Wilmington NC Real Estate Guide

Enough already of all the negative publicity in the marketplace. If you are a potential home buyer looking at Wilmington NC real estate, you need to be looking at the affordability index. It is at an all time high (meaning home prices have been lowered)  and interest rates are at historic lows! 4.25%     If you wait for prices to drop further and interest rates go up, the value of the lower purchase price will be wiped out by higher payment. Get out there and look for the perfect house at the perfect price today!

And, if you are looking to sell your home  in Wilmington, NC,  your home must be aggressively priced, it must be in the best possible condition, you are in a beauty pageant and price war at the same time, and it must have the assistance of a reputable Realtor who knows the market and offers an aggressive marketing campaign and will use every tool in the arsenal.

For more details about the Wilmington NC real estate market, please contact kaybaker@ec.rr.com or 910-232-0363 or go to www.cbbaker.com.

Wilmington NC real estate offers brand new brick townhomes from $169,900 only minutes to Wrightsville Beach, Mayfaire and UNCW. These all brick townhomes offer easy first floor living with open floor plans,  3 bedrooms, garage and private courtyard, bonus room over garage on some plans. Granite countertops, stainless appliances and hardwood floors are standard in all models! Also, The Townes are Carleton Place offers pool and clubhouse. 

What better time to buy a beautiful townhome in the heart of Wilmington. Take advantage of historic low interest rates today!

Give us a call today at 910 262-3353 or email kaybaker@ec.rr.com for a tour.

Directions: North on College Road right on Oriole Drive, right on College Acres Drive and left on Carleton Drive.

The Wilmington- Cape Fear Homebuilders announced yesterday that the “housing affordability” in the Wilmington NC area remained near the highest level nationwide for the 6 consectutive month.  The Wilmington NC real estate prices have been lowered and the interest rates are favorable.   

This quote is from WWAY 3 from the president of Homebuilders “The possibility of homeownership is more obtainable for buyers in our market now than it has been for years,” said WCFHBA President John Lancaster of Venture Homes of the Carolinas. “More buyers are beginning to enter the market again thanks to renewed confidence as housing prices stabilize while the fed maintains all time low interest rates.”

Syracuse NY held the top spot on most affordable homes, with some smaller housing markets following close by Mansfield, Ohio; Bay City, Mich.; Monroe, Mich.; and Lansing-East Lansing, Mich.  Lancaster says “Our market is greatly influenced by what happens up north, so the numbers out of places like New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio are encouraging,”. 

That is encouraging news when the news lately has not been so positive.

Please take a minute to tour our website and search the Wilmington NC real estate area to find the house, neighborhood and price that you are looking for.  We have an inhouse Lender – Alpha Mortgage and an inhouse Insurance Agency – Real Mark Insurance and would be happy to give you contact information so that you have a “One Stop” Shop to buy real estate.   We make it easy for you.  Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty and Kay Baker and Associates.  Search all Wilmington NC real estate on www.cbbaker.com

Wilmington NC real estate median sold price continues its five month climb; we are 1.0% ahead of last month and 1.6% over last year this time. Our pending index is up 6.3% from last month. Our year to date we have a growth of 15.2% sold units over last year while our average sold price is just 1.9% behind last year. In our rolling 12 months we are 16.1% up in sold units and our average sold price is only down by 3.6%. This is the first month to break the string of sold units over the prior year; we had a string of 10 months. A key point to note is the average sold price is just a hair under last month by .03% or $707.00, but we are 8.4% ahead of last year this time.  The trend is our negative numbers and gaps keep getting smaller and smaller.
In the month of July, we saw a decrease of 125 Wilmington NC homes for sale, we have 5,604 homes on the market as of August 1st.  This continues to put us in a strong buyer’s market with a listing inventory of over a 16.0 month supply. With the low sales in July this affects our month supply with a change of 5 months from last month. Our average list price has stayed below the $400,000 range for eleven months; we are currently at $377,052. In July we saw a decrease in our seller concessions, it is now 21.7%. Our average days on the market are 121. The list to sold ratio is 94.8% and is up .4% from last month; this number needs to continue to get better. The number of homes that sold in 15 days or less continues to remain very low, 17.7% of July sold homes. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.44% with an average 0.7 points for the week ending August 12, 2010. We are now hitting historic lows in mortgage rates.
Listing Inventory
In July we saw our first decrease in listing inventory of 125 units. We are about 204 units over August 1, 2009. We have 5,604 single family homes for sale in our MLS. The average list price of $377,052 is down by $3,515 from last month. The average list price has decreased by 8.1% from August 1, 2009. Read the rest of this entry

The Wilmington NC real estate market seemed slow in June and July and the numbers tell the story…The number of homes sold in New Hanover County last month dropped 31% from June 2010 and 20% from July 2009. This is definitely a hangover from the end of the tax credit. The average sales price was also down from June slightly and a little higher than July 2009. The median sales price was actually higher for July 2010 at $190,000, $185,000 July 2009 and $188,000 in June.

New Hanover County is also a leading county in the state in foreclosures and following suit with the nation in the slowdown. Buyers are wanting the best possible prices in the market and therefore sellers are having to compete with the huge number of  homes that are in foreclosure or short sale.

There are signs in the market place of builders once again gearing up, but they too are limited by the number of foreclosed homes being dumped on the market and possible depressing prices of existing homes. In addition, lenders are still overly cautious in lending money.

But on the bright side, August seems to be showing signs of more buyers coming to the table. But again, they are looking for a deal.

If you are a buyer and looking for Wilmington NC foreclosures or short sales, we can send a list right to your in box. And, you can also begin your home search at www.cbbaker.com. There you can search all homes in the Wilmington NC area by schools, map, zip codes, neighborhoods, price and more.. If you are in the market to sell your home, remember the three main components for a speedy sale are price, condition and marketing. Give us a call or email and we will be happy to discuss.

If you are looking to purchase back to school supplies, computers or sports equipment, this weekend is tax free. In this touch economy, we can use any help we can get. The average family spends $563 on school supplies so that would be a $30 savings. There are limitations on the sports equipment of $50, computers $3500 and computer equipment $250.

The tax free weekends kicks off Thursday at Midnight and lasts till Sunday at 11:59P.

For the tenth straight month, Wilmington NC real estate has shown an increase over last year, by number of homes sold.

The average sales price of homes sold in Wilmington, NC was down slightly over year end 2009. And, if you look at the most active zip codes: 28403 actually had an increase of 2.4% over last year; 28412 had a small increase .06% over year end 2009. Homes sold at 96.4% of asking price; 28405 had an average selling price of $264,322 with an increase of 5.7% from year end 2009. The average list price had increased 6.7% from year end. But, 28409 zip code had a 3.9% decrease in average selling price over year end 2009 and the average list price decreased 4.4% over year end. Homes sold at 93.6% of asking price. The average selling price in zip code 28411 decreased 6.3% over year end 2009 and the average list price decreased 8.1%. 28412 average selling price increased slightly and the average list price decreased slightly.

Overall, we saw a positive increase in units sold in the second quarter, but average sold price from second quarter 2009 was down 4.2%.

2010 does offer excellent buying opportunities with median home prices down 7.9% from year end 2008; foreclosures and short sales are excellent buys; mortgage rates are at historic lows; and there are 2889 homes on the market in the six zip codes in and around Wilmington, NC.

Now is definitely the time to buy Wilmington NC real estate. If you are searching for a home, just log onto my website at www.cbbaker.com and there you can search by schools, zip code, neighborhoods, map and more. If you would like a list of foreclosures and short sales sent to your inbox, just email kaybaker@ec.rr.com.

If you are drawn to ocean breezes and the best of true coastal living, then look no further than The Village at Mayfaire, Wilmington, NC. Here you will find relaxing but luxurious condominiums just minutes to Wrightsville Beach and of course, Mayfaire Town Center.

For instance, this 3 bedroom 2.5 bath home with over 2000 sq ft is just $350,000. This is true true luxurious living in a convenient, relaxed and carefree atmosphere. This is one of the few and largest floor plans available with over 2100 square feet and an attached one car garage and is all on one level and on the first floor so no stairs to negotiate. Numerous upgrades include granite in the kitchen as well as both bathrooms and double hanging racks and shelving in master walk-in closet. There are gorgeous travertine floors grace the main living area and stainless appliances with a natural gas range. A wonderful covered terrace invites the breezes and begs for a relaxing afternoon. And best of all e joy a short distance to casual or fine dining, shopping or take in a movie. Or you can have your toes in the sand at Wrightsville Beach in less than 10 minutes or spend time in the state of the art fitness facility. Entertain friends and family at the clubhouse while enjoying a game of billiards, or the private screening room, swimming pool tennis or the community gourmet kitchen. Now that’s what luxury living is all about. Check out 557 Garden Terrace NOW!

Wilmington NC Real Estate

Or if you prefer, we can send you a list of Wilmington, NC real estate for sale just to fit your needs. Just send me an email kaybaker@ec.rr.com.

The real estate market conditions in Wilmington, NC are showing some signs of improvement in terms of number of homes sold in 2010 over 2009. The number of sales have been up for 10 months straight for the Cape Fear Region.

May and June average sales prices numbers have dropped from 2009, as the number of foreclosures and short sales are bringing prices down. The average sales price for  Wilmington NC homes area for June was $238,610. Complete sales history here..

If you are in the market for Wilmington NC real estate, right now is an awesome time to buy a home. Interest rates are at a historic low and inventories are high with an abundance of foreclosures and short sales to choose from. You can really get an excellent buy meaning more home for the money. If you would like a list of Wilmington NC foreclosures or short sales, just email kaybaker@ec.rr.com. We will send a complete list to your inbox. You may search real estate at www.cbbaker.com.

The Wilmington NC foreclosure rate has nearly doubled in the Cape Fear area in the past year according to a research firm. Coldwell Banker Sea Coast listings comprise of 25% foreclosures, which is up 20% over last year. And, short sales up 10%, perhaps a sign of homeowners in despair. But, there is a bright side to the story, the Wilmington area has fared better than the rest of the nation through this financial crisis.

In Brunswick County, residential lots account for 70% of the foreclosures, due to high speculation of investors in the good times.

What does this all mean to you? Well, if you have a Wilmington NC  home  for sale now, you are competing with all these foreclosures and short sales on the market. The prices are being driven down by this impact. The buyers today are primarily looking at foreclosures and short sales. So, you as a seller have to be very competitive with your price.

If you are in a short sale situation and need assistance, please feel free to contact me at kaybaker@ec.rr.com. We are specialists in the short sale process and know how to get your home sold before foreclosure.

And, if you are looking to take advantage of these great prices, please log onto my website at www.cbbaker.com or contact me and we will send you a detailed list of short sales and foreclosures on the market NOW.