Why Homes Keep Selling Even When Headlines Scream Otherwise

Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hello, friends.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
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production of our live weeklyradio shows hosted on multiple
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The George Real Estate Groupserves Western North Carolina
and Upstate South Carolina, andit is a privilege to share
positive news about our localreal estate market and

(00:22):
community.
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And of course, if you have anyreal estate questions or if we
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Visit us at George Real EstateGroup Radio.com for more
information.
Good morning and welcome to theGeorge Real Estate Group live
radio broadcast here in thequeue every Monday morning.

(00:45):
Share with you positive newsabout your local real estate
market and community.
And this is uh the show beforeChristmas.
Can you believe Christmas isaround the corner?
I know uh we were doing a lot ofuh you know getting ready,
wrapping presents, uh, somelast-minute Christmas shopping,
and uh just so much to begrateful for and thankful for.
And thank you for tuning in thismorning.

(01:06):
If you're tuning in for thefirst time ever, the George Real
Estate Group is located in FlatRock.
We serve all of Western NorthCarolina and the upstate South
Carolina.
If you're thinking of buying,selling, or investing in real
estate, or even a career in realestate, we'd love to have the
conversation with you.
We can uh you know talk aboutwhat's the market's doing.
We talk about, you know, it's sofascinating the the real estate

(01:28):
career.
We can and we might even jumpinto some of that this morning
in context of, you know, there'sa lot of you know, you know, the
news is in the everybody has anopinion, the the the real estate
market's crashing, it's youknow, the the sky is falling,
all these things, you know, yougotta be careful with these
sensational uh headlines youmight see.
And and we'll actually dive intowhat you know the market's doing

(01:50):
here this morning and um andwe'll sh put some clarity on the
fact that I mean the market isthe market and the interest
rates are the interest rates,but we're we see every single
day there's people still buyingand selling.
You know, certainly does themarket uh evolve, does it cycle,
and yes, it does, and and weknow real estate happens around
life.
It could be a really positivereason why you're buying or

(02:12):
selling, it could be a verychallenging reason, whatever it
might be.
But you know, at the George RealEstate Group, we have the the
team and the staff and theagents.
We have incredible, just we'reit's a privilege and honor to
serve the community through realestate.
You can find us online atrealestatebygreg.com.
You can also call us directly at828-3930134, 828-393-0134.

(02:35):
Uh follow us on Facebook andInstagram.
We also podcast all of our radioshows.
You can find this on yourfavorite podcast platform, but
we'd love to connect with you.
Uh we're located there in FlatRock.
Stop by.
We have our great friends thereat the Wrinkled Egg, the Flat
Rock Bakery, Hubba HubbaBarbecue, Campfire Grill,
Hubaloo, all those great localand independent uh real estate.

(02:56):
Uh, you know, we're we'regrateful to serve the community.
And again, we have a local andindependent real estate group.
You know, it's so interestingthe perspective on the market,
just how it evolves.
You know, the the market, youknow, you look at the history of
the market and and where it'sit's where it's it's gone.
And again, looking at it, here'sthis the in the most recent

(03:20):
housing market stats, you know,existing home sales were about
4.13 in November 2025, and it'sa slight increase from October,
but down about 1% from 2024.
So inventory levels remain nearhistoric lows.

(03:40):
The median sales price ofexisting homes hit a record of
around 409.
This across the United States.
You know, this is interesting.
Uh the the prices rose acrossthe United States between
quarter three and quarter three.
If you compare the quarterthree, twenty twenty-four and
quarter three, twentytwenty-five, the FAFH housing

(04:03):
price index indicates homeprices rose 2.2% across the
country.
Here locally, we had about a 2%drop.
But the but overall, inventorylevels have been rising for the
past two years.
The total unsold inventoryremains tight versus

(04:24):
pre-pandemic norms.
New listings recently declinedas a lot of sellers stepped back
with uh you know just theseasonality of it, waiting.
Again, everybody's you know hasa different game plan, whatnot.
But the other thing is theinterest rates.
The 30-year fixed mortgage rateaveraged 6.21% uh this December,

(04:46):
down from 6.72 a year ago.
But for much of this year, rateshovered around the near high 6%
range with late-year declines.
First-time home buyers remainlimited by affordability, uh,
only making up only about 30% ofthe purchases in November 2025.

(05:07):
Also, mortgage payments is ashare of median household income
dropped to 32.6%, the lowestsince 2022.
So here, let's put someperspective on things.
Just in the last you knowdecade, in 2017, the median U.S.
sales price was around$199.

(05:29):
In 2025, typical prices havedoubled.
Uh uh in our area.
So, you know, our our averageour average uh single-family
home prices in the 540s, uh, ourmedian price is in the five is
in the 450s.
And this is just again, puttingperspective on things.

(05:49):
Another fascinating thing is asof 2025, U.S.
homeowners collectively holdover 35 trillion in equity,
reflecting decades of pricegrowth.
Um, but again, it's the lowinventory levels.
We don't no one can no one has acrystal ball as what's going to
happen, but you know, they'reanticipating modest price
growth, slower rates, slower,lower, low, slightly lower

(06:14):
rates, and again, they'reanticipating home prices to
increase and and appreciate.
So, you know, overall, herehere's where this matters.
And the thing is, there's alwaysa cycle.
There's always everybody, youknow, has to decide in the
context of their personal story,their personal home, you know,

(06:36):
even in the challenges of thecycles of the real estate
market, is you know, what is theopportunity?
Maybe it's an opportunity tosell for you, maybe it's an
opportunity to buy for you.
Uh, you know, again, what is theopportunity in in the market?
This is this is where here's anormal market was about five to
five point five million existinghomes sold per year.

(06:59):
That that is considered a normalmarket historically over the 25
past 25 years.
And then we had, you know, inthe early 2000s, those sales
climbed to 6.5 to 7 million.
You know, there's a lot ofspeculation.
There was the joke if you couldfog a mirror, you could get a
loan.
Uh people uh, you know, peopletook advantage of that that

(07:21):
market.
We had the correction, you know,in the 2006 to 2011, you know,
the that's where the sales wentdown to 4 million and below.
You know, 2008 didn't kill realestate, it it reset it.
And so it exposed what was goingon in the market, and and then

(07:42):
we've had this recovery from2012 to 2019.
We've been in this stabilizationof 5 to 5.5 million a year.
This is where you know theconsistency was mattering, and
and then we had the anomaly 2020to 2021.
This is where rates went belowthree percent.

(08:03):
Let's be clear, this was notnormal.
It was not normal, and then wehad another reset, rates jumped,
sales went back down to fourmillion a year, 2022 to 2024.
In 2023, by the way, in 2024 isthe lowest sales volume of homes
in the United States since themid-90s.

(08:25):
It didn't just uh people thoughtthe market uh disappeared, but
it it actually compressed.
And so, you know, we whenthere's four million homes
selling instead of six millionhomes selling the market shifts.
This is where there'sopportunities for people.
This is where, you know, andmaybe it makes sense for you to

(08:47):
take advantage of it.
This is where you know the thething is being are you prepared
for the shift in the market?
Are you being hopeful?
I mean, the these are where themarket's always evolving.
Markets go up, markets go down.
Home, here's something toremember homes never stop
selling.

(09:07):
And so we adjust, we uh have ourskills that we can navigate
through in our experience.
We can navigate through thesetype of these types of markets.
And so again, when we do talkcertainly, you hear me share
about the the you know, well,how many homes have sold in the

(09:27):
last month, how many homes havesold in the in the past year?
But when we step back and lookat a bigger picture, there's
always cycles.
And the and I've shared thismany times.
Housing always happens, andhousing happens around life.
It could be a really positivereason why people are buying or
selling, or it could be a reallychallenging reason, but it's

(09:48):
always cycling.
There's an up, there's a down,there's a reset, there's a
recover, and then it repeats.
And so every time the cycleturns, we act surprised, as if
history didn't leave us a map.
And so it's interesting thatthis is where a lot of real
estate agents have gotten out ofthe business.

(10:08):
Um, you know, you might thinkthat, you know, this is where
you know you can get when youimprove your skills, when you
study the market, you know, thethis is where you see a lot of
agents that are, you know, thisis casual, or maybe it's a side
hustle, there's the hobbyist.
And you know who's left in thismarket?
And this is my 20th year.

(10:30):
You know what's left isprofessionals.
And so when the number of homesgo down, the number of homes are
reduced, the act is sofascinating.
And I saw this in my own careerin 208, 2010, 11, and 12, when
the market uh there's adownturn, there's actually an

(10:50):
opportunity.
We ended up helping more people.
The and it's not that the thehomes just came to a screeching
halt.
The fewer people were in it,working it.
And so this is where we had anopportunity, and this is where
we actually had an opportunityto help more people, the agents
that were skilled, the agentsthat that that had the
experience and the knowledge tonavigate through a changing

(11:13):
market, and this is whereopportunities arise.
This is where you know, this ishere's if you're waiting for the
rates to drop, if you're waitingfor the inventory to explode, if
you're waiting for the headlinesto improve, you're waiting for
the market to feel better, youknow, you're you're already
behind.
So again, if your is existing,your situation, it could be your

(11:36):
personal home, it could be yourreal estate, it could be your
real estate investments, yourcommercial real estate, it could
be land, it could be adevelopment, it could be a
property that you inherited, itcould be here's the thing the
market's always evolving, andthis is where we can bring our
experience from the George RealEstate Group, and we've
navigated through evolvingmarkets.
We've navigated, we're nottrying to predict what's going

(11:58):
to happen.
We we are prepared for it.
You know, there's the markets goup, the markets go down, and
guess what?
Homes keep selling.
And so we understand thesecycles, and we understand that
we evolve with them, we adjustand we pivot, and the market's
the market because it's everchanging.
But the thing that doesn'tchange, again, the ability to

(12:20):
understand and solve problems,the ability to walk through
unique and challengingsituations to help our clients
navigate through it, could beyour personal home, it could be
planning ahead for retirement,it could be planning ahead for
how real estate plays into yourinvestments, it could be how
real estate impacts your uhmaybe you need the downsize or

(12:41):
upsize or right size.
Maybe you need the the thereality is you know, things are
still moving.
We have the experience and theknowledge and information to
help you uh navigate throughwhatever the market is.
And it's in and again,confidence uh doesn't come from
headlines, it doesn't come fromthe interest rates, it doesn't

(13:02):
come from inventory.
You know, confidence comes fromcompetence.
We have the conversations aboutthe market, we have hard
conversations with clarity.
You know, we're able to explainand and and walk through
whatever challenges you mighthave in regards to real estate.
Don't wait for the market, andit's and it's not and it's about

(13:24):
having the skills to understandand and to walk through the
noise.
And so we're not basing our ourwe're so grateful.
We've actually had an incredibleyear.
We've we've helped more peoplethan we've ever helped before,
and that our market's growing.
Uh the George Real Estate Group,we're growing, we're hiring, and
it's not depending on luck.
You know, it's it's not aboutego, and it's and it's really

(13:44):
about you know the quality ofservice, and we understand that
trust is built, we understandthat leadership matters,
especially when uncertainty ishigh.
And so it's not about thisshifting market, it's about us
clarifying what it's about.
And so we'd love to have theconversation.
There's no pressure, there's nocost, there's no obligation.

(14:04):
You can call the George RealEstate Group at 828-393-0134.

I love the the quote (14:09):
pressure doesn't crush diamonds, it
reveals them.
And so, you know, showing up, wekeep showing up.
We're so grateful to serve thecommunity through real estate,
and the market's the market, andwe certainly study it.
We can share, I mean, themarket, we the market is still
moving.
You know, there's the and theother fascinating thing is
there's low inventory levels.

(14:30):
Right now, there's only 549active single-family homes in
the market.
The average price in HendersonCounty is at 545, and we're
averaging some 130 single-familyhomes a month selling over the
last 12 months.
Again, the mark, those are somebroad numbers for Henderson
County, but your unique home,your unique situation, we'd love
to sit down.

(14:50):
There's no pressure, there's nocost.
Give us a call, 828-393-0134.
828-393-0134.
You're listening to the GeorgeReal Estate Group live radio
broadcast here in the queue.
I do encourage you to stay tunedin.
We have a short break, but I'mgoing to share that in
appropriate for Christmas.

(15:10):
It's around uh it if you've notheard the backstory on It's a
Wonderful Life, stay tuned in,gonna share more about uh more
about the story, more about themovie, and about the actor uh
Jimmy Stewart.
So stay tuned in.

(15:33):
Good morning, and welcome back.
You're listening to the GeorgeReal Estate Group, live radio
broadcast here in the queue.
And I'm excited to share withyou a story, and I understand uh
it was this was today's triviaquestion about It's a Wonderful
Life.
And did you know, you know, alot of people for It's a

(15:55):
Wonderful Life is is more thanjust a movie, it's a trend
tradition, you know, it's thesound of the holidays, it's the
black and white comfort in ournoisy world.
But you know, at the heart ofit, the film tells a story of
George Bailey, an ordinary manfrom a small town of Bedford
Falls, who spends his entirelife putting others first.

(16:16):
George dreams of travel,adventure, building great
things, but again and again,those dreams are deferred.
And instead of leaving town, hestays to run his father
struggling, building a loan,helping working families buy
homes, a wealthier banker.
The Mr.
Potter would rather control thetown through debt and despair,

(16:37):
and so George sacrifices hisyouth, his ambitions, and even
his sense of self so others cansave, so so others can live
better lives.
By Christmas Eve, thosesacrifices have taken their
toll.
A financial crisis by no faultof his own pushes George to the
breaking point.
He feels trapped, exhausted,invisible, and he looks at his

(16:58):
life and concludes that everyonearound him would be better off
if he'd never been born.
And that's when the story takesits famous turn.
You know, on the snowy bridge,George meets Clarence, an angel
who hasn't yet earned its wing,his wings, and Clarence grants
George desperate wish and showshim what the world would look
like if he'd never existed.

(17:18):
You know, and it's devastating.
Bradford Fall Falls becomes uhPottersville.
Um, the people George oncehelped are broken.
Slowly and painfully, Georgerealizes the truth.
His life mattered not because itwas grand, but because it was
faithful.
And so by the time Georgereturns to his own reality, he

(17:39):
no longer wants escape.
He wants life exactly as it isbroken, beautiful, and perfect,
imperfect, and meaningful.
And that message alone ispowerful.
But this is where this is whatgives the film its lasting
weight.
When Jimmy Stewart played GeorgeBailey, he wasn't pretending to

(18:02):
unravel.
Just months after winning his1941 Academy Award for Best
Actor for the Philadelphiastory, Stewart was at the very
top of Hollywood.
He was America's leading man, aguaranteed box office draw, and
then he walked away from it all.
Stewart became the first majormovie star to enlist in World

(18:26):
War II.
At 33 years old, already anaccomplished private pilot, he
joined the U.S.
Army Air Force and earned hiscommission as a second
lieutenant in the early ninth inearly 1942.
Because of his fame, themilitary wanted to protect them.
He was assigned to recruitingfilms, morale tours, and

(18:48):
training younger pilots.
But Stewart wasn't satisfied.
He didn't want to play a hero.
He wanted to be one.
By 1944, frustrated andconvinced the war was slipping
past him, Stewart personallyasked to be sent overseas.
Now a captain, he was shipped toEngland and assigned to fly B-24

(19:12):
Liberator bombers over Nazioccupied Europe.
These were not symbolicmissions, they were brutal,
dangerous and deadly, anddespite attempts by military
leadership to shield him, Stuartinsisted on flying combat
missions again and again.

(19:34):
He leading men into flak filledskies over Germany, and by the
war's end he had flown twentycombat missions, risen to the
rank of colonel, and earnedmultiple military decorations.
The cost was immense.
In the final months of the war,Stewart was grounded for being

(19:57):
flak happy, what we now call.
PTSD.
On one mission alone, his unitlost 13 planes, 130 men, many of
them friends.
And so when he returned home inAugust of 1945, Jimmy Stewart
was not the same man.
He had lost weight, he hadbarely slept, he suffered

(20:20):
nightmares of exploding planesand falling men.
He was withdrawn, depressed, andunable to speak about the war.
Then came the role of GeorgeBailey.
So when the audiences watchGeorge's voice crack, his hand

(20:42):
shake, his face crumble indespair, they're not seeing the
performance alone.
They're seeing truth.
The trauma, the guilt, theexhaustion Stuart carried home
from the war poured into thecharacter.
One biographer put it this wayevery decision he made during
the war was going to preservelife or cost lives.

(21:04):
He took it back to Hollywood,all the stress he had built up.
And yet, making it's a wonderfullife became healing.
The film didn't just save GeorgeBailey, in many ways, it saved
Jimmy Stewart.
Years later, Stewart explainedwhy he'd left Hollywood to
fight.
The country's consciousness isbigger than all the studios in

(21:27):
Hollywood put together.
And the time will come when wewill have to fight.
So this week, as families gatheraround TV and hear those
familiar bells ring, it's worthremembering what we're really
watching.
We're watching a story about anunseen impact, about quiet
faithfulness, about a man whothought his life didn't matter

(21:50):
until he learned the truth.
And we're remembering a real manwho gave up comfort, fame, and
safety preserve to preservesomething bigger than himself.
This is fascinating.

(22:11):
During uh during the war, JimmyStewart's uh Oscar sat proudly
in his father's small townhardware store in Pennsylvania.
And Stewart said, always saidhis father, the World War I
veteran, was the biggestinfluence on his life.

(22:33):
My uh great-grandfather actuallyvisited uh that hardware store.
My grandfather used to sellsteel products, and and he went
and visited and went to theactual hardware store where
Jimmy Stewart's father was.
In 1985, Jimmy Stewart receivedthe Presidential Medal of

(22:53):
Freedom, and he died in 1997 and89.
And so every Christmas, whenGeorge Bailey discovers the
worth of one life, we'rereminded that Jimmy Stewart
lived uh that truth for real.
Thank you for letting me shareabout that story and about that
movie.
And again, uh just powerful.
And again, this Christmas, uhjust so much to be grateful for,

(23:14):
and I wish you a MerryChristmas.
And we're always grateful to behere every Monday morning.
We'll be here next Mondaymorning.
But again, for all your realestate needs, give the George
Real Estate group a call,828-393-0134.
Love sharing with you aboutlife, love sharing you about the
real estate market.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
Have a great day, have awonderful, Merry Christmas, and
we'll see you next Monday.

SPEAKER_02 (23:35):
The Greg Real Estate Show is a sponsored commentary
from the George Real EstateGroup.
The opinion and views do notnecessarily reflect the opinions
and views of WTZQ, its staff,and management.

SPEAKER_01 (23:52):
The George Real Estate Group has the experience
of selling over 1,200 propertiesand serving over 1,200 families
with their real estate needs inHenderson County and throughout
Western North Carolina.
The George Real Estate Group islocated in Flat Rock, North
Carolina, near Hendersonville inHenderson County.

(24:14):
You can find them online atrealestatebygreg.com.
The George Real Estate Group canbe reached at 828-393-0134 or
stop by their office at 2720Greenville Highway, Flat Rock,
North Carolina.
Tune in live each week on Mondaymornings at 905 on WTZQ FM 95.3

(24:38):
and 1600 AM, or stream online atWTZQ.com.

SPEAKER_00 (24:44):
You've built a lifetime of strength, wisdom,
and independence.

And here's the best part (24:48):
you still have it.
Every decision, every step,every next chapter is yours to
choose.
Selling your home isn't aboutletting go, it's about opening
the door to more freedom, moretime for what you love, more
energy for the people andpassions that matter most.

(25:10):
At the George Real Estate Group,we believe independence isn't
behind you.
It's right here, right now.
Our team goes beyond buying andselling.
We're here to help you protectyour wealth, preserve your
legacy, and make sure Uncle Samdoesn't become your biggest
benefactor.
We'll guide you every step ofthe way towards your next

(25:32):
chapter, your next opportunity,and your freedom on your terms.
Call us at 828 393 0134.
Find us online atrealestatebygreg.com.

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