Realtor.com announced that Wilmington NC was the 69th most searched market for real estate.  Realtor.com has it’s own statistics for searches performed.  The median price of homes were 239,900 which is a bit lower than 2010 but still a healthy average compared to the national average of 189,900.  Inventory levels are down from 2010 which could be in part to all the foreclosures that flooded the market last year. 

Kay Baker & Associates uses Realtor.com in their marketing plans by  showcasing our listings and we have 12 featured home  spots that will showcase our homes when someone types in the search criteria of “Wilmington NC”.  We feel that this increases the exposure of our listings tremendously.  If you are thinking about selling your home, let us show you our aggressive marketing plan.  Search all the Wilmington NC real estate listings on realtor.com and on www.cbbaker.com

The song says that living is easy in the summertime, but don’t let the lazy days of summer lead to accidents. Keeping you and your family safe is just a matter of following simple precautions. Here are some tips for ensuring your family’s good times and good heath:

• Beware of the cutting edge. Lawnmowers and other power tools can cause serious injuries. When you’re mowing your lawn, keep children out of the area, and don’t allow children to ride on a mower.

• Before mowing, take the time to move outdoor furniture, toys, sticks or other obstacles out of the way. Especially if you have children or pets, you don’t want to turn your back on an idling mower to move objects.

• If your older child will be helping you out this summer by mowing the lawn, make sure he or she understands how to safely operate the equipment. Read all instructions and warning information together.

• Always turn a mower off before attempting to unclog debris from the blade.

• Tend to the fire. Grilling food outside is a wonderful way to escape the heat of the kitchen. Keep children away from grills or open fires. You should always have water on hand in case a fire gets out of control.

• Lighter fluid should be off-limits for children.

• Be safe about food handling. Never return cooked meat to a container that has held raw meat. Keep coolers in the shade and add ice to them as needed. Keeping drinks and food in separate coolers will cut down on the number of times the food cooler is opened.

• Watch out for other living things. Insect bites and bee stings can be reduced by dressing children in shoes and clothing that is light in color. Make sure you know what is growing in your yard. Teach children about poisonous plants and berries so they know what plants not to touch, pick or eat.

• Beat the heat. The dog days can be deadly. When the temperature tops 90 degrees, fans alone will not be able to cool a home. If you don’t have air conditioning, get out of the house and head for air-conditioned public places, such as libraries or shopping malls. Taking a bath or shower in tepid water will help you keep your cool. Stay well-hydrated, and make a point to check on elderly friends or neighbors who may be especially susceptible to heat-related illness.

Best wishes for a safe and happy summer!

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.

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

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

Kay Baker Google Map QR code

My Google coupon is a QR code and will take you directly to my Google Places and you will be able to access my profile on Google maps.

Maybe soon, we could put codes on For Sale signs and buyers can access information with one scan.  Technology is changing the way we do business.

Listing Inventory
In August we saw a decrease in homes for sale of 37 units. We are about 131 units over September 1, 2009. We have 5,567 single family homes for sale in our Wilmington MLS. The average list price of $374,121 is down by $2,931 from last month. The average list price has decreased by 6.9% from September 1, 2009.

Monthly Average Sold Price
Our monthly average sold price is up by .01% from last month and up 1.9% from August 2009. Our average sold price is up by $2,252.00 from last month. August average sold price ($238,258) shows an increase of 1.7% from year end 2009. Our average sold price is up by $4,369 over last August.

Monthly Sold Units
This month’s decline in the number of homes sold when compared to previous year is only down 3 units. The number of sold homes is up 7.8% from last month and down .01% from August 2009. Last month we had 358 sold units and this month 386 sold units, last year in August we had 390 sold units. Due to the First Time Home Buyer increase in sales, a lot of these sales were pushed up and people that might have been planning to buy in July and August moved up their purchase to coincide with the tax credit. I think we are just getting ready to come out see our sales pick back up to a normal level.

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 $229,073
While our current year to date numbers are lower than Year End 2009 they do show promising signs that our sales are on the upswing. The first eight months of 2010 has a 363 sold unit gain over first eight months of 2009. The average sales price is down 1.5% for the first eight months of 2010 than the first eight months of 2009. Our median sales price is just 1.2% behind 2009.

Rolling 12 months
Another bright spot is the rolling 12 month numbers. When we look at September 1st, 2009 to August 31th, 2010 we have 4,731 sold units and when we compare September 1st, 2008 to August 31th, 2009 we have a 727 unit gain (4,004 sold units). When we look at the same rolling 12 months for average sold price we see that we are only down by 1.9%. So the dates of 9/1/2009 to 8/31/2010 we have an average sold price of $231,880 while from 9/1/2008 to 8/31/2009 we had an average sold price $236,367.
Median Sold Price
Our Median sold price is up 2.0% from last month, about $193,327. While we have not dipped as low as the National Median we seem to have turned the corner while the national median is showing a slight increase. I would anticipate over the next couple of months to continue to see this median increase.

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 3rd. We are actually down 4.1% from last month and we are down just 21.6% from September 11, 2009. With the tax credit benefits expired it will be interesting to see if our sales can improve going into late summer and early fall.

Market Absorption rate – The number of homes sold in July, 386 divided by the current listing inventory, 5,567 gives us a 14.4 month supply of single family homes. This decreased by 2.0 months from last month. We need to get this inventory back under 12 months. 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 $254,579 and the average sold price is $238,257 for August which gives us a 93.6% list to sold price ratio – a decrease of 1.2% from last month. We have now managed to stay under 95% for over a year.
Seller Concessions – We had 24.1% of sold properties report a sales concession for August, an increase of 2.4%. We want this number to go lower.
Days on Market – The average days on market for the sold properties is now at 135 for August. That is about 4.5 months to keep a property on the market. Only 13.0% of the properties were placed under contract in less than 15 days for the month of August.
Carolina & Kure Beach
There are currently 485 single family homes for sale and this represents a 14 unit decrease over September 1, 2010 and 8.7% of our total WRAR inventory. The average list price is $411,327 and decrease of about $13,672 from August. In August there were 31 homes sold, divide that by the homes available and you have a 15.6 monthly supply of homes in Carolina and Kure Beach. The average sold price for the month of August was $273,731 and is up $1,119 from last month. When we look at our rolling 12 months September 1, 2009 to August 31, 2010 we have 328 homes sold at an average price of $287,459. While September 1, 2008 to August 31, 2009 we had 242 homes sold at an average price of $318,107.
This data was pulled on September 12, 2010, based on information from the Wilmington Regional Association of REALTORS Incorporated, for the period Jan. 1, 2005 through August 31, 2010.
The Market
Mortgage rates finished mixed this week, according to Freddie Mac weekly survey
McLean, VA – Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey. While the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate and the 5-year adjustable rose slightly, other rates remained flat or fell lower.
News Facts
30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.35 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending September 9, 2010, up from last week when it averaged 4.32 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.07 percent.
15-year FRM this week averaged a record low of 3.83 percent with an average 0.6 point, unchanged from last week when it also averaged 3.83 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.50 percent.

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.

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.

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.