A Buyers' Market.  In almost 40 years in the real estate business in Blowing Rock, this is the first time I have seen a genuine buyers' market here - where there is substantially more property for sale than buyers to buy it.  Typically the average difference between the listing prices and the sale prices has remained in the 5% to 6% range.  This is the first time in my memory we have seen the statistic at 11% to 12%.  Land has held at 6.7% off list; condominiums have held at 5.6% off list. 

The big surprise, however, is single-family homes, which have been selling at a substantially slower rate than last year (93 so far, compared to 161 last year by this time) and are selling at an average of 12% less than their last listed price.  With homes, this is both a reflection of overly-optimistic listing prices, but also some rather expensive homes that have sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars less than their listed prices.  Right now, there are 350 homes listed for sale in the Blowing Rock area.

What does this mean to you?  If you are a Seller, you need to be priced right, you need to have your home offered as competitively as possible, you need to be prepared for more aggressive offers than we are accustomed to seeing, and you need to expect to be patient.  As soon as the present financial crisis has passed, we are likely to experience a flood of interested buyers.  The demographics are certainly in our favor beyond this present economic time.  Lots of people live in places that are hotter than we are and/or are within 200 miles of here, and want to have vacation and retirement homes in the Blowing Rock and High Country area.  But vacation and retirement homes are a discretionary purchase that they can typically delay until they feel the time is right for them.

If you are a Buyer, you may never find a better bargain than right now!  Housing prices are often far less than their replacement cost, so existing housing is a special value.  Because there are fewer buyers than usual, you will often have unusual bargaining advantages.  As a cautionary note, however, it is a good idea to check with a local High Country area mortgage lender to see what kinds of financing you may be eligible for nowadays.  All the lending and loan underwriting rules seem to be changing.  Though you may have a good relationship with your hometown bank, it is better to use a local bank here for High Country properties.  The local bankers can handle the tricky new underwriting requirements more successfully than bankers "off the mountain" because they know the property here and its values. 

Is this a good time to invest in Blowing Rock and High Country Area real estate?  Let's see.  What's the rule?  Buy low, sell high?  If you are at all acquainted with the High Country area, you know that it is still as beautiful and cool as it ever has been, and it is in the path of progress for the future.  Don't let this remarkable opportunity pass you by!

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