Buy Or Sell....Is The Time Right?
If you have been watching or reading the national news about real estate, you know there is tons of mixed information about the housing market. The media may leave you wondering what your home is worth, whether it’s a good time to buy, or if it's a good idea to consider putting your home on the market.
You’ve heard it before, but it bears repeating: real estate is local. It is also cyclical. So while there are regions of the country that are seeing increases in foreclosures (North Carolina has not mind you), declining sales, and reduced home values, the fact remains that we in the Western North Carolina area are seeing normal lows in a very predictable real estate cycle.
Although some "experts" have predicted various degrees of decline for home values on a national level, homes in the Western North Carolina area have appreciated.
Western North Carolina is different from other regions in the U.S. that are seeing bursting bubbles. Low unemployment, large numbers of people migrating into the region (over 10 million tourists visit the area & The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited National Park in the United States) and historically low interest rates are helping to keep sales and home values steady. We are simply not experiencing the same things as Florida or California. Homes in Western North Carolina are selling and real estate remains one of the best long-term investments you can make.
We are in the beginning stages of the next real estate cycle, which began in mid-2007 in Western North Carolina....and even though home values have dropped in other areas of the country...our's have not. Proving yet again that national numbers don’t reflect what is happening here in Western North Carolina.
Make no mistake - we are in a "buyers market"!