Many hardworking North Carolina families don’t earn enough to afford an average-priced home in their community.  Real estate professionals with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty recently earned the North Carolina Workforce Housing Specialist certification and learned about programs that can help teachers, firefighters, nurses, and other service workers in our community achieve the dream of home ownership. 

Brett Adams, Cathi Anderson, Carolyn Dunwell, Paul Dunwell, Tom Gale, and Amy Whetsel from Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty’s Wilmington office earned the certification.  Homes4NC, a housing foundation created by the North Carolina Association of REALTORS®, offers the certification to REALTORS® who take extra steps to learn about the federal, state and local housing programs specifically designed to help buyers that earn less than the area median income.  They also work within the community to increase housing affordability for all citizens.   

“My wife is a teacher, so I hear from her colleagues all the time about how hard it is to find affordable housing,” said Tom Gale.  “With the training we received, I know about more lending programs that can help them.”

According to Homes4NC, wages in North Carolina are not expected to keep pace with the cost of housing.  Half of the state’s future jobs are expected to pay 60% of the state’s current average earnings.

To earn the certification, REALTORS® must complete sixteen hours of educational courses that focus on national, state, and local affordable housing resources. For more information about the North Carolina Workforce Housing Specialist certification, visit www.Homes4NC.org.

Coldwell Banker On Location, Coldwell Banker’s YouTube channel focused on listing, community and agent profile videos, continues to redefine the use of video in real estate. Just 11 months after launching in May 2009, Coldwell Banker On Location has drawn 1 million channel views.

Since Coldwell Banker Real Estate launched their brand channel on YouTube to debut Coldwell Banker On Location, the site has more videos on its YouTube site than any other real estate brand.

“We believe that video plays a major role in the home buying and selling process,” said Michael Fischer, senior vice president, Marketing, for Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. “There is no other medium that can showcase the personality of a home and agent more effectively than video. And our agents, from all corners of the world, have responded by posting more than 11,000 videos to date. Clearly, Coldwell Banker On Location has set a high bar for video use in our industry, but more importantly home sellers are starting to expect video as a part of the marketing portfolio of a home.”

Recognizing the power of video, Coldwell Banker Real Estate recently unveiled a new commercial featuring Coldwell Banker On Location.

“Consumers searching for homes have so much information available to them,” said Fischer. “But data and photos can only do so much. We have clearly come a long way from when a picture was worth a thousand words and the only visual a potential homeowner could utilize. Video is now a mainstay in real estate and consumers are proving this to be true.”

Click on the video titles listed below to see some of the Coldwell Banker On Location videos produced by Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty:

• Buying Foreclosures and Bank-Owned Properties
• Carolina Beach, NC - Tips from the Locals
• Ginger Harper on Southport, NC
• Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty Moves Jacksonville, NC
• Michelle Gurrera on Wilmington, NC
• Pat Maloney Says “Test Drive” Your New Home
• Sharon Zak on Boiling Spring Lakes, NC
• Ken Keegan on St. James, NC
• Sean Skutnik Explains Why You’ll Love Leland, NC

Readers of Wilmington’s Encore magazine have voted Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty as Wilmington’s Best Real Estate Company in their “Best of Wilmington 2010″!

Thanks go out to everyone that voted for for us.  Though this isn’t our first “Best of Wilmington” award, we’re still thrilled by this honor.  Our more than 300 agents and staff take great pride in the fact that every year for the last decade, we’ve sold more homes in southeastern North Carolina than any other real estate company.

Check out the nice things Encore had to say about us:

BEST REAL ESTATE AGENCY

The local and national housing markets may have taken a hit due to the recession as of late, but Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty is soaring high above the rest with their win for Best Real Estate Agency. Serving the cities of Wilmington and Jacksonville; the coastal communities of Carolina Beach, Topsail Beach, Surf City, Wrightsville Beach, Figure Eight Island, North Topsail Beach, Kure Beach, Bald Head Island, Oak Island, Ocean Isle Beach and Holden Beach; and coastal communities, including Porters Neck, Southport, Sneads Ferry, Leland, Scotts Hill, Hampstead, Holly Ridge, Camp Lejeune, New River, Bolivia, Shallotte, Boiling Spring Lakes and St. James, Sea Coast is without a doubt a leader in its industry. In fact, it is the number-one real estate company in southeastern North Carolina, selling more properties than any area firm for the past eight years.

With 300-plus agents and seven convenient locations (two in Wilmington, on Military Cutoff Road and at Porters Neck) Sea Coast is more than equipped to satisfy anything their customers desire. They can handle relocation needs, from start to finish, and even offer a 100-percent Satisfaction Guarantee. In an ever-changing real-estate climate, Sea Coast has remained true to its roots and continues to offer first-class service with a reputation clients have learned they can trust. Their easy-to-navigate Web site, www.seacoastrealty.com, only adds to what Wilmington recognizes as dependable, up-to-date and quality service.

If you are thinking about buying or selling a home in New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender, or Onslow County, North Carolina, shouldn’t you have the “Best of Wilmington” working for you?  Visit us online at www.seacoastrealty.com or call us at 1-800-522-9624.

Normally, the winter months are a pretty slow time in the real estate business.  While the weather has been cold outside this year, the real estate market has been getting hotter and hotter. 

In January 2009, homebuyers toured Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty listings 2,757 times!  That’s a whopping 72% increase from the previous month.  The number of showings is expected to grow even more over the next few months.

Our real estate professionals say that there are lots of homebuyers hunting for homes earlier than usual this year, so that they can take advantage of the homebuyer tax credit before the April 30, 2010 deadline.  First-time homebuyers are eligible for an $8,000 tax credit.  Homeowners that have been in their current home for the last 5 years are also eligible for a $6,500 tax credit.  In addition, real estate agents say that there are lots of investors and folks looking for second homes out looking for great properties at a bargain price.

If you are considering selling your home, it’s smart to contact a Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty agent today.  Our real estate professionals in New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender, and Onslow counties will expertly market your home, so that it will get the attention it deserves and sell for the most money.

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty has been southeastern North Carolina’s top home seller for the last 10 years!  Find out more at www.seacoastrealty.com.

Holly Ridge, NC is a predominantly residential town that is centrally located midway between Jacksonville and Wilmington, North Carolina on US Highway 17. In the 1940’s, Holly Ridge was the location for the military’s Camp Davis and, at one time the sleepy little town went from 28 resident to a boomtown of 110,000. Today, a little over 800 residents inhabit it but much more is coming! With several subdivisions started or in the works, Holly Ridge will be “sleepy” no more.

Kure Beach lies at the southern tip of North Carolina’s Pleasure Island. Kure Beach is a true “getaway destination” where uncrowded beaches, casual restaurants and comfortable accommodations are a favorite for a growing number of vacationers.

Holly Ridge NC Sunset

Kure Beach is located at the southern tip of North Carolina’s Pleasure Island. It is known for peaceful crowd less beaches and its family oriented community. It is a great place for you to spend some time with your family. You can enjoy activities like NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher and the Southport Ferry ride. If you time your trip right, you can also attend many events that are planned for tourists. Kure Beach real estate offers great houses that can also be used as vacation homes. If you enjoy beaches and are looking to buy a coastal property, you can also consider Carolina Beach real estate. Prices are still very low and you should take advantage of the deals out there.

Looking for an affordable but family-friendly place to live?  Kure Beach real estate offers homes to fit every family size at reasonable prices located on Pleasure Island  Enjoy the comfortable atmosphere with uncrowded beaches and casual restaurants.  Visit the North Carolina Aquarium and discover the waters of the Cape Fear and its coastline habitats.  Just 18 miles north of Kure Beach are the unique shops and restaurants in downtown Wilmington.  Designated a Historic District on the National Register, Wilmington real estate features a diversity of distinctive, architectural styles.  With historic commercial buildings from half a century ago along the streets of downtown, Wilmington is a prime place to visit and reside.

Can’t find that special, serene location to call your next home? Check out Pleasure Island, containing the three towns of Carolina Beach, Kure Beach and historic Fort Fisher. The small town friendliness of Pleasure Island makes it the perfect community to reside. Enjoy miles of sandy beaches where you can hit The Boardwalk for live music, an outdoor movie, miles of affordable shopping, and plenty of sensational restaurants. With the Carolina Beach Marina & Fishing Center just around the corner, you can watch the fisherman unload the summer day’s catch.

During the winter, enjoy one of the best Christmas light displays on Pleasure Island. The traditional, free ceremony of the Island of Lights Festival is a local favorite, where residents can enjoy the pretty light displays and caroling provided by community groups, while taking a peaceful stroll around the lake of Carolina Beach.

From entertainment to relaxation, Pleasure Island will keep you coming back for more, turning vacationers into yearlong residents. Offering a large variety of places to call your next home, explore the riches of Pleasure Island and let Sea Coast Realty help you make the best move. To get started, browse Carolina Beach real estate and Kure Beach real estate.

It was an AWESOME weekend here in Wilmington, North Carolina, with temps in the high 70s and not a cloud in the sky — perfect October conditions on the beautiful Southeastern North Carolina coast.  Many of our associates held open houses in the area to take advantage of the ideal weather, knowing lots of people would be in town for events such as the Pleasure Island Seafood Blues and Jazz Festival at Carolina Beach and Kure Beach.  We’ve made it easy for folks to find which properties are open, just by going to our website and clicking on the Open Houses button.  There’s another button there to display all the New Listings in the past 7 days.  Give it a try, and hope to see you down our way!