Wilmington NC Real Estate Guide

Google Maps is getting out of the real estate business starting Feb 10, 2011.  In July 2009 Google added “search for real estate” on their Google Maps.  Due to the increase in excellent real estate search features on real estate websites, like Coldwell Banker, and an change to API on how listings are submitted Google decided that the real estate search on maps were not being utilized.  Coldwell Banker embraces Google products such as YouTube and Google Maps on their website.  Google is already working on new features that will enhance websites and searching for consumers.  Search all real estate on www.cbbaker.com

One of the treasures of Wilmington NC is the Screen Gems Movie Studio.  It is not a rare site to see a movie star or two while you are going about your daily business in Wilmington NC.  A new movie has started filming in the area, 3D Journey 2 Mysterious Island starring Michael Caine, Dwayne Johnson (The Rock), Josh Hucherson, and Vanessa Hudgens.  Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D was the first film ever shot in HD 3D, so the sequel should be equally filled with amazing digital shots.  It is the largest film being filmed at Screen Gems.  Another new special water tank was built just for the production.  This week they were filming on Colonial Drive in Forest Hills.  Wilmington NC welcomes the production and all the people who have come to our great city.  Enjoy….

If you would like to look at real estate, we invite you visit www.cbbaker.com to learn about our town and what we have to offer.  From your phone you can text 14059 to 44133 and search there.

Click here for Screen Gems Brochure

Do you wonder what the sold prices are in your neighborhood?  Of course you do.  It is  natural to want to know.  With the new Trends MLS reports we can give you sold prices, dates and graphs.  Easy, simple and no obligation.  We want potential Wilmington NC real estate sellers to be knowledgeable about the market.  It helps you make a decision as to whether or not this the best time to sell your home. We are here to help guide you in that decision.

Want to know what price homes have sold for recently in your area? Simply complete this  short form here. We will e-mail you regular updates on recent home sales in your area to give you a good idea of your own home’s current value.

To search all Wilmington NC real estate to see what is on the market in your neighborhood now, visit www.cbbaker.com

December Wilmington NC real estate Stats:

2010 is now behind us and the year’s numbers did not finish to far from our 2009 figures. We managed to sell more units in 2010 (4,509) than in 2009 (4,369). Our average sales price for 2010 is $231,182 while in 2009 our average sales price was $234,353 a decrease of 1.4%; last month this decrease was 1.9%. Our median sales price for 2010 is $184,500 while in 2009 our median sales price was $185,000. Our average days on the market for 2010 were 128 days while in 2009 they were 136. I really believe we have turned the corner.

December’s average sales price has managed to exceed last December by 5.4%. Sold units are 5 units over last year and up 57 from last month. In the month of December we saw a decrease of 360 homes in our listing inventory, we have 4,647 homes on the market as of January 1^st. This continues to put us in a strong buyer’s market with a listing inventory of just over a 12.6 month supply. With the sales in December this affects our month supply with an improvement of 4 months from last month. Our average list price has stayed below the $400,000 range for the whole year; we are currently at $349,003. Our average listing inventory price peaked in the month of June at $386,624; the average listing price has now dropped 9.7% since its peak this year. In December we saw a decrease in our seller concessions, it is now 26.4%. Our average days on the market remain 144 days. The list to sold ratio has dropped some more to 92.7% this number needs to continue to get better. The number of homes that sold in 15 days or less continues to remain very low, 13.6% of December sold homes. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.77% with an average 0.8 points for the week ending January 6, 2011. We have hit historic lows in mortgage rates and they are possibly on the rebound.

Despite all the media comments about our markets we are still lending money for residential mortgages. If a client has income and credit and some sort of down payment; they can get a mortgage. It goes to the basic three C’s – Capacity, Collateral and Character.

Listing Inventory

In December we saw a decrease in listing inventory of 360 units. We are about 109 units under January 1, 2009 and 502 units under January 1, 2008. We have 4,647 single family homes for sale in our MLS. The average list price of $349,003 is down by $4,462 from last month. The average list price has decreased by 9.7% from its peak in June 2010.

Monthly Average Sold Price

Our monthly average sold price is down by 5.7% from last month and up 5.4% from December 2009 and down 2.2% from December 2008. Our average sold price is down by $14,244.00 from last month. December average sold price ($235,091) shows an increase of .03% from year end 2009. Our average sold price is up by $11,981 from last December and down $5,218.00 from December 2008.

Monthly Sold Units

This month’s increase in the number of homes sold when compared to previous year is up 5 units. The number of sold homes is up 57 homes from last month and up 22.0% from December 2009. In December we had 368 sold units and last month 311 sold units, last year in December we had 363 sold units.

Average Sold Price Year to Date

Year over year our year to date numbers have dipped a little.

2003 year end average sale price $ 186,137

2004 year end average sale price $ 210,048

2005 year end average sale price $ 254,080

2006 year end average sale price $ 264,498

2007 year end average sale price $ 273,408

2008 year end average sale price $256,498

2009 year end average sale price $234,379

2010 year to date average sale price $231,182

While our 2010 year end numbers are lower than year end 2009 they do show promising signs that our sales are on the upswing. 2010 has a 140 sold unit gain over 2009. The average sales price is down 1.4% for 2010 compared to 2009. Our median sales price is just .03% behind 2009.

Median Sold Price

Our Median sold price decreased this month by 5.2% from last month. Our national numbers lag by one month. Our median sales price continues its jagged path – up then down then up and now down. I am hoping we can see the national median sales price reverse its downward trend as well as WRAR’s.

Pending

Pending Sales – A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not yet closed. Sales are typically finalized within one to two months from signing. I look at the total pending units on a regular basis and this is how they chart out. We saw our peak pending numbers about May 3^rd. Our pending index is dropping to our winter lows; December is 14.3% down from last month and down 7.5% from last year this time.

Market Absorption rate – The number of homes sold in December, 368 divided by the current listing inventory, 4647 gives us a 12.6 month supply of single family homes. This decreased by 4 months from last month – Great. We need to get this inventory back under 12 months. With a large inventory and the sales in December this affects our market absorption. With rates where they are and plenty of inventory; we can get this number down.

List to Sold price ratio – the average list price of the sold properties is $253,608 and the average sold price is $235,090 for December which gives us a 92.7% list to sold price ratio – a .50% change from last month. We have now managed to stay under 95% for over a year and several months. I want to quit counting the number of months and get this trend reversed.

Seller Concessions – We had 26.4% of sold properties report a sales concession for December, a decrease of 1.8%. We want this number to go lower.

Days on Market – The average days on market for the sold properties is now at 144 for December. That is almost 5 months to keep a property on the market. Only 13.6% of the properties were placed under contract in less than 15 days for the month of December.

Carolina & Kure Beach

There are currently 392 single family homes for sale and this represents no change from December 1, 2010 and 8.4% of our total WRAR inventory. The average list price is $402,630 and increase of about $705 from December. In December there were 26 homes sold, divide that by the homes available and you have a 15.0 monthly supply of homes in Carolina and Kure Beach. The average sold price for the month of December was $268,846 and is up $14,929 from last month. 2010 year end comes up just short of production in average sold price – 2010 finished with an average sold price of $279,492 while in 2009 the year end average sold price was $298,083 an decrease of 6.2%.

This data was pulled on January 10, 2011, based on information from the Wilmington Regional Association of REALTORS Incorporated, for the period Jan. 1, 2005 through December 31, 2010.

The Market

Long and Short Term Mortgages drop during first week of New Year

Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey®. The survey results showed lower mortgage rates for both long- and short-term rates.

News Facts

30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.77 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending January 6, 2011, down from last week when it averaged 4.86 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.09 percent.

Quotes

Attributed to Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac.

“Mortgage rates began the New Year a little lower this week and remained below those at the start of 2010, which should help aid the recovery in the housing market.

“Low mortgage rates are an important factor in housing affordability, which in November was the highest since records began in 1971, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Not surprisingly, the Realtors® also reported that pending existing home sales rose for the second consecutive month in November to the strongest pace since April when the homebuyer tax credit expired. More recently, mortgage applications for home purchases at the end of 2010 were roughly running at the same rate as the beginning of the year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.”

Freddie Mac

30 Year Fixed Rates

source:  David Flory, Cunningham Mortgage | Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors MLS

The proverbial question every buyer who is in the loan process has is “Is this the best time to lock in my rate”.  The rates are creeping up but still under 5%.  Well, Warren Buffett, one the wealthiest and most highly successful investors  is “locking” in now.  His Berkshire Hathaway Company just sold $1.5B in fixed debt, mostly in 10-year Notes, in order to refinance their adjustable rate loans.  Mr. Buffett has not made comments on the move – but it is clear to us that he sees rates gradually moving higher over time as the US economy improves.   Business Week states “The market scrutinizes Buffett’s moves very closely and this would indicate he’s thinking interest rates in the longer term may go up,” Vijay Chander, Hong Kong-based head of credit strategy at Standard Chartered Plc, said in a phone interview. That’s consistent with our house view that the U.S. economy is improving.”

“The world’s most successful investor locked in interest payments on most of the debt as a report showed U.S. manufacturing expanded in December at the fastest pace in seven months, spurring confidence the world’s biggest economy is gaining momentum. Former Federal Reserve Governor Frederic Mishkin said yesterday that while the central bank will complete its $600 billion bond-purchase program, a third round of so- called quantitative easing to spur growth is unlikely”

So, buyers it is a great time to buy a home and lock in with a great wait.  It looks like the rates will probably be holding steady or increasing.  Search 24/7 on www.cbbaker.com .  Call and we can send you instant emails when something in your price range hits the market. Happy Buying.