Life Happens Therefore Real Estate Happens

The loudest real estate headlines are designed to spike your stress, not sharpen your decision making. We slow everything down and rebuild the story with context, local numbers, and the simple truth we see daily in Western North Carolina: life happens therefore real estate happens. Whether you are buying, selling, investing, planning for retirement, or sorting through a family property, the best move starts with clarity and a plan that fits your real life.

We share a boots-on-the-ground market update for the Hendersonville and Henderson County area, including what low housing inventory and longer days on market mean for pricing, leverage, and timing. If you are a buyer, you will hear why the pace feels different and how preparation creates options. If you are a seller, you will hear why condition and price alignment matters more than ever, even in a market that is still moving.

Then we tackle two of the most common fear narratives. First, the “Wall Street is buying all the homes” claim: we unpack what the word investor really means and what the data says about institutional ownership and why big investors have recently been net sellers. Next, we address foreclosure surge headlines with the nuance they rarely include: filings are up from historically low COVID-era levels, trends are highly regional, and it is not a replay of 2008, especially here locally where foreclosure share remains very small.

If you want a grounded read on the Western North Carolina real estate market, plus practical guidance that respects the human side of big decisions, press play. Subscribe to the podcast, share this with a friend who is doomscrolling housing headlines, and leave us a review with the question you want answered next.

Transcript

Welcome And How We Help

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, bringing you positive news about your local real estate market and community. So grateful to be here with you on this Monday morning. What a beautiful, beautiful day it is. Certainly a lot is going on this this time of year. And uh before we talk about what's what's going on, if you're tuning in for the first time ever, welcome the George Real Estate Group. We're located in Flat Rock. We serve all of Western North Carolina and the upstate. If you're thinking of buying, selling, or investing in real estate, or even a career in real estate, we are growing, we're helping, and ultimately what makes it all the best is our clients. And we have uh amazing clients, and it's amazing to hear our clients' stories and and find out you know their their dreams, their goals, and you know, real estate's a big piece of that. The the real estate market's the market, the interest rates are the interest rates, the the job market's the job market, the the housing market's a housing market, but and we know real estate happens around life. Life happens, therefore, real estate happens. It's truly a pleasure and privilege to walk alongside with our clients through their real estate, you know, how real estate impacts their life. It could be in regards to planning ahead with your estate, planning ahead with your tax strategy, maybe you're buying real estate to offset your uh income. Maybe you're thinking ahead uh to your retirement, maybe you're wanting to downsize, upsize, maybe you're wanting to uh you have the family farm and you're curious what you could do with that and and what the tax implications. I mean, and so the strategy is not just with uh the transaction, it's the bigger picture and where we come alongside working with your attorneys and tax strategists and your financial advisors, and I mean we uh from very complex scenarios to to very uh more uh simple ones, which whatever it is, we have a credible team and agents and staff and and experience. And so if we can help you, you know, every situation is unique and different, every property truly is unique, and so but these principles survive, and these principles are what we follow, and the proven and predictable process that we follow uh with helping our clients navigate through the buying and selling uh you know as it impacts your life. Again, it could be your personal home, it could be your rental property, it could be your family, uh real estate farm, it could be, I mean, there's so many your your investments could be commercial. Uh we're glad to have that conversation. There's no pressure, there's no cost, there's no obligation. 828-393-0134-828-39304. You can find us online at realestatebygreg.com. We're so grateful for the phone calls. We get calls every single week. We hear people that uh you know heard us on the radio, and and to those that listen each week again, grateful to to share news about what's going on in the market and and give some context and some you know real estate context of what's happening. The market you know keeps moving, and there's you know, we try to put some clarity on headlines and and the news you're hearing. And we will dive in into some of that this morning. And again, uh grateful to be here. You can connect with us, you can call us, you can follow us on on social media, Facebook, and Instagram. I'm also very grateful. We've had a uh a real strong momentum on our podcasts. We podcast all of our radio shows. You can find that on your favorite podcast platform. Been doing the the well, we've been doing my first radio uh show. I started actually in 2011, and then we expanded that into we have three different radio shows, uh, you know, and locally, and then we also have our podcast. You can find us on your favorite podcast platform. Be sure to follow the George Rollstead Group Radio Podcast. We'd love to connect with you there, of course. And then stop by our office. We're there. I joke, it's a dangerous place for location next to the Flat Rock Bakery. Our friends at Hubba Hubba Barbecue, our friends at Campfire Grill, uh, our friends at the Wrinkled Egg and Dogwood, and just check in and stop out. Stop by and say hello. We're there. Uh we're there. Uh we are so thankful to have our office there, but stop by, you know, it's uh any time. You know, this time of year, wow. I I I'm still in shock. I am I've I've shared that I I am a basketball, college basketball fan, and and still in shock over the uh the Yukon uh win last night over Duke. I know our I and I I am an ACC fan, so our our other ACC teams uh exited early as well. Uh but uh what a shocking ending to the the Yukon. So, you know, here we go. April is this week. Uh so March is rolling right into April, and so we had the Final Four uh coming up. You know, Illinois playing Yukon, uh, Michigan's gonna play Arizona, and so you know, there's just some two things going on right now. A lot of momentum, you know, and then also you got so much composure under pressure, and there's a lot of certainly life lessons in the watching. It could be anybody's day, anybody's game, you know, it and it's and it's not necessarily isn't this uh you know interesting how real estate and basketball, you might say, how are you gonna connect those dots? Well, isn't that how most big decisions go? It's not always the most talented team, it's it's really the one that execute when executes when the pressure is the highest. And so, you know, here's the thing, you know, in real estate, just like March Madness, timing, execution, you know, it beats potential every time. And again, who shows up, who takes that, who's not afraid to take action. Also, want to uh you know, share again. We also tonight the women's final four uh gets decided, and then the championship game uh on Sunday, and then you know, it's amazing. Women's basketball has had massive growth uh in viewership, more tension, a lot of stories, more stars, and it's and it's also not and it's not just growing, it's becoming you know a must-watch uh sporting event. Uh also this Wednesday, keep your head on a swivel. This Wednesday, April Fool's Day. Um, and I wonder if you've had any uh ever had an April Fool's uh prank ever pulled on you or ever fall fallen for one, or maybe you've you've um you know been the one uh you know with the with the trick on April Fool's. But you know, it here's the thing in in today's world with AI, uh, you know, sometimes you might think that every day feels like like April Fool's. Uh also this week uh in the February retail sales uh data drops, uh the sales retail sales report comes out. It's this is gonna be a pulse check on the consumer, and are people spending, they're pulling back. I mean, you know, there's a lot of uh connection, and if if consumers are feeling strong, the housing activity you know tends to follow. If if spending slows, people get cautious. But you know, consumer confidence drives everything, including whether someone feels ready to buy a home. But I always uh remember um Warren Buffett's line you know, when people are are being greedy, be fearful. And we when people are fearful, be greedy. It's this counterintuitive thought process. But again, that's you know, it's and we saw that. You know what? When the market was absolutely the real estate market, let's look back at 2010 and 2011 when so much fear, so much uh challenges in our our housing market, one in four, uh excuse me, forty percent of the homes were distressed at some point, whether it was a foreclosure or short sale. And we'll actually talk about the the foreclosure uh conversation here uh in a little bit. Uh, you know, this with actually I'm probably gonna dive into that conversation about the and then commer uh investor uh buyers and sellers, but here's the thing again about our market. If you would have purchased a home in 2010 or 11, which quote unquote was the worst time ever to buy, it was actually in retrospect the best time ever. Uh again, it's it's it's counterintuitive. Um, so again, just some talking points here. Also, uh Passover begins on Wednesday. You know, it's quite it's it's a very meaningful week for many families, and um, you know, Passover, you know, is the conversation about freedom, reflection, tradition, families gathering, telling stories, sharing meals, and there's something powerful about traditions that bring people together year after year, and the and also this Sunday uh is Easter Sunday. Uh you know, you know, here's uh you know the Easter Sunday, of course, again, Easter services, church services, uh the the family gatherings, the Easter egg hunts, and you know, s you know, here's the thing. Easter represents so much and and in uh just very generally the the renewal, the fresh start, uh the hope. Uh in spring and Easter, it's no coincidence. This is uh you know, the funny thing again, tying that to real estate when the housing market starts starts to wake up. So, you know, every you know, we got some a lot of going lots going on with the the ending up of finishing up of March Madness, you know, the they got April Fools, you got all the the business and and data coming out, and then you got uh some incredible significant uh you know holidays, uh Passover and Easter and what you know focusing on what really matters most. And then and then you know the housing market, you know, this is where you know we're gonna, and I will dive into this here locally, you know, our housing market here still is strong. There's only 465 active single-family homes in the market right now. We're averaging some 130 single-family homes a month, selling just some 1600, actually 1,98. Um, 1598 single-family homes sold in the last 12 months. And that's uh about a hundred more than the previous 12 months. And so, you know, the numbers are are holding. We are seeing days on market get longer. Uh, the average days on the market is getting longer, but you know, if it's priced right, the conditions right, you know, if the price is matching the condition, if the condition is matching the price, I mean homes are selling, and we certainly are seeing that the markets still move here locally. But back to what I said at the very beginning, again, regardless of the interest rates, regardless of the economy, regardless of the the market, the the housing market, we know life happens, therefore real estate happens. So if you're just curious about your specific situation, your unique home, your unique circumstances, it could be a really positive reason why you're buying or selling. It could be a challenging reason, but you know, we don't take it lightly, and it's not lost on me when we get the phone call and we have the privilege of hearing the story and hearing the the what's the goals and the dreams and how this plays in. And so it's not lost on me. And we we take it incredibly it's it's very uh it's an honor, truly, and privilege to sit down and have these conversations. So if you're curious about the market, if you're curious about the your your house, house or your investment property, or your family land, I mean, whatever the situation is, you know, you can call us and we can have a uh a no pressure, no cost, no obligation consultation, a confidential consultation. We are so grateful for the phone calls we get every single week. Uh we hear uh people listening to us on the radio and the George Real Estate Group. It's a we love serving the community through real estate. We love serving and we'd love to help. And the market's the market. The the interest rates are the interest rates, but it's these conversations. And it ultimately boils down to relationships and being an advocate and helping our clients uh navigate through through their how real estate impacts their life. And so give us a call. We'd love to have the conversation, uh, and we'll dive more into some of the market information and some of the stories that that are going on out there. But you know, we love having the conversations. I I love uh the I I really enjoy the the psychological side and the relationship side to real estate. You know, there's so much uh you know behavior, you know, the human psychology, uh, you know, different uh how how people make decisions. You know, a lot of people uh think they understand people, but they're they're actually just reacting to them. And so, you know, we'll talk a little bit more about that. And again, it's it's this um how human behavior affects everything in our life. And so uh, and we'll touch more about how how people are really predictable once you know what to look for. And so uh we'll talk more about that. But you're listening to the George Real Estate Group radio broadcast, live radio broadcast here in the queue every Monday morning. We have a short break coming up, so stay tuned in. We'll be right back. Good morning, and welcome back to the George Real Estate Group live radio broadcast here every Monday morning. Uh, we're so grateful to be here, share with you about what's going on in the market, what's going on in life. And here we are. April is around the corner. How about if January, February, March, where did time go? It flew by. And again, grateful to be here with you. And again, if we can help you in any way with your real estate uh dreams or goals, or just curious about the market or what's going on, you know, give us a call, 828-393-0134-828-393-0134. You know, there's a lot of articles out there about Wall Streets buying up all the homes. Investors are pushing regular buyers out, and you know, if you're sitting there thinking about buying a home right now, that can feel pretty discouraging. Like, what chances do I even have? Uh, but let's slow down uh for a minute and and look at the data. Because when you look at the data, the story actually changes. You gotta be careful with those headlines. You know, for the f first thing we want to clear up is the word investor. When most people hear that, you know, they picture big corporations, hedge funds, massive companies with unlimited cash, but that's not who most investors are. You know, most investors are actually pretty normal people. It's the the couple who bought the lake house a few years ago, and you know, it's your neighbor who owns one or two rental properties. You know, it's someone who tried to sell, didn't get the price they wanted, and decided to rent instead. And so that's what the majority of investors actually look like. You know, but we but here's the problem. Uh, when the media reports numbers, they lump all of those people together into one category. So suddenly it sounds like investors are everywhere, and in reality, it's just a lot of everyday people making you know practical decisions. Now, let's talk about the the group everyone's really concerned about, the big institutional investors, the ones people think are buying entire neighborhoods. And what the data actually says is they own about four point four percent four percent of the eighty-six million single-family homes in the United States, you know, that's not ten percent, that's not twenty percent, that's less than half of one percent. And here's the part no one's talking about they're not aggressively buying right now, they're actually they're actually selling. And recent data shows these large investors are selling about four homes to every one they buy. And so instead of taking homes off the market, they're actually putting homes back on the market. So this is good. We need more inventory. Inventory levels have been low. So, what does that mean for you? And this is it means the story you've been hearing might not match reality, and so you're not competing against Wall Street the way they've been portrayed. You're you're mostly competing against other families, other local buyers, people just trying to make a move like you. And so, in some ways, the market may actually be opening up a bit more right now, especially with days on market being longer. I mean, you have more time. Uh the buyers are just taking their their time in the sellers, they're just it's taking longer. You got less pressure from large investors, you have more inventory, you have um more opportunity if you're prepared. And so, and this is where being prepared, working with you know, real estate professional, working with a real estate team, it could be from our lenders to our uh home inspectors to our buyers' agents, our listing agents, to our uh everybody, our whole every all everybody that comes together that works together and being prepared for our clients. And so the bigger takeaway is you know, there's always going to be noise in the real estate market. And this is why every Monday morning we try to share context and data. There's a lot of noise out there. What's actually happening in the real estate market? You know, the headlines are designed to grab attention and not to always give you the full picture, and that's why it's important to zoom in locally, and because because what's happening nationally and what's happening right here in our local market can be two very different things. I mean, the the foreclosure conversation, the the there was a headline just just recently the the headline, you know, by uh foreclosure surge sweeps the sunbelt. I mean, these headlines, and this is where uh the the the foreclosures are rising, and and there are some parts of the country, but it's context. Yes, foreclosure filings are up. There there's been 12 straight months of increases, and in February alone, about 38,000 homes had had a foreclosure filing, and that's about 20% up from a year ago. And and now that sounds dramatic, but we're coming off, and that's nationally, by the way. We have less than 1% of our market here is foreclosures here locally, and so we're coming off historically low foreclosure levels during COVID, and and for a few years, foreclosures were basically artificially suppressed. You had the moratoriums, you had the forbearance programs, stimulus, all that kept people in their homes. And so now what we're seeing now is not a crash, you know, it's normalization back towards typical levels. And certainly there's some states that are uh that let's where where are these foreclosures actually happening? Because this is where it gets interesting. There's a handful of states, you know, Indiana, Florida, Delaware, Illinois, South Carolina. This is not evenly spread across the country. It's very regional. Regional. And so what's causing it? This is not what people think. This is not 2008. This is not the risky lending or the subprime loans blowing up. It's there's obviously a number of pressure points. You have like Florida rising insurance costs. Uh, there were people that bought at the peak during peak prices during the pandemic. By the way, our prices are still uh elevated here locally. I mean, we've not we've seen a slight adjustment. Our average single-family home price here locally in the 540s, 544 actually over the last 12 months. Uh, you know, that number, you know, is is within with is less than a uh percent difference. I mean, like a couple thousand dollar difference from the 12 months. Here's another, you know, there's another combination of pressure points. Not enough equity built yet. It could be it could be higher taxes, higher HFEs, and then cost of living. This is not people losing homes because the system is broke. They're they're feeling squeezed because life got more expensive. And here's here's another important thing uh you know for for those listening. Even with this increase, foreclosure levels are still well below historic norms. This is we are nowhere near what we saw in 2009, 10, and 11. Not even close. And so the you know, again, think think here locally, where this is where I think people get tripped up when you hear these big headlines, and people call us I want to buy a foreclosure. There's less than one percent of foreclosures. And so when you hear the headlines, foreclosures are rising, you know, it's easy to assume the the housing market must be crashing. Our market here uh locally is still We still have low inventory. Like I said earlier, only 480 some single family homes on the market right now locally. Actually, 465. Our prices have been holding. Are they down a little bit? Yes. And the demand is still here. Like I said, we've had a hundred more single-family homes sold here locally in Henderson County than we did the previous 12 months. And so there so what does this mean? Again, there may be some opportunities. You know, there could be some foreclosures, but they often here they come with challenges. It could be significant repairs, issues, and and other risks. And like I said, less than 1% of our market here is foreclosures. This is less about the housing collapse and more about the co cost of owning a home going up. And so you know what's happening in other states, Florida, Indiana, Illinois, doesn't automatically translate to here in North Carolina. And so here's the thing to always remember the headlines are always try are always trying to grab your attention. And the context and the truth is usually more nuanced. And yes, are foreclosures rising, but it yes, but it's in the context of what I just shared. And no, this is not a housing crisis. It is a shift. And you know what? Shifts create opportunities for those to understand them. And and guess what? I I I in the real estate industry as a as a career, the market is just the market. Is it a buyer's market? Is it a seller's market? How many homes are selling this month? How many homes are selling last month? I mean, how many homes are available? It's just it's just information. And how do we navigate through that? And that's where having a real estate professional, having an experienced real estate professional that can navigate, you know, that the sky is not falling. We are actually having some of the best years ever at the George Real Estate Group. We have a we had a record year last year. We're on pace to have another record year this year. It's and it's through growth of helping our clients and and helping and our agents are helping. We're helping our agents have incredible lives and careers, and we're helping our clients live out their best life. And so the market is the market. The interest rates are the interest rates, and the opportunity to help. And you know, from a if you're thinking about getting a real estate license, there's always it's there's always a need for another great uh professional. We always welcome, and there's room at the table. I mean, and of course, by the way, you've probably heard of the 80-20 rule. Truly, 20% of the real estate agents do 80% of the business, and it's the there's a disproportionate um you know spread there, but it's it's you know, you can be as busy as you want to be in this industry if this is the career for you. And at the George Real Estate Group, we have the teams, the systems, we have the staff and the support, and ultimately we're here as a team to serve our clients, and our agents are being served as well. But if you're thinking about a career in real estate, if you want to decide your future and create your own career, again, we have an incredible platform and system, and then ultimately it all goes back to our clients. It's all about our clients and serving our clients, advocating for our clients, and we're here to help. And it's truly a service, uh, it's a it's a privilege. It's not lost on me the opportunity that we have when we sit down with a client to understand their story and their goals and their dreams. And we we love having these conversations. You can give us a call, 828-393-0134. 828-3930134. We'd love to help you. I want to wish you a wonderful ending of March, beginning of April, and again, have a wonderful day. Have a great week, and we'll see you next Monday.

SPEAKER_00 25:51

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 26:44

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, 828-393-0134. Find us online at realestatebygreg.com because your next chapter deserves to feel just right.