With the change of governorship in NC during the November election, it remains to be seen what the state’s position will be on the importance of this bridge project.  Governor McCrory was very committed to the project, as was his team on the DOT.  We have yet to hear what Cooper’s stance is.  With his main guy at the DOT being formerly involved with the EPA, it’s not looking good.

Meanwhile, I came across the letter from the SELC to NCDOT and Federal Highway Authority dated December 21, 2016.  You can read that letter here.  (Warning, it’s very lengthy, but has a great history and timeline of events to how we got where we are.)  In the letter, something caught my attention:

“The new expectation that traffic in the study area will be significantly lighter than previously anticipated and the Transportation Agencies’ failure to incorporate this fact into their analysis.”

Part of their argument against the building of the bridge was this new expectation of traffic.  I kept reading until I came across this info:

“New traffic forecasts, however, have shown that every single one of these predictions is no longer true. Travel demand will no longer exceed road capacity on 29 miles of the road network by 2035, or even 2040.”

I wanted to know why the SELC is reporting a new study shows the traffic patterns would be lower than originally predicted.  In my research I found that it turns out the DOT changed their traffic numbers and projections based on national trends and actual observed traffic counts.

So, basically what happened is DOT put out new numbers, and SELC pounced with another opportunity to squash the project.  While their argument is the same as it has been from the beginning, with the DOT’s own reports now showing a different projection in numbers, will the decision to build the bridge be sustained?  That coupled with new leadership has me feeling a lot of doubt that it will happen.

What are your thoughts?

Read the letter from SELC in December here. http://southernshores-nc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/December-2016-Comments-on-Mid-Currituck-Bridge-NEPA-Review.pdf

Happy New Year!  I’m really excited about what’s to come in 2017 for the real estate market on the Outer Banks.  There seems to be a burst in consumer confidence, and I hope that positive effect comes to us in full force.  We definitely need it!

We had a huge year for sales in 2012 and things have been pretty stable since then.  It doesn’t surprise me that we saw no increase in the number of sales for 2016 from 2015.  I do suspect we will have a very strong year for 2017 in terms of  number of sales:

The big question on everyone’s mind is still about price.  We have already seen the interest rates tick up a bit.  That definitely makes it a little more challenging for prices to rise.  The other issue is of course, inventory.  While our inventory levels are down quite a bit, 14% to be exact, we still have an over 12 month supply of properties for sale, in the overall market.

In a few of our specific markets, like Duck and Corolla, the inventory levels are much higher, nearly 24 months’ supply.  The number of buyers would have to triple to bring inventory to an 8 month supply.  Which is still slightly high.  With the latest bridge developments, I’m not sure why the number of buyers would go up that much.  So those areas could still be plagued with an extreme oversupply of inventory, continuing to suppress the pricing.

Meanwhile, the opportunity to buy a home at a great price, with great rental income is high!  Click here for the checklist of what to know before buying on the Outer Banks.

If you’re thinking of selling this year, let’s chat about what I can do for you!

Although it sounds reasonable to think with all the guests coming, it would be better to just sell the home in the fall or spring, take a look at these 5 reasons you could be missing out by waiting.

1. Inventory has been our biggest challenge in terms of pricing. June, July and August are historically the time of year when our inventory is the lowest.  Why not take advantage of that incredible opportunity?  Lower inventory means higher prices.

2. The Outer Banks will have over 3 million visitors each year. Obviously the majority of those folks visit during the summer months.  We cannot get that kind of exposure any other time of year!

3. The home is fully open and operational. Buyers will have inspections done before closing.  When the house is winterized during the fall/winter, there are extra costs to open the house back up for those inspections.  Right now, everything is up and running and easy to inspect to assure the buyer the home is in good condition.

4. It’s a beach house! When does the beach look the best?  Summer time of course.  Your beach house will show the best with sun shining, deck chairs out, pool open, hot tub running!  Buyers get excited about these things and it helps to sell your home.

5. Buyers this time of year are serious about buying! If a potential buyer is going to take time out of their much anticipated vacation to look at your home, it means they are serious about buying.  They’re here with all decision makers too.

If you would like to know what your home is worth in today’s market, or want to see my marketing plan, call or email me today!