Wilmington NC Real Estate Guide

Mortgage companies and banks are working overtime these days processing new mortgages – which raises an interesting question: Will they ever run out of money to lend?

The chances of that happening are virtually nil, thanks to a highly complex investment market for mortgages that has grown immensely since the 1970s. The key players in this game are “Fannie Mae” (Federal National Mortgage Association), “Ginnie Mae” (Government National Mortgage Association), and “Freddie Mac” (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.). These agencies, along with several private companies, turn homeowners’ mortgages into investment vehicles for individuals, pension funds, insurance companies and other large institutions. Altogether, these investment groups make up the bulk of what is known as the “secondary market.”

When a bank or mortgage company writes a mortgage, the loan is lumped with other mortgages in a bundle (or “pool”) that is often sold to one of the agencies. With the sale of the mortgage, the bank or mortgage company again has money to lend to another home buyer.

Fannie Mae, Ginnie Mae, and Freddie Mac differ as to the type of mortgage bundle they buy and in the type of investment vehicle they use to attract investors. But the process they use is the same: Assembling large packages of mortgages and issuing securities backed by the mortgages.

While the original lending bank may no longer hold the mortgage it gave to a home buyer, it still services the loan. That means collecting the monthly payments, keeping escrow accounts to pay for insurance and property taxes, and – through the agencies or companies that issued mortgage-backed securities – paying investors.  Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage is a full service real estate company with in house mortgage brokers from Alpha Mortgage.  Contact  us about all your Wilmington NC real estate needs.  Visit www.cbbaker.com to search or catch us on mobile at mobile.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

The National Association of Realtors have released their “For the Record” Nov/Dec 2010 issue of Real Facts about NC real estate.  Topics covered were Economy, Homeownership and Foreclosures.

NC unemployment rate has dropped steadily with NC being 3rd for declining rates.  September retail sales rose for the 3rd straight month.  Housing starts hit a 5 month high in September, 4.1% higher than September 2009.  Foreclosure rates fell and the NC Foreclosure Prevention Fund assistance will start being available in December to struggling homeowners.  Read more here…

If the low prices and the low interest rates have you wishing you could buy a new home but cannot because of your debt load, there is still time to reorganize your finances to make your wish come true.  Take a realistic look at where you spend your money.  Write everything down and where you spent it.  Is there a $4.00 Latte everyday? Make a budget and try to do away with some of the extras that you buy on a whim.  There are budget tools online, like Suze Ormans expense tracker that will help get you started.   We also have a credit repair company that can help you earn additional points for your credit score, so that you can qualify for lower interest rates.  Before you know it, that new home can be yours.  Be patient and work towards what you really want.  We can help you achieve this.  For all your Wilmington NC real estate needs please visit www.cbbaker.com or www.kaybakerwilmington.com

To view the home pictured please visit www.AskMeAboutWilmington.com

Fantastic positive news was released from the National Association of Realtors today.  The news release stated that the historically low interest rates combined with the $8,000 credit for first-time ( or homeowners who have not purchased a home in 3 years) helped raise the pending home sales contracts, for the third consective month.

The Pending Home Sales Index a “pending prediction” indicator based on contracts signed in April, rose 6.7 percent to 90.3 from 84.6 in March,
which is even above the April 2008 index of 87.5.

To get the first time home buyer credit of $8,000, contracts must be firmed up by November 30, 2009 to receive the credit, so we look forward to an increase in home sales.

The Wilmington NC real estate market has also enjoyed an increase in pending sales contract and still is in a a strong postion to continue this trend.

To search all Wilmington NC real estate and find out about the $8,000 tax credit please read more about the Wilmington NC real estate market here.

Wilmington NC Real Estate

It looks as though move up buyers have been sitting on the sidelines and contributing to lower sale prices in the second quarter in Wilmington NC. If you compare the second quarter to 2007 second quarter, sales prices have decreased by 6.1%. The list to sell ratio has also decreased to 95.5% compared to 97.4% second quarter 2007. Read the rest of this entry

Wilmington NC real estate market

We actually heard some pretty healthy news about the state of Wilmington NC’s real estate economy this week. According to Forbes list of cities with the most home equity, Wilmington NC ranked 20th at 61%. Data was used from Moody’s Economy.com, and ranked cities based on how much equity homeowners had in their home relative to its value. The cities that ranked well, of course, were the places where home prices have been stable or cities that did not get caught up in the subprime lending. These cities will more than likely fare better over the next year or so. The #1 city with the most home equity was Beaumont, Texas with 75%. House values are down nationwide 7.7% over last year, and some cities such as Los Angeles, Tampa and San Diego are down 20%. According to zillow, the home values in Wilmington NC are down only 1% from August 2007. For more specific market data on real estate in Wilmington, NC, more…

Wilmington NC real estate market report

The Wilmington NC real estate market report for 2008 is available for you to view some of the most active neighborhoods with average list price, number of homes available, number of homes sold this year and the average days on market.

Search by Neighborhood

Most home buyers do prefer to define their search criteria by neighborhoods such as affordable , move up , luxury , waterfront , golf or new homes . This will enable them to search a specific neighborhood within their price range or size.

Sold data is also available for each neighborhood listed.

For further detailed information, contact Kay Baker at kaybaker@seacoastrealty.com or www.cbbaker.com .

*01/01/08-07/20/08 statistics per Wilmington Board of Realtors Rappatonni website