George Real Estate Group Radio Broadcast

Holiday Market Update And Your Next Move

• George Real Estate Group

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A quiet myth floats around every December: real estate goes to sleep. Our latest conversation shows the opposite across Western North Carolina, where Henderson County and Buncombe County are posting meaningful gains in listings, pendings, and closed sales—even as days on market rise and inventory edges higher. We unpack what those numbers mean in real life, why patience and pricing precision matter more now, and how to navigate the psychology behind offers, inspections, and time on market without losing sight of your goals.

We also open the door to a surprising bright spot: new construction. Builders are moving inventory with serious incentives, from price cuts and closing cost credits to interest rate buy-downs and free upgrades. If you’re weighing a move-up from a low-rate home, we explain how buy-downs can narrow the gap and why a well-timed contract can still close before year-end. For cash buyers, these perks can improve total value and speed. For anyone considering a sell-then-buy, we outline the steps, timelines, and team needed to thread the needle with confidence.

Finally, we talk equity and meaning—how long-term owners often have more options than they realize, and how the primary residence capital gains exclusion can power a simpler, freer next chapter. Perspective shapes outcomes, so we focus on the questions that matter: Is the price realistic? Is this repair normal? Is time on market a risk or an opening? If you’re ready for clarity in a shifting market, join us for data, strategy, and plainspoken guidance you can use today. Subscribe, share with a friend who’s planning a move, and leave a review to tell us what you want covered next.

SPEAKER_01:

Hello, friends. Thank you so much for being here. This is the George Real Estate Group Podcast, which is a production of our live weekly radio shows hosted on multiple radio stations here in Hendersonville, North Carolina. The George Real Estate Group serves Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina, and it is a privilege to share positive news about our local real estate market and community. Thanks so much for subscribing. And of course, if you have any real estate questions or if we can help you in any way, be sure to reach out. Visit us at George Real Estate Group Radio.com for more information. Good morning and welcome to the George Real Estate Group, live radio broadcast here on the queue every Monday morning, bringing you positive news about your local real estate marketing community. We're so grateful to be here with you. Christmas is around the corner, just 10 days away. Time flies, and then the end of the year is here as well. I mean, so much to be thankful for and so much to be grateful for, and we're grateful to be here with you. If you're tuning in for the first time ever, the George Real Estate Group is located in Flat Rock. We serve all of Western North Carolina and the upstate. We love serving our community. We love helping our clients navigating through buying and selling and investing. And you know, it could be your personal home, it could be investment properties, it could be land, it could be land development, it could be commercial. We love serving and helping our clients navigate through what matters to them and what that might look like in regards to all things real estate. And we don't just, you know, it's not just about the contract, it's about you know understanding what's going on in the market. It's understanding, looking at what's going on in the market in context of your story and your situation and your finances and your timeline, and everybody's situation is unique and different, every home is unique and different, every property is unique and different, and we have the experience to navigate. I I say all the time, I'm constantly learning. We continue to learn and we continue to learn and experience every situation's different, and we learn on every single one of them. This is actually my 20th year with my North Carolina broker's license, and our team, we have incredible agents, we have incredible staff, and more importantly, it's our clients that matter most. And we're so thankful for clients and being able to serve the community. We haven't we've had an incredible year, and we're going to continue to grow. We're continuing to serve more clients. And so if you've thought about uh you know buying or selling or investing in real estate or even a career in real estate, give us a call 828-393-0134. 828-393-0134. Love to have the conversation, love to uh connect with you and um you know just help any way we can. You can find us online, realastatebygreg.com. You can also uh follow us on social media, you can also follow our podcast. We podcast all of our radio shows. Uh we'd be glad to connect with you in that way. So, what's happening in the real estate market? I and if you we have data that we look at that tells a story, and I and I've been sharing about what's you know, we try to give these updates and in in and we're gonna look at Henderson County and Bunkham County this morning, and through the end of November, these reports actually just came out. We've actually had uh year to date through the end of November in Henderson County a 12.6% increase in new listings overall. We've had an 8.9% increase in pending sales, that's significant, and then a 10.8%, almost an 11% increase year to date, January uh through end of November this year versus last year, almost an 11% increase. That's also true if you look at the 12-month, rolling 12-month as well, which is significant. The you might say, um, you know, how does that what happened with the hurricane? Well, the hurricane, it wasn't that we came to a complete stand still, still in the in in the uh month of November last year in Henderson County, there's still 117 homes sold. It's not like it completed came to a complete stop. Did it slow down a little bit? Yes. But the current 12 months versus the previous 12 months, I mean, there's about a there's over a 10% increase in the number of properties sold in Henderson County. Now, Bunkham County, interestingly, Bunkham County has actually had a 26% increase in new listings compared to our 12%. They've had an 8%, almost 9% increase in pending sales. That's about the same as ours. But the other fascinating thing is the the um number of closed sales, the closed sales in Bunker County is only up 4.4%, only up 4.4% now versus uh well excuse me, versus Henderson County. Henderson County is at almost 11%. So 4.4% versus 11% increase. It's still an increase in Buncom County. Another fascinating thing is prices in both counties, uh, the median home price in Buncom County is actually up 1%. Uh Henderson County is down 1.9%. If you again we're comparing year to date through the end of Jane uh through the end of uh November this year versus the end of November last year. Um so that's so fascinating. Again, all these things, again, it's providing uh context, it's providing information uh and ultimately for uh you know your home, your neighborhood, your community you live in, and then ultimately your your situation. And so the market remains strong uh in Henderson County and Buncombe County. And is it softening? Yes. Uh the inventory levels are increasing, prices aren't really coming off that much. Uh now the uh the significant change is the days on market. Days on market keep going up. Days on market uh for both Henderson County and Buncombe County are up some almost 30, uh well, close to 40 percent, the days on market uh year to date this year versus year to date last year. So I will say this though, this time of year, there's low inventory levels. A lot of people are saying, hey, it's December, people aren't buying, but that's not true. Homes are selling uh even during the holidays. Uh, you know, so even during the holidays, homes are going under contract. Actually, just in the last seven days in Henderson County, there's been 23 homes go under contract. I mean, just in the last seven days, and we are anticipating that you know December to remain, you know, in line with with traditional winter months. But right now, inventory levels are low. Right now, as of this morning, only 564 active single-family homes on the market in Henderson County. So we have about a four-month supply right now in Henderson County. So it's still a seller's market. Uh that's softening. But again, your unique home, your unique situation, all that. Uh again, putting context on that. So we we offer a no pressure, no cost, no obligation consultation. You can call us directly at 828-393-0134-828-393-0134. Glad to connect with you, uh, glad to talk and sh and discuss what your situation is. I recently I I love learning and I recently came across uh a story uh about a physicist living in a time when uh scientists were discovering something uh something unsettling about the universe. Actually, um it was about atoms and particles, and they don't behave like solid objects, but Edward Edwin Schroederling Schroedering. Edwin Schroedering, it's a it's a name. It's just so interesting. Atoms, per particles don't behave like solid objects, they behave like possibilities. A particle isn't here or there, and it's described as a spread of chances, and that bothered Schroedering, so he said, fine, let's take this idea seriously and see where it leads. And so this is so interesting. He imagined, this is this is and this is the story of uh a cat, and and and it's and it's called Schroeder Schröding's cat, but he imagined a sealed box containing a cat, a tiny piece of radioactive material, uh, a detector, and then a vial of poison. And so the setup is simple. If the atom decays, the detector clicks and the poison releases and the cat dies. If it doesn't, nothing happens and the cat lives. And so this is so interesting. The key detail is the the radioactive decay is actually random at the quantum level, so you cannot predict it. It's only you can only talk about the probabilities. So and and again, this is this is about this is this is about um the the this is again, I dive a little bit into the weeds of science, but this is where it's this is where this is the story um is is about this is where the cat the sh Schroeder did not believe cats are um you know it's not that this cat can be alive and dead, you know, it's actually that it's not metaphorically, but mathematically. And this is where most people usually stop, and this is where the meaning, but this is where the meaning actually starts. Cats are not half alive, reality is nonsense. He's saying if this theory is complete, it leads to a world that makes no sense at a human scale. So the cat is a mirror and it reflects the problem back at us. And so the story forces one brutal question. When does reality become real? When the atom decays, when the detector clicks, when the cat reacts, when a human opens the box, when is someone when someone becomes aware? Physics have they don't the the physics has no agreed answer, and this is why the cat still matters. And so the moment the box opens, when the box is open, the probabilities collapse. One outcome becomes real, the other disappears, alive or dead, not both. And so here's the thing nothing physically changed at the moment except observation. And so this is where this actually c comes back into Schroeder's cat theory, can come into life, actually. This is again not to dive I I didn't mean to I got more into the weeds than I thought to on on the science of this, but but this is so interesting. So when there's a this when a when this story is about what's observed and what's experienced, this is this is also Einstein actually told a story about a train. Two people can watch the same lightning strike from a moving train, one standing still, the un one riding on the train, they disagree about what happened, and here's the shock, both are right. So this is where these stories, both stories about the cat and about the the Einstein with the with the lightning, here's the interest, and this is where I'm gonna land the plane. Both stories are actually telling us the same thing. Context matters, position matters, observation and the observer matters. So reality shows up, doesn't show up with a meaning already attached, meaning forms through perspective. Okay, here's the thing: two people can experience the same moment. The conversation, uh, you could go see a house, uh, the price of something, uh, an inspection report. They could walk away with two completely different meanings, the same facts, different stories. And then here for real estate, right? A house sits on the market, before anyone sees it, it's perfect and unsellable. It's an opportunity and risk. It's dead and alive, just like the cat. And then when someone walks through the door and then suddenly it's a home or it's not. This is where this is why here's the thing agents matter more than people think. An agent agent, a real estate agent doesn't change the house. They change the context. They help buyers and sellers answer the real question what does it mean? Is this home priced realistically or or not? Is this repair normal or is this repair scary? Is the time on the market a red flag or is it an opening? And and so this is so interesting. This actually goes back to physics. Physics learned this first. Reality actually depends on perspective. Life learned it next. Experience depends on the meaning, and then real estate lives in the middle. You know, deals happen when people agree on on what something means. So the cat was never the point, the train was never the point, and I apologize. I know I I butchered those stories. The point was this we don't just observe the world, we're participating in it. And when you understand that, whether it's science, a conversation, a classroom, or real estate, you stop trying to win arguments and start helping people see differently. And that's where clarity comes from, that's where decisions happen, that's where you it can be a win-win where you can come together. And so you know, it's it and then life, right? Two people can see the same lightning strike differently. Um, you know, th then maybe life works that way, right? Like life gives us moments, changes, challenges, losses, endings, but it doesn't tell us what they mean. You know, that part's left open. So two people can experience the same moment and and have different uh it this is a fun fascinating story. You you hear the story about uh these two sons. One is an alcoholic and one's a successful CEO. And you know what they both they both were asked why do they credit to how they ended up that way? They both said their father, again, the father could have been a uh uh it was not about the father, but the both sons experienced the same father but had two different outcomes, two different, you know, from the same childhood, but they they chose to respond differently from their parents. And so, you know, one person might take their childhood as a as a turning point or a lesson, another person might take their childhood as a story of loss or a wound. So same event, different meaning, different life. So again, this isn't about denying, it's about you know it's more about responsibility. Choosing a meaning doesn't ign doesn't mean we're ignoring things, it doesn't mean we're pretending, it doesn't mean we're maybe you're acting like everything's fine, but you know, we get to decide what things mean. Just like in real estate, we get to decide how we approach things. You I it's not about the interest rates, it's not about the economy, it's not about you know the market. You get to decide what you want to do with your story, your life, your real estate, and and we know real estate happens around life. Life happens, therefore real estate happens. And so, you know, it's again, I I was so fascinated about I had no clue about the story about the cat. Schroederling's cat. I also was reminded about Einstein's story, but then again, when we look at life and we look at and this happens in real estate, right? The same person can look at a house for sale, and it can mean one thing for one person and another thing for another person, and that's where real estate is so fascinating. It is so psychological. And of course, there's a financial piece too, which we help our clients navigate through that. But I apologize for getting into the weeds. If you want to have a conversation, you certainly can call me. We can dive into those weeds. Uh, we have a short break coming up. You're listening to the George Real Estate Group live radio broadcast here in the queue, so stay tuned in. We'll dive more into the market details when I get back. Good morning and welcome back. You're listening to the George Real Estate Group Live Radio Broadcast here in the queue. Christmas is around the corner, and again, if there's still time, there's still time to get those Christmas uh shopping lists done. Uh there's some uh you know opportunities and go in person, of course. I think there's still time. I don't know if you guys have been looking at the Amazon countdown to still order online. There's still time to do that. Um so we are still busy. We actually had contracts being negotiated over this weekend. Um, there's still time even to close on a house or land before the end of the year. You might that that might seem uh impossible, but it is. You can still go under contract this week and still close on something before the end of the year. We have attorneys, we have um we have teams that can pull this off. If if there's there might be a tax reason why you need to close before the end of the year. There are there are still opportunities. The attorneys we work with can pull it off. Um, it it might be tight on the uh financing. Uh that might be, but we are certainly in can handle a cash closing before the end of the year. We can get all the inspections done, investigations, the due diligence, all that can be done, you know, during the uh you know, the next week or so, and you can still close uh before the end of the year. Again, time there there's still time. This is a great time. There's a lot of good deals out there for new construction. New construction uh is something you might consider. It could be a brand new home. It gives you the uh the you might be able to get a good deal and something brand new. The a lot of builders are rolling out incentives that can make homes uh more affordable, and it's a and it's a combination that doesn't come around a lot. It's it puts buyers in a surprising, surprisingly strong position, you know, with where the moment matters and and and it's worth it's why it's worth partnering uh with a local real estate agent to take advantage of it. So there's more new homes available now, uh, and that's because of the inventory levels. And so new construction on the market today is more than normal, and that means some of these uh you know builders are incentivizing things. According to some reports, um this group called Zonda shows that even though it feels like new homes are are popping up just about everywhere, builders have actually started pulling back, and the number of starts, that's when the builders break ground, have been slowing but steadily declining over the past few years, and that's that's good because it prevents overbuilding nationally. And so this is there's some forecasts that are out there, and according nationally, roughly one in three homes in the market right now are new. That's certainly higher than the normal, uh, but it's also the lowest share in four years, and so uh that means builders are throwing out incentives. Builders are dropping the prices on their brand new homes to draw in buyers, builders are helping with closing costs. Builders are covering thousands of dollars of uh in fees to reduce the upfront cost of buying. Uh, the you could you could get these extra upgrades, maybe it's the premium finishes, the uh appliance packages, designer features. Sometimes the builders are throwing them in as incentives at no extra cost. And then there's a thing called a mortgage rate buy down. I'm aware of uh some communities here in town where the the clients have moved from one community to another because even though maybe they're in a neighborhood right now where they they love it, but maybe their interest rate is in the three or four percent, but they've outgrown the home, then a new neighborhood pops up next door, and because the the developer and the the the builder is buying down the interest rates, and in some cases, this is allowing buyers to sell or they would sell their existing home, but they're able to get into a new home, maybe not at certainly not at the three and four range, but the builders are buying down the interest rates, and so there's a lot of perks right now, according to the National Association of Home Builders. 65% of builders say they're using some type of sale incentive. Forty-one percent of builders report cutting prices in November, and that was a record high in the post-COVID period, and the first time this measure is passed 40%. So this is a great time. Builders are offering incentives. The the inventory, the the builders are wanting to get the the new construction off of their books. Again, it's just something to consider, and this is where working with a real estate professional. A lot of people are are looking to sell and then buy, and then how do you thread the needle? And we have the the experience, we have the systems, we have the team in place, we can help you navigate through buying and selling. And and it all starts with having that first conversation. There's never any pressure, there's no cost, there's no obligation uh to have a confidential consultation about what your dreams are, what your goals are, what does this look like? Are you upsizing? Are you downsizing? How does it look? Could you get into something you have more equity in your home than ever before? And even though you might have a low interest rate, sometimes taking advantage and moving the equity from your existing home into another home, this is so interesting. This is amazing. Nearly 40 well, 45 plus percent. So nearly half of today's homeowners have lived in their home for more than 15 years, one in four for over 25 years. The the amount of equity, if you imagine have making have been making 15 to 25 years of payments, plus the steady appreciation, you might be surprised on how much equity you have in your home. I mean, it could be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. I mean, if you've owned your home since the nineties or the early 2000s, I mean, it it wouldn't be wild, it wouldn't, it wouldn't be uh unreal and again, your unique home, your unique situation. I mean, you could be looking at three or four or five hundred thousand dollars of equity depending on your home, depending on location, depending on size, of course, all those factors, but the amount of equity that you have in your home, and then it gives you options. It provides it the equity could power your next move. Maybe you're paying cash for your next home. By the way, if you've lived in your home two out of a five-year period as your primary home, if it's your personal home as an individual, the first two hundred and fifty thousand dollars is you don't pay taxes on the two first two hundred and fifty thousand dollars of profit, you get back what you paid for the home plus your improvements plus two hundred and fifty thousand dollars of profits is tax free. The the if you're married, the second uh you're you get another an additional two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, so five hundred thousand dollars on top of getting back what you paid for the home, on top of getting back what you've improved. So it's all of that you don't pay taxes on the capital gains of your personal home if you've lived in it two out of a five-year period. So again, maybe your next home is a cash purchase. Maybe you're putting cash in the bank. Again, your equity allows you to have options, it could power your next move. And I hear from so many of our clients, they're glad they did it while they could. They glad they are glad they did it while they were able to do this. They were able to do the move, they were able to get to a place where they're comfortable, where they're in a place that they can age in place. They can again, it's you have control, you can decide what you want to do, and we're here to facilitate it. We're here to provide clarity, we're here to provide information and understanding and information so you can make a decision that's right for you. It's not it's the market's the market, the interest rates are the interest rates. Again, life happens, therefore real estate happens, and we see it every single day, and it's a privilege and honor to serve the community through real estate. We're busy, even I mean, the holidays are happening, but guess what? I mean, we had contracts being negotiated over this weekend, so we we're happy to help. It's an honor and privilege to help, and it's uh we don't take it lightly when we get the phone call asking for a uh consultation. You can call us directly at 828-393-0134. You can uh, you know, you can stop by our office. We're there in Flat Rock. Uh we're there. We serve all of West North Carolina and the upstate. You can follow us on social media on Facebook and Instagram. You can also follow us on our podcast. We podcast all of our radio shows uh and we'd love to connect with you. And again, it's it's amazing the stories we get to hear, the people we get to meet. Uh we love we've worked with you know three and four and five generation Henderson County natives, and then we work with the families that have been dreaming about moving to Western North Carolina. Uh we work with people moving here from all over the country. In addition to that, we work with land, we work with commercial, we work with developments, we work with investment properties, you know, we work with properties that um, you know, we work with our clients that are maybe you're inheriting property, maybe you're thinking ahead to your estate and your own planning, and maybe you're working with trusts and you're thinking about the real estate, what that might look with. We work with 1031 exchanges, and if you're not familiar with that, if you have real estate and you want to defer the taxes, there's solutions. We can we might be able to improve your cash on cash return for your real estate holdings. That's a conversation we can have. Again, no pressure, no costs, no obligation. We're gonna be here next Monday. We're always here Monday after the 9 o'clock news hour, and just grateful to share stories. Uh, if you're want to have a conversation about anything with real estate or with uh any of the things, topics we talk about on the radio, you can call us at 828-393-0134. We're so grateful to be here. We're so grateful to serve the community through real estate. Again, be sure to subscribe to us on social media, follow our podcasts. But thanks so much for tuning in this Monday morning. Have a great day, have a great week, and we'll see you next Monday.

SPEAKER_00:

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 realestatebygreg.com. 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 905 on WTZQ FM 95.3 and 1600 AM, or stream online at WTZQ.com.

SPEAKER_01:

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.