New Year, Real Estate Clarity

New year, same truth: people move for life, not headlines. We open 2026 with a grounded look at Western North Carolina real estate—what’s actually selling, how long it’s taking, and why steady demand keeps prices firm even as buyers gain a little more time to decide. If you’ve been waiting for a perfect moment, this conversation offers a better plan: align your move with your needs, then use data and smart tools to execute.

We share a local snapshot you can use right now: single-family sales running about 134 per month, an 8% year-over-year lift in transactions, and fewer than 500 active listings as of early January. Prices have inched up, not down, while average days on market hover near sixty—a healthy pace for thoughtful preparation and decisive action. We also break down financing trends across conventional, VA, FHA, and USDA loans, plus where cash offers still show up and why. For first-time buyers, we outline practical steps to build equity without overreaching. For upsizers and downsizers, we map timing, logistics, and how to price or bid for today’s conditions. For investors, we touch 1031 exchanges, cap-minded underwriting, and using local lenders to solve unique scenarios.

Beyond tactics, we talk mindset. Deals don’t always follow a straight line, and the best outcomes reward patience, preparation, and persistence. From inspection curveballs to appraisal puzzles, the calmest voice at the table often wins. We share a favorite resilience story to remind you that progress comes from staying in the game, not from waiting on perfect conditions. And because real estate intersects with taxes and estate planning, we explain how coordination among agents, attorneys, CPAs, and lenders protects your bottom line.

If you’re ready to buy, sell, invest, or simply get clarity on timing, we’re here to help across Henderson and the surrounding counties. Subscribe for weekly market insight, share this episode with someone weighing a move, and leave a quick review to tell us what you want to hear next.

Transcript

New Year Kickoff And Gratitude

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 the queue every Monday morning. And this is our first Monday morning show of 2026. So much to be thankful for, so much to be grateful for. And here we are this January 5th, 2026. And we are so excited about the new year. We were so grateful for 2025 and all the families and clients we've been able to help last year and throughout the years. This is actually my 21st year with my broker's license and grateful to serve the community through real estate. If you're tuning in for the first time ever, the George Real Estate Group, we're located in Flat Rock there on Rainbow Row with our friends at the Wrinkled Egg, the Flat Rock Bakery, Hubba Hubba Barbecue, Campfire Grill, and Hubbaloo and Dogwood. And just grateful to be part of that Rainbow Row there on in Flat Rock. I mean, Flat Rock has a rich history throughout the years and you know, where people would escape the Charleston heat and they would come up to Flat Rock in the higher elevations. That story continues, and we continue to hear and speak with people every single day that are thinking of making Western North Carolina their home. And I joke, I got here as quick as I could. My family moved here when I was six, and I'm so thankful to grow up here, so thankful to raise my family here, and thankful to have a business here, helping others enjoy this quality of life that we call here in Western North Carolina. And you know, specifically, we're located in Flat Rock, but we serve all of Western North Carolina. We had an incredible year. We helped more people than we did the year before, and we are so grateful for that. We have incredible agents, incredible staff, and then it and ultimately what makes it all possible is the incredible clients that we have. And I joke, I joke, and I've said this joke before. I you know uh overnight success is taking 21, 20 years of showing up every day. So we keep showing up, and and not that I uh you know think I mean luck's certainly part of it, but luck shows up for those that show up. And again, you keep showing up every day and keep working hard and and and things happen and keep you know keep helping people. And and again, we'll we'll dive into that. Before we we move forward, again, you can find us online at realestatebygreg.com. You can call us directly at 828-393-0134. You can follow us on Facebook and Instagram, social media. We also podcast our radio shows. You can find us on your favorite podcast platform, connect with us there, or just stop by our office sometime. We'd love to visit and we can get you a cup of coffee and uh or you can swing by the bakery there. It's a I joke, it's a dangerous place for an office. We're so grateful to be there, and we've been there for a number of years in again, serving West North Carolina uh with real estate. And we've certainly seen the real estate market improve. We've had an 8% increase locally in the number of single-family homes that sold in 2025 versus 2024, and we're anticipating uh continued demand. We also, I mean, as of this morning, the inventory levels, this is indicative of the time of year where you typically see people taking their homes off the market in the holidays and during the winter and thinking, oh, that's that no one's you know buying or selling, and and that's just not true. Certainly, are there uh fewer homes selling in the winter than during the spring and summer? Yes, but it's it's it's nominal, a very nominal difference in the scheme of things. I mean, you know, we're averaging some 130 plus single-family homes a month selling over the last 12 months. Like I said, that's an 8% increase uh for Henderson County in this this past 12 months versus the previous 12 months. I mean, that's significant. Uh, it's actually closer to 134 single-family homes a month selling. That's not even including condos or town homes or land or commercial. Uh, and we certainly at the George Real Estate Group, we help with all of those type of real estate uh you know situations. It could be your personal home, it could be an investment property, it could be a rental home, it could be a second home, it could be land that you're you you are just trying to decide what to do. It could be we we're helping with commercial. We're working with, we we're selling uh apartment complexes. I mean, from the raw land to to to homes to investment properties to commercial, you name it. We have an incredible team, and we'd we'd be honored to interview for the job. As I've always said, there's no pressure, there's no cost, there's no obligation to have a conversation with us. We you know, every situation is unique and different. You know, and certainly the the money is certainly one part of it, but the the other pieces of it, the timing, you know, the logistics, the you know, is the home matching your needs? Is it is the investment something you want to be managing? The real estate investment is something you want to be managing anymore? Maybe it's just land that you're paying the taxes on. I mean, you know, looking at the holistic picture of your situation and and and again, helping you put ideas together, helping you have clarity, helping you have information so you can make a decision for what's right for you. It's it and maybe this is what are the tax implications? What are the tax strategies? What is this, how does this play into my estate? How does this play into, you know, depending on where you are, again, there's so many phases of life that and it's a privilege and honor to help. I mean, I we it's a it's a amazing on all levels. I mean, it's amazing when we're helping the the young first-time home buyer. That is an amazing experience. I mean, just for some person to make that big decision to say, hey, I'm gonna buy my first home. I mean, so if you had to remember remember and reminisce, you know, what you paid for your first home and when you took that first leap of faith and buying that first home. And again, that's a an amazing uh trajectory that can really change your life and home ownership and how you know that first home, making that first step and and how that is possible and taking and sometimes you have to you know take um again, maybe it's a it's a big step financially to take take that on, and again, how that can can really change your life. But from the first time home buyer to the maybe the family that needs the the growing space and the their families growing, they need the extra bathroom or the extra bedroom and their families growing, uh, to maybe your your kids are or have launched and you have the empty nest and now you need to to right size or downsize. I mean, those are so many, there's so many situations in life that happen. Or we've had uh, you know, again, we don't take it um lightly. Again, we've walked alongside with our clients through challenging situations, very somber uh situations. Maybe it's the uh passing of a loved one, maybe it's a divorce, maybe it's a job loss. I mean, we sit at the the dining room table and have had those those tough conversations and where our clients are just vulnerable and honest about their situation. It's not that they wanted to sell their home and and they just have come to a crossroads where that's necessary. And so those situations uh to the situations where you're you're it's the children uh where they're the adult children where their parents have passed, and now it's the family home full farm, it's the family home that's like okay, you know, maybe there's you have three or four siblings, and we and we've come to the decision, it's a hard decision, but you know, we just have made the decision to sell the the family home. And again, all these situations are are are are unique and they're uh there's so many nuances behind each one of them. And we've had the experience, this is like I said, my over 20 years in the real estate industry. We have agents on our team that have had 40 that have 40 plus years of of experience. I mean, we we have the gamut, and again, it's a privilege privilege and honor to help our clients navigate through through life and through real estate, no matter what the situation is. So it's a privilege and honor if you're curious about your situation. Uh maybe maybe you're moving into retirement, maybe you're looking at having that small condo up in the mountains and the condo at the beach. I mean, we can help you with that. So whatever the situation is, you know, and the implications of that and what it looks like. And then from our team of you know, we have you know, we have incredible uh vendors like movers to attorneys, to tax advisors, to financial advisors, to home inspectors, and contractors, and surveyors, and septic, and I mean the gamut of services that we've curated in relationships over you know the years of our team. And so, you know, we have resources. And you might not even be thinking of buying or selling, and you're listening to this radio program, and you say, hey, I need to need a recommendation for an electrician or a plumber or a contractor or a septic, you know, whatever that might be. Again, you can call us directly at 828-393-0134. 828-393-0134. Stop by our office anytime. You know, over the last 12 months, uh, you know, there's been 134 single-family homes a month selling. Right now, there's less than 500 homes in the market, which is, again, relative. You look at a few years ago, and we had just a couple hundred active homes on the market. So it's relative to, you know, you look at context, right? So the the market's still moving. We've had an 8% increase in the number of single-family homes moving in the last 12 months versus the previous 12 months. The average price over the last 12 months for Henderson County for a single family home is at$544. It's interesting. That number is up a couple thousand dollars from the previous 12 months. So the prices are holding. The one thing that we do notice, and and you and you've probably seen it too, is days on market. It's it's 60 days on market is on is on average. That's normal. That's not uncommon. And certainly, you know, as you're buying and selling, or if that's part of your conversation, what's going on, you know, days on market. So it's buyers are having a little bit more time to make a decision. Certainly, if you see a great deal, those those are moving. And it and when when we say it's a great deal, it's all, you know, someone might look at a property and say, this is exactly what I've been looking for, and and the price is what I've been expecting. And so one person might think it's a great deal, another person might say, hey, it's not right for me. I don't think it's a great deal. And that's where perspective and your unique uh perspective on things, and that's where we try to provide context and information and data so you can decide and you can make a decision for what's right for you. We still see we're we're shy of a third, but almost a third of the homes sold in the last 12 months were purchased with cash in Henderson County. The cash purchases remain strong. Uh it's the more than not, though. I mean, over two-thirds of the homes purchased were purchased with uh some type of financing, which is very normal. You have majority of them uh being uh conventional financing, and then there's then you have a handful that were utilizing government financing like FHA or or USDA or VA loans. We have a lot of veterans that we work with and they're taking advantage of uh the VA loan program. Whether they again you can be strategic with your financing, and so sometimes you know maybe it makes sense, maybe your investments are making more money than your loan might cost than the the interest rate of getting a loan. Again, it's all your unique situation, your unique uh you know, path and timing, and and and at the George Real Estate Group, we're here to provide clarity and knowledge and information, and again, working closely with our attorneys, working closely with our lenders, working closely with our financial advisors and tax advisors. It's the complete perspective, and we try to give a holistic perspective on your unique situation. So everybody's story is different, everybody's path is different, and and we continue to see uh in not uh not only across the United States, I mean they're they're projecting two percent. This is it it might not seem like a lot, but you know, the you know, over the last two years there was some over the surveys that have been completed, uh a lot of Americans are uh across the country. Uh there was when they did a survey and new data from Nerd Wallet, it's uh you know, it's a it's a it's it's a it's a company that that collects data and and they said some 15% a year ago, 15% of respondents said they plan to buy within the next 12 months. This year that number has climbed to 17%. So that even though 2% increase may seem modest, it matters that the and of course in the market and an economy that we've we've been in, you know, with the interest rates have been higher, you know, buyers have been cautious, but psychologically there's been a shift, and and people aren't just watching the market, they're starting to see themselves moving again, you know, and and we'll talk more about that here on the program. But the you know, this the market, there's more stability, things aren't as as the Wild West. I mean, a lot of people uh have this feeling and understanding that waiting forever might not be the right strategy. Uh certainly if people were holding their breath, waiting for prices to come down, that has not happened. You know, the wind, you know, how will prices come down if prices come down, when prices come down? It is ultimately about supply and demand. And when the demand remains, and in our case in Henderson County, we've had an 8% increase in demand, and with inventory is where they're at, that's why prices have held. You know, and that's where you know you know, if you're the prices, in order for prices to come down, it's it's pure economics. You have to have more homes available than you have buyers, and that's when you'll see prices come down. But currently, you know, days on markets increase, so it's it's softening a little bit. You don't have to see as much. I mean, we still are seeing the multiple offers, not as common, but it doesn't happen, yes. Uh, but you know, again, this is where it's not the interest rate that drives the market. It's not the economy that drives the market. The housing market's the housing market. You know, people decide to buy and sell around life. Life happens, therefore real estate happens. And we at the George Real Estate Group, we have the systems, the knowledge, the experience uh to help you navigate through your unique situation, your unique home, and we it's a privilege and honor. So give us a call, 828-393-0134, 828-393-0134. We'd love to interview for the job to sell. We'd love to interview for the job if you're thinking about buying or both. Uh, and maybe it's an investment property, maybe it's commercial property, maybe it's land, whatever the situation is, uh, it's a privilege and honor to interview for the job. Give us a call 828-393-0134. This is our first radio show of 2026 here on the queue. And so we have a short break coming up, so stay tuned. We'll be right back. Good morning, and welcome back to the George Real Estate Group live radio broadcast here on the queue every Monday morning. So much to be grateful for, and we're so excited about 2026, helping more people navigate through, again, whatever it might be in regards to real how real estate can impact your life. And again, just grateful. Most of our business is word of mouth, which we're so thankful for. Again, it's uh we have incredible clients that we've helped throughout the years. And I again, I need to I I apologize off the cuff. I think we've helped over 1,600 plus families throughout the years. It's a privilege and honor to serve our community through real estate. And it could be your personal home, it could be land, it could be commercial, it could be you know apartment complexes. I mean, the gamut. We and it's a privilege and honor to help our clients navigate through through all of those things. If you're tuning in for the first time ever, uh we're located in Flat Rock, we serve Western North Carolina. Uh we have incredible agents, incredible staff, and and ultimately we have incredible clients. It's uh it's amazing the the men and women and people that we've met throughout the years, you know, again, uh along all different you know stages of life. And I mentioned that in the first half of the show. Again, whatever it might be your first home, it might be your last home, it might be an investment property, it might be uh a lifetime's work of of building up your uh real estate investment portfolio. And again, there you might be we've and we've helped even with those uh you know you've heard of 1031 exchanges, and there's tax strategies, and it's you know, there's tax strategies with your personal home, there's tax strategies with your investment, there's tax strategies with land or commercial. Again, there's it's the bigger picture, the holistic approach that we help our our clients with. And you can call us directly at 828-393-0134. You can find us online at realestatebygreg.com. You can stop in our office. We'd love for you to stop in and say hello. Uh, you you can you can take advantage of the bakery, the flat rock bakery next door, which is uh I joke it's dangerous, it's it's actually remarkable. They uh I think I I don't want to misspeak. I think it was in ninety-nine or two thousand when they uh when Star Teal first started baking bread back there, and then that's evolved to what it is today. And again, that's that's amazing. Among the other uh restaurants that he's curated there uh on Rainbow Row, uh from the Hubba Hubba Barbecue to the Campfire Grill to Hubba Loo the Breakfast Spot, there's some great spots there. So stop by, say hello, and and again, we're we're grateful for uh the the part of Flat Rock that we're in and able to meet our clients there and for our agents to help people and to serve our community. We do serve all of West North Carolina. We uh the majority of the counties and you know, the surrounding counties, I mean five plus counties, uh, you know, from Polk County to Rutherford County to Haywood County, Bunkham County, Transylvania County, and of course uh Henderson County. You know, it's just a natural progression of uh the expansion of our clients and then the word of mouth and and grateful to to do that. Um you know I love uh reading. I love uh well I love doing uh in fact I I do a lot of audible books. I love listening uh to to books, I love learning. I think it's so important. And um I I there's a quote that that I love, and this is why you know when you're reading things, this this might connect and make sense where you could read one thing uh you know one time or you come back to reading s the same thing another time, but there's a quote No man ever steps in the same river twice. No man ever steps in the same river twice. And and it's what it means is the river is always changing, you know, the water keeps flowing, and then the man is always changing. Time you know, experience, uh growth, uh you know, change him. And so even if it looks like the same river, nay neither the river nor the person is truly the same. And so, you know, it's and this is where, you know, maybe you you had a powerful book that you read a a number of years ago, but the person you were when you read the book, you know, and then if you were to pick up that same book today and hear it, uh that that story or the the whatever you were learning, and it's where you can because you're not the same person, you can read a book again and it can land differently. It's it's the book uh is the same book, but it's the the who you are and who you've become uh is not the same. And so something might land with you uh in a book that you read five or ten or fifteen or twenty years ago and then you pick it up again and read it now the the things that you notice and the things that that impact you today and the things that make a difference in your story and that's where reading is so important learning is so important you know you and and this is also fascinating right when and in with if you've ever raised children or have children or grandchildren and you know the children hear something you know you the parents you know we're our goal is to you know to to help launch our children and and to raise our children and to to give them wisdom and vi and advice and and so and then so a child might hear something from their parent or they you know they might hear the same thing later um you know from the from the same parent and it lands differently or they might hear some wisdom from someone else and and it lands and again uh it just it's context and it's and it's perspective and it's it's learning from those things. I always love stories of of resilience and you hear about you know different businesses and this person that I'm gonna share with you about and I've I think I've shared with you about him before but in in in by mo you know he was not an overnight success and by a lot of standards his early life was brutal his father died uh when he was six years old he dropped out of school in the seventh grade he bounced between jobs a farmhand a street car conductor insurance salesman firefighter gas station operator and many of his ventures just failed outright at sixty five years old he was living on a hundred and five dollars a month in Social Security to put things into context this gentleman was bill uh born in I think the the the 18 uh late 1800s uh and so by sixty five years old he was essentially broke living off of 105 dollars a month and who I'm talking about is actually uh Colonel Sanders and it's his the his story uh Sanders had been running a small roadside restaurant in in Corbin Kentucky where he cooked meals for travelers and over time he actually perfected a pressure fried chicken recipe with 11 herbs and spices and then disaster struck you know a new interstate highway actually bypassed his town killing traffic to his restaurant and so he sold the property and was nearly penning penniless again and that and that's where again the story began and instead of giving up instead of quitting instead of opening up another restaurant he actually did something different he loaded his car with a cr a pressure cooker he drove across the country he walked into restaurants one by one he cooked chicken for owners himself and asked for a handshake deal you pay me a nickel for every chicken sold and I don't know how many times you would have to be rejected and told no before you gave up he was rejected over a thousand times and he kept going but by the early nineteen fifties restaurants began saying yes and his recipe spread rapidly and you know he leaned into his image the white suit the black tie the southern charm and he became the colonel and by nineteen sixty four more than six hundred restaurants were selling his chicken in that year at age seventy three he sold KFC for two million dollars and today's money that would be twenty plus million dollars and just it this where it is today you know operating KFC operating in 150 countries tens of thousands of locations one of the most recognized food brands in the world it came from a man who failed repeatedly started after retirement age and refused to quit when logic said he should and so it's not just a business story you know it's a human story success doesn't follow a straight line rejection doesn't mean no forever and it's never too late to start you know and so experience plus persistence beats talent alone and so Colonel Sanders didn't win because he was lucky he won because he stayed in the game longer than failure expected him to again powerful story and again as you go into 2026 the persistence and resilience that you know you might need in the and again what your dreams and what your goals are not giving up it's the the story of the stone cutter who who for a thousand strikes to the stone nothing changed but on the thousand and first strike the stone finally cracks. Again it's the not giving up it's not it's the resilience the persistence and whatever your dream or goals are again you know not giving up and and having being willing to again it's it's there's the myth that success happens early there's the myth that failure disqualifies it's the myth that you need money to start it's the myth that rejection means stop again humility willingness to hear no believing that one I one good idea done relentlessly is enough and so he didn't avoid failure he out lasted it so I leave you with that and as you move into 2026 again persistence not giving up keep moving forward failing forward learning not giving up showing up and again we've we've taken that this is my 20 plus years in the real estate industry and it's not giving up we've seen the ups and downs of the real estate market there's and it is what it is and and so we're here to to to help our clients we're here we show up every day and we're grateful for the opportunity and it's a privilege and honor to serve the community through real estate it's a privilege and honor to be here every Monday morning right after the 9 o'clock news sharing with you positive news about the real estate market positive news about life and again we're grateful to be here with you. So happy 2026 give us a call 828-3930134 find us online at realestatebygreg.com be sure to subscribe to our podcast but so thankful to be here have a great day and we'll see you next Monday maybe the house feels a little too big these days the stairs a little steeper the pace of life a little too fast but what if your next move wasn't about letting go it was about making space for peace for freedom for what matters most at the George Real Estate Group we understand that real estate isn't just about the house it's about transitions timing and trust we've helped thousands of families in Western North Carolina make smart thoughtful moves closer to nature closer to family closer to home so when you're ready to right size simplify or start fresh we'll be here the George Real Estate Group local trusted proven call us today 828 3930134 find us online at realestatebygreg.com because your next chapter deserves to feel just right the George Real Estate Group has the experience of selling over 1200 properties and serving over 1200 families with their real estate needs in Henderson County and throughout Western North Carolina.

SPEAKER_00 28:48

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 828-3930134 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