

We had a very successful open house yesterday at 19 Robert E Lee Drive in Flat Rock. Again, our office is in Flat Rock, so it tends to happen that we have a lot of listings in Flat Rock. Our Flat Rock friends call us frequently to sell their properties. This property is for $449, three bedrooms. It's a brick ranch with a partially finished basement and it also is just on a very quiet street. I think we all know some people that live on Robert E Lee. It's a great neighborhood, great location, great property there in Flat Rock and it's a one-level living. You also have the lower level which, if you want for more storage or hosting more people, has a beautiful carport. But there were some customized features of this home and it also has a whole house generator Also a lot of improvements on it. It has a deck, has a beautiful interior Again, two generously sized bedrooms on the main level Again, so many features of this property.

Speaker 1:

19 Robert E Lee Drive in Flat Rock. We had an open house yesterday on it, very successful open house. We have an open house on a Thursday. If you can't come out on the weekend, we have an open house on Thursday, april 10th, from 10 to 1 at our new listing at 675 Foster Hill Drive in Flat Rock. It's in the Blue Ridge Estates off of Berea Church Road. This property has 5.36 acres of land plus has long range year round, breathtaking seven layers of mountain views on this property and this property is only $569,900. A great property again has the acreage, but also has a wonderful, just shy of 1,400 square feet home, three bedrooms, two baths, built in 1966. Three bedrooms, two baths, built in 1966. But the acreage combined with the million-dollar views, again over five acres for $569,900. This house, 675 Foster Hill Drive, is going to be open this Thursday from 10 am to 1 pm. So if you'd like to check that home out Again, just giving you some samples, but again specifically the open houses that we have.

Speaker 1:

Also, we did a price reduction on 873 Indian Hill Road in Hendersonville, that's now 825. This property, the interior has been meticulously updated in the last 12 months, every inch. The kitchen's spectacular. It has pecan hardwood floors, custom cabinetry, designer finishes. Again, there's just a sense of luxury there Open floor plan, the interior, the natural lighting, the gourmet kitchen, top-of-the-line appliances. But again, there's so many features of this home. Now just $825,000, price reduced $873,000, indian Hill Road in Hendersonville. Again. Just another sampling that we have.

Speaker 1:

You're listening to the George Real Estate Group live radio broadcast here in the queue every Monday morning, again sharing with you positive news about our local real estate market. What is the market? And we are going to talk about what's happening in the market nationally and also locally. And then one more open house is coming, sunday, april 13th from 2 to 4 pm. 78 Assembly Drive in Flat Rock, another property in Flat Rock. This home in Bonn-Clarkin has over 5,200 square feet. It was significant upgrades and improvements to the home. And again, lovely home, architecturally designed, 78 assembly drive and now at 949, has brand new HVAC systems. Also has a nearly finished walkout, basement, again open floor plan, vaulted ceilings. I mean so many features about this home.

Speaker 1:

I wanted to give you an update and just give you a snapshot of some of our inventory and listings. Of course you can go to realestatebygregcom if you want to see the details, want to see the photos and again, the open houses. But we are so grateful and we are so busy with the opportunities helping our clients navigate through the buying and selling of their properties. This market is the market, the market's the market, the interest rates are the interest rates. But we've had the privilege to walk alongside with our clients navigating through the buying and selling process. Give us a call 828-393-0134. We have a short break coming up, so stay tuned in. We have more information to share with you about the local real estate market, the national market. But again, grateful to be here with you.

Speaker 1:

You're listening to the George Real Estate Group radio broadcast here in the queue every Monday morning. Good morning and welcome back to the Georgia Real Estate Group live radio broadcast here in the queue every Monday morning. So grateful to be here with you. And, again, we're so grateful for our listeners and the people that call in each week saying we've heard you on the radio and we want to get some help with our home. And we're grateful and we're having meetings every week with listeners that have reached out and said, hey, we want to. We're thinking about buying, selling, we're curious about what our options are and we're so grateful for those conversations when you do call. So, thank you so much.

Speaker 1:

The market is the market. The interest rates are the interest rates. I mean there is some discussion about what's going to happen with the mortgage rates. I mean it very potentially could again, if the feds choose to drop their interest rates in light of the economic environment we're in, that could have a bring down the mortgage rates. There are also again, we're not focused on negative things, but again people are certainly throwing around the word recession, but in regards to housing prices, a recession does not mean falling prices. In fact, in four of the last six recessions, home prices actually went up. You can see this on one of our more recent blog posts. Home prices don't mean a recession, does not mean home prices will fall. Four of the last six recessions, home prices actually went up and actually if the interest rates go down, that could cause our prices to go up.

Speaker 1:

Also, it's always in regards to supply and demand, they are saying this time of year. Of course, the lack of homes for sale over the last few years can cause challenges. Obviously that's what's caused the prices to go up when you have low inventory and still strong demand. But here's the interesting thing they're saying the chief economist of Redfin said this now is the best time to buy. In the last two years, mortgage rates are comparable to what they were two years ago and prices remain high.

Speaker 1:

However, there's significantly more inventory, and that's true even here locally. Just in the last seven days I said there was 50-plus new homes that hit the market. So there is more inventory on the market right now 460 active single-family homes on the market in Henderson County I mean we've been hovering really around 400. To have that type of jump is significant. So there's more inventory to consider for our buyers. And so when you're hunting for a house. I mean having more inventory and nationally nationally there was more homes coming on the market, in a sense, significantly more homes coming on the market, since significantly more homes went on the market. According to Realtorcom, new listings in March were 10% higher than last year, making it the biggest March for new listings since 2021. So, again, more options create more opportunities for buyers and sellers and again, the homes coming onto the market might be what you're looking for.

Speaker 1:

Again, your particular needs and what you're looking for. Do you need to sell before you buy? Do you buy before you sell? I mean, there's so many things that go into consideration when you're going through that process. And you can call us. You can give us a call at 828-393-0134, 828-393-0134. We'd love to have the conversation with you. And again, just whether you're thinking of downsizing or upsizing or rightsizing, or maybe you're moving into a retirement community, there could be so many reasons why you're thinking of buying or selling or moving closer to family. North Carolina tends to be one of the top different reports say it could be in the top three or top five of migration of people coming in, and I think that's going to continue to happen, but occasionally we do have clients that are moving to other states because they need, for whatever reason again, it could be a job transfer, it could be getting closer to grandkids there's a lot of reasons why people buy and sell houses. I think that, regardless of whether we're having the conversation about real estate or whether it's about life I heard a fascinating quote over the weekend.

Speaker 1:

Jimmy Carr said this people don't want to live longer, they want more memories. And really, how do you make more memories? Well, it's doing novel, interesting things. But again, the psychology that we have about life and what life means, and time. And so we don't crave time, we crave meaningful time. And so when people say they wish they had more time, you know we crave meaningful time. And so you know, when people say they wish they had more time, you know they don't usually mean more hours at a desk or more days in the routine. They mean more moments that matter, you know, more belly laughs, more sunsets, more hugs, more adventures, more firsts. And that quote that Carr said just points out that what we're really seeking is depth, not duration, and so our brain is wired to encode new and emotionally charged experiences more vividly than repetitive ones, and so that's why childhood summers feel so long in the hindsight. There were so many firsts. As adults, our routines often compress our sense of time.

Speaker 1:

I've heard it said maybe take a different ride home from the grocery store if you want time to feel longer, because we tend to drive the same way to work. We tend to drive the same way to church. We tend to drive the same way to church. We tend to drive the same way to. You know the grocery store. But you know you can change up your experience by going a different way, and that's why traveling again we're so happy for Mark and Paige to be traveling, because it's, you know, new experiences. It's a different routine, it's a different, you know it creates these memories and lasting memories. And so the other thing is too living fully is a choice.

Speaker 1:

The mindset shifts the focus from how long you'll live to how awake you are while living. You can live a life, a long life full of forgetful days, or a shorter life bursting with unforgettable moments. And so you know, choose novelty, choose growth, choose connection is like choosing color over grace scale. So how do you create more memories? Again, you can say yes to new experiences. Maybe it's something as small as trying a new food or hobby. Also, I'm a big advocate of travel. Maybe go get lunch at the next town over, do something different, of course, be present, put the phone down and feel the moment and then connect deeply. I mean great conversations often become core memories and then finally challenge yourself, new accomplishments stick with you.

Speaker 1:

So, again, it's this mindset that we have. Again, the richness of our memories often spills into how we're remembered by others. So again, the quote really struck a chord with me. People don't want to live longer, they want more memories. And so, you know, go do something different, do something interesting, connect with somebody, say hello, check in, go try a different ride home.

Speaker 1:

Today, again, it's these experiences that we have that create these memories in our experiences that we have. So, again, so fascinating. I enjoyed listening to different podcasts, reading different books where I hear these things. But again, be kind to yourself, be grateful, practice gratitude. And again, we can't control the things that happen to us, but we can control our reaction and our response to it.

Speaker 1:

You know the thing is about the real estate market. You know the interest rates are the interest rates, the prices of homes are the prices of homes and really you know when people are considering buying or selling real estate. It's very rarely because of the prices of the homes or the economy. It's usually some catalyst, some life event and the thing is you're in charge. You get to decide what your life looks like. You're in charge of what you want to do with your life, where you want to live, what you want to be, what you want to consider.

Speaker 1:

I also heard recently if you had to decide between the 10 million beach house on the beach or and by the way, and it comes with all the stresses of that life which you might not think about because we all think about, oh, the 10 million beach house sounds so great, but you don't realize the burden that it actually comes with Versus, if you were in an apartment with all your bills paid, no debt, and again, if you had everything you needed, and again living in an apartment but you were fulfilled, you were happy Again. If you had to really choose between those two things, I think if we're honest with ourselves, again it's not about where we live, but it's about the peace of mind that comes with our life and what we're doing with our lives, but the internal gratitude, the internal happiness that we can choose and, again, deciding what we do with our life and the impact, and again, it's not. You know, certainly our homes are so important, but again there does we hear this, we live this all the time. We have the conversations where the home that was your dream, the home that would brought so much joy, you know, as life goes on, the home in a lot of cases ends up becoming a burden, and it's. And if you're at that point in your life where the home is now a burden, you know, to what end are you keeping the home? To what end does it make sense? Again, you get to decide what your life looks like, and it's not about keeping up with the Joneses per se. But again, if your home is no longer serving you in the way that you need it to, and if it's become a burden versus the joy, and at some point there's a tipping point where, hey, it's not worth it to keep the big home anymore, we have those real honest conversations and again, getting into a home that better serves your needs, or maybe getting into a situation where, hey, I want the freedom to travel, I want the freedom to go enjoy my life, I want the freedom to spend more time with my grandchildren, I want the time now. Time is so important, but again, it's not about the time, it's the quality of the time and meaningful time. And so, again, we all get to decide how we want to live our lives.

Speaker 1:

And at some point, the homes again, they might have originally been such a joyful blessing to your life, but at some point maybe your home has shifted into a burden. And that's just being really real and honest. And again, there's no judgment. We're just here to provide information and clarity. Again, if you get to that point and you're saying, hey, I need to have an honest conversation with myself, and part of that is, you know, hey, having an honest conversation about you know, maybe I need to change my environment.

Speaker 1:

This is so interesting too. Your environment impacts your. Well, we know this. Maybe we're not conscious of this, but your environment impacts your world so much, so much so. And so they, and there's so many studies on how our environment impacts our lives. And so, if your environment's not supporting your life and what you want your life to look like, I mean, again, consider what it looks like to change what your environment looks like. And again, these are just some candid conversations, of course, with the care and concern that we have and we're grateful. We're grateful for the opportunity to walk alongside with our clients. So give us a call 828-393-0134, 828-393-0134. Stop by our office. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Speaker 1:

We also have a significant amount of open houses coming up. We have an open house this Thursday. We have a number of open houses coming up this Sunday and again, you can find all that on our website, realestatebygregcom. You can find that on our Facebook page as well. But just again, if we can help you in any way, give us a call. Find us online at realestatebygregcom. Be sure to follow us on our podcast. We're here every Thursday morning, excuse me, every Monday morning. We will be here Monday morning. We'll be here next Monday. Today is Monday, so happy Monday Monday. Today is Monday, so happy Monday. Have a great day, have a great week and we'll see you next Monday.

Speaker 1:

If the story I shared with you stopped you in your tracks, you're not alone. People have been asking what happened next. Dr Robbins car had plunged into a freezing river and as a teenager, underwater and disoriented, she remembered her survival tip blow bubbles and follow them. They will rise to the surface. She did, but when she reached the top, expecting air, she slammed into solid ice, out of breath and nearly out of strength. She kept moving, desperately searching for a break, and just when she thought she couldn't go on, a stranger appeared and pulled her to safety. It's a powerful reminder we can do hard things, but we don't have to do them alone. At the George Real Estate Group, we're here to help you through life's transitions, whether you're buying, selling or just trying to figure out your next move. The George Real Estate Group, because the right guide makes all the difference.

Speaker 2:

The George Real Estate Group, because the right guide makes all the difference. The George Real Estate Group has the experience of selling over 1,200 properties and serving over 1,200 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 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. 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.