Highlands Real Estate

I admit. Once in a while I get to thinking about what it means to be working in a primarily second-home market. Too many houses up here which just sit. Too many people with too much stuff.

But….

Pretty much every day, I check the Atlanta Journal-Constitution website to keep up with what’s going on down there. And, in a strange mood, I’ll read the obituaries.

Just read a gut-wrenching account of a young boy who died of cancer on his ninth birthday. Sad: a totally inappropriate description and explanantion of my reaction as I read such a tragic story.

But this part of the story warrants attention. Quoting from the AJC obit: “And if the family took a trip to its cabin in Cashiers, N. C., he was in his element. ‘It was his favorite place in the world,’ his mother said. ‘He just loved nature and the outdoors.’”

When I meet with people looking for a place in the mountains, I’m not thinking of someone else buying something they don’t need. I’m not thinking of someone just trying to get a place so they can brag to the Jones about their mountain house.

I’m thinking of people just like this family. People who live busy lives who relish the opportunity to return to something in their soul which nourishes thier lives, which gives them reason and motivation to keep living as meaningfully as they can.

Not long ago I ran into the people who bought the first place I sold when I started in the business up here. “Smartest thing we’ve ever done,” she said. “Thanks so much for helping us find this place. We just love it up here.”

A sense of place. To relax, to rejeuvinate. Whether you’re 9 or 90.

God bless that little boy. And may his family’s return to the Cashiers cabin always remind them of the best of his energy and passion.

As you probably know, things slow down up here in Highlands this time of year, part of the ebb and flow of the mountains. It’s probably my favorite time of the year.

A few nights ago, the wind howled, the snow swirled, and we probably didn’t hit 15 the next day. We have 57 predicted as a high in a couple of days. I love the cold, but I must admit it’s nice to be able to put on some running shorts and head out for a pleasant trail run–something I’ve not been able to do very often the last couple of winters. Respite is nice.

January, 2012, already. Goodness. Amazing how the fall just happens. And then Thanksgiving and a few short weeks later Christmas. My clients and I have had a difficult time finding a spot on our schedules. So much good stuff going on.

But now things supposedly return to normal–and winters are always a great time to look around up here. I’m looking forward to the slow pace of the season, but I’m also thankful to have some good people to hop in the car with and see what we can find that will work perfectly for them and their families.

If you’d like to check things out, let me know.

I have a cartoon on my bulletin board, two cats spread out on a couch in typcical cat fashion. From a July issue of New Yorker a few years ago:

“My God, do you realize the year’s half over?”

It ain’t July any more. And the year’s not half over: it’s pretty much history. Wow…. Did that fly by!

I hope 2011 was a good year for you: and that 2012 will be that much better.

As I’ve said so many times in these entries over the years, Highlands is a unique spot in the world….certainly the Southeast. Old Edwards Inn has brought a number of first timers to Highlands, people who even if they live fairly closeby (Charlotte, Charleston, Atlanta, Savannah, etc.), they simply did not know that much about us. I hear over and over again comments such as “My Gosh: I had no clue it was so nice up here.” And as the summertime visitors say: “You mean Atlanta is only two hours away” on a blue-sky 82-degree day when it’s 97 down the mountain.

But we’re not immune to the issues which have affected the rest of the world. Real estate prices have come down; sales are slow; buyer’s are picky; and some sellers are ready to deal. Opportunities exist, and now may indeed be the best time in a couple of generations to stake your claim to Highlands.

If you want to be here for a few weekends a year, all summer, or all year: now is the time to look. And winter is an even better time because the leaves are gone and we can really see what’s out there to see. Let me know how I can help.

October 20, 2011…. Woke up to white this morning. Not a lot. But enough to know that winter is on the way. Of course, a couple of days ago, it was absolutely gorgeous–and warm enough to go for a run in shorts and no tee shirt.

I love this time of year.

I had a conversation with a client a few days ago–talking about how portfolio values can drop like a rock.

The conventional perspective is that most potential buyers, even those who realize that cash isn’t making them much of a thing in a cd these days, are psychologically swayed by the volatility of the stock market: since it’s possible to lose so much in seemingly an instant, then it’s better to just sit tight and hold on.

Not too long ago, I needed a new vehicle. (Clients would walk about of my office, look at my old one, and say “I’ll drive.”) I spent lots more money than I had intended, more than I probably should have. And just a day or so later, the market had one of those crash days and I’m gritting my teeth, cursing under my breath.

But then I got to thinking. I’m so glad I have the car. Had I let the market conditions deter me from making the purchase, I’d still be driving the old one, having my clients laugh at me. Now, I have what I want, what I need, and what more can I say….

So perhaps the general wisdom of sitting tight doesn’t make so much sense after all. If the market is just going to wipe that money from your account, isn’t it better to have something rather than nothing? Something that you can use and enjoy. Something that can nurture your soul–as mountain properties so often do. Something that can serve as a meeting place for family and friends. And, if all historical trends hold in place, something that one day will indeed be looked upon as a good financial investment as well.

So, what are you waiting for?

A few months ago, I found myself playing around on YouTube. I have to be careful when I get on one of those kicks, because if I don’t watch out, I forget to go to bed. One click leads to another and another and another. But one night I just kinda got stuck on this:

To every thing, there is a season–and a time to every purpose under heaven.
Turn, Turn, Turn.

A couple of weeks ago, I stood on the back deck of a client’s new home. Astonishingly, colors already speckling the side of Scaly Mountain. And as I sit in my office now, I see yellow and a bit of orange. And the door is open with a cool breeze. At home a couple of nights ago, I closed the windows and turned on a space heater so the cats would get off of me, allowing me to turn over without upsetting too much of the night peace.

As I started to head out for dinner a couple of nights ago, I returned to the closet to replace the light jacket with a heavier sweater. And no regrets.

I love this time of year…. Time moves on. The earth turns a bit on its axis. A time to every purpose under heaven.

Every now and then, we get a little warm up here (hey, it’s summer time: it happens!)  and a few little gripes emerge from various sources.

My response, politely thought if not actually stated?  “Get in your car.  Drive down the hill just 20 or so minutes.  Get out.  See what hot really is.  Get back in your car.  Come back to Highlands.  And quit complaining…..” 

Seriously.  I left Highlands last Monday with 75 showing on my car thermometer.  By the time I got to Walhalla, it was over 90 and 96 by Seneca.

One of my listings has been withdrawn.  Why?  They came up from a Southern city where it had been over 95 for well over a month straight.  The day they arrived, we had a high of maybe 65.  They looked at each other, said, in essence, “why in the heck are we selling?” and promptly told me to take it off the market. 

I don’t blame ‘em a bit.

So…. I’ll re-use the title phrase.

Get in your car and drive up here.  Get to Walhalla or Dillard or Franklin, check the outside temp, enjoy the drive up, and watch it drop. 

Check out the links I have on here, get a room at Old Edwards or one of the other great spots up here, make reservations at Lakeside or another amazingly good restaurant, and come to love Highlands as the rest of us do.

And remember:  no complaints……..

The old phrase goes something like that:  don’t kick a gift horse in the mouth.  I often wonder about the derivation of old phrases:  can’t quite picture how this one came about. 

But the reality is this:  I’ve been really, really busy lately.  Three contracts working, one that fell apart which we may be able to salvage, and will write another in a week or so.  If I’m the leading economic indicator, then good things are on the horizon.

At times, things have been getting a bit frazzled around here.  Fair enough.  I’ll take it.  As slow as things have been for so long, it’s about time that a few deals converge. 

So, no complaining, no kicking of horses. 

Just gratitude.  And hopes that for both buyers and sellers, this will be a year of good fortune. 

And part of that good fortune for us at Harry Norman in Highlands is the fact that we are now a Christie’s affiliate.  Already, we’re seeing the benefit of having such an enormous network of resources.  For instance, regardless of how much time or how much money I could spend on my own trying to market a property such as the Hutchinson House, I could never match what Christie’s can do RIGHT NOW.  That’s exciting.

Over the last couple of years, largely because of The Old Edwards Inn, people who never before have heard of Highlands are now visiting on a regular basis and hopefully, as they gain more confidence in the markets, will decide to make this a part-time (or permanent) home.  The Christie’s affiliation will do even more to let people all over the world know that we are, no doubt, one of the most unique spots in America.

For any of you who are new to my site, welcome.  And welcome to Highlands, one of the great spots not only in the Southeast, but in the entire country.  Some of you may be finding me because of my ad in the current issue of Garden and Gun.  What a fabulous magazine!  I’m proud to have such a great property (“Highlands History” on my featured listings page) represented there.  I hope your appetite has been properly whetted.

The oldtimers up here say “Don’t plant ’til Mother’s Day.”  This year, that was almost too soon.  A couple of cool mornings last week threatened to nip the herbs and tomatos I’ve planted in my backyard, but they’ve survived pretty well. 

This morning, I received an e-mail from Charleston, complaining that on May 23 at 10 in the morning, it was already 90 degrees down there. 

We’re supposed to hit low 80s….and usually the generic forecasts for Highlands get it wrong.  We’ll probably be in the upper 70s.  As those who’ve read my previous blogs know, I don’t have AC in my house.  Thus far, I’ve just cracked a couple of windows.

But spring seems to be kicking in with real estate activity as well.  Winter has always been slow up here–and always will be. With the across-the-board down real estate market we’ve seen for a long time, it’s nice to see some possibility of a real spring.  No doubt, it’s still a buyer’s market:  no one will deny that.  But unlike many places, Highlands has held up pretty well.  A few people have found the half-off deals, but quite frankly, I fear that some of them will regret their purchases down the road.  What’s the old phrase? Everything that glitters is not gold. 

There’s another old phrase worth recalling:  you get what you pay for. 

And some buyers now are getting great properties for really good prices–just not at the drastic reductions they would expect in other markets.

For instance, I know of one situation where a buyer came up last year, found what he wanted, and put in an offer far below any possibility of getting it.  A week later, it went under contract for about 30% more than he had offered.  This year, he came back, found something else he really liked, adjusted his offer, and now has a great chance of getting what he wants. 

It’s fun to see people in town, looking around, finding what they want.  I hope this season works out well for everyone, and I hope you get a chance to come visit–whether you’re a frequet visitor to the area or discovering us for the first time.  I’d love to meet you.

As you can tell by reading through the previous posts, I love winter. In fact, as a vacation a few weeks ago, I went to California and happened to be in Squaw Valley while 101 inches fell from a Monday to a Friday! 101 inches! Let’s just say I could stand nude in front of my first-floor plate glass window and not have to worry about a thing.

And the skiing was fantastic!

But now that I’m back, I’m ready for spring and was deceived for a day or two. Yesterday morning, I woke up, took the necessary Alavert, and headed out for the day in shorts and a tee-shirt. I took a great run up to the top of Scaly, wiping sweat from my brow. I took the deck furniture from its winter hideaway and cooked out on the grill.

This morning–after a wail of a night (gosh, the winds can howl on Little Bearpen)–snow on the ground.

Oh well…..

In a way, this is sort of like the real estate market these days. It warms up a bit and then chills back down. But the “season” is inevitably coming and we’re all anxious to see what’s going to happen.

It’s a buyer’s market. We all fully realize this fact. No doubt. No question…….

But…..

“You get what you pay for.”

Remember that old adage? Are we to believe that just magically over the last couple of years this truism is now irrelevant?

Nope…. We are not. And there are some cautionary tales out there to remind us of this fact.

Yes, a buyer can get some great deals, but when deals aren’t good enough–when only “steals” will do, then watch out. For instance, I know of a situation now where a couple has found what they want. But he’s not willing to pay what the seller requires (even at a vastly reduced price from what it was originally). And now they’re looking at a foreclosure spec house: in a good neighborhood, yes, but about the worst spot in the whole development. And a house which has features which I’ll never understand. (“Why the hell did they do that?” is a pretty constant refrain in this business.)

Of course I wish them well. Hope they can make it a great home. But “everything that glitters is not gold.” And I fear that too many people these days, in their attempts to get only the best deals, are, indeed, getting what they’re willing to pay for……

My dad, who was not a wealthy man, but a smart one, would say this on a regular basis: “It pays to go first class.”

Especially when you can go first class for the price of coach…. But that’s what lots of buyers are overlooking these days.

It’s like that commercial (I forget what for) where the lady has her kid dressed up like a dog in the pet carrier at the airport. For some people these days, cheap is the only thing that’ll work, whether they get what they want or not….

Oh well………

It’s hard to believe that these mid-February temperatures near 60 are going to last, but as is true with everything else in life, I’m going to appreciate them while they’re here. Why not? So much in life is fleeting; if we fail to relish these moments, then they’re gone and we have nothing to recall with a smile.

But, honestly, I love winter! In fact, most people take off on vacations this time of year, heading to some beach on an island somewhere. Me? Off to Jackson Hole this year for a great few days of skiing. One morning, my buddy and I went to Yellowstone: it was 22 below zero as we prepared to enter the park. OK, that’s cold even for me. But when we left a few days later, temps were in the mid-40s. Great mountain, great town, great skiing. Every time I go to a ski area, the unavoidable comparisons emerge. Jackson comes up very favorably.

But back home to Highlands and a seeming early spring. The stock market is up, but it’s no doubt still a crazy world out there. As usual, the real estate market has been winter slow up here, but what will the “season” bring this year? Many potential buyers will see their portfolio values up and have the confidence to take advantage of a buyer’s market in Highlands area real estate. Banks may not always cooperate as congenially as we’d wish, but there’s money out there at great rates. So, all told, we should have a decent year up here, maybe a great one.

But it’s an interesting world for both buyers and sellers. Sellers, by and large, are aware of the market conditions and are ready to deal accordingly. But there’s a catch. Many (most) of the comps are from “distress” situations (foreclosures or emergency sales–not a bunch of them, but enough to skew the numbers) or they’re from situations where sellers can afford not to care and sell at lowball prices just to be rid of something. The reality is this: most of our sellers don’t have to sell. Though the pool of comps we have comes largely from situations as described above, there’s a huge elephant in the room which we cannot just ignore: all those that don’t sell because the sellers say to hell with it. They don’t have to sell at lowball prices and they’re not.

Buyers, understandably, want to look at the distress comps, want to look at the real estate market across the country, and make what they consider to be legitimate lowball offers. But, in this market, they’re not that legit after all.

This issue is this: getting the house a buyer wants at a price he’s willing to pay. Some people, oddly, just buy something because it’s a bargain. As I’ve often said: I have stuff in my closet that I bought half off at an outlet store. It didn’t fit then: it don’t fit now. And it’s still ugly.

Obviously, this world encourages a buyer to do all he can do to get the best bargain he can get. But there’s still enough common sense around to realize that you get what you pay for.

I love helping buyers find properties which, quite frankly, make them happy…….. The great price is only part of the happiness. Getting the right house in the right place is a significant aspect of making a “great” deal.

So, with spring around the corner and the roads no longer covered with snow, I hope you’ll make a trip up to check out the great deals the Highlands area has to offer. I’ll enjoy meeting you and showing you around.

And, yes, you can get a great house at a great price. But it is important to be aware of the totality of our market conditions as you look around and make an offer. And in the long run, it’s a good thing for everyone, including you as a new buyer. Let’s be honest: you don’t want to buy in an area where there’s more distress than stability. You want to buy in a solid, stable place–a place you can enjoy, and know that you’ve made a good long-term investment, regardless of the ups and downs of the market.