Thankful on the Outer Banks

November 21, 2012 By Ilona

This month’s update is pretty bland compared to some of the things happening in recent months. There are no insurance rate hikes, no damaging Hurricanes, no bridge news…only good news this month!

While a good portion of our beaches were damaged during Sandy, we still remain extremely fortunate not to have received a direct hit. As is typical on the Outer Banks, most everything is cleaned up and businesses affected are back up and running. We do tend to recover from these things pretty quickly and that has certainly been the case with Sandy as well.

Since we have been through this so many times, it was an interesting change to see the 2 HUGE trucks of supplies that our Outer Banks locals sent to New Jersey to help out Sandy victims in that region. Even though we are a small community, when we come together we accomplish big things. I hope if you were affected by Sandy your situation is on the mend or fully recovered.

On to the news in the marketplace. Sales activity for 2012 is up so far this year 21%. Land sales lead the way with the biggest improvement. Inventory is down 4% so far this year. This is a move in the right direction…more is needed.

The most popular selling price range is still $200K to $299K. However, surprising enough so far 50 homes sold in the $1M or more price range, with an average time on market of 186 days! That’s definitely good news.

Distress activity remains the same. There does seem to be a small decline in foreclosure filings when looking at the data over the last several months. The biggest challenge with distress properties is that the median sales price for them DROPPED 22% this year so far. When these homes become your competition, that means a drop in price for regular sales as well, albeit generally not as big a drop.

One last tidbit…I was informed this morning that our Property Management Department is coming off one of the best seasons in history! If you know of anyone needing a new management company, certainly give me a call!

If I can provide you with any additional specific market data, please be sure to let me know.

Have a very blessed and Happy Thanksgiving celebration.

Filed Under: OBX Real Estate News & Data, Outer Banks Good Living Tagged With: , ,

Tax Re-evaluation, Bridge and other news

September 26, 2012 By Ilona

Fall is officially upon us and the weather here in Duck has been phenomenal.  This is by far the best time of year to visit the Outer Banks and I hope you’ll be able to take advantage of it as well.

In fact, you may already be planning a visit over Columbus Day Weekend.  If so, you’ll notice the annual Parade of Homes happening.  This is a big event for us and is a great opportunity to see the latest trends in building.  If you can’t make it, be sure to take a look at the full tour online…

You may also remember a brief note in a previous email about the 2012 Tax Re-evaluation that is taking place now.  The latest assessments for Dare County will be available to homeowners in January 2013.  Keep in mind, tax assessment is not designed to determine market value for the property, rather for the purpose of assessing taxes equally among property owners.  If you’re interested in more information you can visit Dare County’s website on the topic here.

Now for the latest Mid-Currituck Bridge update…the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee has scheduled a meeting to give an update on this project for October 8th in Raleigh.  If you have an interest in this be sure to contact Representative Owens with your thoughts.  You’ll also notice on the Turnpike Authority website regarding this project that the completion date has been pushed once again to January 2018.

Lastly, sales continue to be very strong here.  There’s overall a 19% increase in the number of sales so far this year over last year.  However, last month we saw a huge spike in foreclosure filings for Dare County.  No one is really sure what caused the increase.  The point is we aren’t ready for any appreciation just yet.  It remains a great time to buy and for those selling a wonderful opportunity to take advantage of the increased buyer activity.  Let me know if you need any data on the market.

Filed Under: OBX Real Estate News & Data, Outer Banks Good Living Tagged With: , , ,

Outer Banks Update July 24, 2012

July 24, 2012 By Ilona

Sales activity continues to be higher than last year.  June finished with a 19% increase of sold properties over June 2011.  Properties going under contract are still on the rise as well.  Typically the summer months see a bit of a slow-down in activity, which we have, yet still maintained the increase.  I suspect the Fall Market will be very strong indeed.

Pricing seems to be stabilizing.  Some towns are still declining while others are holding steady.  For specific information on your location send me an email and I’ll get you a report.

The study on erosion in Duck is underway and the results of Phase I of this study will be presented to the public on August 15th at 1 pm.  For more information click here.

There is no new news on the Mid-Currituck Bridge.  We’re not expecting any updates until the end of this quarter.

As you can tell, I have a brand new website launched!  This site is very user friendly and should provide you with all the searching tools needed to find out what’s for sale on the Outer Banks.  I encourage you to check it out and take a look at my blog. If you haven’t done so already – follow me on Facebook, Twitter & / or Linkedin!

Doing a short sale in North Carolina is about to change.  The NC Association of Realtors recently made several revisions to the Short Sale Addendum.  For a quick video on the most impactful changes click here.

That’s all for this month.  As always if I can answer your real estate questions please contact me!

Filed Under: Home Buyers' Tips & Advice, Home Sellers' Tips & Advice, OBX Real Estate News & Data, Outer Banks Good Living Tagged With: , , ,