George Real Estate Group Radio Broadcast

Market Perspective In A Shifting Season

• George Real Estate Group

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Ever looked at a market update and felt like the silver medalist—so close to the peak that everything now feels like a loss? We unpack why that reaction is normal, how counterfactual thinking warps your view, and what changes when you switch frames. Using a powerful bronze-vs-silver mindset shift, we translate psychology into practical real estate strategy so you can price, negotiate, and time your move with less stress and more confidence.

We start with the facts on the ground: 1,624 single-family homes sold locally in the last 12 months, an uptick of about 10% year over year, while average prices held near $542,000 with only a slight dip. Days on market have stretched to around 60—slow only if you’re still comparing to the pandemic frenzy, and fast if you remember the six-month norms. From there, we get tactical: how to use pre-approval and payment-driven planning to avoid becoming house poor, why condition and pricing alignment matter more than ever for sellers, and how buyers can win with flexibility, clean terms, and realistic comps.

We also dig into who is moving the market. First-time buyers are older, repeat buyers are often cash-rich, and many owners are staying put due to the mortgage lock-in effect—tightening supply and propping up prices. That demographic shift shapes everything from inventory to negotiation power. Along the way, we share a story from the 1914 Christmas Truce as a reminder that perspective and human connection can steady us in uncertain times. Real estate is about more than transactions; it’s about making space for your next chapter with freedom, time, and purpose.

If you’re planning to buy, sell, right-size, or invest, we’d love to help you frame the decision, run the numbers, and move on your terms. Subscribe to the show, share it with a friend who needs some clarity, and leave a quick review to help others find us. Ready to talk through your plan? Call 828-393-0134 or visit realestatebygreg.com.

SPEAKER_00:

Good morning and welcome to the George Real Estate Group live radio broadcast here on the queue every Monday morning. We're so grateful to be here with you on this rainy December Monday morning. And wow, again, it's amazing. Christmas is around the corner, and so much is happening. We are so and we have so much to be grateful for. We're going to dive into the conversation about what's going on in the local market and maybe some of the psychology going on, some of the data that's happening nationally, but also locally. Before we do that, the George Real Estate Group, we're located in Flat Rock. We serve all of Western North Carolina and the upstate South Carolina. We have incredible agents, incredible team. We have incredible clients. We're so thankful for our clients. It's ultimately our clients that make it all possible. And it's truly word of mouth. Majority of our business is word of mouth. And if we can help you with any of your real estate needs, with whether it's your personal home, your investment properties, maybe it's land you own, maybe you're trying to navigate and think ahead with planning and being strategic. Whatever the situation is, it's a privilege and honor to have the consultation, to have the conversation, and and we we we don't take it lightly. Give us a call, 828-393-0134. 828-3930134. You can find us online at realestate by greg.com. We also podcast all of our radio shows. You can find this on your favorite podcast platform, uh Apple, Amazon, Alexa, Spotify. Also follow us on social media, Facebook and Instagram. We uh share about listings and open houses and homes sold and homes going under contract. And we'd just love to connect with you and share some of those stories there. Uh find us on social media. And and then ultimately stop by our office anytime, 2720 Greenville Highway, 2720 Greenville Highway, uh there in Flat Rock. As I said, we we serve all of West North Carolina and the upstate, and we'd be glad to connect with you. It's a privilege and honor to serve the community through real estate. This is my 20th year uh with my broker's license, and it's a it's amazing. And we are still, I still love the conversations and understanding uh and and hearing people's stories and seeing how we can you know fit in into the story and helping you decide and and you giving you information and data so that you can decide what's right for you. Ultimately, we're here to advocate for what you want and in the context of the market. And if it's possible, we're gonna do our best to make it happen. And again, we're here to advocate and facilitate our for our clients. Uh, like I said, find us online at realestatebygreg.com. You can also call us directly at 828-393-0134, 828-393-0134. Here's just a quick snapshot. In the last 12 months, 1624 single-family homes, sixteen hundred and twenty-four single-family homes sold in Henderson County. I mean, that's some 130 some plus a month selling in Henderson County. Uh, and actually, we've had more homes. That's actually 135. Uh, 135 on average selling per month. We're up some 10%. We've had a 10% increase in the number of single-family homes sold uh in the last 12 months. And that's remarkable. 10 plus percent more homes have sold in the last 12 months versus the previous 12 months. And all the while our prices are holding. We've had less than a one, we've had about a 1% drop, a 1% drop in the average single family home price. The average the home price has dropped, you know, to um five again. This is context, right? It's oh, the prices are coming down. By the way, the prices are still the average single family home price is at 542 in Henderson County. The average single family home price in Henderson County is at 542. And again, it's it's the the sky is not falling. Are are things different? Yes. Has it changed? Yes. Is it the market taking a little bit longer to sell? Yes, but again, and we'll actually talk about the psychology of that. I I think it's absolutely fascinating when we're looking at the market uh and maybe we're comparing it to what it was, and and it's all about perspective, and and that's something that this is so interesting how this all ties. I love psychological and I love stories and I love uh you know things to consider and and tying it into real estate. Have you ever seen a photo of uh an Olympic uh Olympic medalist, right? They're standing on the podium, and and have you ever really looked at it? Have you not and not just looking at at the medals, but have you looked at their faces, in almost every one of those photos, the bronze medalist is smiling, is beaming. Sometimes they're even waving at the crowd, pumping a fist, laughing with relief. And then if you're to look at the silver medalist, they're standing one step higher, technically more successful, yet their face is often serious, tight jaw, distant eyes, sometimes unmistakably disappointed. And it's one of the most striking contradictions in sports. And from the outside, both athletes are world-class, both have achieved something extraordinary, but emotionally they're having completely different experiences of this exact same moment. So the what the silver medalist is feeling in that photo, the the photograph freezes a moment where the silver medalist is often still mentally running the race. Their mind isn't on the podium, it's back at the starting line. They're replaying the one corner they took too wide, the moment they hesitated, the single second that stood between them and the gold. And so the silver medalist isn't seeing a silver medal, they're actually seeing the gold they almost had. And psychologists call this counterfactual thinking, and it's the brain's habit of living in the alternative in an alternate uh reality where one tiny change would have produced a different outcome. And that's why the emotion in the photo looks like loss instead of pride. But the bronze medalist, the bronze medalist's brain is doing the opposite. They're not replaying the mistakes, they're replaying the narrow escapes. They're thinking about the athlete who finished fourth, the heat they barely qualified out of, the last qualification round that almost ended the dream. So the bronze medalist isn't thinking I didn't win the gold. They're thinking I didn't go home empty-handed. And that mental comparison transforms stress into gratitude, and it shows all over their faces. And so the Olympic photo captivates us because it reels it reveals a truth we all live with every day. You know, happiness isn't determined by achievement, it's determined by comparison. Two people can stand side by side at the in the same moment with nearly identical outcomes and experience completely different emotions based on what they compare themselves to. The silver compares upward, bronze compares downward, and the single shift changes how the entire moment feels. When we compare ourselves to the peak, we feel loss. When we compare ourselves to survival, we feel gratitude. The same facts, different meaning, and it is all about perspective. Let's talk about this with real estate. The thing is about real estate, if you're comparing to two years ago, where homes were selling in days, multiple offers, above asking price, today's market feels disappointing. That's the silver metal comparison. But when we compare today to five years ago, you know, before COVID, we realize how how strong things still are. The prices are up dramatically from five years ago. Equity is still high, demand is still strong. It's the same same market, different photo. This is again, it's perspective on on the real estate market. And it's looking, and again, this is where we're, you know, the difference in how you look at today's real estate market versus how we looked at it, you know, from a few years ago. It is it is all about perspective. And so, you know, even though days on market now is closer to 60 days, okay. I I remember a time when average days on market was six months. Again, it's perspective. And and so when you as a uh again, this is this is about there's so much a bigger picture about life, but in sp in regards to real estate, when you have the information and you have the data and you can make decisions, even though maybe you're not pricing it like you thought you would a couple years ago, it is still higher than it was uh you know five years ago. Again, it's still the market's still strong. Your equity is still historically high, and homes are still selling. I shared at the beginning of the show, we've actually had a 10% increase in the number of single-family homes sold. Nothing is broken. It's still an amazing market. Having perspective, having a real estate professional that can guide you, can put per can put clarity on the market and can guide you and walk you through the market. And so the the market it didn't just suddenly change. And again, what are you comparing it to? It's this, it's this again, mean and how we decide and what and decide what things mean shapes everything. And so we have these conversations, we have these, you know, we put perspective on things, and again, it's it's a and and again, how we frame things matters, and how we and this is again not not just about life. I mean, excuse me, not just about real estate, not just about Olympics. Again, it's it's looking at the looking at the bigger picture. So again, it can feel frustrating when you're comparing it to a couple years ago, but when we look come and when we look and we change, again, changing how we look at things um can can make a difference. So this it's the psychology. When we compare ourselves to the peak, we feel lost. When we compare ourselves to survival, we feel gratitude. And it's not just this is just a bigger picture. And so we have these conversations, the same information, the same facts. And again, how we interpret things and how we look at things matters. And so when we can provide information for our buyers and sellers, you can decide what's right for you. You get to decide what things mean. You get to decide how you move forward. The market's the market, the interest rates are the interest rates, and we can navigate through whatever the market is, we can navigate through whatever your situation is. It could be a really positive reason why you're buying or selling, it could be a very challenging reason. I mean, here's an interesting uh story. Maybe you you've already heard about this this morning. Uh, and again, talking about you know, life is happening. I mean, this is an extreme example, but Los Angeles actually issued the first occupancy permit in the Pacific Palisades since the wildfires. And it's almost been a year since the Palisades fire in California began in January 2025. And so the on Saturday this weekend, developer Thomas James Holmes hosted an open style event at a 4,000 square foot home. It completed building uh in the Palisades, and it's actually the first in the Palisides Palisades to receive a certificate of occupancy since the tragedy, according to the office of Los Angeles mayor. So again, there's some hope there. It's it's it's they're rebuilding. And I know we've been rebuilding here in Henderson County with Helene and the stories that we hear, and again, it's the the progress that we're making, and I know there's this tension between we have so much further to go, and yet look how far we've come. And again, it puts things into perspective. So if we can help you with any of your real estate, this could be your personal home, it could be your uh investment property, it could be maybe you're looking to buy more real estate, maybe you're looking to downsize or upsize or or right size, whatever it might be. We always hear from our clients, they're always glad they did it when they could and while they could, and when they are in charge, you know, as we've helped a lot of people navigate through uh through right sizing and and and working through that. Again, whatever your situation is, it could be a really positive reason or challenging reason. It's a it is a genuine privilege and honor to come alongside and hear your story and see how we can help navigate through that. Well, time flies when you're having fun. We have a short break coming up. You're listening to the George Real Estate Group Live Radio Broadcast here in the queue. We have more, I have more data to share with you, more stories to share with you after the break. I actually have a Christmas story I was going to share. I mean, Christmas is around the corner, uh, but 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. Be sure to subscribe. We podcast all of our radio shows. You can find us on your favorite podcast platform, and we'd love to connect. You can follow us on social media as well. Uh, we'd love to connect with you there. And and again, just have the conversation. We love sharing and love hearing your stories. We love sharing about you know, just the ability. We can provide context, we can provide information so you can decide what's right for you. I shared earlier. Again, the interest rates are the interest rates, the market's the market, the economy's the economy. Uh, and and while, I mean, we are watching, I mean, this this coming week, the Federal Reserve's gonna there they're the analysis, uh, analysts are anticipating the Federal Reserve's gonna announce a third straight rate cut on Wednesday uh following the meeting this week. I mean, um, you know, they're there there's still you know, there's still these things that are happening, and and yet the interest rates are gonna be what they are. You're gonna you try to afford for you you buy what you can. You don't want to be house poor. We work with amazing lenders. Uh, we work to provide clarity and information so our clients can decide what's right for them. I did have, and maybe you've seen some of this already, but there was a the report from the National Association of Realtors, you know, profile of home buyers and sellers. I mean, there is it's there the market and the who the who's buying and who's selling certainly uh is is changing. I mean, the median age of a first-time home buyer is 40 years old, it's a record high. Um, the share of first-time home buyers uh among all buyers is 21%, and that's the lowest level since NAR began tracking in 1981. The median age of repeat buyers is 62. The typical age of a home seller is 64 years, also a record high. And then down payment and payment trends. Many repeat buyers are making substantial down payments. Median down payment for a repeat buyer is 23%, and then some portion of buyers and repeated, particularly repeat buyers, are paying all cash. And this is according to the 2025 report, 30 percent of repeat buyers paid all cash, and so and also another interesting thing is the data shows that homes are being held longer, the higher lock-in effect for many homeowners, which reduces turnover and it does contribute to the lower housing supply. So, you know, the fact that first-time home buyers are now on average 40 suggests that key life milestones, homeownership, family formation, stability are being delayed compared to past generations when many Americans bought their first home in their late 20s, early 30s. I was in my early 20s uh when I purchased my first home uh some uh 20 years ago. And and then also with repeat buyers and sellers skewing older, uh much of the housing market activity comes now from older generations, which it may shape the demand towards larger homes, downsizing retirement-friendly features or you know, the multi-generational living. Um, also because of the the high down payments and all cash purchases, you know, the equity that's building up over years or decades matters. It really matters, and so this is why there's some challenges for the younger and the first-time home buyer, and a lot of them are priced out or delayed because of the higher prices, the the interest rates and the difficulty saving. Uh, and then also lower first-time buyer share plus older buyer ages combined with longer whole home holding times. This is part of the lower inventory levels, and this is why it's it's pushing prices up. So this is so interesting. Back in 1981, when NAGR started tracking, the typical first-time buyer was in their late 20s, and then for decades, the share of first-time buyers hovered around 40%, and now that's at 21%. And then the median, the jump in the median age for first-time home buyers from the 20s and to the and then and then up into 2025 is now 40. So these this information tells a story, and and so we've it's just fascinating. Again, we like we look at the numbers in in behind every home sold is a story, and it could be maybe it's a new family formation, maybe it's a downsizing, maybe it's a right sizing, maybe it's a a job change, maybe it's a retirement. Again, life happens, therefore, real estate happens, and and so you know, we it's a privilege and honor to help our clients, you know, navigate through through the the buying and selling process. We love love the conversations. Uh, we love meeting with our clients and and love having the conversation. I I thought it'd be fun, uh well, just just heart uh warming, hopefully, and encouraging. So interesting this time of year with with Christmas and and and stories and and things like that to to consider. And so you know this is a story that I I was looking and I love reading stories about history, love reading stories about you know what's going on. Uh but did you know one of the most remarkable and honestly hopeful stories to ever come out of a war didn't come from a battle plan or general. It actually came on Christmas Eve in 1914. And the the World War One had only been raging for a few months, but it already become brutal beyond imagination. Soldiers living in muddy trenches, separated from the enemy by a a stretch of death actually called No Man's Land, machine guns, barbed wire, smoke, fear, and loss. And then something unexpected happened. As Christmas Eve settled in over the Western Front, British soldiers began hearing something drifting over the darkness. It was singing. The German troops were singing silent night. The British replied with their own carols, and Captain Sir Edward Hulse of the Scots Guard later wrote, It was one of the highlights of my life. Here we were laughing and chatting to men whom only hours before we had been trying to kill. Candles appeared along the trench edges, small Christmas trees were set up, and eventually, hesitantly, men climbed out of the trenches. No orders, no permission, just humanity. A British rifleman recalled they were good chaps, the Germans. We talked and exchanged cigarettes and shook hands. There was not an atom of hate on either side. And for a brief moment no man's land became everyone's land. Soldiers buried their dead together, they exchanged food, German sausages for British plum pudding, buttons for cigarettes, addresses for photos. One British soldier, Private Bertie Felstead, wrote his wrote to his family, I wouldn't have missed that Christmas day for anything. And yes, there was there really was a soccer match. The details may vary the details varied depending on the account, but multiple diaries confirmed a casual football game using a makeshift ball in the frozen ground between enemy lines. Not a victory, not a score, just men laughing. By the next day the war resumed, high command on both sides quickly shut down any repeats. The machinery of war rolled on. But something had already happened. For a single night, men remembered they were sons, brothers, husbands, fathers, not enemies. And that moment still speaks to us more than a century later because it reminds us that even in the darkest systems, the heaviest hatred, the loudest noise of conflict, peace still knows how to whisper. It doesn't come from power, it does it, it comes from people, and sometimes it shows up quietly singing silent night across a frozen field. And so that's a Christmas story worth remembering. I love just again this the stories of humanity, the stories of of of again, it's remarkable. Again, everyone, I know everyone, this time of year can be challenging. You know, you're you know, you might be facing something. You might again, it could be a beautiful time of of the season for you. It also could be a challenging time. You don't know what someone is going through. So again, take a moment to say hello, take a moment to encourage someone, take a moment, a kind word, uh, you know, and again, peace, you know, can show up through people. Uh, you know, maybe you have a willingness to see someone instead of judge just judging them. But again, this season that it can be busy, it can be emotional, it can be full, but again, this is just in when you think about the story of of that Christmas Eve, again, you can step out of the trench, you can see the human across from you. And remember, everyone is fighting something, and so it's not and it's not weakness, it's it's just being human. We're so grateful to be here every Monday morning here sharing with you stories about life, sharing with you stories about the real estate market and just connecting with you. It's a privilege and honor to be here, and we'd love to help you any way we can. It it's we we are we happen to be in the real estate industry, but it's it's about the relationships, it's about the connections, it's about the stories. And if we can help you in any way, do not hesitate to reach out. You can call us directly at 828-3930134. You can find us online at realestatebygreg.com. We are, by the way, this is remarkable. We are so grateful. We've had an incredible year. We've helped even more people this year than we did last year. We're anticipating this to continue to finish this December strong, and we already have contracts happening right now that are being written in closing. We saw some closings happening still this month, and we already are writing contracts to close in January. But your particular situation, your unique situation, your unique home, your unique story, we'd love to connect. Call us directly, 828-393-0134. We're so thankful to be here with you this Monday morning. And you can call us, you can connect with us, you can find us on social media, you can find us on uh Instagram, you can follow our podcasts, you can stop by our office, but let us buy you a cup of coffee. Give us a call 828-393-0134 again this Christmas season. Merry Christmas. It's uh and we'll be here next Monday. Thank you so much, and take care. You've built a lifetime of strength, wisdom, and independence. And here's the best part: you still have it. Every decision, every step, every next chapter is yours to choose. Selling your home isn't about letting go, it's about opening the door to more freedom, more time for what you love, more energy for the people and passions that matter most. At the George Real Estate Group, we believe independence isn't behind you. It's right here, right now. Our team goes beyond buying and selling. We're here to help you protect your wealth, preserve your legacy, and make sure Uncle Sam doesn't become your biggest benefactor. We'll guide you every step of the way towards your next chapter, your next opportunity, and your freedom on your terms. Call us at 828 393 0134. Find us online at realestatebygreg.com.