Rendering by Creative Illustration Media, INC. LS&P Architects

Wilmington NC is going to get it’s own state of the art  Convention Center.  After waiting for approvals and site plans, an opening date has been set for the Historic Downtown Wilmington Convention Center on the Cape Fear River. 

The grand opening is set for Thursday January 13, 2011 at 9:30 am.  The public is invited and there will be a ribbon cutting ceremony with the mayor and other community leaders.  Following the ceremony, there will be a BizTech Expo with technology and business vendors.  On January 15 a black tie event will be held by the Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, with proceeds benefiting the Cape Fear Future initiative.  

A couple of big companies have signed contracts to hold their conventions here for the next couple of years.  This will bring added revenue to Wilmington NC and expose our area and all it’s natural treasures and great Wilmington NC real estate opportunities.  

Please explore our website for the most up to date listings of all Wilmington NC real estate and waterfront properties.  www.cbbaker.com or call us and we will personally select properties that will fit your real estate needs or portfolio.

Did you miss the $8,000 Stimulus deadline to purchase a new home?  If you did Coldwell Banker Corporate has announced a Buyer Bonus plan that could help you get a credit on a new home.  

Purchase a participating home between May 1, 2010 and July 31, 2010 and the seller will refund 3% of the accepted offer price up to $8,000 to you as a credit at closing.  Look for the “Buyer Bonus Program” homes online or call us and we can help you with your search for a new home.  You don’t have to be a first time home buyer to enjoy the credit.  Read more here.

Search online at www.cbbaker.com or TEXT 14059 to 44133 to search on your mobile phone.

Spring is right around the corner in Wilmington NC. What a great time to get a jump start on your spring cleaning.  If you are considering putting your home on the market, this might be the time to hire a cleaning professional.

Some of the things you need to keep in mind are:

1. Make a list of things that you would like to have done to the interior and the exterior of the home. 

2.  Do your homework and ask friends for referrals of cleaning companies.  Check out references before you hand over the keys to you home.

3.  Make sure that the cleaning company handles taxes for their employees, has insurance and is bonded.

4. Get an estimate for services and make sure it is detailed.  Your idea of a cleaning might be different than theirs.

5.  Make sure that the company can schedule days to fit your schedule and whether or not they supply the cleaning equipment and supplies.

6.  A professional cleaning job can make your home shine and show well. 

7.  Call us to help you sell your home!

So, start your real estate search today at www.cbbaker.com.  You can find a new home as well as get seller advice.  You can search by price range, map, schools, neighborhoods and more.

Is The Timing Right for a Tax Free Exchange?

If you own investment property, now may be the perfect time to sell it and do a tax free exchange. You might say, prices are low and why should I sell now? The fact is you might take advantage of the prices being low by selling a property that is not appreciating or cash flowing and purchase one or more properties that are distressed and have great potential for appreciation. We have many homes for sale in Wilmington NC that would qualify for a tax free exchange. We even have Wilmington NC real estate priced under $100 a ft! Read the rest of this entry

Waiting on the side lines for home prices to fall?

Consider this. Let’s assume that home prices do fall another 15% and interest rates go up.

Current Scenario                                                         Down the Road Scenario

Sales price       $250,000                                             Sales price       $212,500

5% down           $12,500 5% down           $10,625

Loan Amt        $237,500                                             Loan Amt        $201,875

30 yr fixed @ 4.75%                                                       30 yr fixed @ 6%

P & I = $1,238.91                                      P & I = $1,274.04 Read the rest of this entry

Top 6 Cities Named for Housing Values Increase

When you hear all the gloom and doom on the news media, we get some very positive news for Wilmington, NC real estate. A government report released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency states that Wilmington NC ranks in the top six cities nationwide where house values have increased the most over the last five years. Wilmington has experienced a substantial 62.1 percent increase. Others named were Honolulu at 78.7%; Virginia Beach at 72.6%; Flagstaff at 66.5%; Bellingham, WA at 65.6% and Baltimore at 60.6%. Read the rest of this entry

The Economy and Bailouts

The last couple of months have had our world spinning and we have learned that while one industry hurts it affects other industries. Everyone wants a bailout these days, while it may take a while for all these different plans to work, it seems to be moving the markets in the right direction. With the Fed announcing just before Thanksgiving that it would purchase up to $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities, we saw mortgage rates drop from 6.06% to 5.5%. Read the rest of this entry

Waiting on the side lines for home prices to fall?

Consider this. Let’s assume that home prices do fall another 15% and interest rates go up.

Current Scenario                                                         Down the Road Scenario

Sales price       $250,000                                             Sales price       $212,500

5% down           $12,500                                             5% down           $10,625

Loan Amt        $237,500                                             Loan Amt        $201,875

30 yr fixed @ 6%                                                       30 yr fixed @ 8%

P & I = $1,423.93                                      P & I = $1,481.29

Total cost for 30 years                                              Total cost for 30 years

$512,617                                                                     $533,264

If we are going to assume prices fall another 15%, we also have to assume interest rates will be higher. Nobody can predict interest rates and nobody can predict the bottom of this real estate market. What we do know is that rates are favorable and real estate is ON SALE. Waiting could cost you money!

The time is now to buy Wilmington NC real estate. There are many homes for sale in Wilmington that are priced below $100 a ft! Unheard of prices! We can send you a detailed list of those homes. There are also some foreclosures and short sales. Fortunately, we do not have the amount of foreclosures that have been experienced nationwide. We were somewhat protected from the mortgage meltdown. North Carolina mortgage laws are some of the toughest in the Nation.

For a detailed list of  our Best Buy Home List in Wilmington, NC., please contact me at kaybaker@seacoastrealty.com or go to my website and search all homes in Wilmington, NC.

Many thanks to Alan Efting at Bradford Mortgage for these valuable stats. You may contact him at www.alanefting.com.

Wilmington NC & New Hanover County School Report for 2008

There was significant improvement in New Hanover County Schools’ student’s performance on the State’s ABC of Public Education for the 2007/2008 academic school year. There were only four elementary schools that did not meet their ABC goals and all of the middle schools met the ABC goals. The public elementary schools that did not were Alderman, Freeman, Gregory, and Murrayville. The only high school that met its ABC goal was Isaac Bear Early College High School. Read the rest of this entry

Buyers Search online versus print ads for homes in Wilmington NC

Buyers looking for homes in Wilmington NC are finding them online more often these days than not. According to NAR, consumers are five times more likely to buy a home found online versus in a newspaper, and 24 times more likely to buy a home found online than in a home book or magazine. Read the rest of this entry