Asheville NC, not just for Floridians any more.

Asheville has always been a destination area. Evident as far back as Mr. Vanderbilt’s days, people have flocked to the Appalachian Mnts. for many different reasons. Some of the current attractions one might note include the Biltmore House, Grove Park Inn, downtown night life, music, endless outdoor activities, fine dining, art galleries, and other various shopping. Even looking back to one hundred years ago people would often come to this area for it’s healing purposes. A myth then was the mountain air was good for lung ailments such as TB. Over the last 5-10 years we have had a steady surge in the real estate market here. Although prices have risen, we have not had an over bearing “spike” like many other markets have endured. Our market has enjoyed 6%-10% averages of the last decade with certain localized sectors soaring above that. This steady, somewhat slower growth, has proven Asheville to be more resistant to the national real estate crisis. The idea of investing in a more stable market has attracted buyers from all around the world. From a national standpoint, we are seeing the most buyers coming from Florida, California, New York, New Jersey, Ohio and even Colorado. My personal experience has been more so with Fl, NY, and NJ. A combination of high taxes, high insurance (if you can get it in FL), potential climatic catastrophe, and extreme hot/cold weather has pushed many people out of this environment and into our more stable one. From a geologic perspective, our mountains are old. This stability gives us decreased chances in a catastrophic earthquake. We are far enough in from the coast where we only get kick off rains from hurricanes, and it’s hard for a tornado to form in the mountains. All of these factors combine for a pretty safe place to live. As a real estate agent, I welcome any and all business, no matter where you are from. I grew up in the South and enjoy sharing my southern hospitality whenever possible. This actually brings up a very interesting point. What happens when you mix good ol’ fashion local mountain folk with big city transplants? I have heard mixed reviews on this. I would be curious to hear if any of you have had one of these experiences.

Who’s working for who?

I encountered yet another agency relationship issue this morning. Whenever I receive inquiries about my listings I always ask if they are working with another agent. In this case they said no, and I agreed to meet them at the property which is close to my house. After interrogation, they revealed to me that they were working with someone who was a “REALTOR” and not an agent. At this point in time, I began my agency relationship educational spill and clarified how the system works. This is the 2nd time this has happened to me in just a few weeks (although the last guy who turned out to be loco, flat out lied to me and then took off running for his vehicle after I broke out the “Working With Real Estate Agents Brochure”). It not only frustrates me that I have had to rearrange my schedule to accommodate someone else’s client, but also in the lack of education that these agents are not providing to their clients. However, I do have a fiduciary duty to my client which would include aiding customer/clients in looking at the property. Often times you see other agents in my line of work that only work part time or have another full time job. This often times makes it difficult for them to move on their clients request. Do you think that it is my duty to show someone else’s client a listing of mine? Or should I just tell them to call their agent? How would you feel, as a buyer, if your agent was out of the loop and the listing agent turned down your request to see the property? Don’t get me wrong, I’ll do what I’ve got to do to make the sale happen, but why should I have to do someone else’s job? 

First Time Blogger

Welcome to my first blog! I’m a real estate broker in Asheville (that’s Ashevegas to some of you) NC with Century 21 All Seasons. My game plan is to utilize this blog for real estate information, both regional and national, and for general info about what’s going down in the big city of Asheville. A big thanks to Chad Huck for getting my wheels turning on the blog scene this morning. I’m looking forward to many discussions with all of you kind folks in cyberspace.  Here’s something to chew on for today.

I just put one of my listings under contract that was in a multiple offer situation. Being the thoughtful agent that I am, I advised my client to hold off on responding to the first offer until we had the 2nd offer in hand. At that time we would review both offers and make a decision. Pretty straight forward, right? The problem that occured was that agent #1 never contacted me before quietly dropping off the offer to my office. Agent #2 had shown the property last week, called me to see if I had anything cooking, and then set up a 2nd showing for yesterday. Agent #1 had placed himself on the short end of the stick by not coming in with a competitive offer (due to the fact that he was not aware of the competitive situation). My client quickly executed agent #2’s offer without even thinking about going back to agent #1. How do you think that agent #1’s clients felt about this. Hey it’s only business, and ethical business at that. Any opinions out there?

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