The Sky Is Not Falling And Neither Are Sales

The loudest housing market headlines are rarely the most useful, so we bring it back to what we are seeing on the ground in Henderson County and across Western North Carolina. Homes are still selling every day, but buyers are more careful, days on market are longer, and strategy matters more than it did during the frenzy years. We also share a few snapshots from our current inventory, from affordable land to high end mountain homes, plus how we help with everything from residential to commercial and investment property planning.

Then we take a surprising turn into a simple “bottle of water” story that hits harder than you expect. The water never changes, but the value shifts by location and need, and that becomes a reminder not to let the wrong room define your worth. It is a message for anyone who feels overlooked, whether at work, in relationships, or in a demanding season of life, and a nudge to recognize the quiet people around us who keep showing up.

On the market side, we dig into Henderson County real estate statistics through the end of April: new listings are up, pending sales are up, closed sales are slightly up, and prices are basically flat, while sellers are negotiating more and homes are taking longer to go under contract. We also lay out our practical “sell home fast” playbook for 2026: price to meet the market, sharpen presentation with staging and professional photos, and address condition issues that trigger buyer hesitation. If you want clarity on buying, selling, downsizing, or a 1031 exchange, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review so more locals can find it.

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. We're having a great day today. What a Monday it is, and we're here live sharing you positive news about your local real estate marketing community. If you're tuning in for the first time ever, the George Real Estate Group's located in Flat Rock. We're on Rainbow Row. We're next to our friends at the Flat Rock Bakery, Hubba Hubba Barbecue Campfire Grill, the Wrinkled Egg and Dogwood, stop in and say hello. And if we can help you in any way andor just have a conversation, there's some great, our great friends there, other local and independent uh restaurants and businesses. The George Real Estate Group's local and independent as well. And we're serving our community through real estate. And if we can help you in any way, if you're just curious about the market, I mean there's a lot of noise out there. There's a lot of news about the housing market, and yet we still are seeing homes sell every single day. The market is the market, the interest rates are the interest rates. We are seeing a lot of homes sell, and we're having an incredible year. And if we can help you in any way, uh give us a call, 828-393-0134, 828-393-0134. We have some incredible new listings in our inventory. We have all types, all prices. I mean, we have land, uh, we have a lot uh in the 20,000 range, all the way up to$2 million, uh$2.45 million stunning property in Saluda, actually, that just went on the market last week. Uh 1072 Corsica Lane in Saluda, over two acres. But the the significant piece about this property, it's on it's uh 4,500 square feet, but the home just just remarkable. Uh remodeled, gutted. I mean, it's only a 2008 home, but the the recent owners, uh current owners, um the work and the the updating and the remodeling they did to it, plus the year-round long-range views are absolutely stunning. Uh not to mention just the finishes, the the just it's an elevated, uh it's a remarkable property. Uh in the and again, check it out. Uh 1072 Corsica Lane. We also have a phenomenal home in Kenmuir for sale, uh, 1.3 uh in change uh for sale in Kenmuir. Again, just some examples, all price points that we work with. Uh we have property, we have a 60-acre property down in Rutherford County, uh uh off of off a highway 6474 uh in Rutherfordton. Amazing property. And we have a property on Fruitland Road. It's an amazing home in the 70s, over 3,000 square feet with over five acres. I mean, all price points, all types of uh properties. Uh we have a property in Black Mountain, we have properties in Hendersonville, Flat Rock, across the board. Again, from land, large acreage. Uh, we also have commercial real estate that we help our clients with to residential, and it could be your personal home, it could be your your uh investment property, it could be land. I mean, we work with all types of properties, and if you're just curious about our homes for sale, certainly you can go to realestatebygreg.com if you want to see our inventory. Uh if you're curious about the market, we can have a conversation. There's no pressure, there's no cost, there's no obligation. You know, the market is the market. The interest rates are the interest rates, and and again, we we'd love to have the conversation. We've had the privilege of helping over 1,600 families throughout the years, and that number keeps growing. Uh, we've had the privilege of helping our clients navigate through their uh tax strategies with their estate planning in regards to their real estate. It could be uh your real estate portfolio, which we're working with and helping our clients with, and in 1031 exchanges, and and we have replacement properties that you might not might be curious about. Again, that's tends to be the number one challenge with uh 1031 exchanges. If you if you need access to replacement properties, we have properties that qualify and and uh in some cases your your your return on parking your money there, uh you can make more money and pay less taxes. You might think that's impossible, but it is, uh, and we can explain how we do that. Uh there's tax strategies, and we work with attorneys and uh financial advisors. And again, if we can help you explore anything from your anything to do with real estate, your personal home, uh land, uh your real estate investments to commercial, uh we'd love to have the conversation. There's always no pressure, no cost, no obligation. You can give us a call 828-393-0134. 828-393-0134. Find us online at realestatebygreg.com. Follow us on social media, Facebook and Instagram. See about all of our open houses and new listings and and and also follow us on our podcast. We podcast all of our radio shows. We'd love for you to follow us there. That certainly helps us and uh with the where people find our podcasts, and and we've been doing the podcasts uh for a number of years now. We've been doing radio for over a decade, and again, just love to connect with you and again sharing information. Uh there's a story I love about a simple bottle of water, and maybe you've heard this before, but you take a bottle of water and you put it on the shelf at the grocery store, uh, it might be worth a dollar. You we all know you could go to Sam's Club and buy uh a packet of water, and it's like a quarter per bottle of water. But the same bottle of water, the same plastic, the same cap, the label, same amount of water inside. That could be at a convenience store, and that might be two or three or three dollars. You could take the same bottle of water and put it inside a hotel lobby, uh a ballpark. I mean, maybe you're paying, you know, five or six dollars, an airport, even more. It could suddenly cost significantly more than what you would pay for it uh than at the grocery store. And now here's the thing, same thing. The you could have the same bottle of water, not a bigger bottle, not a better bottle of water, not even a different brand, and and uh place it in the middle of the desert and have someone who's been walking for hours and they're hot, they're exhausted, dehydrated, and desperate, and that that same bottle of water is no longer worth a dollar, it's not even worth five dollars. I mean, to that person, that bottle of water would be worth a hundred dollars or a thousand. I mean, like in that moment, that bottle of water might feel priceless. And and the lesson is this it's the water that never changed, it's the location. And it's the same bottle of water at when it was a dollar at the grocery store, two dollars at the gas station. I mean, even ten dollars, let's say at Disney World, uh, but it's priceless in the right situation. And the contents didn't change. The value inside did not change, but what changed was the environment, the need, the people who understood its worth. And that's where I think this is such a powerful picture of life. Sometimes you might feel undervalued, overlooked, dismissed, or even taken for granted. Maybe it's at work, maybe it's in a relationship, maybe it's a family situation, but it's maybe it's a season of life where you're giving your best, showing up, doing the right thing, and still wondering, does anybody see what I bring to the table? But maybe the problem is not that you have no value. Maybe the problem is that you're in the wrong place. And so the bottle of water is not less valuable because someone walks past it at the grocery store. It's not more valuable because someone needs it in the desert. It's you know, the purpose is still the same. It's to refresh, to restore, to sustain, to give life. And so value becomes obvious in the right environment. And that's true for people too. And sometimes the gift you carry is ordinary in one room and extraordinary in another, and your kindness may be overlooked in one place, but maybe deeply needed somewhere else, and maybe your work ethic is taken for granted by one employer but highly valued by another. Your leadership may be resisted in one environment but welcomed in another. Your creativity, your wisdom, your compassion, your experience, those things may be ignored in one room, but treasured in the right one. So, so don't let the wrong room determine your worth, and don't let people see you as that one dollar bottle of water uh convince you that you do not have that priceless value inside. So don't confuse being overlooked with being insignificant. So people, you know, it's this again perspective, right? It's and you may feel like that bottle of water at the grocery store, and you know you have something to offer, you're trying, and and so it's it might not be it really could come down to your location. Maybe you change your location, you might need to find a different room, a different opportunity, different assignment, a different environment, because the same person who feels invisible in one space might become invaluable in another. So, you know, again, it's it's perspective. And so we're again, we're so thankful for, and I mean, this past week in Mother's Day, the the and just the the parent that keeps showing up and our teachers in our lives, and the the caregiver, the volunteer, the neighbor, the person who's quietly doing the work without asking. And so so here's the thing it's it's recognizing, be careful and and remember the people around you. And so you might realize that uh again, someone sitting in front of you, the then the and what they've the difference they've made in your life. And so that reminder of the bottle of water, it may be a dollar at the grocery store, three dollars at the gas station, ten dollars at Disney World, but you know it wasn't the water, but that's changed, and and neither does your worth. So remember, your your value is not determined by who overlooked you, your value is not determined by who underestimated you, your value is not determined by the room you're standing in, your value was already there. So sometimes you have to put yourself in the place where what you carry is needed, appreciated, understood. And I I love that story of the bottled water, and um, and again, don't let the wrong room convince you that you have no value. So find the place where you offer you what you offer is needed, appreciated, understood. Uh, you know, perspective matters, uh location matters, um, and again, those those conversations matter. Um, the market, okay. I love to talk about life because the fascinating thing is, you know, real estate is really uh driven uh with life. I mean, life happens, therefore real estate happens. Uh the market's the market, the interest rates are the interest rates. I mean, uh, you know, it could be a really positive reason why you're buying or selling, it could be a challenging reason. And and here at with the George Real Estate Group, our job is to provide perspective and information and and to advocate and to facilitate. I mean, we're here to to give you clarity so you can make a decision for what's right for you. The market's gonna be the market. Our job is to position, to advise, to uh advise, you know, to advise and to and to share and give you clarity so you can decide what's right for you. The the again, the market's gonna be the market. Uh, and we'll talk about what's going on in the market. You know, the the market is uh there's a lot of news that the sky is falling, and that's the truth is homes are selling every single day, and we're seeing it. We're helping our clients do that. We've we're having a tremendous year, and and from all price points, from the$20,000 lot to the$2.5 million home, we're moving homes and properties, and the market's still moving, and and uh we're having tremendous results. And so if you'd like to have a conversation about your specific home, your specific situation, you know, the interest rates are going to be the interest rates. Uh, you know, it does, you know, it is the market's you know always evolving. The you know, there's a there's really four cycles. I've shared this. The the market's either in this um, you're either you never know when you're at the top until you're you start going down, just like you never know when you're at the bottom until you start going up. But you know, you have the recovery, you have the top of the market, you have a downturn, you have the bottom of the market, and then it repeats. And our job is to understand the the information and the data and to provide clarity, and so you can decide how you want to position your home on the market, what you need to do to sell your home in the market, and we are still selling every single day. Homes are selling, the economy's the economy, the interest rates are the interest rates, the job market's the job market, but you know, people you know are still you know, new family formations, and then you have people retiring, you have kids going off to college, you have families that are relocating for jobs, you you have the tragedies, uh, the the death, the divorce. I mean, these things happen, and and it's and again, it's it don't take we don't take it lightly. It's not lost on us the opportunity when we uh to get to sit with somebody through some challenging moments. And and again, it's not the and maybe maybe it's it's necessary to sell a property. They say if you've lost a loved one, wait a year. It's not something you should rush into doing to make any big life changes. I mean, these are big changes in your life, and so this is where, again, we're we're not in any rush, we're on your timeline, and we can help you navigate through that. It might be two or three years before you should really consider something. But if and again, there's the phone calls we get where they're like, hey, I've actually been thinking about this for two or three years, and I'm finally ready. And again, we come alongside our clients at many different stages. Sometimes we're talking to our clients at the very beginning stages. Sometimes we get in, we we get invited into the process when it's been moving along for years. Whatever that might be, you can call us directly at 828-393-0134, and we can have a conversation. Like I said, there's no there's no never any pressure, no, no cost, no obligation for confidential consultation at the George Real Estate Group. We're also hiring. We have incredible agents, we have incredible staff, we're growing, we're helping a lot of people, and we'd love to help you. Uh, whether it's a career in real estate, we we have a team approach that we that we take, and that's ultimately there to serve our clients best. But we're here every Monday morning right after the 9 o'clock news. We have a short break coming up. This is the George Real Estate Group live radio broadcast here in the queue. We love sharing with you about the market. I am going to dive more into the market details after the break, so stay tuned in. We'll be right back. Good morc good morning. Good morning. Wow. I I need more coffee. Uh although I did stop by and see our friends at Sherwell, their coffee is is incredible. Yes. And uh I I uh actually, I don't know if I've shared this story on the air, but uh we got one of those uh I think my father actually won one of the um the the the uh raffles here. I don't know if it was a raffle, but it was the it was the raffle. Like it was.

SPEAKER_00 16:13

It was one of our contests. It was like a holiday contest. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:16

And so uh by the way, I'll I'll just say it. I'm I'm obviously supportive of my neighbors at the Flat Rock Bakery, but guess what? There's room for everybody here. Right. And so when I won the my father was my father doesn't drink coffee.

SPEAKER_00 16:29

Right.

Henderson County Numbers And Selling Secrets

Strategy Matters And How To Reach Us

SPEAKER_01 16:30

And uh his father, his father drank coffee and and uh I think it's okay to say this. He his father drank coffee and smoked cigarettes, and my dad saw that growing up and he said, I'll never drink coffee or smoke cigarettes. Uh-huh. So he never you know drank or smoked coffee. Right. You know, and so it when he was so for Christmas, he gave me that the the coffee club cup from Sharewell. From Sharewell, and and I've it's such a gift, and and it's an amazing and you can still buy it, I think. They still have this. Absolutely. And you can go buy the coffee club cup, and it's a dollar for a cup of coffee. Yeah. And it's and it's amazing. And it's great coffee. It's amazing coffee. So I I uh and you know it's funny going stopping by whether you stop by at the bakery or whether you stop by at Sherwell, it's really the routine of you know, you see the regulars, you see the the baristas, you have the conversations. And I can't tell you how many, how many conversations happen where people are like they you ask, what do you do? What do you do? Where are you from? And like I can't tell you how many clients and just uh out of conversations people are like, oh well, we're thinking of moving here, or we're thinking of selling here. These conversations happen in the grocery store line, they happen at the gas station, they happen at the the coffee shop. Yep, yep. And it's the community, it's the network, and and I I and obviously having our office next to the bakery. Yeah, you're right in the mix. Well you run into people of course in like in that's why you're there. It's the community. Yeah. And you run into people. I I have yet to go into either of these establishments, and and it and you always run into somebody, or you meet somebody new. So yeah, but so I do enjoy my my uh the the the village coffee club cup from Sharewell. So thanks for that. It's again, it's a great if you have not stopped by any of those establishments, uh, you should support local. The coffee's amazing, and uh our our friends are doing a great job there. So you know what? Uh you know, it's so again, it's it's it's I say this all the time. It happens to be houses that we're selling, but it's relationships and it's advocating, it's facilitating, and it's navigating. And and so uh, you know, we we are helping and serving our clients, and it happens to be through real estate. I mean, we're really good at it, and I if I had to tell you what I love the most, it's it's working with our clients and helping our clients and becoming uh we we don't come we I mean we're super friendly, but and then some of my clients, I mean, I had dinner recently last week with clients that I helped, I think some 13 years ago. Again, it's it's great to connect and stay in touch, and it's it's not about the the real estate's the catalyst for the the conversation and ultimately serving and helping our clients through that. So I told you I'd jump into some numbers, what's happening? So through the end of April, the statistics in Henderson County, let's dive into some of these numbers. Through the end of April, there's actually been a 7% increase of new listings year to date this year versus year to date, or when I say through the end of April versus end of April last year, 7% increase in new listings. This is amazing. There's been almost a 13% increase in pending sales. The number of homes closed is up 1.2% through the end of April this year versus the end of April last year. And guess what? Prices are holding. They're basically flat. I mean, the average sales price is 0.1% different. 0.1% different is the average sales price. I mean, negligible. Uh the also the other fascinating thing is there is there you are seeing sellers come off their prices. The percentage of the list price received compared to the sold price, it's it's at 93.3%. So sellers are coming off their prices. Uh, that is something to make an observation. The other significant observation is days on market. The days on the market, uh, from a listing going live to it actually closing, that number through the end of April is 126 days. It's just taking longer for homes to sell. Days on the market until it's going under contract, that's up 28%. That's at 81 days. So again, these these are things that we observe. The the the market is, guess what though? It's still moving. I mean, we're averaging some 135 single-family homes a month selling over the last 12 months in Henderson County. Uh, that doesn't include condos or townhomes or land, that's just a single-family homes. Uh, total units, 576 active available homes in the market, so some four months supply. The market's still moving. Again, it is the last two years, it is it has been uh there's been about a hundred more homes sold the previous 12 months than the the the current 12 months versus the previous 12 months. Uh year to date, it's it's it's it's really uh the number of homes sold is is really flat, which is fine. The the point is it doesn't the the market's still moving. The sky is not falling. The economy is the economy, the interest rates are the interest rates, and yeah, it does matter. I mean it does matter how you um, you know, can you we are again the the the secret really uh uh you know there's secrets to selling no matter what the market and and I think uh you can see this on our most recent blog posts. You can go to George Real Estate Groupradio.com, George Realestate Groupradio.com. You can see all of our blogs, you can see our our podcasts there. But there's an article that we have there called The Secret to Selling Fast, No Matter the Market, and I think it hits on something really important, you know, to think about if you're gonna sell your home. And so when a seller puts their house in the market, they don't just want to sell, they want to sell for the most amount of money, they want to sell it quickly, they want strong activity activity, they want confidence they made the right decision. And as I just mentioned, not only locally, but nationally, homes are taking a little longer to sell than they were a few years ago. Across the country, the typical home is taking about 52 days from listing to close. Now that's interesting because I just share with you our number is at a hundred, it's at a hundred days. Um, and so a hundred and twenty-six days year to date this year. So that's longer than the national market, and obviously that's a lot slower than the frenzy we experienced a few years ago. And so again, the market's not frozen, it's just more balanced, and there's an important distinction with that. The a normalized market doesn't mean homes aren't selling, it just means buyers have become more thoughtful, they're comparing options, they have uh they're looking closely at the condition, the price, the location, the photos, the updates, the the layout, and overall value. And homes that are priced well and presented well are still moving. So here's the thing homes, this is all about how you position your home and how you price it. And when you price it and position it correctly, homes are moving still within a few weeks, within 30 days, and that's the secret. It's not about just the market, and it's not about the interest rates, and it's not just about whether there's more listings than last year. It comes down to strategy. So home that's clean, prepared, staged, photographed, uh, professionally, priced realistically, and marketed properly is gonna stand out. And a home that's overpriced, underprepared, or presented poorly is gonna sit or he might not even sell. And that's where a lot of sellers sometimes get tripped up. They remember hearing stories from a few years ago where a house went live on a Friday and had 10 offers by Sunday, and but that was not a normal market, it was an inventory starved, ultra-low interest rate, pandemic-fueled market. And so today's market's different. Buyers still want homes. Let me say that again. Buyers still want homes, homes are still selling, but they're more cautious because monthly payments are higher, and they're asking, does this home feel worth it? And if the answer is yes, they'll still act on it. And if the answer is no, they're gonna wait. And so for sellers, you know, how do we how sellers are asking themselves, how do I make sure my home is the one chosen by the buyers? And so it's really three parts it's price, price matters more than ever. You don't want to chase the market, you want to meet the market. Again, the first two or three weeks of a listing is the most serious, the most serious buyers are watching. And if they've been waiting and looking for the home just like yours, if it's priced too high right out the gate, you're gonna lose that early momentum. And once a home starts accumulating days in the market, the buyers begin wondering what's wrong with it. And then the second component is presentation matters, and it doesn't always mean major renovations, sometimes it means decluttering, freshening up the landscaping, touching up paint, improving lighting, maybe it's a deep clean, and making sure the home's staged and photographed beautifully. And so buyers often are making their first decision from their phone as they're looking on their app and the internet. And if the photos don't capture the attempt at their attention, they may never schedule the showing. And then it's the third is the condition and the expectations. You know, buyers in North Carolina, buyers can walk away for any reason or no reason. It's a it's an as-is contract. But buyers today are paying attention to repairs, they're looking at roofs, the HVAC systems, the crawl spaces, the floors, the the kitchens, the bathrooms, and the overall maintenance. And a move-in ready home has a real advantage because buyers are already stretched by the higher payments. And so they may not have the appetite or the cash to take on immediate projects. And so there's an article uh by a Zillow economist uh that said the cream of the crop is still selling fast, even in markets that have slowed considerably. And that's a powerful line because it reminds us even in when the broader market cools, the best position homes continue to perform. And so that's true here in our local market. I'll say it again. Buyers are still active, buyers are still wanting to buy homes, people want to live here. We have people retiring from all over the country, moving to the mountains. Families are relocating, they're bringing their jobs with them, or they're starting companies, or they're relocating here for work. Also, people are downsizing. Of course, you got upsizers, or you got the I love the term right sizing. It's about lifestyle, community, and quality of life. So they're not just buying anything at any price, and they're choosing the home that feels like the best value. And it doesn't always mean the cheapest home. It's it's about the price, the condition, the location, and the presentation in the buyer's mind. And so it is important to price it uh appropriately and to position it in the market. And it's not about the national headlines that say the the the sky is falling or there's there the foreclosures are uh increasing, or you know, again, it's this again, it's preparing, it's positioning your home, and and again, it's it's here's the thing it's the mistake is assuming the market's gonna do the work. But that that may have happened a few years ago, but it's strategy that matters today, and having an agent that can help you, and at the George Real Estate Group, positioning, looking at the data, walking through the home, we take a multiple-step approach, and it's the preparation, it's comparing your home to the competition and building a plan that's gonna help your home stand out, along with our our our incredible intentional marketing, the professional luxury photography we're we're bringing out and selling fast or just selling at all or selling for the highest price possible is not about luck, and it's about working together with an agent that's in your corner, advising you, advocating for you, and helping you navigate through the market. So, in any market, hot or cold, or sometimes in between, we can get the results done, and we are getting the results done regardless. So give us a call, 828-393-0134. We're here every Monday morning bringing you positive news about your real estate market. We're so thankful to be here. If we can help you in any way, give us a call. We are having so much fun and we love serving our community through real estate. Give us a call. Have a great day, and we'll see you next Monday.

SPEAKER_00 29:39

The George Real Estate Group has the experience of selling over twelve hundred properties and serving over twelve hundred 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 and 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 WTCQ.com.

SPEAKER_01 30:32

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.