Blue Ridge Country September/October 2021 - 60

and spent an hour and a half talking
with the owners and touring the property.
As he drove out of the driveway, he
called his agent and told her to make an
offer. She quickly found out it went under
contract, despite the owners saying
in the listing that they would not accept
any sight-unseen offers. But he knew
they did because he had gone to the
home minutes after listing and no one
else toured the home while he was there.
Krameric spends about four days each
month touring available properties in
this region, but usually by the time he
arrives, half or more of the ones he's interested
in are already under contract.
He says the competition is fierce and
also includes international buyers. " One
of my agents is currently on the lookout
for property for a gentleman from Romania, "
he says.
PANDEMIC REFUGEES?
M
BY THE NUMBERS
arket data for Asheville (Buncombe County) and the surrounding
Western North Carolina (WNC) region including Burke, Haywood,
Henderson, Jackson, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain,
Transylvania and Yancey counties shows some impressive numbers.
In June 2020 (latest month for which figures area available as we go to
press), there were 3,832 homes for sale in WNC. In June 2021, there were
1,922 homes for sale reflecting a 49.8% decrease in available offerings.
In Asheville alone, the average sales price increased 30.3% from $400,808
in June 2020 to $522,132 in June 2021. In the entire WNC region the
average sales price increased more than 32% from $323,290 to $427,218
and cumulative days on the market until a property sold decreased 53.8%
from 80 days in June 2020 to 37 days in June 2021.
Real estate agent Natalie Gideon says the average days from listing to
the actual closing is 100. She says that may seem like a long time, but it's
taking that long because home appraisers and real estate attorneys are just
bombarded. " They are overwhelmed, " she says, " so that 100 days is really
misleading. "
Another surprising statistic, Gideon says 30% of her clients are paying with
cash.
CREATIVE SOLUTIONS
Derek Hawkins has been eyeing the decreasing
inventory of properties in his
hometown of Hendersonville, North Carolina.
He's been working as a Realtor for
17 years and is currently affiliated with
Re/Max Four Seasons. He has clients willing
to sell if they could find another spot
to move to within Henderson County.
" Cash closings are so easy, " says Sandy Shipley Manthorpe, a Real Estate
Broker in Asheville. " Anyone who is financing has a struggle. A bank is not
going to loan more than it's worth, so if you want to pay $50,000 more than
what a bank is willing to loan you, then that's your choice. "
" Some buyers are even waiving home inspections and not asking the seller
to do any repairs, " she continues. " I call it a feeding frenzy when a house
goes on the market, especially one at or below the national median home
price of $330,000. " ~MHM
This Asheville-area
home was listed at
$474,000 and sold for
$480,000.
" I have quite a few clients who are
older and their house is bigger than what
they need, but it's difficult here to find
the next step for them, " he says. " Going
from a bigger house to a newer, smaller
one-you might think you could sell and
pocket 30% of the profit. But there's high
demand for the new construction and
that drives the market price. "
He's found a proactive solution by
building several spec houses, either independently
or as a joint venture with
other builders and land owners.
" If I was early in my career, I'd just
have to get out and hustle, " he says. " But
I'm now confident I can create the product.
I love development. I've done it four
consecutive times. A home we built at
Sky Top Farm just went under contract.
It sold when it was at the drywall stage. "
He said before the real estate bubble
burst back around 2008, many people
were buying homes as investments. He
says that's changed. What he's seeing
now are clients who want to live here.
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