January Is A Smart Time To Buy

One week before Christmas, we open with community news and a remarkable Hometown Hero story, then get straight to the point: January can be a surprisingly strong month to buy a home. With fewer bidders in the market, sellers often more open to negotiation, and historically softer price-per-square-foot, the winter window can reward prepared buyers. We share practical ways to navigate slower months, compare offers, and move at a sane pace without losing your edge.

From there, we unpack the local data so you can make informed decisions. Listings, pendings, and closed sales are up year over year, while prices remain resilient and days on market normalize around two months. Inventory sits near four months for single-family homes, signaling a balanced but still active market. We connect these numbers to real-life decisions—downsizing, rightsizing, or timing a move for family and work—so you can align strategy with what matters most.

The conversation zooms out to the forces reshaping North Carolina real estate. Inbound migration from higher-cost states continues to accelerate thanks to affordability, a lower overall tax burden, and quality of life that spans mountains, beaches, and vibrant city hubs. Retirees appreciate that Social Security isn’t taxed at the state level, while remote workers and families value space, schools, healthcare, and outdoor access. We highlight how this diverse flow supports market stability across price points and neighborhoods.

Finally, we shift to wealth protection and next-chapter planning. Whether it’s using a 1031 exchange to defer capital gains on investment property, applying the two-out-of-five-year rule on a primary residence, or coordinating with lenders, attorneys, and tax strategists, we outline steps that help you keep more of what you’ve built. If you’re looking for clarity, not pressure, and want a team that pairs data with empathy, you’re in the right place. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who’s weighing a move, and leave a review to tell us what question you want answered next.

Transcript

Welcome And Holiday Programming

SPEAKER_01 0:00

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 WHKP every Thursday morning, bringing you positive news about your local real estate market community. Can you believe we're a week away from Christmas? Christmas is around the corner. And actually have an exciting uh radio program next Thursday, Christmas, that we're gonna run. Uh Randy and I are gonna do a special Christmas show that's also gonna run on Friday. As you are maybe you're aware, every Friday morning the George Roll State Group sponsors the Hometown Hero Series, and we're gonna be doing a top 10 Hometown Hero Series review. We podcast all of our radio shows, and that's gonna be a fun program. We're gonna be running that Christmas day uh at our normal 10 o'clock show time, and then we're also gonna be running it starting 15 minutes earlier than normal, uh at 8:30 Friday morning, the day after Christmas, and we're excited to remember some amazing and share some amazing stories and reflect on the year of the Hometown Hero program that we we sponsor. And we're here, we are here every Friday morning at 8 45. And in this Christmas and the the day after Christmas, we're gonna be reflecting on some incredible conversations that we've had this year. Uh, and uh we podcast all of our radio shows, so we're basing the the top 10 hometown heroes uh based on the the downloads of of the podcasts, and and we do podcast all of our radio shows. You can find that on your favorite podcast platform. Uh we're here every Thursday morning, uh right after the 10 o'clock hour in the news, and we love sharing about what's going on in our community, share about what's going on in the real estate market, and again, we're also here Friday mornings. We love uh just sharing uh amazing stories and highlighting uh men and women, women serving this community, you know, uh that here. So again, we love being here on the radio, and it's a privilege and honor to spend time with you uh every week, a couple times a week. Tomorrow morning, actually, our hometown hero is Dylan Kleinek, and he's a North Henderson High School student. Recently, while leaving the school, he actually noticed a parent in the car rider line in obvious distress, and the person was choking, and Dylan quickly stepped up to perform the Heimlich maneuver twice, successfully dislodging the obstruction and allowing the woman to breathe. And the community of North Henderson is so proud of Dylan, and we'll chat with him tomorrow morning, our hometown hero. Again, amazing stories that we get to share every Friday morning, and tune in tomorrow morning at 8 45. And then, like I said, next week for Christmas, we're gonna have a reflection and a highlight show uh that we'll run both Thursday and Friday. If you're tuning in for the first time ever, the George Real Estate Group's located in Flat Rock. We serve all of Western North Carolina and the upstate South Carolina. If you're thinking of buying, selling, or investing in real estate, or you're wanting to think strategically about real estate in regards to your life, it could be your personal real estate. And uh, there's so many things about real estate that impact our lives, and we know life happens, therefore real estate happens. And by the way, this time of year, you might think things have slowed down, but they haven't. I mean, relative to the summer, are is there less homes selling? But it's if we look at the last 12 months versus the previous 12 months, we've actually had a 10% increase in the number of homes selling, and and we continue to see that trend happen. And of course, we'll talk about this time of year. I mean, actually, January uh might be one of the best times to buy a house. Uh, you know, a lot of people uh you know, a lot of people tend to go into hibernation, you know, while a lot of people think that spring's the best time to buy a house. Actually, the data shows January may actually be the best time of the year uh to buy a house because of the low inventory. Also, the the prices tend to be lower this time of year. January is the least expensive month to buy a house, according to lending tree, and there's something to say for that. Historically, January offers one of the lowest price per square foot points of the year in the spring, because demand and prices usually peak, you know, so it's a truth it's about the time of year. And so we can you know, we can show you on we can show you the trends, we can show you the the research. You know, the the the thing is there's why do buyers typically save in the winter? It's because winter is one of the slowest times in the housing market, again, compared to the spring and summer. And that means buyers and sellers tend to pull back thinking it's a better time to wait. You know, it's better to wait. So as a buyer, you actually have less competition, you're less likely to get into multiple offer scenarios, and sellers sometimes they might be more willing to negotiate. So with fewer buyers in the market, you can take your time browsing. But also, sellers, it's a great time to take advantage of the less competition. So it can be a very positive situation. And again, we know timing, it's not about the interest rate, it's not about the the economy, the the the real estate market. Real estate happens because life happens. So again, it could be a great time of year to consider having that conversation. You can call us directly at 828-393-0134-828-393-0134. We'd love to have the conversation. There's always no pressure, no cost, no obligation. Give us a call. We'd love to have the conversation and just walk you through the process. We have incredible agents, we have incredible staff, we have incredible partners we work with, like our lenders and our attorneys, and our appraisers, and home inspectors, and and contractors. I mean, we're here ultimately to navigate through and help you walk through your specific and unique situation, your unique home. And again, we can walk you through that. Back to back to some of the data. In the last you know, year to date, this year versus the same time frame last year, we've had 12% more listings hit the market. We've actually had an almost 9% increase in pending sales, and we've had almost an 11% increase in closed sales. The median home price is actually only down about 2% this year to date versus last year year to date, and it's at 445. That's the median home price. The average home price is at 517. That's according when we look at condos town homes and single family. The single family home average home price is in the 540s. So the market's holding. I mean, we're averaging some 135 single-family homes a month selling in Henderson County that currently on the market, active, not including the pendings. Right now, there's only 556 active single-family homes on the market in Henderson County. And with we're averaging some 135 a month selling the market. We have about a four-month supply in the market. So actually, our average single-family home price the last 12 months at 546 and change. The market is holding. Is it taking a little bit longer for homes to sell? Yes. Days on markets normalizing closer to the 60 days in the market for an average single-family home to go under contract. But again, your unique situation, your unique home, you know, it could be your personal home, it could be uh land, it could be maybe it's a real commercial real estate, maybe it's uh land that you have, maybe it's thinking ahead to your family with planning ahead for your estate, planning ahead for uh your own, you know, situation. You maybe you need to downsize, maybe you need to right size. I mean, whatever the situation is, there's no pressure, there's no cost, there's no obligation. You can give us a call 828-393-0134. Find us online at realestatebygreg.com. We also welcome you to stop by our office at 2720 Greenville Highway. We're in the heart of Flat Rock, right there on Rainbow Row. Uh, we're right next to the Flat Rock Bakery, the Hubba Hubba Barbecue, Campfire Grill, and our friends at Hubaloo as well. Uh the wrinkled egg is also there. Certainly, there's a great place to do your Christmas shopping. There's still time to go Christmas shopping there, but but again, love uh to connect with you. I thought I'd talk this morning about migration. There's been a lot of migration trends over the last 20 years, and specifically in regards to North Carolina. You know, there's been a lot of people leaving high-cost, high-tax regions in the northeast and the west coast to the lower cost Sunbelt states in the south and the west. And this has especially benefited our state of North Carolina. I'm sure you imagine Florida and Texas, also Arizona and Tennessee. And then states like California, New York, and Illinois have seen net losses. For example, four southern states Texas, Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia accounted for 93% of the U.S. population growth in 2022 alone. And again, just the trend. In North Carolina, specifically, it's our population growth has been driven overwhelmingly by inbound migration. And so this is there's a number of reasons, right? Housing affordability, taxes, and the quality of life. I tell people all the time, I'm I'm biased. I I admit, North Carolina is I am biased to North Carolina. We talk with people almost every single day that are considering moving here. Nearly North Carolina, the migration now accounts for the majority of North Carolina's population growth. Roughly two-thirds over the past the last 30 years came from net in migration. And there was a recent study uh from July 2021 to 2022, 95% of North Carolina's population growth was due to net migration. So that that year alone, nearly 100,000 people alone. So it this influx has placed North Carolina near the top in rankings for domestic migration. So in the latest census data, then the year ending in July 2024, this is amazing. North Carolina has has had the second highest net domestic migration of any state, gained about 82,300 more people from other states than it lost. And it was uh the net influx was surpassed only by Texas in that period. And of course, other fast-growing states where we know South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee. But North Carolina has has had such strong appeal. And why is it so popular? And again, it's not just our feelings about it, which certainly we know. And I, if you talk to so many people here, North Carolina ranked second in the nation also for net my uh retiree migration. Only Florida gained more retirees than North Carolina. So tens of thousands of older Americans are been have been and are moving to North Carolina annually. It's the mix of the moderate climate, the reasonable cost of living, the and the tax advantages. Did you know, and you if you're getting Social Security, North Carolina is exempt from Social Security state tax, for example. So North Carolina's ability to attract both working age and retirees, meaning just we have a more balanced migration compared to some other states like Florida and South Carolina, which again, the the disproportionate influx of near or post-retirement movers, North Carolina, we have a broad range that we attract. And it's no it's worth noting North Carolina's newcomers often hail from, you can imagine, high-cost states. The largest uh the the state are you know, we saw the the largest increase in net migration from you can imagine California and New York, no offense to our to those states, but people are coming where how from housing where housing is more expensive, taxes are higher. And so we see this, and we're seeing this significantly. You know, it's the it's the taxes that are comparatively, right? Property taxes. Here's a of course we're gonna talk about this housing affordability. The median price of a single family home in California$866 compared to$380 for the state of North Carolina. Also, north north uh New York's median home price,$576, and then Florida's at$433. And again, North Carolina, our median single-family home price as of again, statewide. This is data collected as of February 2025. Our median home price of the state of North Carolina,$380, again, compared to California,$866. And the cost of living is significant. And then taxes. The taxes, you know, North Carolina having you know the 5% income state tax, it's a little bit lower. I think what is it, 4.7 again, these these things impact all of this. Imagine, and again, your your affordability, your quality of life, taxes, I mean, real estate, I mean, all these things matter, and it's and it's the chance for a lot of people to reset financially. Maybe even a chance for some people to own a home in North Carolina versus California, versus owning a single-family home versus renting an apartment. It's it's available, it's it's affordability and availability. And of course, you know, let's talk about taxes. Some states, like California and New York, have top state income taxes of 10 to 13 percent. Here it's less than 5%. And again, the big one I mentioned earlier, North Carolina doesn't tax Social Security benefits, and that's a big reason retirees are heading this way. Again, I mentioned earlier where the North Carolina is the number two for net retiree migration behind Florida. Of course, great medical facilities, great weather, affordable homes. If you're listening, you're probably you know I'm preaching to the choir because good chances you relocated here. It could be the our mountains, it could be the the beaches that North Carolina is a you know, we have too. It's the you know, there's so many reasons why people move here, and it's it's the quality of life. And it's not just the retirees, you have young professionals, families, remote workers. A lot of people are moving here to North Carolina. Also, again, the quality of life, the cost of living, you get more home for your dollar, more affordability, and I would argue quality of life place to place to relax. You know, it's it's the it's the positive business environment that we have here. Our cities, our our business, uh, our business environment. It's the incredible outdoors that we have, the the manageable taxes, the lower cost of living. So many people are moving here. So so many reasons why. And we have these conversations every single day where people are saying I'm done. They could be done with where they're at. They want to have quality of life. Again, quality of life is is is I mean, I would argue, right? That it doesn't matter how much money you have if you don't have quality of life, and and the lower cost of living certainly helps. The on national average compared to like groceries, transportation, healthcare, utilities are generally more affordable. Our rich culture that we have, you know, our art scene, the the we have incredible courts, uh college sports traditions, the live music, the food scene, and then all the outdoor living, the outdoor, the the outdoor activities. You know, you got you know hiking, the you have the the mountains, the waterfalls. And again, we do have our beaches. I mean, here in West North Carolina, I'll admit it's it's quicker to get to the to the beaches of South Carolina, and and yet for our North Carolina neighbors that live on the coast, I mean you get to take advantage of that. So, you know, and then of course our public education and universities, I mean NC State, UNC, uh, UNC Chapel Hill, Duke, I mean, just not in regards to the basketball, but the quality education. And so it's the states that people are mass exodus from California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts. It's the high cost of living, it's expensive real estate, the high tax burden, burdens, the the urban congestion. A lot of people feel they got priced out, they're overregulated, unable to maintain the desired standard of living. Um, also, people could stretch their incomes here in North Carolina, enjoy more space, and live with fewer financial pressures. And North Carolina is continuing to be, if you can imagine, North Carolina now is the second high highest net migration. I can go on and on. And you hear when we hear these stories every single day when we're talking to people relocating here, moving here, it's a privilege and honor to talk to our clients about you know why we consider this area our favorite. I I joke I got here as quick as I could. Our our own family moved here in the early 80s. Um, and it's uh it's amazing that we got to relocate here ourselves from Florida and grew up here and to to call this home and to raise our family here. I grew up here and then my own children are raised here, growing here in It's the quality of life. And again, it's a great place uh to call home. We love traveling and love coming back to North Carolina. So if you're again love having these conversations and we love talking about what's what's going on in the in the real estate market, in the community, uh the psychology behind people moving here. Again, there's so many reasons and and so many people, it's very rare that we have a chance in real estate. It's interesting. We get a lot of incoming referrals from other real estate agents and companies saying, hey, our clients are wanting to move there. That is probably 90% of the incoming referrals from other real estate agents. It's very rare, does it happen? Yes, we do occasionally get to refer our clients moving out of the area and it for a lot of different reasons, but it tends to be typically to get closer to family. If family's not moving here, a lot of people are moving closer to family. That can be a really compelling reason why people are relocating out of North Carolina to get closer to family. I tell people all the time, we're I'm I'm I'm biased. I I think we live in one of the best uh areas in states. Uh and then the data continues to show that. We also have have the privilege of working with families that have been here for multiple generations, three and four and five generations of families that have lived here in Henderson County, some even longer than that, where you know it's it's the family family land, it's the the the family businesses, the multiple generational family businesses that we work with. And it's a it's a privilege and honor to have those conversations. And so when we meet with our clients, and and it's the bigger picture, it's not just that that home, it's the bigger picture, your story that you're you have and you're sharing, and and how does real estate line up with that? It could be one of the many components. It's also the we work with attorneys, we work with tax strategists, we work with financial advisors, it's the bigger picture, it's a whatever it whatever complex situation is. And sometimes it's as simple as again, you're you're you're selling your your personal home. There's also situations where we're working with families that have real estate investments and and and it could be commercial real estate, it could be multifamily real estate, and looking at you know what it makes sense to to set yourself up from a tax strategy. We have we have solutions for capital gains in in regards to doing what's called a 1031 exchange where you can exchange real estate. Maybe you might even find out that you could make more money and pay less taxes with a 1031 exchange. We have solutions for that. We work closely with uh tax strategists and attorneys and financial advisors. There could be solutions that could help reduce your your own management. And and again, if you can make more money and pay less taxes and then avoid paying the government uh again, defer paying the government. Again, none of us will avoid taxes, but you can. There are strategic ways to to do that. Not only with your personal home, if you've lived in your personal home two out of a five-year period, you can take advantage of that tax code where the in per person up to four people$250,000 of not paying any uh capital gains on the sell sale of a personal home if you've lived in it two out of a five-year period. There's also strategies for real estate. Maybe you inherited real estate, maybe you have real estate that you keep as rentals, maybe you have a 10 or a 20 or a 30 unit apartment complex. Maybe you have commercial real estate, maybe you have a uh real estate land lease. I mean commercial land lease. These are scenarios that we're working with and having conversations every single day with with our clients. It's not just res personal residential real estate, it's it's more complex strategies with taxes and and again we have an incredible team in place that we can help you with that. You can call us directly at 828-393-0134. You can find us online at realestatebygreg.com. You can follow us on social media, Facebook and Instagram. Uh, you can follow us on our podcast. We have we we we love uh talking about and sharing about our community. Uh we love uh hearing your story, we love hearing how we can help integrate into what you're doing, into what your goals are and how this impacts uh real estate. Again, real estate is is more about what's going on in your life, and life happens, it could be a really positive reason why you're buying or selling. It could be a very challenging reason. We don't take it lightly. You know, whatever your situation is, with the the empathy and care that we provide in order to help walk through with you again how real estate is impacting your life. Uh maybe you own real estate together with a with a family member. Maybe it's the estate you're working through, maybe it's your personal home. It it's whatever simple or complex situation, we it's a privilege and honor to help our clients navigate through through real estate. So call us directly 828-393-0134. We love serving the community through real estate. We love being here every Thursday morning right after the 10 o'clock hour. We also love being here every Friday morning after the uh right at 8 45. And as I shared with you earlier, we have a special program. Randy and I have a special Christmas program uh that we're gonna be uh uh sharing with you on Christmas Day, and then we're gonna re-air that on Friday morning as well at 8.30. Normally we're here at 8.45, but we're we're doing a special program this coming a week from today, Christmas morning at 10 a.m. Uh we'll be gathering around the mic doing the the our Christmas program for our hometown heroes, uh recapping and reflecting on some incredible stories that we've shared this year, and then also replaying that on Friday morning. But you know, we love serving the community through real estate. We love sharing about 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.

SPEAKER_00 27:16

Thank you for listening to the George Real Estate Group Podcast. Tune in next time for more industry news, updates, and real estate tips. You can reach Greg, the George Real Estate Group, at 828-393-0134 or at realestatebygreg.com.

SPEAKER_01 27:36

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.