Well the media is being the media again.  I wonder if they could sell newspapers if they reported on anything but doom and gloom?  In today’s real estate market report the headline reads “Home resales at lowest rate since ‘96.”  What they failed to emphasize is that the report also had some good news.

Total housing inventory at the end of January fell 2.7 percent to 3.60 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 9.6-month supply at the current sales pace. Because sales were down, the January supply is up from a 9.4-month supply in December.

“The drop in total inventory is an encouraging sign because the number of homes on the market has declined steadily since peaking in July 2008, and inventory is at the lowest level in two years,” Yun, economist for National Association of Realtors, said.

That basically means there are fewer and fewer homes on the market which is reducing inventory and stablizing pricing.  Fortunately, Southeastern North Carolina is in a much better housing picture then the rest of the country.  Real estate markets are highly localized so looking at national numbers can be very misleading.  Contact your real estate professional today for help with any of your relocation needs.

Wilmington, NC got some great news from Builder, the information source for the home building industry. Although most markets were down last year, some markets way outperformed others. Wilmington, NC was ranked 14th in the country when comes to healthy housing markets.

According to Builder, “Wilmington has the second highest ratio of permits pulled per resident….” Proving again Wilmington, NC is wonderful place to live with access to the Atlantic Ocean, Cape Fear River, Historic Waterfront, The University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and much, much more. Even with all of these wonderful reasons to live here in Wilmington, the median home price was still only $198,700.

Read Article here

If you are interested in relocating to Wilmington, NC or anywhere in Southeastern North Carolina please consider visting us where at Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty.  Visit www.SeaCoastRealty.com for more information today.

The new housing plan was announced today and I have to say I am hopeful.

Here are some of the details that came out in it.

• Helping borrowers who owe more than 80% of their home’s value to refinance and reduce their monthly payments.
• Creating a $75 billion homeowner stability initiative to reduce monthly payments for at-risk borrowers by subsidizing interest rates. The goal would be to bring payments to no more than 31% of a borrower’s income.
• Providing multiple incentives to servicers to modify loans and to proactively help at-risk borrowers while they are still current in their payments.
• Creating a $10 billion fund to protect investors and servicers against further home price declines.
• Requiring all financial institutions receiving government funds to participate in a standardized loan modification program, while seeking to have all federal agencies that own or guarantee loans also apply the guidelines.
• Allowing judges to modify mortgages during bankruptcy, a measure the financial industry has strongly opposed.
• Providing more Treasury Department backing of Fannie Mae (FNM, Fortune 500) and Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500) and expanding the number of mortgages the agencies back.

As much as I don’t like the prospect of supplementing someones bad judgment in getting a loan they could not afford, I understand that we need to stem the tide or foreclosures and stabilize the housing market for the betterment of everyone.

What is important to realize is that the real estate market is extremely localized and that Southeastern North Carolina is doing much better than a lot of the rest of the country.  Our real estate experts can help you with all of your real estate needs.  Visit us today at www.SeaCoastRealty.com.

I have to say that I could use $8,000, how about you?  Whether you agree or disagree with the stimulus package, the fact remains that there is a nice $8,000 incentive for many home buyers.  This affects first time home buyers primarily but it actually helps us all.  One of the challenges we face in the real estate market today is the shear inventory of homes on the market.  With this great refundable $8,000 credit, more people will be enticed to take advantage of the opportunity and start working our way through the excess inventory.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, estimates that the new credit will bring an additional 300,000 home buyers into the market.  I don’t know about you but that sounds like a very good thing.

To be honest we are starting to see more and more activity in our neck of the woods.  We saw the highest volume in contracts last week since mid year of 2008.  All of these are very good signs.

As always if you need someone to help you with your real estate needs, contact us here at Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty.

We are proud to announce that Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty is again the #1 real estate company in Southeastern North Carolina for the ninth straight year.  We were #1 in total properties sold and #1 in total volume sold.  What is so great about our success is that we measure it by the entire real estate market and not selective price ranges or areas.

We could not have accomplished such a goal without the great Realtors and staff here at Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty. Their continued excellence and customer service are something that continues to make us proud.

Properties Sold in 2008

We invite you to contact us at any of our 7 offices or visit us at www.SeaCoastRealty.com.   Don’t forget to let us help you with any of your Southeastern Real Estate needs.

THE BALLOTS ARE IN…

 THE VOTES HAVE BEEN COUNTED…

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty

was voted the

Best Real Estate Company

in the Wilmington Area

By Encore Magazine Readers

Although we have won this award multiple times it always flattering and humbling to be recognized by our clients and neighbors here in Wilmington NC.  We want to thank all of those that voted and look forward to helping you with all of your real estate needs.

Please stop by to www.SeaCoastRealty.com anytime to see us.

Thanks to the local military presence of Camp Lejeune and New River Air Station the real estate market in Jacksonville, NC is staying strong.  With even more troops set to be coming to Jacksonville, NC the market only seems to be getting better.

With the need for off-base housing increasing and with interests rates making it cheaper to buy than rent in cases, the market for Jacksonville, NC homes has never been greater. Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty not only helps our clients find existing homes but new home construction as well.  In fact we the pleasure of representing one of the  great Jacksonville NC new homes project called the Neighborhoods of Holly Ridge.  The Neighborhoods of Holly Ridge are fantastic value along with being just a wonderful home for military personnel.

All of this is news great for not only Jacksonville, NC but also the surrounding areas such as Sneads Ferry, NC, Topsail Island, NC and even Hampstead, NC.

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty has a wonderful office located just off Onslow Drive in Jacksonville, NC that is there to serve you.  Give us a call today at (910) 353-5100 and ask to speak to any our wonderful Realtors®.

From all of us here at Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty has a happy and safe weekend.

Today, the federal government floated an idea today that they were going to attempt to lower the mortgage rates.

My comment to this be very careful in waiting on the federal government to lower rates before buying or selling a home.  We have heard of these types plans in the past that do little more than keep people on sidelines as the home of their dreams passes them by.

Don’t forget to visit www.SeaCoastRealty.com for all of your real estate needs. We are the number one real estate company in Southeastern North Carolina and have been so for the past 8 years.

I posted a blog last week (seen here) asking a rhetorical question on if we have see the bottom of the real estate market. Today we received more evidence suggesting that the bottom of the real estate market may just be passing us by. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that pending homes sales increased to an amazing 6.3% in December. A lot of the sales are due to buyers coming back into the market as prices have fallen along with great mortgage rates.

Now, I understand that we are not out of the woods but I would say that if you were waiting to get the best “deal” on that dream home you had better hurry. The wonderful agents here at Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty are here to help. We have 7 great locations for your convenience.

Here are some quick access links to our respective offices:

Wilmington NC Office
Wilmington NC Real Estate, Wilmington NC Homes, Wilmington NC New Homes, Wilmington NC Realtor 

Porters Neck Office
Porters Neck NC Real Estate, Porters Neck NC Homes, Porters Neck NC New Homes, Porters Neck NC Realtor 

Carolina Beach, NC Office
Carolina Beach NC Real Estate, Wilmington NC Homes, Wilmington NC New Homes, Wilmington NC Realtor 

Leland, NC Office
Leland NC Real Estate, Leland NC Homes, Leland NC New Homes, Leland NC Realtor 

Southport, NC Office
Southport NC Real Estate, Southport NC Homes, Southport NC New Homes, Southport NC Realtor 

Jacksonville, NC Office
Jacksonville NC Real Estate, Jacksonville NC Homes, Jacksonville NC New Homes, Jacksonville NC Realtor 

Topsail, NC Office
Topsail NC Real Estate, Topsail NC Homes, Topsail NC New Homes, Topsail NC Realtor