Blog
Hurricane Florence Missed Us!
Although Hurricane Florence did an untold amount of damage in Eastern North Carolina, and in Coastal South Carolina, we missed the brunt of the storm here in the Central Mountains of North Carolina. At my home we had about 3.5 inches of steady rain from very early Sunday morning through Sunday evening. Although winds were forecast to be about 30 mph here, we had almost no wind. I am very thankful for being spared from this storm, but feeling much sorrow for those down east who lost their homes, and in some cases their lives to the storm. As flood waters continue to rise from river flooding, many residents face a lot of demolition and rebuilding of their homes. Thank goodness for the National Flood Insurance program. I certainly hope that all homeowners who lost homes to the flood waters had this insurance in effect, although I know that many did not. The National Flood Insurance Program provides affordable insurance to property owners, renters, and businesses. They also encourage communities to adopt and enforce floodplain management regulations. These efforts mitigate the effects of flooding on new and improved structures. Many homeowners don’t realize that their homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage. The only way to cover flood damage is through the National Flood Insurance Program.
Wherever you are, I hope that you make it safely through this hurricane season and you and your families remain “high and dry”.
Is One Picture Worth a Thousand Words?
Recently I have had more than one buyer of a property tell me ” I saw those pictures on the listing and I just fell in love.” It’s very common for home buyers to express this emotion. Most buyers are not very logical when making a home buying decision. In fact, they tend to be very emotional. As one buyer expressed it “This house just sang to me!”
Most buyers today shop for their homes on the internet. Many buyers have narrowed the search to two or three homes before they contact a Realtor to set up showings. So based on most buyers looking at the internet to begin their home search, what is the most important marketing tool for a seller when marketing their home? Pictures of course! If pictures look dark and dreary, your home looks dark and dreary to a prospective buyer. Our MLS now permits up to 36 pictures with each listing, and a virtual tour also. Here at Mountain Dreams Realty, we do professional photos on every listing, and virtual tours on most listings. Our photographer uses state of the art cameras and wide-angle lenses to make each room of your home look its absolute best. Our virtual tours are downloaded to Realtor.com and other sites so prospective buyers can see photos in full-screen width, as opposed to small photos. Our listing photos are distributed by our MLS to over 900 real estate websites, giving your home the widest possible exposure to buyers.
So, you decide. If one picture is worth a thousand words, how much are 36 pictures and a virtual tour worth in the age of internet shopping?
Why Do I Love Western NC?
Occasionally clients ask me “Why do you love this area so much?” First of all, I think these mountains are in my soul. My mother and father were born in the mountains of Virginia, along the New River, just across the NC line, as were many generations of my family before. I enjoy hiking, observing nature, fly fishing, photography and riding on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I also like to eat. Asheville has many wonderful restaurants, with almost all ethnic varieties represented. Asheville also has over 40 regional and national breweries that offer an endless variety of beers. Asheville has been named “Beer City USA”. Asheville also has a shortage of homes in the area, and home prices have risen considerably. Living in Haywood County provides lower home prices than Asheville, and less taxes than Asheville, while still being close enough to Asheville to enjoy what Asheville offers. My wife and I went to a Lyle Lovett concert under the stars at Biltmore House just last weekend.
Enough of my rambling. Here in Haywood County we have 4 roads that access the Blue Ridge Parkway. We have 2 National Wilderness Areas (Shining Rock and Middle Prong). We have Pisgah National Forest and the Smoky Mountains National Park. In winter we have the Cataloochee Ski Area. We are only a short, beautiful drive from Asheville, or from Harrah’s Casino in Cherokee. Waynesville is a very vibrant and active small town with numerous restaurants and craft breweries. We have an award-winning regional theater, the Haywood Arts Regional Theater (HART). Haywood County also has four 18 hole golf courses, and one 27 hole golf course.
I could keep going on about why I love this area. Come on up and see for yourself!
Danny
Home Sales Continue to be Strong
Home sales in Waynesville, Maggie Valley, and all of Haywood County continue to be strong. However, inventories are getting thin in the lower price ranges. We really need more listings in the $100,000 to $300,000 range. If you are considering listing your home for sale, now is a great time. Very often October is one of our stronger months for sales as visitors come to see the leaves changing. We have had a lot of rain this year so the annual leaf show should be very good. (No guarantees, the prediction for the leaf show is strictly my forecast!)
If you are looking to buy a home, we are very eager to help you through the process. Our philosophy is simple. We want to make the process extremely transparent and easy for buyers. Remember, the seller pays all the commissions, so our service to you is totally paid by the seller. We do not charge a retainer fee as some agencies do. The only issue we are experiencing with our buyer clients is timing. If you find the house you want— don’t wait! Make that offer as quickly as possible. I can’t tell you how many times I have found that perfect home for a buyer client, but the home went under contract to another buyer while my buyer client was making up their mind about an offer. Remember the old saying “If you snooze– you loose!” That saying really rings true in this market.
Let us know if we can help you get your home on the market. We can do a market analysis to help you find the correct price to market your home. This is a free service to you. If you are looking for a home in the mountains to purchase, let us help you find that perfect home or cabin. We will be here waiting to serve you.
The Inventory of Homes for Sale Continues to Shrink
I looked at few numbers today in our Multiple Listings Service (MLS). Our inventory of homes for sale in Haywood County in the 0- $400,000 range is down to 345 homes. There were 84 homes sold in the past month in this price range. That means we now have only a 4.1 months supply of homes. Just a little over 3 years ago we had over a 36 month supply homes in the 0 to $400,000 price range. That equates to almost 9 times the supply we now have on the market. We have definitely gone from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market.
In the 0- $300,000 range, our supply is even lower with only a 3 month supply of homes for sale. (245 homes on the market with 81 sold in the last 31 days)
As the price range gets lower, the numbers shrink again. In the 0-$200,00 price range, we have only 107 homes on the market and have sold 41 in the last 31 days. That equates to a 2.6 month supply of homes in this price range.
If you have a home here, and have considered selling, now is a GREAT TIME TO SELL! Give us a call and we will do a market analysis on your home to see how much your home is worth in this current seller’s market.
If you are a buyer, and are looking for a home here, let us know. We can create a custom “Portal” for you within our MLS. As new homes come on the market matching your search criteria, you will receive an email link to the MLS information on those homes. As a buyer in a seller’s market, acting swiftly when you see that “perfect home” is very important, as listings can come on the market today, and be sold tomorrow.
Business Remains Brisk Here in the Valley
It has certainly been a bit on the warm side, both weather-wise and business-wise here in Maggie Valley. Visitor counts are definitely up, as the plank sidewalk in front of our office seems to have a continual flow of shoppers. It has been extremely warm in other areas of the state and in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. I would surmise that many of our visitors are escaping the extreme heat at home.
If you didn’t already know, Ghost Town in the Sky amusement park and Village has been under contract for a few months now. It seems a group of investors are acquiring the property with plans to reopen Ghost Town. This has been good news for Maggie Valley, as everyone here is convinced the reopening of Ghost Town will bring more visitors and tourists to the area, reminiscent of the “olden days”.
As I have indicated in previous posts, inventories of homes for sale have come down considerably, moving the market from a buyers’ market to a sellers’ market. Anytime inventories get tight, the old law of supply and demand seems to raise prices, and prices have definitely increased.
I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July. There were several fireworks shows here to celebrate the 4th, and the weather last evening was perfect for enjoying the fireworks. If you haven’t been here for a while, come on up, and stop in to say “Hello” while you’re here.
Area Travel News
I thought I would do a PSA (Public Service Announcement) this time around. Below are some travel updates from the Haywood County TDA. I hope this helps a bit with your travel plans. We will see you in the mountains!
NEWS
Frankies Italian Trattoria in Maggie Valley Closed June 14 – 26.
Chimney Rock State Park Reopened.
Check this website https://www.ncparks.gov/chimney-rock-state-park for park updates. The Hickory Nut Falls Trail remains closed. The Park’s elevator is still under construction and out of service. Visitors will have to park in the Meadows and take a shuttle or hike the Four Seasons trail to the top of the Park.
Check Highway Updates at https://twitter.com/NCDOT_Westmtn?lang=en https://twitter.com/NCDOT_I40?lang=en https://twitter.com/NCDOT_Asheville?lang=en
Paving project to begin on the Blue Ridge Parkway that will affect Haywood County.
- Check the Parkway’s Real Time Road Map for regularly updated work zone information.
- Expect delays while work takes place Monday through Friday. Lane closures will be managed with flagging operations and a pilot car to lead traffic through work zones.
- Observe reduced speed limits in work zones, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; to allow for proper curing of pavement.
- Anticipate loose gravel on the road surface during the cure time for the pavement.
- Bicyclists and motorcyclists are asked to exercise extreme caution as loose gravel on top of the paved surface, during the required curing time, could result in loss of control.
- When circumstances prevent bicyclists from keeping up with traffic, dismount and move off of the road to let the oncoming traffic pass when traveling through a single lane closure.
Great Smoky Mountain National Park: Temporary Closures and Construction Projects
Follow road status at https://twitter.com/smokiesroadsnps or subscribe to receive text message updates by texting “follow smokiesroadsnps” to 40404.
- Clingmans Dome Tower reopens June 15
- Newfound Gap Road, Laurel Creek Road, Townsend Entrance Road, Tremont Road – Single lane closures and traffic delays for paving project weekdays March 12-June 16, 2018 and again August 16-September 20, 2018.
- Foothills Parkway (unfinished section) – the entire unfinished section between Walland and Wears Valley is now closed to all public use until 2018 due to construction.
Cave and Mine Shaft Closure
- Entry into all caves and mine shafts is prohibited due to concerns about the spread of white nose syndrome among bats.
How Does a Market Change So Quickly?
I was talking with another Realtor today about our local real estate market. It seems like only a few short months ago it was a buyers’ market. In other words, a buyer could safely assume that they could make an offer on a home 10 or 12 percent under the listing price, and not offend the seller. Some homes were even sold with steeper discounts than 12 percent. In that market we had more sellers offering their homes for sale than we had buyers. Sellers were forced to take a little less than market price for their home, or risk the buyer just moving on and making an offer on another home.
Today we are definitely in a sellers’ market. The inventory of homes on the market has come way down, but we still have a good supply of buyers wanting to purchase homes. Now it’s the buyer who must step up to the plate. Especially in the under $400,000 market, our supply of homes is getting tight. We have had buyers make offers on homes only to discover the home is already under contract, or if not under contract, there are other offers on the same home.
I just ran the numbers in MLS. In Haywood County, we have only 347 homes on the market priced $400,000 and under. In the last 31 days, 82 homes in this price range have sold in Haywood County. That means we only have a 4.23 month supply of homes for sale in this price range. 3 years ago, we had almost a 3 year, or 36 month supply of homes on the market.
Ultimately, real estate is a supply and demand market. We have the demand, but not the supply. This has led to an increase in home prices. Also driving the consumer demand is interest rates. According to the Federal Reserve, we may have 2 or 3 more increases in the prime rate this year. Buyers are anxious to lock in lower rates, knowing the longer they wait, the higher the interest rates, and in turn, the higher their house payments.
So what does all this mean? If you are considering buying, do it quickly! If you are considering selling, it’s a great time to do so.
Come on down, we’ll leave the open sign on for you.
More From “The Art of Downsizing”
Your Garage Might Be a
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More From “The Art of Downsizing”
Downsizing? Ditch These 10 ItemsIt’s just stuff! Maybe so, but sorting through it all and quieting the emotions that downsizing stirs up is difficult—whether you’re going through your own or your parents’ home. This indispensable workbook provides valuable advice and how-to checklists along with a place to reflect, record, and retain an important piece of family history, even as you let go.
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