Henderson County Real Estate Update And A Smarter Way To Price Your Home

The Henderson County market is giving clearer signals than most people expect and if you know how to read them, you can make calmer, smarter moves. We break down what we’re seeing right now across Western North Carolina: pending sales trending up, prices holding, a list-to-sale ratio around 93%, and days on market stretching longer than the “sell in a weekend” era. We also explain why a roughly four-month supply still points to a seller’s market, even as buyers negotiate harder and compare every home to what else they can buy online.

From there, we get practical about pricing strategy. We talk about why the first 7 to 10 days matter most, how overpricing can actually net you less, and why you either show up as the best value in your category or you get ignored. Our goal isn’t just a high number, it’s the best outcome with the best terms, timing, and the least stress, backed by professional marketing and wide online exposure. The market decides the price, but we can control the plan and we’re committed to care and candor when the data is speaking.

We also zoom out to the life side of real estate. We share the rubber ball and glass ball theory to help you protect what can’t be replaced, plus a “progress over perfection” story that fits perfectly with selling and negotiating in real life. Finally, we touch on North Carolina due diligence, why buyers can walk away, and what proactive steps like pre-inspections can do for your leverage. If you’re local, we also mention the open house at 1032 Brightwater and our Hometown Heroes spotlight.

Subscribe for weekly real estate market updates, share this with someone planning a move, and leave a review so more neighbors can find it. What question do you want us to answer next about buying or selling in Henderson County?

Transcript

Welcome And How To Reach Us

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 and community. We're so grateful to be here with you, sharing with you about what's going on. Can you believe we're the end of April? Is around the corner. Time is flying. I think kids have one month left to the end of the school year. I think it's the 21st or 22nd of May. Don't quote me on that, but we are coming to the to the uh final stretch. And you know, kids are counting down and parents and kids looking forward to summertime. And here we are in April. If you're tuning in for the first time ever, the George Real Estate Group's located in Flat Rock. We're on in on Rainbow Row. We are friends there at the Flat Rock Bakery, Hubba Hubba Barbecue, Campfire Grill, Dogwood, the Wrinkled Egg, all those great local and independent uh businesses and restaurants. The George Real Estate Group is local and independent as well. We've had the privilege of helping over 1,600 families throughout the years with their buying and selling. It could be a personal home, it could be land, it could be your investment property or second home or uh commercial real estate or development, you know, whatever the situation is. We'd love to have the conversation. There's no pressure, there's no cost, there's no obligation. You can call us directly at 828-393-0134-828-3930134. Find us online at realestatebygreg.com. We also podcast all of our radio shows. You can find it on your favorite podcast platform. And follow us on social media, Facebook and Instagram. We post about our new properties that we have for sale, about listings that we have. Uh, we have actually an open house uh this weekend from 10 a.m. uh to 12 in on uh on Brightwater, 1032 Brightwater. It's near the Acosta Trail. Uh easy access there. It's an awesome property and uh incredible, incredible screened in porch uh among other features of this home. But you know, come out, check out that home uh Saturday morning uh from 10 a.m. to 12. And again, you can see on our social media, Facebook and Instagram. You can follow us on the uh on on there and see about our new listings, our new inventories. Uh, but again, glad to connect and glad to help. And again, your personal home, your personal situation. It could be you know, buying, selling, investing. It could be uh, do you sell before you buy? Do you buy before you sell?

Henderson County Market Snapshot

SPEAKER_01 3:20

Do you, you know, what are your options? You know, the market's the market. And and we're seeing, you know, there is there was a headline, interest rates were at a four-week low. Uh, but guess what? The the market's the market. And and I will dive in real quickly to share with you about what's happening specifically in Henderson County. Let's let's look at uh through the end of March. Through the end of March, there was actually almost a 12% increase in pending sales. Uh we had a slight decrease uh over through the end of March, slight decrease, a 2% drop in the number of homes sold January through the end of March. However, if you look at the last 12 months versus the previous 12 months, we've had about a hundred more homes sold, a hundred more homes sold in the last 12 months versus the previous 12 months. The price, the prices are holding. The average single family home price is about the same over the last 12 months as it was the previous 12 months. Now, here's an interesting stat to share with you. The percentage of original list price to the home to the price that it uh ends up selling for is at 93%. You know, I remember and and I mean a few years ago, we were talking 98, 99 percent. During the COVID years, the average, you know, sales price, the list price to sales price was over 100%. And again, prices are compared to what they're listing for, the prices are coming down. Uh you know, like I said, average is 93%. Another fascinating piece of information for our market is days on market. The the days on market till a house goes under contract has gone up almost 50%. You know, when we look at uh you know the year to date, that's gone up to three months is the average days on the market until it goes under contract and until it sells. And from listening to closing, that's that's over that's a hundred and thirty-two days right now. Um, and so these are just some statistics. Your unique home, your unique location, the price point, the neighborhood you're in, the county you're in, the condition. We take a unique and specific approach. We usually do a two-step approach. We have an initial consultation, and then we'll put our research together and and and either have a second meeting or report back and love to have the conversation about you know your specific home. Again, do you sell before you buy? Do you buy before you sell? I mean, there's so many factors that are involved, and it's and it's usually not just one uh component. And we know life happens, therefore real estate happens. The interest rates are the interest rates, the economy is the economy. I mean, I I that I got my real estate license in 2005, so 21 years in the industry, my North Carolina broker's license, and we see that there's usually always a baseline, even in 2010 and 11 and 12, at the quote unquote worst market ever. I mean, we we had a two-year supply of inventory. And when I talk about inventory versus supply, supply and demand, I mean, right now we have like less than a four-month supply, meaning at the current rate of sales in the current inventory, it would take four months if nothing else came on the market. It's almost like uh I've used the bathtub analogy where the spigot, the water coming in, the water flowing into the bathtub, the flow of the water, those are the new listings, versus the the uh the drain. The drain is the homes being sold. And so, you know, the the amount of homes being sold compared to the new listings hitting the market, the inventory level is really the water level. You know, the water level right now, the inventory level right now is four months. Uh, like I said, we had a two-year supply of homes on the market back in 2010, 2012, and here we are, four months. So technically, we are still in a seller's market.

Pricing Strategy That Protects Equity

SPEAKER_01 7:30

The demand is outpacing the inventory. So, you know, the that's why prices are holding. Uh the average single-family home price in Henderson County is in the 540s over the last 12 months. You know, so you know, when you position your home and you price it, you know, and it's you know, here's the thing about you know pricing the home, you know, our job is to guide and to provide information, and you know, and ultimately our job is to provide is to get the best outcome possible, not just the highest price, it's also the best terms, the best timing, and the least amount of stress. And you know what? The market ultimately decides the price, but we can control the strategy. You know, it's not about what we want to get, it's really about what buyers are willing to pay right now in this moment, and so buyers don't compare your home to what they need, they compare it to what else they can buy. And when we're pricing a home, and when we're our strategy, you know, in today's market, if we don't see strong activity, showings, offers, or serious interest in the first seven to ten days, really the first two weeks, the market's telling us we might have priced it too high. And so this is this is where this is again some perspective to think about. You know, overpricing doesn't just risk not selling, it actually nets you less in the long run. And then the longer a home sits, the more buyers assume something is wrong, and we can lose leverage. Again, we want to set up our sellers for success. And here's the thing price reductions later are always more expensive than pricing it right from the start. Well, you know, as a as a new listing, your home gets the most attention the moment it hits the market, and that's when all the buyers who've been waiting to jump in, they're watching. And if we miss the window, we're chasing the market instead of leaving it. I I and we've talked about this and we share this with our clients. I mean, and then if a buyer was looking at your home online and and and you saw similar homes priced lower, I mean, is the buyer really going to come see the house that's priced higher than other ones that are priced lower? And this is where we don't have to guess about this. It's the data, it's data-driven decisions, it's the market, and it's testing the market strategy strategically. You know, and and if you price it in line with what the data is saying, you can create competition. If you price it and position it higher, you you risk being overlooked. And so again, this is where we're the goal is to get ahead of the market, to stay in control. It's it's proactive, not reactive. And so, as a seller, you're either the best value or or you're ignored. And we and we've seen this played out hundreds of times. The homes that win are the ones that are positioned correctly from day one. You can always go up with multiple offers, but you can't go back in time if you start too high. And so this is where you know we're committed to getting our clients the best results, and it's and I've shared this before, it's care and candor. And we want to be it's the candidness of the conversation. And if because we care, we're gonna be candid. And we're gonna be candid because we care, and it's and we don't, and real estate agents don't set the price, the market does. Our job is to read it early and to position you to win, and so you know, and this is where we can test the market, but ultimately again, ultimately, you as a seller, you get to decide. But again, being clear on your strategy, and and this is where you know, as the George Real State group, we have the experience of helping over 1,600 families with the buying and selling process. We're talking to clients every single day, and it's not a hope strategy, it's a results strategy, and it and it really is. It is really, and again, if you feel strongly about testing out a price, we can try it. You know, the the market is the ultimate litmus test. When you tell the whole world it's for sale, you know, you're gonna test out the market. You know, we know the systems and the processes and the procedures we follow, the the professional photography, the professional marketing, the exposure, the the social media marketing, the you know, putting it out there uh all over the world. Listings are literally syndicated to thousands of websites. Our job and responsibility is to protect your equity, to work with your timeline, and again, ultimately help you. I mean, we and this is where it's strategic. We can either position your home to attract buyers, or it's positioned to sit on the market, and it really is the price that determines you know which one happens. And so we these are conversations that that we have. We'd love to there and there's never any obligation or pressure or or uh you know, and guess what? Sometimes we've walked away uh because you know, maybe it's not we're not in alignment with with um you know getting uh you know of how we want to approach things again. There's there's no pressure, no obligation. We can have these conversations if you're just curious about what what where would we position your home? Where would we price it? What does the data say? What does the data say about the market? And and these are again the conversations we're having uh with our clients, and and it's not just it's really about how we help our high-valued homeowners position their properties to attract the right buyer at the right time. I mean, we are getting your property in front of the right buyers and helping our clients have that successful outcome. And it's not just about the price, and it's about the timeline and the strategy we recommend. If it was my own property, I mean we're gonna and and again, what we need to be cautious about in today's market, and it's that this is a can we control the narrative and attract the right buyer uh for the right property, and not you know, again, in it and it's and it's the how we frame things, and it's and it's how we uh expose the property, and it's and it's it really it's how we position the property. It's in and it's curating the the the buyer experience and and really controlling the narrative. And it's the the the strategic exposure of the home. And really our clients, our clients, they're not hiring agents. They they're really hiring advisors. You know, and it's where the this is where the conversation changes. It's not about hiring a real estate agent, it's an advisor, it's an advocate, it's a fiduciary. You know, can you trust who you're hiring with? I mean, this is your usually your biggest financial transaction you'll make in your lifetime. And so it's not about us just listing homes, it's positioning the asset, it's protecting our clients, it's the strategy that we follow, and and it's about positioning. It's it's really the here here's the thing, too. Again, buyers are more phys sophisticated these days than ever before. And it's about finding we don't sell anything. I mean, I hate to say it that way, but we're positioning the home, we're exposing it. It's the strategy. And in clients and buyers, it's not about convincing them. You know, it's when you get the right buyer in front of the home, it's this decision bias where the buyers decide, hey, this is the property I want. And so it's in this market, you know, it is the perception drives the value as much as the comps do, but it's it's it's positioning it. So again, the data, the perspective, the property, you know, how we position it, the strategy. And and it's and well, we will give you advice. You you advise maybe you don't want to hear, but advice you'll need, and we and and our job is to interpret what the market is telling us, not not just guess. And so I heard this recently. Clarity beats optimism every time. And so it's not it is really a strategic approach. And so we'd love to have the conversation and helping you find the success that you're looking for again, beyond price, you know, the timing, the control, the exit. And if and again, if everything went perfectly, making sure that looks like what it would what you would want that to look like, and understanding what matters most for you in the transition, and making sure you feel like it's a it's truly a win uh for for what you want. So we'd love to have the call. You can in in conversation, stop by our office there in Flat Rock. Yeah, this is a this is usually, like I said, the biggest financial transaction you'll do in your lifetime. And so the decisions you make matter, and just being and being intentional from from day one. And so our goal is to make this feel seamless and controlled for you. And when we do this right, you we get the results. And so give us a call 828-393-0134, 828-393-0134.

Rubber Ball Vs Glass Ball Priorities

SPEAKER_01 17:50

I I heard uh, you know, this the story, and maybe you've heard this uh perspective. Have you heard of the rubber ball and glass theory? And and really, and how how that looks like, and and maybe how this might apply to your life, and have you ever heard something that just that's simple, but but it sticks with you. And so that's when I came across this idea, and people call it the rubber ball and glass ball theory. And it goes like this imagine your life is a bunch of balls you're juggling every single day. You got your work, you got your family, you have your health, friendships, uh, your faith, uh, and you know, a lot of these different components, and and here's the twist. One of those, one of the and some of these balls are made of rubber, and most of these balls are made of glass. And and here's the thing. I would say work is a rubber ball. I I would say, you know, the this is the thing. Everything that matters is a glass ball, and and there's certain things in your life that maybe you're gonna let the ball drop because you believe and trust and hope that it's gonna bounce back. You mess up at work, you can recover. You make a mistake, you you can learn from it. If you even lose your job, you can rebuild it. It's but if you drop a glass ball, it doesn't bounce, it breaks. You know, so this is where, again, for a while, maybe your health can be a rubber ball, and and maybe you neglect it, but it but at some point that health is actually a glass ball, and you hope your health bounce back bounces back. Again, things that can bounce back that at some point they don't bounce back. And so the this is where you know looking at things that are the most important. You know, time with your kids and grandkids, you know, the opportunity to to make a difference in a friend's life, your again, your health, your faith, uh, these are these are things in your life that again, you're juggling all these pieces, you're juggling all these all these things in your life, and it's and it's again, it's it's also the haircut theory, right? Where if you don't like your haircut, guess what? The hair grows back, you can you can change it, you can do something different. You know, some decisions are or haircut decisions, some decisions are are more important. Just like again, some things in our life are rubber balls, not all responsibilities are equal. And there's some things that are in our life that are replaceable, that are that can bounce back if you drop. And there's some parts of our life that aren't. You know, burning out on your health, it has long-term consequences, neglecting relationships. I mean, that's where trust can break permanently. Um you know, it's you know, why here's the thing setting boundaries, avoiding burnout, you know, taking care of yourself. And when you're overwhelmed, asking yourself, is it a rubber ball or a glass ball? And that decision, that question alone can help decide what deserves your energy. And so, you know, the question is, you know, you might feel overwhelmed, you might feel something's urgent, but you gotta ask yourself, is it a rubber or glass ball? The thing is, you know, careers, you know, come and go. Money can come and go. But your health, your your family, your faith, again, sometimes again, you gotta decide what what's important to protect. I've also I I've shared this before as

Progress Over Perfection Mindset

SPEAKER_01 21:35

well, the another visual maybe to take with you. Um oh, I you know, the well, maybe I haven't shared shared the uh the maybe I haven't shared this perspective. I love stories. And again, pr perspective and and stories can help frame things in our lives. And and I was heard another story uh about a college professor that had had a large class. But he gave one group of the class uh one set of instructions, and he gave the other class, the other group, uh, another set of instructions. But he gave both both groups in the class 50 pounds of clay, and he told the one group to make with that 50 pounds of clay to work and make the the perfect piece of pottery. Just focus and work on this one perfect piece of pottery. Make it the most perfect you can. And the other group he said to make as many pieces of pottery as they could with the 50 pounds of clay. And you want to know here's something fascinating? The group that made the most pieces of pottery with that 50 pounds of clay, they ended up at the end of the time, at the end of the semester, they had the most amazing their pottery was was exponentially better and more perfect and nicer than the ones that just focused on that one. And there's something to be said about that, right? Repetition, failing, learning, continuing to move forward, not getting hung up on making it perfect. It's have you heard this saying it's progress, it's not perfection. And and when the class, when the one side of the classroom that had to focus on making the one piece of pottery perfect, in the end, it was not at the same level or even uh close to the group that made as many pieces of pottery as they could. And again, it's the practice, it's the repetition, it's the you know, it's it's failing, it's learning, it's figuring out what works or doesn't work, and and it's again, we can get hung up on making that one thing perfect. And so there again, there's these l lessons in life and what we what is important, what we prioritize, what's really what really matters. You know, keep showing up. Regardless, you know, again, taking responsibility, showing up, working hard. It's all these again, perspectives. And and here's the thing, showing up in in in in real estate, you know, even when um you might not uh you don't know. We don't know what the results are. This is I mean, we don't know, you never know if a house, there is no guarantee when you put a house for sale in the market. You can do everything right. And and I guess again, the market ultimately determines what it's worth and and what you know if a home's gonna buy or sell. Again, we can't can there's things we can control, there are things that we can't control. And again, we know that what we're doing in the at the George Reality group, the process, the the the the systems that we have, I mean the results speak for themselves, and and again, not not every house that goes in the market sells, which is part of the the humanity of it all, part of the learning. And again, it's it we adjust, we pivot, we learn,

Due Diligence And Seller Prep

SPEAKER_01 24:50

and and we try again. Sometimes we've had to sell out we actually this is not uncommon. Here's the thing in North Carolina, just uh you did you know, and I think you maybe you know this, maybe you don't. In North Carolina, the North Carolina offered a purchase contract, buyers can walk away for any reason or no reason during what's called the due diligence period, and that's their that's their contractual right, and sellers have no control over that. And we've had situations where a buyer multiple times, different buyers, for different reasons, and it had nothing to do with the seller, the buyers can change their mind, and so we sometimes we've had to sell a house two or three or four times and no fault of the seller, and the buyers just have that ability to walk away for any reason or no reason during that due diligence period. And so there's things we can control, things we can't control, there's things that we can get ahead of. Like, for example, with sellers, some of our sellers choose to do a pre-inspection to make sure that that the home is in the the the best shape possible so that the buyers, you know, if they're doing their own, most buyers will do their own home inspection. I mean, we're facing the things ahead of time. We we anticipate, we we get ahead of it. We're being proactive, not reactive. But even then you can do everything right, and a buyer can still choose to walk away. That's their they they they purchase when they put a home under contract, they they are basically both the buyer and seller agreeing to these terms and that that is part of one of their uh options, and that's okay. I actually like it because you know sellers are not obligated to do anything during the due diligence period. You know, buyers aren't obligated to buy it, so it sort of creates this level playing field, and and then we just have to trust and see how it shakes out. Buyers are gonna do all their investigations and we face them, and and the property either checks out or it doesn't. The buyers either want it or they don't want it. And again, it's a fair shake for everybody, but that's where having an advocate, having a real estate agent that can prepare you, can help strategize and get get things get set yourself up for success and advocate for you. So these are the things we do, these are the conversations we have. Again, I I was uh again, the the conversation about the rubber and the glass balls theory, it's great. The also the per you know perfection theory versus the you know trying to do things repetition and learning and growing. Again, these are just the the life conversations that we have, and everybody's you know we everybody's got their own uh you know story, their own challenges, and and again, real estate happens to be a very strategic part of most of our lives,

Open House And Hometown Heroes

SPEAKER_01 27:30

and so if we can help you in any way and look at the bigger picture, we'd love to do that. You can call us directly at 828-3930134. 828-3930134. You can find us online at realestate by greg.com. Uh, be sure to follow us on Facebook, social media, follow our podcasts. Um, like I said, we have an open house uh this Saturday. Uh an amazing property. We'd recommend and encourage you to come out and check out uh the open house at 1032 Brightwater. An amazing property. Encourage you to come check it out 10 a.m. to 12 on Saturday. So that's a that's a great property to consider. The the porch is spectacular. It's an awesome property. Uh recommend you coming out 1032 Brightwater Drive. It's an amazing price, too. $3.95. Uh beautiful, beautiful property. It's going to be hosted uh this Saturday from uh uh between 10 a.m. and 12. And all that information there is on our website. We're here every Friday morning for our hometown heroes series. We have Matthew Rollins, the agricultural teacher at East Henderson. He was recently selected as the district's career and technical education teacher of the year, and through his leadership, students are gaining valuable skills, expanding their interest, and discovering real pathways to future careers. Tomorrow morning, 8 45, we're going to honor as our George Real Estate Group hometown hero Matthew Rollins. And be sure to tune in tomorrow morning. If you know someone that's made a difference in your life or in the community's life, or something you'd like to, if you'd like to have a conversation, you know, like to shine a light on on their story, reach out to WHKP. We'd love to do that against the Hometown Hero Series every Friday morning. Thank you for tuning in this Thursday morning. We're here every 10 every Thursday at 10 a.m. I hope you have a wonderful day. Hope you have a wonderful rest of your week. And we'll see you tomorrow morning.

SPEAKER_00 29:34

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

Closing Message And Next Chapter Ad

SPEAKER_00 29:51

or at realestatebygreg.com.

SPEAKER_01 29:54

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 transition, timing, and trust. We help thousands of families in Western North Carolina to make smart moves. Closer to nature, closer to family, closer to home. So when you're ready to write size, simplify, or start right, we'll be here. The George Real Estate Group. Local, trusted, proven. Call us today, 828-3930134. Find us online at real estate by Greg.com because your next chapter deserves to feel just right.