Henderson County Housing Update And Smart Moves For 2026

A winter storm may have iced the roads, but it didn’t freeze Henderson County real estate. We open with a grounded market snapshot—455 active single‑family listings, roughly 133 sales per month, and an average sold price near $543K—then unpack what those numbers mean for real buyers and sellers right now. With the Federal Reserve pausing rates, stability is the headline: mortgages aren’t plunging, but they’re not spiking either. That steadiness is empowering buyers to negotiate inspections, repairs, concessions, and rate buydowns, while reminding sellers that smart pricing, staging, and preparation still move homes quickly.

We share how today’s “normalized” market rewards thoughtfulness over frenzy. Overpriced listings linger and invite questions; well‑priced homes, prepared and marketed well, stand out and often secure clean contracts within a week. You’ll hear practical tactics that are working locally, from targeted seller credits that widen the buyer pool to buyer strategies that balance speed with diligence. And when rates eventually dip, we explain why the early planners will be ready to capture the first wave of renewed demand without getting swept into bidding fatigue.

At the heart of the conversation is second‑order thinking—a simple framework that asks, “What happens next, and then what?” Should you price to test the top or price to create momentum? Waive inspections to win or use them to win wisely? We walk through the real trade‑offs so you can make moves that fit your life, not just a headline. Whether you’re downsizing, relocating to be closer to family, or investing for long‑term income, you’ll get clarity you can use this week, including details for our open house at 89 Victoria Park Drive in Hendersonville.

Want tailored guidance for your neighborhood and goals? Subscribe, share with a friend who’s planning a move, and leave a quick review so others can find the show. Then call us at 828-393-0134 or visit realestatebygreg.com to start a clear, data‑driven plan. Your next chapter deserves to feel just right.

Transcript

Welcome And Weather Check

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 marketing community and trust you're doing well. Trust you made it safely through the ice storm of Henderson County. And it was so fascinating. I know a lot of people were very prepared, I including myself. I think we all learned a lot from Helene. And I know a lot of people did lose power and some people didn't, and just puts things into perspective and so much to be grateful for. And I know that it's funny. I'm sure some kids were thrilled uh that there's no school today. I mean, the e-learning, and and there's some kids that are just ready to go back and see their friends. I have uh some of both. I have three kids, and uh, one was bummed they couldn't go to school to see their friends. The other ones were thrilled to have the the another day of e-learning uh to be at home. And and it'll be interesting to see if we it's it's almost uh you almost don't want to talk about it, but potential snow this weekend, and we'll see what happen how that happens, how that plays out. And and guess what? The market, real estate market, even in this weather, um, you know, they say with like car dealerships, people that go look at cars in the rain, you know they're probably gonna go buy. Just like during the winter, people that are looking for homes during the winter, they're not doing it for fun normally. I mean, I know there's people that out there just like to go look at houses, but very rarely are they gonna do it during the weather, uh, rough weather, but we've we have had a lot of activity. We had homes go under contract this past week, even in this weather. Uh, we had, we're so thankful we we also had a number of closings last week and and working on some this week, and the market is still moving, and we'll dive into what's happening in the local real estate market. If you're tuning in for the first time ever, the George Real Estate Group, we're located in Flat Rock. We serve all of West North Carolina and the upstate. If you're thinking of buying, selling, investing in real estate, or even a career in real estate, we'd love to have the conversation. There's always no pressure, no cost, no obligation, confidential consultation. You can call us directly at 828-393-0134. 828-3930134. Find us online at realestatebygreg.com. You can also follow us on social media, Facebook and Instagram. We also podcast all of our radio shows. You can find us and we encourage you to follow us and subscribe uh to our podcast on your favorite podcast platform. It might be Apple or Amazon or Alexa. We're here every Thursday morning right after the 10 o'clock news, sharing with you positive news about your local real estate marketing community. We're also uh here every Friday morning at the 8.45 uh time slot to talk about the our it's one of our highlights of the week, our hometown hero series. We're here every Friday morning at 8.45, the Hometown Hero series, and excited to have our hometown hero tomorrow morning, uh North Henderson High School graduate, top student, AP scholar, named the 2025 North Carolina uh Boys and Girls Club, Youth of the Year. Uh, we're gonna share about her story uh tomorrow morning. Uh Sit Lolly, Diazmar, the George Home George Real Estate Group Hometown Hero, uh, tomorrow morning at 845. Encourage you to tune in to that. It's gonna be a great conversation. We do the Hometown Hero series. It's been amazing. The men and women that we get to speak with and hear their stories. If you know someone in the community making a difference, someone that's been recognized, or somebody that's you know, maybe an unsung hero, maybe a neighbor volunteering, or somebody like that you'd like to shine a light on, we'd be honored to interview and to have the conversation and honor them as the hometown hero. We're here every Friday morning at 8 45. You know, we have even this afternoon, actually, uh we have an open house. We had a number of open houses that we had to postpone from the ice storm this past weekend, but we have an open house this afternoon, 4 to 6 p.m. at 89 Victoria Park Drive in Hendersonville. Incredible home built in 2004, 2,100 plus square feet. This home actually just had a pretty uh uh significant price adjustment.$400,000, three bedrooms, two and a half bath, built in 2004 in Park Place in Hendersonville. Awesome property. Uh check it out. Incredible opportunity to look at this home. Uh, 89 Victoria Park Drive in Hendersonville. The main roads are absolutely fine, and you can get to these home, this home easily. This home is going to be open from four to six today. Yeah, we are trying to squeeze in those open houses. We have had a lot of activity, even with the the, even though the weather's been what it's what it's what the weather has been, we still have a lot of buyers calling us every single day, sellers saying, hey, we were ready. Uh so here's a quick snapshot about what's going on in our our Henderson County market. Right now, there's low inventory, only 455 active single-family homes on the market, 167 pending single-family homes. This is a snapshot of our single-family home market. I'm not including condos or townhomes or land, just giving you a snapshot on our single family home market. Of course, every neighborhood's different, every area is different. This is a snapshot for Henderson County, just to give you a ballpark of what's going on. Uh, 1,605 single-family homes sold over the last 12 months in Henderson County. The market is actually up some 8% in uh compared to 2025, finished 8% higher in regards to the number of single-family homes sold compared to 2024. Uh, we're currently averaging 133, almost 134 single-family homes a month selling. Only 455 active homes on the market. And uh just for context, our average single-family home price over the last 12 months is at 543 and change, almost 544. Uh, the average available home price, the average available home price in Henderson County is at 757,$757,000. Uh, we have over 10%, over 10% of our homes for sale of the$455 are over a million dollars. Uh, you know, we have uh, you know, 80 some homes available, over a million dollars. When you look at the actually, that's actually closer to 20%, some 10% in the one to one and a half price point. Uh, but over actually, this is fascinating. 80 homes, so a little bit less than 20% of the homes for sale in Henderson County or over a million dollars. Uh but the average available home price is at 757, uh, with the average sold price over the last 12 months is at 543, almost 544. You know, we know every home's unique and different, every situation is unique and different. The market's the market, the economy's the economy, the interest rates are the interest rates. And we know real estate happens because life happens. And, you know, life is still moving forward, regardless. Again, we our community has been still recovering from the the hurricane, the you know, even during the winter, people are buying and selling. And, you know, just putting some context. You probably saw in the news about the Federal Reserve, they hit the pause button. And uh, I love uh reading a news article, uh, a newsletter, an email newsletter that I encourage uh a lot of people to subscribe to. It's very informative, called The Morning Brew. And they had an article this morning. They said if interest cut if interest rate cuts were the game of freeze dance, the music just stopped, the article said. Yesterday, the Federal Reserve, led by Jerome Powell, decided to hold interest rates steady, keeping them in the range of 3.5 to 3.75 percent. And while this might not sound dramatic, it is the first pause since July after three straight rate cuts at the end of 2025. So, in regards to the Federal Reserve speaking, doing nothing was actually the the headline. Doing nothing was actually the headline, and so you know, the market here here's what's going on, and we'll talk about the you know what's what's going on, you know, locally and what's all going on in the you know in the bigger picture, the freeze game. So why the pause? In their official statement, the Federal Reserve said that uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated in their quote, which is bureauc for bureaucratic for we're not totally sure for where this thing is headed. But Powell struck a pretty confident tone in his press release in his press conference. He said that based on what they're seeing, the economy is still growing at a solid pace, and he pointed specifically to consumer spending and business investment holding up. Translation, people are still spending money, businesses are still investing, the engine hasn't stalled. What the market was expecting, the pause didn't surprise Wall Street. Economists at places like JP Chase, JP Morgan and Chase have been saying for a while that one of the biggest fears from last fall, a collapsing labor market just hasn't materialized. Jobs are still there, layoffs aren't spiraling, and that removes a big reason the Fed would feel forced to cut rates again right now. Meanwhile, inflation is still stubbornly above the Fed's 2% target. And one economist summed it up perfectly before the decision saying while the Fed has been politically pressured to cut rates, it's not pressured by the data. And the line really matters. And so, even though the rates didn't move, all eyes are still on Powell, not just for economic reasons. You know, last week Powell attended a Supreme Court hearing tied to President Trump's attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Powell called the case perhaps the most single important case in the Fed's 113-year history. According to the New York Times, several Supreme Court justices appeared uneasy about what would it mean for the Fed's independence if that firing was upheld. And that's a big deal because the Fed is designed to be independent from politics, even when politicians really want lower rates. So the Powell declined also declined to comment on the federal investigation he's currently facing or on his earlier claim that the inquiry inquiry was politically motivated to force rate cuts. You know, earlier in the day, CNBC reported that the Fed hadn't compiled, complied with government subpoenas, adding another layer of tension around Powell's role. So, yes, interest rates didn't change, but the pressure cooker is still very much still still much, still very much still on. So, what's next? Most economists still expect one or two rate cuts later this year, assuming inflation continues to cool and growth doesn't suddenly fall off a cliff. You know, notably Fed Governor Christopher Waller, along with Stefan Miren, actually dissented voting in favor of a rate cut. And here's another twist. You know, Waller's reportedly on Trump's shortlist to replace Powell when Powell's term ends in May. So if you're wondering what this means for mortgages, car loans, credit cards, or real estate, and the short answer is this relief is probably coming just not yet. The Fed isn't panicking, the economy isn't collapsing, and inflation hasn't fully behaved. And for now, the music's off, everyone's frozen in place and waiting to see what move comes next. You know, so let's bring this down from Washington and land it right here at home. When the Fed hits pause like they did this week, it doesn't mean nothing is happening in real estate. It means the market's adjusting, not breaking. You know, here in Hendersonville and across West North Carolina, we're seeing something pretty interesting. Buyers haven't disappeared, sellers haven't panicked, everyone's just more thoughtful. For buyers, the pause tells you something important. Mortgage rates may not be dropping tomorrow, but they're also not spiking. And that stability matters. It gives buyers confidence to lock in a rate without fear that they're missing the bottom. Actually, buyers are taking time to negotiate. Buyers are asking for inspections for repairs and concessions again. And locally, we're also seeing rate buy downs. We're seeing seller credits more than we did a year ago or two. And that's the real leverage for buyers, especially firm first-time home buyers. And also for sellers, it's a reminder that pricing matters more than headlines. When the pause rates pause against a drop, overpriced homes sit. That's true no matter what housing market we're in. Well, price homes still move. We are we had homes just this past week go on the market and within a week go under contract. And it wasn't because it was underpriced, they were priced appropriate to the market. They actually probably are going to get more money with that approach, pricing it to sell, holding the line. You know, homes that are staged, prepared, priced correctly, they and marketed correctly, they stand out fast. And so in our local market, our buyers are absolutely active. They're just a little bit more disciplined, they're not panic buying. They're they're comparing homes, they're watching price reductions, and they're jumping when something makes sense. That's not a bad market, it's a normalized market. You know, this isn't 2021, and that's okay. This is not the frenzy of 2021, but it's also not 2008. And what we're seeing locally is you know, do the fewer multiple offer situations, but yes, do they happen still? Yes. More conversations instead of bidding wars, deals that come together through negotiation, not adrenaline. So for a lot of families and buyers and sellers, it's a healthier environment to buy and sell. Your unique situation, your unique home, and when you call the George Real Estate Group, we can provide clarity and we can give you market data. We can provide information for you to make a decision for what's right for you. So this is interesting. Again, if the Fed does cut rates once or twice later this year, as many expect, you could see more buyers re-enter the market, a little extra competition on well-priced homes, and renewed urgency from people who've been waiting on the sidelines. But here's the key point for our area real estate decisions are still being driven locally, not by the Fed. This is life, as I as I share frequently and often jobs, lifestyle moves, downsizing, growing families, retiring, retirees relocating to the mountains, getting close to the grandkids. These stories don't stop because uh the Fed pauses the interest rates. And again, the interest rates that the feds are uh referring to is the the rate at which the banks borrow money. The Fed the Fed rate is not directly tied to mortgage rates. Are they connected? Yes, and the in the mortgage rates certainly are impacted, but here's the thing. So if you're listening this morning and wondering, should I wait? The better question is does buying or selling make sense for your life and not waiting for the next Fed Federal Reserve meeting because the music may be paused in Washington, but the real estate is still dancing here at home. We are still every single day having conversations with buyers and sellers. It's the market is still moving. We are seeing activity. Like I said, 2025 saw an 8% um increase um versus the year before. Increase in the number of homes sold. We are seeing positive demand here. Now, albeit buy homes are staying on the market a little bit longer. That's where the buyers are more disciplined. It's it's more data-driven, not adrenaline-driven. So it, you know, it's it's amazing. So it's just when we put things in the context, and again, every situation is unique and different, your story is unique and different, your your homes are unique and different. Every every situation is unique and different. That's where we have at the George Real Estate Group uh over a hundred years combined experience. We have incredible agents, we have incredible staff, and we'd love to interview for the job. There's no pressure, there's no cost, there's no obligation. We are also growing. We've hired more real estate agents. We have an incredible team, and we are passionate about helping our clients. And I tell people all the time, it just happens to be real estate, but it's it's about the relationship, it's about serving, it's about advocating and facilitating things for our clients and just seeing the the joy on our clients' faces when we've helped them navigate. It's it could be a very beautiful, joyous occasion. It also could be the relief of getting through a challenging one. And so we'll we can talk about those every every your current circumstance and situation, and we can and we can share about that. We'd love to have the conversation, you know, um, and we'd love to to talk about what that looks like. Um so the market here, we we're averaging 130 um uh 130 uh home. Homes a month selling 133 homes a month seven so selling in Henderson County, single family homes. We have really a four-month supply. We'd love to talk about you know what that might look like for your home, your home, your neighborhood, your price range, and what your goals are. But you know, we do a two-step approach with our sellers. You can call us directly, 828-393-0134, 828-393-0134. I always love sharing about books that I'm reading. And um recently getting into a new book, getting into a new book called The Road Less Stupid, uh, by the last name, the author's last name is Cunningham. And so, you know, whether you're thinking about buying a home, selling a home, or just watching the market, you know, I wanted to share a simple idea today that can save you real money and stress, and it and it comes from the book, The Road Less Stupid, that I'm reading. And it's called this idea called second order thinking. And in plain language, most decisions are made with first order thinking. That's just asking what happens next. You know, if I, for example, if I price my home high, I might get more money. If I wai inspections, my offer might win. And that's not wrong. It's just not the whole picture. It's not, it's just it's it's just incomplete. You know, second order thinking asks one more question, and then what happens after that? Because real estate decisions don't stop at the contract. You know, let's say you list your home higher than the market because you want to quote test it. First order result, you might get lucky. The second order result is you could have fewer showings, the home sits, buyers start wondering what's wrong, and eventually you reduce the price, and now buyers think that you're now chasing the market. It's the same house, different outcome. Another example, on the buying side, waiving the inspections. The first order result is you win the house. The second order result is unexpected repairs, stress, regret, and sometimes thousands of dollars you didn't plan for. You know, there's the the the popular saying you might have heard burn the boats, meaning, and there was these his stories in history where these uh commanders of armies or or ships would literally burn the boats so that the troops had no other option but to go forward and to win. But burn the boats meaning commit fully, no backup plan, which sounds bold, but in real estate, bold without thinking can actually can be expensive. You know, good decisions aren't about removing options, they're about understanding consequences. You know, the best real estate decisions aren't rushed, they're thought through. Not just will this work, but what does this lead to? You know, and there's a difference between making a quick decision and being able to act quickly. Acting quickly is usually because of the preparation and the time you've spent, getting ready. It's not a quick decision, it's acting quickly. So our job in in as real estate brokers isn't to push you into a quick decision, it's to help you think through the next step and the one after that. So you don't look back and say, I wish someone had told me. That's second-order thinking, and it's one of the most valuable tools you can bring into any real estate decisions. Um, this is also true for just life. I mean, thinking thinking where life has, you know, it's not just real estate, you know, there's it's what's next and then what. You know, and a lot of us make decisions based on what happens right away. That's again first order thinking. Second order thinking asks what happens after that, and then after that. You know, you could be parenting, right? If you give let if you give a child what they want to stop a meltdown, the first order result is you get peace and quiet. The second order is they learn that meltdowns work, and then then you get more meltdowns. If you again the same decision, very different long-term outcomes. Or your health, right? Skipping a workout or grabbing fast food. The first order result, that's convenience. The second order result is you know, less energy, worse sleep, and harder time getting back on track. It could also be money. Most of us feel this one putting something on a credit card. The first order result, you get the thing. The second order result, the interest, the stress, and fewer options down the road. Again, second order thinking is choosing the future you want, even when the present choice is uncomfortable. And the best decisions in life usually don't feel dramatic, they feel thoughtful, and they come from slowing down long enough to ask if I do this today, what does it turn in tomorrow? And it can that question you ask yourself can change your health, your finances, your relationships, and even your real estate decisions. So we at the George Real Estate Group are we want to think ahead. We're our job is to help anticipate, to think to think through things and what could happen. You know, it's one thing, again, there's so many things in our contract that have you know timelines and implications, and and part of it's not just getting the house, it's thinking through the the what's next part, and that's where having a real estate agent to advocate and to philosoph facilitate. And this author, Keith Cunningham, on The Road Less Stupid, it uses uh a thinking framework, and you know, again, bad bad thinking, his his this is his brutal one brutal idea. Bad thinking creates a predictable failure even when intentions are good. And so some of the lessons he talks about in the book, you know, leaders define a result they want. They create it, they can then create an incentive, but if they don't think through second-order consequences, the system backfires every time. Smart people optimize the incentive, not the mission. And so again, the book you know really talks about you know lazy thinking or knee-jerk solutions or re rewarding activity instead of outcomes and you know delegating problems without clear constraints. And so he says this if you don't force yourself to think, you will default to stupid. And the the book, again, it's a book for business, it's a book for for life, it's a book for it's it's just slow down and think through things. Um, and again, what what can happen next and what happens after that, and then what? Again, these are and as in real estate, you know, we're we've happened, we we've actually helped literally thousands. Uh we're we haven't hit two thousand yet, but we're well on our way there um of clients over the years. This is my 21st year with my North Carolina broker's license, and we help clients think through critically and strategically. And guess what? Sometimes it makes sense to not do the deal, not get the house or not sell the house. We're our job is to provide clarity and knowledge and information so that you as a client can make a decision for what's right for you, your unique situation, your unique home. And it's not just personal residential homes we're working through. We're helping clients with land, we're helping clients with commercial, we're helping clients with their you know estate properties or inherited properties, or thinking through strategically with your tax implications of real estate or your real estate investments, or we've done 1031 exchanges and you know, whatever your situation is, we can help think critically and in the implications of things and to provide clarity. So we are so grateful to serve the community through real estate. And like I said, it's my 21st year in real estate. Been doing this radio program every Thursday morning after the 10 o'clock news since 2011. We uh we love sharing about what's going on in the market, we love sharing you know thoughts about life and thinking critically and and what the market's doing. And then and if you have ideas, we're always I I love that when people reach out for ideas about the radio program or different guests that you might that we might should consider, and you know, from our home inspectors to attorneys to lenders to appraisers. We love having the conversation and ultimately hopefully it's educational and providing clarity and information that you can use and practically use real a lot of the things that we work through in real estate and how we think apply to life as well. So again, grateful to be here. You're listening to the George Real Estate Group live radio broadcast here on WHKP every Thursday morning after the 10 o'clock news. We're also here every Friday morning at 8 45 for our hometown hero series. Tune in for that as well. Uh encourage you to reach out. I mentioned earlier in the show we have an open house. Try to we're we're the goal is to we were we were supposed to have a number of open houses this past weekend, and then the then the winter weather came in, so we had to postpone a number of them. But we have an open house, we have an open house today from four to six at 89 Victoria Park Drive in Hendersonville in a new adjusted price now at 400,000. It's a 2004 home, 2,100 square feet, 4 to 6 today, 89 Victoria Park Drive. That's on our Facebook page. You can see it on Instagram, follow us on social media. But we'd love to connect with you. And again, we're here every Thursday morning, but stay tuned in and again, grateful to be here. Follow us also on social media, follow us on our uh podcast, all of our radio shows, and also tune in tomorrow morning. Good luck. Be safe, stay warm, have a great day, and we'll see you tomorrow morning. 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 the most. At the George Real Estate Group, we understand that real estate isn't just about the house. It's about transition, timing, and trust. We help thousands of families in Western North Carolina to make smartphone moves. Closer to nature, closer to family, closer to home. So when you're ready to rise, size, simplify, or start fresh, we'll be here. The George Real Estate Group. Local, trusted, proven. Call us today, 828-393-0134. Find us online at realestatebygreg.com because your next chapter deserves to feel just right.

SPEAKER_00 32:04

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.