Early April Murphy NC Real Estate Market Update

Posted by I Love Murphy on

Good afternoon! If you’re not in Murphy right now, you’re missing out on TONS of rain! It’s coming down by the bucket full!

March proved itself by being a great real estate month! 25 homes sold in March – surpassing every month so far this year. There’s lots of activity on the ground and lots of agents are showing. Many of our properties have been getting a great level of showings and we have quite a few of them under contract. The market has 44 homes pending sale – many of which will close this April.

I just finished publishing our Exclusive Market Absorption Report, and to get your copy, you have to be a subscriber to our Murphy NC Real Estate Update! Email me now to join! You can see trends, pricing tiers, and activity on each. Months supply indicates how many months it will take to sell the current inventory at the current selling volume. Generally, anything less than 12 months indicates a seller’s market and anything greater than 12 months is a buyer’s market.

You must be a subscriber of The POLTROCK TEAM’s
Murphy NC Bi-Weekly Real Estate Update to get the Link to
the sold properties for March 2010.
See sold prices, pictures, and descriptions of what’s sold!
Email John at JohnPoltrock@gmail.com and join our SOLD Update for Free!

We’re finding this to be a great time to sell – believe it or not! There’s been more activity this year – and we are surpassing 2008 & 2009’s second quarter results already! 2008 averaged only 18 homes per month and 2009 average 21 homes per quarter – that’s a 19% improved over ’09 and a staggering 39% improvement over 2008! Buyer confidence is up and people are itching to buy!

There are still a lot of foreclosures in the process that are “shadow inventory” which are scheduled to come on the market in the future. Foreclosures, short sales, and other economical drivers are pushing prices down as illustrated below:

Average Selling Price

  • Q1 2009 – $165,888
  • Q2 2009 – $157,442
  • Q3 2009 – $161,964
  • Q4 2009 – $147,195
  • Q1 2010 – $132,809

Likely over this year, we will continue to see a slight decline in prices unless volume of transactions increases tremendously, which is possible! I’m finding in many cases its far better to go ahead and sell properties while they are worth more. Land especially falls in this category with almost 2000 parcels of land for sale, we have a 400 month supply or a 33 YEAR SUPPLY of land for sale! Prices have no where to go with land but down. The large majority of those are lots, which are the most affected.

With that said, we’re working hard for you! We’re having a great year with tremendous buyer interest. We appreciate the opportunity to work for you and do so tirelessly. If there’s anything we can do to help you, get your property sold, or if you know someone looking to buy and find a great deal, let us know. THANK YOU and we hope you have a great Spring!

Looking for one of those great deals to buy or sell your property and get the most you can? Contact The Poltrock Team Today!

John Poltrock – The Poltrock Team – RE/MAX Mountain Properties in Murphy NC – www.MyMurphy.com – Call Toll Free 1-866-Murphy-NC or 1-866-687-7496 – JohnPoltrock@gmail.com

How Much does a septic system cost in Murphy NC?

Posted by I Love Murphy on

If you’re looking to buy or have already bought land in Murphy, NC, then a big question for you should be, “How much does it cost to install a septic system in Murphy NC?” Although this is a loaded question because the price can vary on many factors, here’s a good idea as to what you can expect.

Some factors that can change the cost of your septic:

  • Soil Type: this is a very detailed question, but think of it as is it rocky or just dirt?
  • Terrain Grade or Steepness: Flat land or is it really steep? Steep land can cost more to install a system on.
  • What type of system is your land permitted for by the Cherokee County Health Department?
  • Required Materials and System to be Used

Whenever you buy a parcel of real estate in Murphy NC, we highly recommend you buy it contingent to getting a septic permit. Once you have that permit, then you have authorization to install the septic system the County specifies. Here’s what you can expect from various system types.

  • Conventional Gravity Fed Septic System: Generally costs between $3,000 to $4,500. This system is usually the simplest, most cost effective method. It’s generally what most people think of when you have a septic installed. Regular maintenance is little and putting something like Rid-X down your commode once a month is all the regular maintenance you’ll need.

  • Conventional Septic System with a Pump

    : Generally it costs between $6,500 and $8,000. They work very well and in fact, it was the type of system we had on our very first home. It works the same as a conventional gravity system with only one main difference. The waste water needs to go uphill in order to get to the drain field. Since it doesn’t run uphill on it’s own, another septic tank and pump system is required to get it there. The additional cost is in the extra tank, pump system, piping, and extra labor to make the system work. Regular maintenance is the same as a conventional gravity system. The only thing that can go wrong with it is the pump ceases to work for various reasons. They have a mandatory alarm installed to alert you when this happens. Many pumps are warrantied for 3-5 years.

  • T&J Panel Septic System: Generally they cost $7,000 to $9,000. This system is relatively new and works like a gravity system in areas that have deep soil but few pockets of soil. Drain lines are not nearly as long. It works quite well and maintenance is similar to that of a conventional gravity system.
  • Direct Discharge: $18,000 or more depending on requirements. This system acts like a municipal system in that it treats the water and ultimately dumps it into a body of water. The water (creek, river, lake) must have good water volume. After the waste water is treated, it is practically clean enough to drink. Periodic inspections by a qualified inspector and sometimes the Cherokee County Health Department is required – commonly in 6 month to one year intervals to ensure they are working properly.
  • Drip Irrigation System: This is the most expensive system at an average cost of $20,000 to $24,000 to install and not just anyone can install them. In fact, as of this writing, there are only 5-6 systems running in Cherokee County, and they will become more common as time goes on. These systems are reserved for properties that have little soil suited for a septic. Soil pockets are usually not deep and drip systems are ideal for this situation. The lines lay on the soil or just below and “drip” waste water out on the drain area after it has been pretreated. Regular maintenance is required for these systems. Periodic inspections by a qualified inspector and sometimes the Cherokee County Health Department is required – commonly in 6 month to one year intervals to ensure they are working properly.

Now you have an idea of what to expect from various systems. It is important to bear in mind that every system is different and speaking to a qualified installer for the system you are looking at is the best idea. For a list of recommended contractors in Murphy NC, check out our Gotta Guy List. Who knew there could be so much involved in flushing a toilet!?

John Poltrock, Certified Residential Specialist – The Poltrock Team – Murphy NC Real Estate – REMAX Mountain Properties – www.MyMurphy.com – JohnPoltrock@gmail.com – Call us toll free today at 1-866-Murphy-NC or 1-866-687-7496

September – Best Month for Real Estate Sales in Murphy NC

Posted by I Love Murphy on

Wow! It’s hard to believe that it’s October already! There are so many things going on in the world of real estate right now – which is great! It seems like it’s been forever since the last Bi-Weekly update. Since we began this column in Murphy’s newspaper – The Cherokee Scout – it threw a curve ball in the “release” of our update. We’re working on getting that in sync now, so please pardon the delay.

October brings several wonderful things! Be sure to remember The RE/MAX Client Appreciation Picnic is next Saturday from 4-8! BE SURE TO COME!!! If you think you can make it and haven’t confirmed already, please let us know – we’d love to have you!
 
Fall appears as its going to be early this year, so be sure to enjoy while its here!
 september
On to real estate! September was a tremendous month. It proved to be the best September in the past 3 years. An astounding 63 properties sold in a one month period – and by anyones calculations – two per day is phenomenal! Also not reflected in these sold properties, United Community Bank (UCB) did an online auction that yielded quite a few sold properties – lots sold from a mere $2,000 to $8,000 in several instances.
 

You must be a subscriber of The POLTROCK TEAM’s
Bi-Weekly Real Estate Update to get the Link to
the sold properties for the past 14 Days.
See sold prices, pictures, and descriptions of what’s sold!
Email John at JohnPoltrock@gmail.com and join our SOLD Update!

 

 
SOLD Home Statistics in Murphy NC for September
(40 listings)
  Low High Average Median Total
List Price $40,000 $299,900 $172,424 $165,000 $6,896,950
Selling Price $40,000 $300,000 $152,836 $143,500 $6,113,432
List/Sold(%) 59.93% 100.09% 88.44% 89.78% —
Price/SqFt ($) $0.00 $146.34 $43.22 $0.00 —
Days on Market 16 701 233 175 —
 
 
SOLD Land in Murphy NC Statistics
(23 listings)
  Low High Average Median Total
List Price $12,500 $215,000 $60,691 $39,900 $1,395,900
Selling Price $10,000 $185,000 $51,447 $29,100 $1,183,270
List/Sold(%) 37.93% 209.80% 83.63% 81.08% —
Days on Market 113 648 301 190 —
 
Note the interesting phenomena on the lowest SOLD percentage of list price – Land reached as low as 38% of list and homes as low as 60% indicating some steep discounts (or high overpricing) on homes sold. There’s a direct relation between over pricing a home in today’s market and an extreme high time on market. In fact, the high time on market was an astonishing 701 days! If you don’t want to have an extended time on market like this, ensuring your home is priced competitively in the market is of the utmost importance. If you want a review of your property to see if any adjustments are necessary, give us a call or email and we’ll do the work for you.
We have seen a lot of offers thrown out there – in fact The Poltrock Team alone closed 13 transaction sides in September. We’re still seeing some of the Offers to Purchase come in extremely low and did not fly – we had offers as low as 33% of listing price. This was what I call a “Vulture” offer – folks offering ridiculous offers to see what they could get away with. Even with this happening, most of our buyers realize value even today, and that is perfectly indicative of the market. In fact the highest list to sell ratio was 100.09% of asking price – this means someone paid slightly more than asking price to ensure they bought the property.
 
Real estate is currently on the rise! Keep your fingers crossed and say your prayers for consumer confidence to continue to rise and for people to buy homes and land in the mountains of Murphy, NC!
 
As always, we thank you for the opportunity to work for you. We work hard every day and work 60+ hours per week for our clients and would love to work for you and your real estate referrals.
 
If you have any questions or anything we can do for you, please CONTACT US! Thank you for your business and trust. If you know of anyone looking to buy or sell real estate anywhere in the United States, please give us their name and number and we will take care of them to make certain they get the best service no matter where they are.
Written By: John Poltrock, Certified Residential Specialist – www.MyMurphy.com – The POLTROCK TEAM at REMAX Mountain Properties – Murphy’s #1 Real Estate Team – Contact us Today Toll Free 1-866-687-7496
 
Read previous editions of our Murphy NC Real Estate Market Update and Report.

The Poltrock Team’s Bi-Weekly SOLD Real Estate Update for Murphy NC – August 2009 Edition

Posted by I Love Murphy on

Back to school! Even my daughter is excited to be back to school at Murphy Elementary – which is a true blessing! Schools are starting all over the United States, and as a result, folks are busy. Parents and grandparents alike are busy getting their children back into the “grind.” Every year, we see a drop in new buyers coming in for 2-4 weeks during August when schools are starting back.

Even with the “Back to School” effect, the past two weeks in the real estate market have been HUGELY impressive in Murphy NC! In the past 14 days, an astronomical TWENTY-SIX properties went under contract and are currently pending totaling upwards of $4.1 million in potential real estate transactions. Coupled with the 19 properties that have sold and closed in the past 14 days, which makes for a great August when over $2.7 million is already closed in a two week period.

Over the past month, the average selling price of a home has been fluctuating from $130,253 to $148,068. July yielded the highest average selling price at $188,683. With all this being said, it makes sense that 61% of our market activity has been on properties priced $175,000 and under. With that said, we’re seeing two “holes” in the real estate inventory where supply is dwindling.

  • Properties priced at less than $100,000 are selling very well – so well in fact that supply has dropped more than 36% in the past 12 months.
  • Properties priced from $125,000 to $150,000 have benefited from a 38.3% reduction in inventory in the past year.

Interestingly enough, our new system also finds developing demand as well as price points that do not have active buyers. For example, the price range of $300,000 – $325,000 has had no demand in the past year, indicating a need for homes in those ranges to get under $300,000, which is a significantly more active price range.

Land is another category that needs attention. In the first quarter of 2009, there seemed to be no buyers searching for land. In fact, it was the lowest land sales ever since July of 2002! With that being said, we had nowhere to go but up! Sales volume in land has literally more than doubled since then and Realtors are experiencing more land buyers than we’ve had this entire year. Sales have largely been attributed to tracts less than three acres. In fact, they account for 70% of the transactions and 55% of total land dollar volume.

You must be a subscriber of The POLTROCK TEAM’s
Bi-Weekly Real Estate Update to get the Link to
the sold properties for the past 14 Days.
See sold prices, pictures, and descriptions of what’s sold!
Email John at JohnPoltrock@gmail.com and join our SOLD Update!

Sold Home Statistics
(17 listings)

Low

High

Average

Median

Total

List Price

$69,900

$479,000

$205,666

$164,800

$3,496,325

Selling Price

$59,000

$475,000

$185,235

$160,000

$3,149,000

List/Sold(%)

79.81%

104.46%

90.21%

88.93%

–

Price/SqFt ($)

$0.00

$218.25

$91.10

$106.91

–

Days on Market

45

670

255

168

–

Sold Land Statistics
(6 listings)

Low

High

Average

Median

Total

List Price

$14,900

$218,020

$91,043

$48,525

$546,260

Selling Price

$11,100

$218,020

$108,337

$110,000

$650,020

List/Sold(%)

74.50%

318.69%

127.58%

91.47%

–

Days on Market

22

497

242

255

–

2009 is an exciting year for real estate and we look forward to a continually growing market. August has been a great month and we will continue to work for more to come! We appreciate your business very much, and if there’s anything we can do to help you or someone you know, please let us know! We’re in business because of you.

Written and researched by John Poltrock of The Poltrock Team at RE/MAX Mountain Properties can be reached at 877-837-3002 or by email at JohnPoltrock@gmail.com – You can read a summarized version of this article in the business section Murphy’s #1 Newspaper – The Cherokee Scout.

You can read previous editions of the Murphy NC Real Estate Market Solds and Update by Clicking Here

Sold Real Estate Market Update for Murphy NC – Homes and Land

Posted by I Love Murphy on

This month’s real estate update should be rather enlightening, especially since we are applying new approach to tracking the market. We hope that in addition to traditional statistics, this method will help us identify trends and find “holes” in the markets. To top it off, we’ve been working to have our Bi-Weekly Update published in the Cherokee Scout, Murphy’s leading newspaper. We hope to have this edition published in next week’s paper, so keep an eye out for it!

             The real estate market here in Murphy NC has been showing some strong underlying fundamentals while some elements many people consider “important” have declined. Here’s what that means: most people look to prices and volume of real estate to determine how strong a market is. While both are very important elements, others are equally important and never discussed. When the market began to shift, one of the key indicators it was happening were the Days on Market. Days on market for homes has evidently peaked out spiking as high as 309 days this year alone. Those have been trending downward significantly and have entered the 100 day range several times this year – in fact, this past month’s average has been a mere 177 days to sell a home.

            Volume has been holding steady with first quarter average sales being 17 sales per month and second quarter bringing 21 per month. During this third quarter, we’re currently at 19 sales per month, so the market is continuing to hold ground on volume. This is a great sign! It indicates we’re leveling off and buyers are continuing to hold faith – and they should!

            Price is often one of the most important issues people deal with in the real estate market. Although very important to buyers and sellers alike, it is not a key issue statistically as supply and demand reign supreme and ultimately determines the price of a home. It is of the utmost importance for your property when selling it to pay attention to the laws of supply and demand. It determines the amount of showing activity which in turn can determine contract activity. Generally, you should be averaging between 8-12 showings in a 45-60 day period, and if you’re not, the market is likely indicating your property is overpriced. If you feel your property might be experiencing this issue, please let us know and we will tackle this issue head on to find out what the concern is and correct it. 

You must be a subscriber of The POLTROCK TEAM’s
Bi-Weekly Real Estate Update to get the Link to
the sold properties for the past 14 Days.
See sold prices, pictures, and descriptions of what’s sold!
Email John at JohnPoltrock@gmail.com and join our SOLD Update!

We continue to work harder than ever to get your property the proper exposure and get it sold. We’ve found more success and sales even in this market because we strive to expose your property to the world so buyers can find it and to make you the most appealing and competitive property in the market. We are thankful for the opportunity to serve you and are there to help you in any way we can! Please email or call us if you have any questions or if we can do something to help you.

 With that said, we wish you a wonderful weekend. If we can help you or someone you know with their real estate needs, it will be a privilege for us to serve them. We’d love to take great care of them and thank you for all your referrals.

July’s SOLD Real Estate Market Update Report for Murphy NC

Posted by I Love Murphy on

Good afternoon! 2009 is proving to be a beautiful summer. Lake Hiwassee is full; the weather has been great here in Murphy. Its summer and a great one at that!

All that good weather is bringing lots and lots of travelers. Driving down 64/74 (the 4 Lane as we call it), there’s tons of traffic and lots of out-of-state license plates. Tourism is great this year! Our new cabin rental company, Mountain Country Cabin Rentals, is experiencing a very good volume of renters and has several spectacular homes for rent. This is great because it means FOLKS ARE IN MURPHY!

Real estate sales volume has been holding very level this year and continues to do so. In the past two weeks, there have been 13 properties to close and an amazing 26 to go under contract. Almost one a day! If you remember from our Sold Update before July 4th, we’re down 4 closings over the past two weeks. Even down a fuzz, the great thing is that you cannot believe the hear-say. Real estate is selling.

Showings have been amazing. There are a lot of our RE/MAX agents and agents in other real estate offices burning up the roads showing homes and land. Every time I check the volume of showings on our listings, I’m pleasantly surprised at the amount of times homes have been shown. If market confidence will continue to increase, the sheer amount of showings will turn into some serious closings.

With that said, summer is getting close to being over. This year, the first day of Fall is September 22nd. That means the highest volume time of real estate selling is coming close to a close. It is proving to be very important to have your home or land well presented, priced aggressively in the marketplace, and to have exceptional marketing of it in place. 

You must be a subscriber of The POLTROCK TEAM’s
Bi-Weekly Real Estate Update to get the Link to
the sold properties for the past 14 Days.
See sold prices, pictures, and descriptions of what’s sold!
Email John at JohnPoltrock@gmail.com and join our SOLD Update!

            Of the ten homes that sold, here are some interesting market averages you should know.

  • $185,957 – The average listing price of homes
  • $167,414 – The average SOLD price of homes
  • 92.61% – The list to sell ratio – in other words, what percentage the house sold for compared to the original listing price
  • 102 – Average days on market before selling – WOW! Now that’s good! 

            It is very important at this time of the year to make sure your property is presented properly and aggressively marketed for the buyers who are out there. Your property can be on the SOLD list, and you need professional advice and marketing to get it done. Give us a call and it is our privilege to help you sell your property. If you already have a Realtor you know and trust, call them! If you’re looking to sell your home, there’s no better time than right now to do it. A professional Realtor can take these statistics and sold properties and tell you what you can expect from your property in today’s real estate market.

Written By: John Poltrock with The POLTROCK TEAM at RE/MAX Mountain Properties. You can get the results you deserve by contacting him at JohnPoltrock@gmail.com or by calling toll free 1-866-687-7496

The Poltrock Team’s Murphy NC SOLD Real Estate Update for June 22, 2009

Posted by I Love Murphy on

Happy Fourth of July! Yes, it is a bit early (that and you won’t get another update till after then! ;), but it’s one of our favorite Holidays because we celebrate our freedom. Although sometimes we feel like our country could be ran better at times, we have the greatest democracy the world has ever known. It could be far worse – we could live in Afghanistan!
 
Enough of the ramble and now on to the real estate market in Murphy NC! The past 2 weeks have been quite active averaging a sale every 15 hours – nice! 22 Properties have sold in the past 14 days, and holding true to what it has been for this entire year, homes have been the most active to sell. It’s holding that way for inquiries as well… for every land inquiry we receive, we get 3-4 home inquiries. It’s an interesting phenomenon that historically is not true at all here. Land usually sells 1.5-2 to 1. The good thing is that land parcels are selling, and I do have to admit that large tracts, unless incredibly well price (read: cheap), are practically stagnant.
 

You must be a subscriber of The POLTROCK TEAM’s
Bi-Weekly Real Estate Update to get the Link to
the sold properties for the past 14 Days.
See sold prices, pictures, and descriptions of what’s sold!
Email John at JohnPoltrock@gmail.com and join our SOLD Update!

Here are some statistics over the past 14 days:
Homes
–      Average List Price – $183,194
–      Average Sold Price – $163,194
–      List to Sold Price Ratio – 89.33%
–      Average Days on Market – 341
–      Total Sold – 17
–      Homes Actively for Sale in Cherokee County: 883
–      Homes Currently “Pending” Sale: 31
 

Land
–      Average List Price – $60,760
–      Average Selling Price – $41,000
–      List to Sold Price Ratio – 71.09%
–      Average Days on Market – 326
–      Total Sold – 5
–      Largest Tract to Sell – 1.11+/- Acres
–      Land Actively for Sale in Cherokee County: 2,316
–      Land Currently “Pending” Sale: 90
 
Advice: Despite what rumor and the media says, real estate is selling! Remember that and don’t be discouraged because your property doesn’t “Fly off the Shelf.” There are 3 P’s that are making real estate sell right now:

1)      Presentation – Keep it clean, fresh, comfortable (that means keep the AC on 72-74), and “staged.”

2)      Price – This is incredibly important to be on point for your price. If you’re overpriced in the market, you’re helping sell all the other homes that are correctly priced. Wondering about yours? Ask us! We can help.

3)      Patience – You’ve got to have this one! Even if you have all the above perfect, you’re still going to have to wait. It’s a lot of work to keep your home presentable and priced right, and without this, all the rest doesn’t matter. There’s a lot of agent “hopping” in the market where people will list their house, not sell in 6 months, and change their agent. This isn’t in your best interest. You chose the agent you like and trust and stick with them. When homes are taking an average of 11.36 months to sell in the past two weeks, 6 months simply doesn’t make sense or match the odds. Vegas casinos don’t win in the long run by going against the odds. Sit back, be patient, make your agent work, and talk to them! The advice you get is worth the weight in gold.
 
We thank you for your business – we’re here for you! Anytime we can do anything for you, please give us a call. Although you don’t hear from us every day, we’re behind the scenes sometimes constantly working to generate buyers and closings for our clients. So far, this year is going great and we’re going to keep it up.
 
We have a closing today at 11:30, so today’s another great day for real estate! 😉 Have a wonderful 4th and be safe out there.

John Poltrock – The POLTROCK TEAM at REMAX Mountain Properties – www.MyMurphy.com – Call Toll-Free 1-866-6877496 – Murphy’s #1 Real Estate Team