About Janet Whitworth

Click here to check out this unique property in Western North Carolina on the Cane River. Main home contains 4700 sq. feet. This property is listed for $950,000. For more information contact Diane Vander Linden at 828 – 231 – 3117 or at lindenpics@aol.com.

Sorry to be so late in the year giving you this report, but the timing is actually good because I know many of you are planning to come soon and take advantage of this buyers’ market.

In 2010, there were a total of 32 properties sold in The Cliffs at Walnut Cove, of which 13 were bank-owned, foreclosed properties and one was a short sale.  (I forecast that short sales would be next to impossible in May due to banks’ reluctance to work with the brokers and owners eager to make a deal.)

So far this year, the only 2 sales have been foreclosed lots.  Unfortunately for this community, the market is foreclosures and will be in the near future.  Inventory of bank-owned properties in MLS is holding steady around 20 to 25 consistently on the market.

Compare this to 2009, when we had 43 total sales in Walnut Cove, made up of only 8 foreclosures or short sales.  In 2009, distressed properties made up 18% of sales.  In 2010, we had a whopping 44% of sales came from foreclosures and short sales.

As a sales executive for the Cliffs at Walnut Cove during the “go-go” days, I can tell you there was too much irrational exuberance and money was too easy to get from the banks.  This is why we have these distressed properties available for lucky buyers today.

How long will these incredible opportunities last?  I trashed my crystal ball quite a while back, but I can tell you there are more bank owned lots coming, but I believe the volume will begin to taper off this year.  Just as important are the owners who are “capitulating” and selling their properties for much less than they paid to get their cash out, or decrease their debt.

Add to that the uncertainty of the developer’s new partnership with Urbana which gives them a stake in 300 lots in Walnut Cove.  Will they want lower prices to compete with the distressed market?  Urbana Cliffs press release

SO!  What are these lots going for?  Would you believe as low as $55,000?!  Now the story here is the buyer had to pony up $100,000 for the golf membership or the bank would have never gone that low.  Average sales price in 2010 is $245,000.  A high quality view lot is selling for around $300,000.

Enough numbers and information for now.  In a few days, I will give you more stats on home sales, as well as current best buys on the market.

Came across an interesting article on CNBC this week……. John Paulson, who famously shorted the housing market and apparently outsmarted almost everyone in the country, has made an about-face. Now he’s incredibly bullish on buying real estate and says: “If you don’t own a home, buy one. If you own one home, buy another one, and if you own two homes buy a third and lend your relatives the money to buy a home.”

Click here to read the entire article.

Needless to say, that is music to my ears, since I only make money when somebody buys or sells real estate. And for the past few months, I’ve been saying to everyone that you can’t time the bottom of this market, just like you can’t time the stock market. However, it is certainly much lower than the previous two years and is definitely a good time to buy.

A good friend of mine works on Wall St. and owns property in Asheville. He stays abreast of what’s happening in real estate, and I value his opinion, so I asked him for his perspective on the article and how it relates to Asheville:

“I still think all of this is going to vary big-time based on location, location, location. It’s hard to imagine that Detroit or Cleveland would ever be a buy. At some point Vegas will come back (seems to be down more than 50%), but I don’t know when and think that California, Florida and Arizona have been damaged as value propositions in ways that will keep them relatively down regardless of cycles. However, Texas (always a bargain) and the Carolinas should be relatively strong. And the lifestyle quality and retirement demographics are still there for Asheville, notwithstanding that people now realize that they need to save a lot more in order to retire. People will need to look for relative value and this should really help the Carolinas, looked at with “NYC” eyeballs. Also, half of New Jersey is looking to leave, given its fiscal trauma now (finally) being faced (resulting in public service cuts and big tax increases), and the visibly aging and dysfunctional roads and other infrastructure.”

Hope this information is helpful as you think about your next “move”.

Yes, there are several great opportunities to acquire property in The Cliffs at Walnut Cove by trolling for foreclosures. Most of the bank-owned properties that have closed offered the lucky buyers a 50 – 60% or more discount over what the land originally sold for.

One of the best lots in the community is listed by Wachovia for $599,000, Lot #179 on Rock Vista Way. Even though it is listed for considerably more than any foreclosure has sold for to date, it is a premium property with a fantastic build site and sweeping views. They have already turned down two “low-ball” offers and appear to be holding firm to this price. This lot originally sold for $1,340,000.

As I reported last, there are approximately 20 to 25 foreclosures and short sales in this gated golf community 12 miles from Asheville, NC. However, in addition to these are 18 homesites listed for an average of $131,400 less than the owner originally paid. The highest discount is $311,000; four owners are selling for $200,000 less than they paid and 5 for $100,000 less. Yes, most of these buyers bought at the height of the market, but they are willing to take a loss and move on as they fear it will take years to recover what they paid. When you read my inventory report in an earlier post, it would appear their fears are well-founded.

Good news is we are finally seeing some sales activity! One homesite has sold in the past couple of weeks, a bank-owned property for $225,000 on Bella Vista Court. There are 3 pending contracts; one foreclosed property listed at $199,000 on Bear Flower Trail and two other properties listed for $349,000 and $489,000.

So, what’s currently on the market? First, the question I always get….. how many foreclosures and short sales are out there? There are 15 bank-owned lots and 9 “short sales”. Banks have not been willing to negotiate down the price of lots when they have a “short sale” offer, so brokers have practically stopped showing them. Therefore, that leads me to believe most, if not all, of these will also be bank-owned very soon.

Just as many, or more lots are being offered by investors for less than they paid for them. Whitworth Properties currently has one property listed for $300,000 less than the buyer paid and will have a very similar listing next week. These folks need to cash out, even if it means taking a huge hit.

As of today, our local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) has 73 listings. They range in price from $199,000 to $1,695,000; the median list price is $550,000.

Bank-owned and short sale inventory pricing starts at $199,000, there are two at this incredible price(Lot 75) , with the highest priced bank-owned lot on the golf course at $1,000,000 (15th Fairway). Don’t fall for that one, there are at least two other great homesites on the golf course for less!

In recent times, the Cliffs resale department has had anywhere from 60 – 90 resale listings in their inventory. Developer inventory seems endless…..there has to be several hundred properties remaining of the 1600+ acres.

If you don’t want to build, what is available? Thirty-eight single-family homes and townhomes are listed in MLS with prices ranging from $827,640 (where did they get that #?) to $4.2 million. The Cliffs website lists 24 homes for sale from $995,000 to $4.5 million. If you want a more detailed breakdown of townhomes versus single-family homes, please e-mail or call me at 828-768-1808.

Are any of these short sales or bank-owned? Yes, there are two bank-owned Meadow townhomes starting at $827,640 (?) and a 6500 sq ft single-family residence listed at $2,550,000. Walnut Cove has at least one other single family home in foreclosure proceedings.

Buyer’s market, don’t you think?

As I was writing my analysis of The Cliffs at Walnut Cove’s real estate market, I wondered if my qualifications made any difference to the reader. That lead me down the path of looking up the word expert to see if I qualified. Following are excerpts from Wikipedia:

“An expert, more generally, is a person with extensive knowledge based on research, experience, or occupation. Experts are called in for advice on their respective subject. Believed to have special knowledge beyond that of an average person.”

WOW! I believe I am not just qualified, I’m an expert. For five years, I worked onsite selling exclusively for Jim Anthony and The Cliffs Communities. During that time, I helped 74 families buy property in a Cliffs Community and wrote contracts in Walnut Cove in excess of $44 million. Since starting my own business, I have been on either the selling or listing side of 4 lot sales since the beginning of 2010 (more than all the onsite staff combined!). Almost weekly I get a call asking for help, advice, or simply my research, as I am continually monitoring activity. Just last week, I turned down an offer of payment for my knowledge and expertise; referrals are my best reward.

Now, please allow me to share facts & my opinions about the current market environment in a community I feel is vital to the Asheville area. First and most important, Jim Anthony, developer of The Cliffs, has received $60million+ in much needed capital to complete all amenities in all communities. As this came from property owners, it is a testament to their belief in the future of The Cliffs. This infusion of money and vote of confidence will, in my opinion, cause sales volume to increase in all communities. Good news because the only sellers in recent months have been banks; in order for a developer to survive, he has to be closing the majority of transactions and that has not been happening.

In Walnut Cove this year, almost all of the sales are being brokered by firms outside the gates, and most of this is bank-owned. Of the 10 homesites sold this year, all but 3 were listed by outside brokers and all but 2 were sold by the same. Banks owned 5 of these and had listed them at very attractive prices. Lots that sold for $1million have been sold by Wachovia and NBSC for $300,000! (To see a few more hidden gems, check out my YouTube site) Average sales price of all lots has been $418,530. As there are only 10, the one golf course lot sold at $1,000,000 really skews things. Toss the outlier and the average price this year has been $352,000. Can you tell I love statistics?

Three single-family homes have sold in Walnut Cove this year, all listed and sold by outside brokers with an avg sale price of $1,740,000. One of these transactions was a short sale.

In all of 2009, a total of only 4 single-family homes sold in Walnut Cove, all listed and sold by “outside” agents – avg sales price $1,189,000. Of these, one was bank-owned, one still under construction and a short sale, and one simply a short sale.

In the 1st 4 months of this year, the Cliffs onsite sales team has sold & closed 2 Cove Park Lots for a total of $746,000. A local broker sold one of the last remaining developer-owned golf course lots, giving Mr. Anthony a much needed $1,000,000. During this same period last year, they sold 5 homesites for a total volume of $2,490,000. For the entire year of 2009, they sold a total of 4 homes, all developer-owned townhomes.

What does all this information mean? To me, there is a seismic shift in how buyers are approaching the marketplace. They want to know everything that is on the market, they’ve done their research prior to visiting and they know deals are out there.

A handful of local “outside” brokers are experts on the Walnut Cove community and real estate and have won the confidence of bankers looking for a broker with undivided interest in helping them unload their inventory. They get these listings, market them heavily and buyers coming to visit the Cliffs find these deals. Until the inventory is cleansed of these gems, developer inventory will have a hard time competing, even with large incentives.

There is a huge glut of inventory that includes foreclosures, short sales, and investors just simply tired of carrying the payments. My next blog will address the inventory, as this one is already way too long. Thank you if you made it this far. And please, give me some feedback if this has been helpful.