GOOD NEWS: NOW IS THE TIME TO SELL!
INVENTORY IS LOW AND BUYERS ARE LOOKING IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD!
Recently Buncombe County set new records for the number of homes sold, average home asking price, and median selling prices! The number of sales recorded for 2017 is already up by 1% compared to this time last year according to the Citizen-Times. What does a record-setting year for real estate in Asheville and surrounding areas mean for you as a potential seller? It means that there has never been a better time to put your property on the market!
Below are 5 reasons why now is a great time to sell:
1) Inventory levels have reached a new low that’s not been seen in over a decade! – In a typical seller’s market, the average home is listed for 6 months or less before going to closing. During the first quarter of 2016, we experienced a seller’s market for homes priced up to $450,000. However, in our current market housing inventory is so tight that any home priced under $1 million are in the “6 months or less” sales category, with most homes accepting an offer within just 55 days! This means that your home won’t sit on the market for months or years waiting for a qualified buyer.
2) Home values and the price per square foot have both seen increases this year! – Average home values in Asheville have gone up 7.1% from 2016-2017, and the price per square foot has seen an increase of 6% compared to this last year. This means that in 2017 you could get more money for your property!
3) Foreclosures in our area are lower than the national average! – The average percent of delinquent mortgages in the Asheville area is 0.0, which is lower than the national value. Only 0.4% of homes reach foreclosure here compared to the national average of 1.5%. This means that you aren’t competing with low- priced, bank-owned, and foreclosed properties.
4) There is real buyer-demand with very little speculative buying or building! – Speculative buying is when investors buy properties intending to flip them for a profit, and speculative building is when builders develop construction without a seller already being locked in. After the crash of 2008, banks pulled back on lending to these types of speculative projects so there are very few homes being built or flipped. This means that inventory stays low, all while buyer competition and resale values stay high.
5) More buyers are ready, willing, able, and MOTIVATED! – Because of lower interest rates and an easing on loan restrictions, more buyers are getting pre-qualified for loans. Due to the fierce competition in our market, buyers are becoming increasingly well-educated on the home-buying process and are ready to act when a listing appears that meets their needs. This means that bidding wars and highest-and- best offers are becoming common in our market.
