George Real Estate Group Radio Broadcast

Life Beyond Real Estate: Lessons from the Market and Beyond

• George Real Estate Group

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What truly drives our real estate decisions? Beyond interest rates and market cycles lies something far more powerful – our lives and the stories we're creating.

The George Real Estate Group shares fresh insights into Western North Carolina's shifting market dynamics, revealing both challenges and opportunities in this transitional period. With Henderson County's average home price holding at $538,000 and a 4.5-month supply of inventory, we're witnessing subtle but meaningful changes – more price reductions, longer days on market, yet surprisingly, slightly higher year-to-date sales compared to 2022.

Unlike the 2011 market crash where distressed properties dominated, today's market shows remarkable stability with less than 1% of homes in foreclosure or short sale status. This fundamental difference suggests resilience despite affordability challenges, yet requires strategic approaches for both buyers and sellers navigating this new landscape.

Most profoundly, this episode explores how our housing decisions connect to our deepest life values. Through a moving discussion of Bonnie Ware's book "The Five Regrets of the Dying," we examine how postponed dreams and misaligned priorities create the heaviest burdens at life's end. The most common regret? Not having the courage to live authentically rather than meeting others' expectations.

Whether you're considering downsizing to reduce maintenance, moving closer to family, or finally pursuing that dream location, the decision transcends market timing. Your home has a story – we'd be honored to help you tell it. Call us at 828-393-0134 for a pressure-free conversation about your unique situation, or visit realestatebygregcom to learn more about how we've helped over 1,500 families throughout Western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina find their perfect next chapter.

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. So grateful to be here with you.

Speaker 1:

I hope you had a wonderful Father's Day and just a wonderful weekend. So much to be thankful for, grateful, to spend time with the family, and also we had the opportunity to celebrate my father's birthday as well. So, again, happy birthday to my father. Again. So much to be thankful for, very grateful for him, and it happens occasionally but his birthday falling on Father's Day. So it was a nice. We had a lot of, just a lot of quality family time together and grateful to enjoy the family over this Father's Day weekend. And here we are, middle of June and, wow, time's flying. You know, life's flying by. I mean we are in well, technically not summer yet, but I mean we're around the corner technically from summer, even though kids are out of school. And again, just so much to be grateful for. If you're tuning in for the first time ever, welcome. We're here every Monday morning right after the 9 o'clock news sharing with you about the local real estate market community, and then sometimes we just have reflections about life. We also love having our nonprofits visit us on the radio program as well.

Speaker 1:

And again, also just trying to provide clarity and perspective on the real estate market, because the real estate market's ever-changing. Of course, if you look at the market, there's always cycles. Some cycles are longer than others and it does seem to be that our market's shifting a little bit and we'll talk about that. But there are just four cycles of the real estate market. There's the top of the market, there's a downturn, there's the bottom of the market and then there's the recovery. There's a downturn, there's a bottom of the market and then there's a recovery. And you know, you don't know when you're at the top until things go down, and just like you don't know when you're at the bottom until things start going up. So you know it's in the rearview mirror that you can look back and see well, that was the top of the market or, oh, that was the bottom of the market. Again trying to predict. And you can't predict the market. You can't time the market, just like you can't time the stock market. You can't time the real estate market.

Speaker 1:

And so the interest rates are the interest rates. Certainly, if we look over the last 50 years, we're pretty normal. Of course, I'm sure it hurts a little bit when you think about those pandemic interest rates where I mean just artificial really, in the sense of where the interest rates were and those that took advantage of them took advantage of them and so many people did refinance. There's still a significant part of the population that have their home paid off, I mean, and that's where we see a lot of, still a lot of cash buyers here locally and I think there's a direct correlation to that. But you know the interest rates, there is an ebb and flow of the inventory and again back to the cycles. You know, I do think. I do think the market is shifting. We're seeing days on market a little bit longer. We're seeing more price reductions. We still are technically in a seller's market when you look at the supply and demand. And we'll dive into that and again connect and we'll share about what's going on here locally and also talk about what's going on nationally as well. But we're here every Monday morning.

Speaker 1:

Our real estate group, the George Real Estate Group. We've had the privilege and in my career over 20 years having my North Carolina broker's license have had the privilege of helping over 1,500 families with their real estate needs, whether it's been residential homes, rental homes, land or commercial real estate. We've had the privilege of helping so many clients navigate through the buying and selling process and providing clarity, providing support, advocating and facilitating the real estate transaction. And I say this a lot because it's so true. Regardless of the prices, regardless of the market, real estate happens around life. It's a life-driven event and we see that. Maybe you're considering downsizing because you know just where you're currently at is too much to maintain, or maybe you want to get closer to the grandkids, or maybe you're considering that move into the retirement community. You know, whatever that situation is. Again, there can be really positive reasons why you're considering buying or selling and we also have walked alongside our clients through the very challenging reasons. I mean there's so many challenging reasons. It could be the loss of a loved one or a divorce or a job loss. I mean life happens and so, again, there can be impacts to why clients are considering buying and selling, or maybe there's a different opportunity. I mean there can be impacts to why clients are considering buying and selling, or maybe there's a different opportunity. I mean there's so many reasons why people hire real estate agents and we certainly can talk, we will dive into that as well.

Speaker 1:

But we're here, we're located in Flat Rock. We serve all of Western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina. We have agents that live in the upstate. So we help our clients. You know that are buying and selling in Spartanburg and Greenville counties. We are serving Western North Carolina. You know Buncombe County, henderson County, you know Haywood Polk, you know Transylvania County. You know we love helping our clients navigate through the buying and selling process and the interest rates are the interest rates.

Speaker 1:

The prices are the prices. The inventory is inventory. I mean the market continues to move. I mean currently, as of this morning, we're averaging some 126 single-family homes a month selling over the last 12 months and there's been a slight increase. I mean there's been a handful more homes sold year to date this year than last year just a handful. And the average single-family home price right now in Henderson County is at $538,000, almost $539,000. It did at one point earlier this year peak up in the $540,000s, the $550,000s. That number has seemed to have come down. As of this morning. There's only 574 active single-family homes on the market. We have a four-and-a-half-month supply. That number does seem to go up.

Speaker 1:

And when I put it into context, the economists say a six-month supply is considered a balanced market. Less than six months is considered a seller's market. More than six months is considered a buyer's market, and for very simple terms. I mean if you had a neighborhood that was averaging one home a month selling, but that's where they would say if they're averaging one home a month selling in a particular neighborhood and there was four homes available, you have a four-month supply. It would take four months to exhaust the inventory in that neighborhood. Conversely, if you had eight homes available in that neighborhood and you're averaging one a month, that would mean it had an eight-month supply, a six-month supply of inventory in any given neighborhood or community or price range or, you know, county, I mean that's and we can look at the what's called the absorption rate. We can look at the supply and demand and we do look at this in regards to price points and in regards to locations. You know, different neighborhoods can have different market dynamics and again, so we. But when you look at Henderson County right now, overall we have a four and a half month supply. So technically it's still in a seller's market.

Speaker 1:

Now we are seeing, we are seeing more price reductions happening. I mean the market is softening. We're seeing days on market days increasing days on market, the number of days it takes to sell. But just in the last seven days in Henderson County there's been 41 new listings, 61 price drops. There is a thing called back on the market. That means buyers change their mind for whatever reason. Buyers during the due diligence period. They're not obligated to buy, just like sellers are not obligated to make any repairs or do anything. But in the last seven days there was 15 homes that went back on the market. Also, the good news is there was 39 homes went under contract in the last seven days and then 33 homes closed. But when you look at in seven days, the last seven days 41 new listings and 39 homes went under contract. That's pretty even in the sense of as many homes are hitting the market as they're also going under contract. Not exactly the same 41 homes. I mean, obviously we can see there were 61 homes that had price adjustments, that had price adjustments.

Speaker 1:

But you know the cycles of the market that we've lived in and have experienced. I mean you know our market really peaked out in 2007, 2008. And then it bottomed out in 2011. I mean it didn't take very long and there was a lot of reasons for that. I mean the inventory levels were just. I mean we had at some points and in some price points we had a two to three year supply of inventory, a two to three year supply of inventory, and that's why prices were so impacted and again, people were upside down in their home. The other thing to note, the difference between this market versus the previous markets that we've experienced is that we have less than 1% of our homes are distressed, and when I say distressed, when we talk about foreclosures or short sales, less than 1% of our markets in the market in the country are distressed versus in 2011, it was up to 40% were distressed, meaning again foreclosures or short sales. It's not the same market but again, we still have low inventory levels and that's why prices are holding.

Speaker 1:

And then we have the conversation about affordable housing. I mean, there's certainly a need for affordable housing here locally and we've seen that. We've discussed that. There's certainly different things that contribute to that the cost of land, the cost of building, the cost of borrowing money, and we're going to see how that plays out. But currently where we're at, the average single family home price in Henderson County over the last 12 months is at $538,000. At 538. There's currently 574 available and we're averaging some 126 single-family homes a month selling. So interesting market that we're in.

Speaker 1:

But just for context, this year I mean just to give you some comparison we've had a slight increase the number of homes, single-family homes, sold. This year in 2025, we've had a slight increase the number of homes sold, like, for example, january this year there was 105 versus 86 last January. This February we've had 95, we had 95 homes closed. There was 92 the previous February. In March it was exactly the same 113 this March, 113 last March and then in April we had 132 sold this April versus 115 the previous April. And then in May we had 139 this May, which was four less than the previous May, 143 last May, still year. To date there's been more homes sold this year versus the same time period last year. And we're watching it, we're going to see what's happening. But you know it's so interesting, you know that again, we're just watching it.

Speaker 1:

Now, all that to say, I mean we are in a it's steady If your home's priced right, if the condition's great. Again, the location where it's. But it feels, I mean, I think a lot of people are feeling that the market is softening, days on market are taking longer. We we have had more homes hit the market. So we, we are seeing more inventory hit the market this year versus last year. So people are, I think, you know, I think there was a lot of people waiting because they are. They had those, you know, two and three and 4% interest rates, but they're not waiting anymore. They're saying I got to move ahead with my life. You know, it's not always about the price, it's not always about the timing, the market. Um, all that to say again, your unique home, your unique situation, you know we would love to interview for the job. There's no pressure. Your unique situation you know we would love to interview for the job. There's no pressure, there's no cost, there's no obligation. You can call us directly at 828-393-0134, 828-393-0134. And we'd love to interview for the job.

Speaker 1:

Whether it's your personal home, whether it's your investment property, maybe you're thinking ahead to your estate and planning ahead for you know how do you want to structure things with your in regards to your real estate? You know you're, you know, if you're just you're curious, you know about, maybe you're done managing your, your rental properties. Maybe you want to upgrade your rental portfolio, maybe you're maybe did you inherit a rental? I mean there's, there's so many, you know. Here's a question Maybe you're wondering do you have to wait for your lease to end to sell it? I mean there's so many conversations that we're having with our clients, so give us a call. 828-393-0134. Find us online at realestatebygregcom.

Speaker 1:

Also, follow us on our podcast. We podcast all of our radio shows. I mean, let's grab a cup of coffee or we can just jump on a 15-minute call. I mean there's no pressure, but your home has a story. Let us help you tell it. It could be from our professional photography to our powerful marketing. We know how to showcase and what makes your home special. And again, if you're just curious about what your home is worth, give us a call. We have a short break. We are here live every Monday morning on the Q, sharing with you and just having a conversation about the market, about the economy, and we still have more to cover after this break, so stay tuned in. We'll be right back. Good morning and welcome back. You're listening to the George Real Estate Group live radio broadcast here in the queue every Monday morning.

Speaker 1:

We love helping our clients, we love advocating, we love facilitating and, again, all things real estate and also, you know we talk about life, we talk about, you know, market insights and you know we love sharing with you about what's going on in the market. And we've just had tremendous success this year which we're so thankful for and we're grateful. It's truly because of our clients and word of mouth and we're grateful for our agents. We're growing. We've had more agents join our team. You might say, well, why are you trying to grow right now, when the market's maybe softening or flattening up? But there's always opportunity to help people and we're passionate about helping our clients and advocating and facilitating and there's a lot of opportunity.

Speaker 1:

There's still, like I said, 126 single family homes a month selling in Henderson County. That's just Henderson County. Buncombe County is some 200 plus a month selling. We also work in Transylvania County and, like I said earlier in the show, we work in upstate South Carolina. We have agents in the upstate. So the market's the market, the interest rates are the interest rates. I mean life is happening. Therefore, real estate's happening and if you're thinking about selling in the next six months, let's talk. I mean a quick 15-minute conversation can save you money and stress later. Again, we offer free, no-obligation evaluations and in my crew we've helped over 1,500 families. Let us help yours. So we love the conversation and grateful for the opportunity to serve the community through real estate and we love it. Again, we're passionate about it. We have great agents, we have great staff.

Speaker 1:

If you're thinking about, again, anything real estate, give us a call. Give us a call. We are here every Monday. Like I said, we podcast all of our radio shows. You can call us directly. You can find us online at realestatebygregcom. You can also jump into the um. You know, follow us on social media, whether it's facebook or instagram, uh, or stop by our office. We're there and I say this jokingly because, but it's so. We we're in a very dangerous location between the flat rock bakery, hubba hubba barbecue, campfire grill, our friends at hubba loo, all those great, great and amazing local and independent businesses and restaurants there on rainbow row, our friends at the wr great, great and amazing local and independent businesses and restaurants there on Rainbow Row, our friends at the Wrinkled Egg and Dogwood and Rent WNC. Again, we have a great group there and we just love serving the community. We're there on Rainbow Row, there in Flat Rock.

Speaker 1:

I came across, so here's some I always love sharing about different books I've come across and I don't know if you've heard of the book by Bonnie Ware. She was an Australian palliative care nurse who spent years caring for patients in the final weeks of their life and the book she wrote called the Top Five Regrets of the Dying, and it's not about dying, if anything, it's about living. But the book captures the most common regrets her patients shared in their last days and it was a powerful reflection on life priorities and authenticity. Just a very poignant and practical book. Again, it puts perspective on things and again, years ago, when this Australian nurse, bonnie Ware, was working in palliative care, her patients again in their final weeks of life. No more appointments to keep, no more pretending, no more pushing things off until someday. And what she noticed was that when people are facing the end, their masks come off, the noise quiets and that's what's left is the truth, the raw, honest truth about what really mattered and what didn't. And Bonnie started writing down the most common things that her patients told her you know the regrets they shared from their deathbeds. And it turned out there were patterns, not dozens of different regrets, actually just five, and five deep truths that could change the way we live today if we're willing to listen. So I thought I'd share with you what the five regrets were, and so here they are and we can walk through them together.

Speaker 1:

Number one I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me, and I want you to think about this for a moment. Have you ever caught yourself living someone else's dream, choosing the safer route because it's what your parents wanted, or your spouse, or what you thought would get applause? Bonnie said this was the most common regret of all. People would whisper it, sometimes cry it. They would say I never became the writer, I never opened up that little bakery. I always wanted to travel but I was afraid. Again, the message here don't wait for permission to live the life you were meant to live. Powerful, powerful consideration. Number two I wish I hadn't worked so hard Now.

Speaker 1:

This one hit home for a lot of folks, especially the men. Bonnie said they missed their kid's childhood. They missed the anniversaries, the dinners, the ball games. They were building a future, but sacrificing the now to do it. And look, there's nothing wrong with hard work. But if we're honest, sometimes we use work as a shield to avoid the hard conversations, to chase something in the end that doesn't hug you back. So the question are you working to live or living to work?

Speaker 1:

Number three I wish I had the courage to express my feelings. How many of us keep our mouths shut to keep the peace? We don't want to upset anyone. So we say I'm fine. We swallow our dreams, our hurts, our truth, until one day when we look back and wonder what might have happened if we had just spoken up. Bonnie's patients said they had wished, they had said I love you more often or I'm hurt or even I need help. Emotions are messy, but they're also real and if we don't let them out, they build up in all the wrong places. So maybe today's the day to make the call to speak the truth.

Speaker 1:

Number four I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. You know this one's easy to let slide. Life gets busy. We move, we change jobs, we raise kids and we tell ourselves I'll reach out next week. Then a year goes by and sometimes longer. Reach out next week, then a year goes by and sometimes longer. Bonnie said that near the end her patience just wanted to laugh with an old friend, someone who remembered them before all the achievements and responsibilities piled up. Friendships don't demand much. Sometimes it's just a text. Hey, I was thinking about you, and it can mean the world. And then, number five, I wish I had let myself be happier.

Speaker 1:

This one surprised me. People realized too late that they had spent so much time worrying, comparing, regretting that they had forgotten to enjoy life. They stayed stuck in old habits. They believed they didn't deserve joy. They waited for circumstances to change before allowing themselves to laugh, dance, be silly or just breathe. But the truth is, happiness is a choice, it's not a reward at the finish line, it's in the coffee you love, the walk outside, the hug from someone who gets you. So the question is, what if you gave yourself permission to be happy now?

Speaker 1:

So Bonnie Ware's book isn't really about dying, it's about living, living now while you can. It's about looking at your life, not with fear but with clarity. So take a few minutes today. Am I living my life or someone else's? Am I choosing connection over busyness? Am I letting myself enjoy the time I've been getting? Because the regrets of the dying, they can be the wake-up call for the living, and maybe that's what this moment's for.

Speaker 1:

So just a powerful, powerful book the Five Regrets of the Dying, the Stories that Might Just Change your Life, again by Bonnie Ware. I highly recommend it and I thought I'd take a minute. Again. It's this when you and to bring it back again, I've shared this so many times real estate is around life. It's not around, it's the interest rates. It's not around the interest rates. It's not about the interest rates. It's not about the market, it's not about, again, life is so much bigger. Real estate is centered around that. And again, what are you doing with your life? And again, I hope that book is an encouragement to you today. Again, it's perspective. Again, it's perspective for you to consider. Again, there's so much to be grateful for and again, gratitude is so important and we're just so grateful to be here with you every Monday morning. I thought I'd share about that amazing book I came across and just give you some perspective. But, of course, if you're thinking about anything real estate, in regards to what's going on in your life, we'd love to connect, we'd love to help. There's no pressure, there's no cost, there's no obligation. We love helping our clients navigate through all things real estate. It could be your personal home, it could be your rental home, it could be your investment portfolio, it could be your vacant land, it could be a commercial property, but we'd be honored to have the conversation. Again, if you want to hear more about this, you can reach out to us Any of these conversations we're having. If you want to go back and listen to this podcast, we'll have this up later today. Find this on your favorite podcast platform, the George Real Estate Group radio program. But thank you so much for tuning in this Monday morning. Again, so much to be grateful for. And just continue to enjoy today. Make it a great day and, again, give us a call 828-393-0134. We'll see you next Monday Thinking about estate planning for your real estate.

Speaker 1:

Without a smart approach, the property you leave behind could become an unwelcome burden for your kids. Many children simply don't want to co-manage an inherited house or deal with the tenants. Fortunately, you can prevent that with the right plan. The George Real Estate Group specializes in tax-efficient strategies like 1031 exchanges and Delaware Statutory Trust to simplify inheritance and income planning. A 1031 exchange can defer your capital gain taxes now and help your kids avoid a big tax bill later, and a DST lets you continue earning rental income without landlord headache. Plus, it can be split among your children, making inheritance easier. Planning ahead is one of the kindest gifts you can give your family. Let us help you secure your legacy. Call the George Real Estate Group at 828-393-0134 today. You've worked hard to build your legacy. 893-0134 today.

Speaker 2:

You've worked hard to build your legacy. Now let us help you protect it for your loved ones. 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. 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.