Blog
Home Prices Continue to Rise
I would like to take a moment to talk about home prices in our area. I am looking at our Canopy MLS Local Market Update for October 2021. (The November update is not published yet.) In October 2020 we had 156 new listings in Haywood County. This year we only had 145 new listings. In October 2020 our inventory of homes for sale was 302. This year our inventory of homes for sale dropped to 206. That is almost 32% fewer homes on the market. This shortage of homes for sale has driven prices upwards. In October 2020 the median sale price of homes sold was $257,000. This year the median price of homes sold in October had risen to $325,000, a 26.5% increase in one year. Last year the average list price on homes on the market was $353,292. This year the average list price in October had risen to $429,042.
The above numbers reflect the fact that home prices are simply based on supply and demand. When demand is strong and supply is dwindling, prices will invariably rise. I have clients who keep asking where are home prices headed? In my opinion, home prices will continue to rise as long as supply remains tight. I would hope that prices rise at a more reasonable rate next year. Of course, there are many factors at play here. The pandemic, politics, war, natural disasters and other unknows cannot be predicted.
Maggie Valley is Growing!
According to the 2020 Census numbers released on August 12, 2021, Maggie Valley had a larger population gain than any other municipality in Haywood County. From 2010 to 2020 Maggie Valley went from 1150 residents to 1687 residents, for a gain of 537 residents or a 47% population gain. To put that in perspective: Canton had a 4.6% population gain, Clyde had an 11.9% gain, and Waynesville gained only 2.7%. Maggie Valley actually had more new residents than Canton and Waynesville combined.
Based on the new tax appraisals, Maggie Valley was able to lower the tax rate from $0.43 per hundred dollars of appraised value to $0.40. This make the tax rate for the town of Maggie Valley the lowest of any municipality in Haywood County.
Maggie Valley will celebrate its 50th year as an incorporated municipality in 2024. It would be great to see our population up to 2000 residents by then. Based on the current rate of increase, this seems entirely possible.
One other bragging right of Maggie Valley- the general fund of Maggie Valley remains completely debt free for a second year.
Thinking of moving to the mountains? Come on up to Maggie Valley; we’ll keep the door open for you.
Millennials to Keep Housing Strong for Years to Come
Avoiding Foundation Problems
Preparing to Finance a Home
Especially for first-time home buyers, obtaining a mortgage to finance your home purchase can be a daunting task. Below is some information from the National Association of Realtor® with tips to help you prepare for getting a mortgage.
HOW TO
Prepare to Finance a Home
Develop a budget: Instead of telling yourself what you’d like to spend, use receipts to create a budget that reflects your actual habits over the last several months. This approach will better factor in unexpected expenses alongside more predictable costs such as utility bills and groceries. You’ll probably spot some ways to save, whether it’s cutting out that morning trip to Starbucks or eating dinner at home more often.
Reduce debt: Lenders generally look for a debt load of no more than 36 percent of income. This figure includes your mortgage, which typically ranges between 25 and 28 percent of your net household income. So you need to get monthly payments on the rest of your installment debt—car loans, student loans, and revolving balances on credit cards — down to between 8 and 10 percent of your net monthly income.
Increase your income: Now’s the time to ask for a raise! If that’s not an option, you may want to consider taking on a second job to get your income at a level high enough to qualify for the home you want.
Save for a down payment: Designate a certain amount of money each month to put away in your savings account. Although it’s possible to get a mortgage with 5 percent down or less, you can usually get a better rate if you put down a larger percentage of the total purchase. Aim for a 20 percent down payment.
Keep your job: While you don’t need to be in the same job forever to qualify for a home loan, having a job for less than two years may mean you have to pay a higher interest rate.
Establish a good credit history: Get a credit card and make payments by the due date. Do the same for all your other bills, too. Pay off entire balances as promptly as possible.
Start saving: Do you have enough money saved to qualify for a mortgage and cover your down payment? Ideally, you should have 20 percent of the purchase price saved as a down payment. Also, don’t forget to factor in closing costs, which can average between 2 and 7 percent of the home price.
Obtain a copy of your credit report: Make sure it is accurate and correct any errors immediately. A credit report provides a history of your credit, bad debts, and any late payments.
Decide what kind of mortgage you can afford: Generally, you want to look for homes valued between two and three times your gross income, but a financing professional can help determine the size of loan for which you’ll qualify. Find out what kind of mortgage (30-year or 15-year? Fixed or adjustable rate?) is best for you. Also, gather the documentation a lender will need to preapprove you for a loan, such as W-2s, pay stub copies, account numbers, and copies of two to four months of bank or credit union statements. Don’t forget property taxes, insurance, maintenance, utilities, and association fees, if applicable.
Seek down payment help: Check with your state and local government to find out whether you qualify for special mortgage or down payment assistance programs. If you have an IRA account, you can use the money you’ve saved to buy your first home without paying a penalty for early withdrawal.
Realtors® Donate $400,000 for Flood Relief
The Board of Directors of Canopy Realtor® Association and Canopy MLS voted to donate a total of $400,000 in funds to support Haywood County flood relief efforts. ($200,000 from Canopy Realtor® Association and $200,000 from Canopy MLS) As many of you know, residents in the south end of Haywood County (Cruso, Bethel, and Lake Logan areas) were hard hit by the flooding from Tropical Storm Fred.
In making the donation announcement, David Kennedy, Canopy Realtor® Association/ Canopy MLS president said “We care deeply about the people and communities that we serve and now, more than ever, our neighbors who have lost their homes and so much more need our assistance.”
Seventy-five percent, amounting to $300,000 in funding, will go to the United Way of Haywood County, and twenty-five percent, amounting to $100,000, will be donated to Mountain Projects, for a total of $400,000.
Celesa Willet, executive director of United Way of Haywood County said “We sincerely appreciate this generous donation. This gift will meet the immediate need to help people get back into their homes. This will help with 20 houses. When you get a call like that, it really hits you. The fact they have confidence in United Way to make it work is very humbling. We’re here for the long haul.”
We have experienced many gifts coming into the county to help our flood victims. Plus many hours of volunteer help cleaning debris and feeding those who were flooded. Thank you one and all for the generous donations of money, food, cleaning items and time donated. It was truly amazing to see everyone come together to help. We live in a wonderful area of beautiful scenery and beautiful people.
Haywood County Flood Relief
As many of you know, we had some terrible flash flooding in the Cruso, Lake Logan, Bethel and Canton areas of the county from the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred. It seems the storm caused a literal cloudburst in the Cold Mountain, Shining Rock areas which ran downstream and caused severe damage along the forks of the Pigeon River. Six residents lost their lives, many lost their homes and cars. Structural damage to roads and bridges was severe. The flooding actually damaged many homes and structures not typically associated with being in a flood-prone area.
So many volunteers have come forward to help donating their time, labor, and money. Many churches and community service organizations have gone above and beyond to help. Our own Canopy Realtors® Association and our Canopy MLS have jointly donated $400,000 for flood relief helping those in need.
It has been amazing to see everyone come together to help those in need. We truly live in an area of not just natural beauty, but of beautiful people also.
The State of Our Market
This week I will briefly discuss some market statistics regarding the sale of homes in Haywood County, NC. (The Waynesville, Maggie Valley, Clyde and Canton areas)
According to Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors®, vacation home sales rose 57% this year compared to 2020. This was attributed to flexible work options offered by many companies allowing employees to work from home. A second reason may be urban residents fleeing urban areas due to the pandemic. Whatever the reason, shortly after the pandemic began, buyers began buying vacation properties. Of course our beautiful mountains brought lots of buyers our way; many purchasing with cash.
As a result of this influx of buyers two things happened. Prices went up and the inventory of available homes went down. The county-wide average sales price in July 2020 was $283,008. By July 2021 this average sales price had jumped to $333,394.
Our inventory of homes for sale in July 2020 was 369. By July 2021 our inventory of homes for sale dropped to 241.
A four to five months supply of homes is considered an average or neutral market. In July 2020 we only had a 3.7 months supply of homes on the market. By July 2021 this had dropped to a 1.9 months supply of homes on the market. This is considered a “sellers’ market”, which explains the almost 18% increase in the average home sales price from July 2020 to July 2021.
If you are looking for that special vacation home, full-time home, or summer home, come on up to the mountains and let us help you. If you don’t want to purchase a home right now, give some consideration to purchasing a home site to build on. Prices for home sites and acreage have not increased like home prices. Now may be the opportune time to purchase that home site, and build later. We’ll be here waiting for you.
Meet Brittany Heathman
Many of you know Paul Heathman, who owns Mountain Dreams Realty. Brittany is Paul’s daughter and one of our newest agents. Brittany is a natural for our office as she has “real estate in her blood”. She does a very informative mailer weekly. For this week’s blog, I have posted a link below to her most recent email titled Smoky Mountain Market Report. Please enjoy!
National Real Estate Trends
I thought I would take a moment to touch on some of the real estate trends that are occurring not just here in the mountains, but all across our nation.
Remote workers (or digital workers as some are called) are renting AirBnB or VRBO vacation homes so they can still work while on vacation. Remote computer work and meetings on Zoom gives these workers the flexibility to work from any location. This seems to have been one of the reasons vacation rentals have been and continue to be so popular.
The median price of homes sold nationally has reached $341,600. This represents a new record price for the median home sale.
8 of 10 homes sold in the last 6 months sold at or above the listing price. Offers below the listing price are unlikely to be competitive in the current market.
Homeowners saw a nearly 20% jump in their home equity in the last 12 months. (Equity is what your home is worth on the current market minus any mortgage you may have.)
Lumber prices have increased more than 200% over the last 12 months. Some good news though, futures prices for July deliveries dropped to $1158 per thousand board feet. That is down 30% from the record high of $1711 per thousand board feet on May 10th. Hopefully builders will begin building new homes again, as many builders have been waiting on material prices to decrease.
Our homes are getting older. The average age of a home in this nation has risen to almost 40 years. This is due to the decreases in new home sales in the last few years.
If you are looking for a home in the mountains, or that special piece of land for your dream home, please let us know. We can help.