Wilmington NC Real Estate Guide

Wrightsville Beach is a hidden gem that we treasure for it’s clear crystal clear waters, quaint atmosphere and wonderful people.  With Banks Channel, ICWW and the Altlantic ocean at our fingertips what is there not to like.  Great restaurants, a couple of shops and fishing piers provide entertainment for all.  We are pleased to  share with you our newest waterfront listing just in case you are interested in Wrightsville Beach.

www.WrightsvilleBeachWaterfront.com

Spectacular dream home on Banks Channel with over 4100 sq. ft. of gorgeous living area. 5 bedrooms and 4.5 baths in a well thought out open, floorplan with ELEVATOR. Incredible views await you from most every room including large decks from the owners suite and main living area. Vintage inspired kitchen w/bead board cabinets, Champaign and cream granite counters, kitchen island with built-in gas, downdraft cook top, and 2 raised breakfast bars. And a breakfast room with uninterrupted views of the channel and your private pier with floating dock and 2 boat lifts. One is a 13000 lb. lift for your fishing machine and the other a 3000 lb. lift for smaller pleasure craft. A recently new bulkhead was installed along the beautiful backyard with sod, knockout roses and other indigenous shrubs and bushes. The large owners suite has beautiful Brazilian Cherry floors and a fireplace that is shared with the spa like master bath offering unsurpassed views from the 2 man whirlpool and separate walk shower.

Over 4100 sq. ft. 5 BR, 4.5 bath dream home on Banks Channel with private pier, floating dock/gazebo and 2 boat lifts. Incredible Views. Prepare to stay awhile, because you have just found your new home.

Enjoy.

May and June are usually some of our biggest months when it comes to home sales. Our pending index is climbing; you can see our mountain tops when you look at the sold units, now go and look at the chart you will see the mountain peaks during the summer season.

Economically – Our congress will be working on our current debt ceiling? Do they raise it? Other areas are slow to come around, inflation is trying to work its way back in while employment numbers are looking better each month. Unemployment rose back up to 9.0%. Hopefully we will come out of this economic funk real soon; this current economic crisis has affected so many lives and financial interests of individuals as well as companies.

April just stole all our gains for March with a decrease in sold homes and average sales price.  The average sold price dropped to $206,698 a 14.9% loss over last month. Our sold units hit 383 a large decrease from last month. Sold units are down 33 units from last month and up 52 from April 2009. One point to keep in mind is that last year this time we were still dealing with the First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit. In the month of April we saw an increase of 40 homes in our listing inventory, we have 4,887 homes on the market as of May 1^st. This adjusted our month’s supply with just over 12.7 months a slight increase from last months 11.8. With the low sales in April this affects our month supply. Our average list price has started the year under $350,000 range; we are currently at $349,067. In April sellers paid concessions in about 30.0% of all the month’s transactions about the same as last month. Our average days on the market decreased to 148 days – we are now talking 5 months on the market. The list to sold ratio has increased a little to 93.8% this number needs to continue to get better. The number of homes that sold in 15 days or less continues to remain very low, 8.6% of April sold homes. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.63% with an average 0.7 points for the week ending May 12, 2011. We have seen decreases the last 5 weeks. Call me so I can show you or your clients how they can get the benefit of these rates. Have a great week and let me know what I can do to help you and your clients.

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.

For the complete Inventory update and graphs read more here…

Source – David Flory Cunningham Mortgage

With the beautiful weather, scenery and talent here in Wilmington NC, what do you think one of  our favorite things to do in the summer is?  Listen to music outdoors of course.  The venues have just started and will continue throughout the summer months.  The Star News compiled the list so we just have to look in one place.  Please bookmark this post so that you can look at the schedule weekly.  Take time to enjoy and relax.  You deserve it. 

Airlie Concert Series

Location:Airlie Gardens, 300 Airlie Road, Wilmington

Times: 6-8 p.m. every other Friday, May 20-Sept. 16

Details:$8 adults, $2 children, free for Airlie members. General admission parking is off-site. Free parking and shuttles provided from the old Cinema 6, 5335 Oleander Drive. Picnics welcome.

Contact: 798-7700

SCHEDULE

June 3: Grenoldo Frazier (jazz, showtunes)

June 17: Da Howlies (Hawaiian)

July 1: The Imitations

July 15: The Dynamic Thermotones (blues)

Aug. 5: Stardust

Aug. 19: L Shape Lot (folk, country)

Sept. 2: Stephanie Nakasian and the Hod O’Brien Trio (jazz)

Sept. 16: 360 Degrees

Carolina Beach Boardwalk

Location: Carolina Beach Boardwalk

Times: 6:30-9 p.m. Thursdays, followed by fireworks

Details: Free, adjacent to amusement park.

Contact: 458-8434

SCHEDULE

Still waiting for these guys to get back to us on their schedule. Feel free to post below if you know it.

Carolina Beach Free Summer Concert Series

Location:Air Force Recreation Area, Kure Beach

Times: 6:30-9:30 p.m. every other Friday, June 10-Aug. 26

Details: Free. Bring blankets, chairs and picnics but no pets or beverages. Beverages will be for sale.

Contact: 458-8434

SCHEDULE

June 10: Live Bait (classic rock, blues)

June 24: BLP (classic rock and dance)

July 8: South of K (bluegrass)

July 22: Cowboy Chrome (country rock, blues)

Aug. 18: Spare Change (beach, classic roc, country)

Aug. 26: The Mako Band (beach, boogie and blues)

Concerts on the Coast

Location: Leland Municipal Complex Park, 102 Town Hall Drive

Times: 6:30-8 p.m.

Details: Free. Bring lawn chairs, blankets, picnic baskets.

Contact: 332-4818

Schedule

June 30: UBU (party band with three female vocalists)

July 14: The Main Event (party band with horn section)

July 28: Central Park Band (dance)

Concert in the Park

Location:Soundside Park, next to the swing bridge in Surf City

Times: 6-8 p.m.

Details: Free. Snacks and drinks available. Parking is limited. No alcohol. July 3 concert is 6-9 p.m., followed by fireworks.

Contact: 329-4446

SCHEDULE

May 20: Dixon Middle School Jazz Band

May 27: The Mako Band

June 10: Lucia & Levi

June 13: Langley Winds

June 24: Stump Sound Ramblers

July 2: Longo & Co.

July 3: Mark Roberts & Breeze

July 8: Highway 17 Band

July 22: Sea Pans

Aug. 5: Camouflage

Aug. 19: Pamlico Joe & Clean Water Flow

Sept. 2: James Rimes and Friends

Downtown Sundown

Location: Riverfront Park, Water Street between Front and Princess streets in downtown Wilmington

Times: 6-10 p.m. Fridays, May 27-Sept. 2

Details: Free. Beer, wine and food available. Rain or shine.

SCHEDULE

May 27: Appetite for Destruction (GnR tribute)

June 3: The Breakfast Club (80′s tribute)

June 10: Frontiers (Journey tribute

June 17: Funky Monks (Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute)

June 24: SRVT (Stevie Ray Vaughan Tribute)

July 1: ZOSO (Led Zeppelin tribute)

July 8: UV (U2 tribute)

July 15: Girlz Girlz Girlz (80′s hair metal tribute)

July 22: Slippery When Wet (Bon Jovi tribute)

July 29: Cosmic Charlie (Grateful Dead tribute)

Aug. 5: Dave Matthews Tribute Band

Aug. 12: Satisfaction (Rolling Stones tribute)

Aug. 19: Onward, Soldiers (rock, Americana)

Aug. 26: Machine Gun (rock covers)

Sept. 2: Tuesday’s Gone (Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute)

Greenfield Lake Amphitheater

Location: 1941 Amphitheater Drive, Wilmington

Times and details: Vary

SCHEDULE

July 3: JJ Grey & Mofro

July 7: Dark Star Orchestra

July 10: Jack’s Mannequin

July 24: Donovan Frankenreiter

Aug. 14: Bela Fleck and The Flecktones

Jazz at the Mansion

Location: Bellamy Mansion, 503 Market St., downtown Wilmington

Times: 6:30-8 p.m., the second Friday of each month through September

Details: Bring a picnic and blanket and enjoy the show. $12 non-members/$8 members of CF Jazz Society or Bellamy Mansion. Wine and beer for sale.

Contact: 251-3700

SCHEDULE

June 10: Mike Waddell & Bob Russell

July 8: Melodious Thunk (feat. Susan Savia)

August 12: Jack Krupicka & Julie Rehyder

Sept. 9: Liz Pina & Kevin Kolb

Mayfaire Music on the Town

Location:Mayfaire event field behind Ulta and World Market

Times: 6-9 p.m. Fridays

Details: Free. Bring a blanket or chair. Food, beverages and kids’ activities available.

Contact: 256-5131

SCHEDULE

May 20: Jam SandWich (Southern/classic rock)

May 27: Beach Billy Brothers (country rock and blues)

June 3: BLP (classic and modern rock)

June 10: Selah Dub (reggae, surf and rock)

June 17: Mako (variety)

June 24: Live Bait (acoustic rock)

July 1: Jim Quick & the Coastline Band (blues, soul, R&B)

July 8: The Other Guys (acoustic rock)

July 15: The M-80′s (‘80s covers)

July 22: Phantom Playboys (rockabilly)

July 29: Painted Man (funk, R&B, rock)

Aug. 5: Soul Power Posse (funk, soul)

Sept. 2: Blivet (eclectic rock)

Music in the Courtyard

Location: Cameron Art Museum, 3201 S. 17th St., Wilmington

Times: 7-8 p.m.

Details: $8, $5 for museum members. Concert held indoors in the event of inclement weather. Beverages available.

Contact: 395-5999

SCHEDULE

June 2: The Workshop (jazz, R&B)

July 7: El Jaye Johnson & The Port City All-Stars (jazz, blues, funk and more)

Aufg. 4: Lisa & Galen (acoustic)

Ocean Isle Beach Concert Series

Location:Parking lot of the Museum of Coastal Carolinas, 21 E. Second St., Ocean Isle Beach

Times: 6:30-8 p.m. Fridays, May 27-Sept. 2

Details: Free

SCHEDULE

May 27: The Entertainers

June 3: Northern Borders

June 10: The Imitations

June 17: Mark Roberts & the Breeze

June 24: Gold Rush

July 1: Holiday Band

July 8: Craig Woolard Band

July 15: Continental Divide

July 22: Band of OZ

July 29: Tim Clark Band

Aug. 5: The Imitations

Aug. 12: Legends of the Beach

Aug. 19: Sea Cruz

Aug. 26: Carolina Breakers

Sept. 2: Craig Woolard Band

WECT’s Sounds of Summer

Location:Wrightsville Beach Park

Times: 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m. June 23, July 7 and 21, and Aug. 4

Details: Free. Bring blankets, chairs, picnics. Concerts cancelled due to weather will be rescheduled for the following Thursday

Contact: 791-8070

SCHEDULE

June 23: Key Lime Pie (tropical rock)

July 7: The M-80s

July 21: Selah Dubb (rock, reggae)

Aug. 4: The Imitations (beach, Motown)

Details: Free. Bring blankets, chairs, picnics. Concerts cancelled due to weather will be rescheduled for the following Thursday.

Please come visit our great town and enjoy what it has to offer.  If you would like to look at Wilmington NC real estate, please visit www.cbbaker.com and search by map, neighborhood, street and more.  Happy Summer.

The size of homes has increased steadily over the years. In 1950, the average new home consisted of 1,000 square feet or less. By 2000, new homes averaged 2,265 square feet. People just want more space to live in—and space for more stuff!

So, how do you get people interested in buying your smaller home? There are lots of ways you can make your home-or the too-small rooms in it—appear larger. Consider these experts’ tips for adding visual space:

Expand The Walls

• Paint walls in light pastels or neutral tones. (Neutrals—taupe, beige, gray, white, off-white—will make it easier for a home buyers to coordinate their furnishings with your home.) The lighter the color, the larger the room will seem.
• Paint woodwork and trim the same shade as the walls but with a higher-gloss finish. Contrasting woodwork draws attention to itself, making a room look smaller.
• You could also hire a “color consultant” to learn more about creating space with color. Ask a local specialty paint store or home-decorating shop for a referral, or look for a consultant online at the International Association of Color Consultants: www.IACCNA.org.
• When using wallpaper, choose patterns with lots of open space or small, subtle patterns in light shades without contrasting colors. Then cover furnishings in solid-color fabrics.
• If possible, build recessed shelves or display alcoves into walls. Built-ins deepen the space, while freestanding shelves and display tables use it up.
• Maximize light. Use high-watt bulbs in lamps and light fixtures and make sure they’re turned on during home showings. Keep curtains, shades or blinds open to let as much natural light in as possible.
• Paint the ceiling a bright white so it reflects light and seems higher.

Minimize Furnishings

• De-clutter! The more furniture and objects you have in a room, the smaller it will seem. Pare furniture back to a comfortable minimum. (Place your extra pieces in storage if you can’t bear to part with them.)
• Use small furniture, steering clear of large, overstuffed or high-backed pieces. For example, choose a loveseat rather than a 3-seater couch, a drop-leaf table rather than a full-sized one, a small secretary instead of a large desk. Remember, though, numbers count-a room can look larger with just two or three large pieces of furniture in it than with seven or eight small pieces.
• Place only a few knick-knacks for accents on tables or shelves. Cluster coordinating objects in two or three places rather than spreading them evenly about the room.
• Upholster (or slip-cover) chairs and couches in small-print or solid, light-colored fabrics that coordinate (but not contrast) with wall colors.
• Keep area rugs to a minimum—they visually break up floor space. Bare floors or light-colored wall-to-wall carpeting make rooms look larger.
• Keep window treatments simple, avoiding heavy draperies with busy patterns or colors that contrast strongly with the wall color. Consider using a cornice board or valence with blinds, shutters or sheers instead.

Room Arrangements

• Place large furniture so that open floor space is near the room’s entrance. For example, place beds and couches on the wall opposite the entry door.
• Place most of the furniture against walls so it doesn’t protrude into the room’s central space.
• Create uncluttered walkways. You should be able to pass from one room to another in a straight line. Also, you should be able to move from the door to the main element in the room (couch, desk, bed) without having to walk around something else. Ditch the coffee table!
• Leave some floor space or wall space unused.
• Use large mirrors to reflect light and deepen the visual space.
• Keep doors between rooms open.

If you would like, we would be happy to look at your small home and suggest practical ways for making it appear more spacious.

Sign up for my newsletter for more hints kaybaker@ec.rr.com

According to a post on Mothers Day History by 123holiday, contrary to popular belief, Mother’s Day was was not made up by Hallmark.  The annual spring festival the Greeks dedicated to Rhea, the mother of many deities, and to the offerings ancient Romans made to their Great Mother of Gods, Cybele. Christians celebrated this festival on the fourth Sunday in Lent in honor of Mary, mother of Christ. In England this holiday was expanded to include all mothers and was called Mothering Sunday.

In the United States, Mother’s Day started nearly 150 years ago, when Anna Jarvis, an Appalachian homemaker, organized a day to raise awareness of poor health conditions in her community, a cause she believed would be best advocated by mothers. She called it “Mother’s Work Day.”

To all the mothers everywhere a blessed Mothers Day to you.

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.  ~Tenneva Jordan

Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,
Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,
Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,
But only one mother the wide world over.
~George Cooper

Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs… since the payment is pure love.  ~Mildred B. Vermont

The sweetest sounds to mortals given
Are heard in Mother, Home, and Heaven.
~William Goldsmith Brown

If you have a mom, there is nowhere you are likely to go where a prayer has not already been.

If you find that you are in need of help with your own home financial situation, or you would like to help someone out of their financial situation by purchasing a short sale,  rely on us to help.  Certified Distressed Property Expert can guide you through the selling and the buying process in a far more knowledgeable and timely process than doing it yourself.  Contact us NOW, by signing in below and we will contact you immediately to start the process of selling your home as a short sale or  looking for short sales to purchase. A free list of current short sales and foreclosures will be emailed to you.  Please sign in here.  http://www.cbbaker.com/shortsales.php

Good news for Wilmington NC real estate – Total units sold from Feb 11 to March 11 showed a 52% increase.  The average sales price showed a 22 % increase.  Total dollars showed an 86% increase.  Hopefully this upward trend will continue.  The market has showed an increase this past month and the number of people looking at real estate on our website has showed an increase as well.  We are looking forward to an active spring and summer.  The rates have held steady which has helped spur the interest in the area.  To search all of Wilmington NC real estate 24/7 please visit www.cbbaker.com

Kudos for UNCW’s Debra Saunders-White.  The Greater Wilmington Business Journal announced that President Barack Obama selected UNCW’s Debra Saunders-White to serve as the new deputy assistant secretary for higher education programs at the U.S. Department of Education. Saunders-White will move to Washington in early May. Saunders-White will oversee programs to encourage low-income and first generation students along with students with disabilities to pursue postsecondary education. Read more here…

UNCW is an integral part of the Wilmington NC community.

Wilmington International Airport stretches it’s wings again.  Chicago O’Hare International Airport was just added as a nonstop flight by American Eagle.  Good news for Wilmington.  Business travelers now have the option of flying out in the morning and coming home that  night.  ILM currently services 7 cities nonstop commercially:  New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Charlotte (ILM’s hub), Atlanta, Chicago and Orlando.  Talk is that Boston might become the next nonstop flight after meetings next month.  The success of these flight patterns will hopefully bring more nonstop flights into our area.  In addition to nonstop, ILM stays busy with flights to where ever you might want to go.  We invite you to fly into our hometown and visit.  If you would like to see what Wilmington NC has to offer, check out www.cbbaker.com for more information and real estate. Fly in | look at real estate | be home that night.  Easy….

The State of the County address was given this week by Chairman Jonathan Barfield Jr. and the news was good.  After thanking all involved including the County and City staff, as it is a group effort to make this county a great place to live, Barfield said tough measures were taken to insure to maintain the quality of this area.  The 1/4 percent raise in sales tax last year helped maintain the county budget even though it was a hard tough decision to vote the increase in.  The schools, parks and core services were mentioned as projects that the county has paid particular attention to.  New Hanover counties credit rating is golden.  That will help this county move forward and continue to grow.  To read the whole address read more here….

To view the video click here.

The great town of Wilmington NC is what we call home and to say we of proud of our town, would be an understatement.  To view Wilmington NC real estate please visit www.cbbaker.com