Wilmington NC Real Estate Guide

Enough already of all the negative publicity in the marketplace. If you are a potential home buyer looking at Wilmington NC real estate, you need to be looking at the affordability index. It is at an all time high (meaning home prices have been lowered)  and interest rates are at historic lows! 4.25%     If you wait for prices to drop further and interest rates go up, the value of the lower purchase price will be wiped out by higher payment. Get out there and look for the perfect house at the perfect price today!

And, if you are looking to sell your home  in Wilmington, NC,  your home must be aggressively priced, it must be in the best possible condition, you are in a beauty pageant and price war at the same time, and it must have the assistance of a reputable Realtor who knows the market and offers an aggressive marketing campaign and will use every tool in the arsenal.

For more details about the Wilmington NC real estate market, please contact kaybaker@ec.rr.com or 910-232-0363 or go to www.cbbaker.com.

Wilmington NC real estate offers brand new brick townhomes from $169,900 only minutes to Wrightsville Beach, Mayfaire and UNCW. These all brick townhomes offer easy first floor living with open floor plans,  3 bedrooms, garage and private courtyard, bonus room over garage on some plans. Granite countertops, stainless appliances and hardwood floors are standard in all models! Also, The Townes are Carleton Place offers pool and clubhouse. 

What better time to buy a beautiful townhome in the heart of Wilmington. Take advantage of historic low interest rates today!

Give us a call today at 910 262-3353 or email kaybaker@ec.rr.com for a tour.

Directions: North on College Road right on Oriole Drive, right on College Acres Drive and left on Carleton Drive.

The Wilmington- Cape Fear Homebuilders announced yesterday that the “housing affordability” in the Wilmington NC area remained near the highest level nationwide for the 6 consectutive month.  The Wilmington NC real estate prices have been lowered and the interest rates are favorable.   

This quote is from WWAY 3 from the president of Homebuilders “The possibility of homeownership is more obtainable for buyers in our market now than it has been for years,” said WCFHBA President John Lancaster of Venture Homes of the Carolinas. “More buyers are beginning to enter the market again thanks to renewed confidence as housing prices stabilize while the fed maintains all time low interest rates.”

Syracuse NY held the top spot on most affordable homes, with some smaller housing markets following close by Mansfield, Ohio; Bay City, Mich.; Monroe, Mich.; and Lansing-East Lansing, Mich.  Lancaster says “Our market is greatly influenced by what happens up north, so the numbers out of places like New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio are encouraging,”. 

That is encouraging news when the news lately has not been so positive.

Please take a minute to tour our website and search the Wilmington NC real estate area to find the house, neighborhood and price that you are looking for.  We have an inhouse Lender – Alpha Mortgage and an inhouse Insurance Agency – Real Mark Insurance and would be happy to give you contact information so that you have a “One Stop” Shop to buy real estate.   We make it easy for you.  Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty and Kay Baker and Associates.  Search all Wilmington NC real estate on www.cbbaker.com

Wilmington NC real estate median sold price continues its five month climb; we are 1.0% ahead of last month and 1.6% over last year this time. Our pending index is up 6.3% from last month. Our year to date we have a growth of 15.2% sold units over last year while our average sold price is just 1.9% behind last year. In our rolling 12 months we are 16.1% up in sold units and our average sold price is only down by 3.6%. This is the first month to break the string of sold units over the prior year; we had a string of 10 months. A key point to note is the average sold price is just a hair under last month by .03% or $707.00, but we are 8.4% ahead of last year this time.  The trend is our negative numbers and gaps keep getting smaller and smaller.
In the month of July, we saw a decrease of 125 Wilmington NC homes for sale, we have 5,604 homes on the market as of August 1st.  This continues to put us in a strong buyer’s market with a listing inventory of over a 16.0 month supply. With the low sales in July this affects our month supply with a change of 5 months from last month. Our average list price has stayed below the $400,000 range for eleven months; we are currently at $377,052. In July we saw a decrease in our seller concessions, it is now 21.7%. Our average days on the market are 121. The list to sold ratio is 94.8% and is up .4% from last month; this number needs to continue to get better. The number of homes that sold in 15 days or less continues to remain very low, 17.7% of July sold homes. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.44% with an average 0.7 points for the week ending August 12, 2010. We are now hitting historic lows in mortgage rates.
Listing Inventory
In July we saw our first decrease in listing inventory of 125 units. We are about 204 units over August 1, 2009. We have 5,604 single family homes for sale in our MLS. The average list price of $377,052 is down by $3,515 from last month. The average list price has decreased by 8.1% from August 1, 2009. Read the rest of this entry

The Wilmington NC real estate market seemed slow in June and July and the numbers tell the story…The number of homes sold in New Hanover County last month dropped 31% from June 2010 and 20% from July 2009. This is definitely a hangover from the end of the tax credit. The average sales price was also down from June slightly and a little higher than July 2009. The median sales price was actually higher for July 2010 at $190,000, $185,000 July 2009 and $188,000 in June.

New Hanover County is also a leading county in the state in foreclosures and following suit with the nation in the slowdown. Buyers are wanting the best possible prices in the market and therefore sellers are having to compete with the huge number of  homes that are in foreclosure or short sale.

There are signs in the market place of builders once again gearing up, but they too are limited by the number of foreclosed homes being dumped on the market and possible depressing prices of existing homes. In addition, lenders are still overly cautious in lending money.

But on the bright side, August seems to be showing signs of more buyers coming to the table. But again, they are looking for a deal.

If you are a buyer and looking for Wilmington NC foreclosures or short sales, we can send a list right to your in box. And, you can also begin your home search at www.cbbaker.com. There you can search all homes in the Wilmington NC area by schools, map, zip codes, neighborhoods, price and more.. If you are in the market to sell your home, remember the three main components for a speedy sale are price, condition and marketing. Give us a call or email and we will be happy to discuss.

For the tenth straight month, Wilmington NC real estate has shown an increase over last year, by number of homes sold.

The average sales price of homes sold in Wilmington, NC was down slightly over year end 2009. And, if you look at the most active zip codes: 28403 actually had an increase of 2.4% over last year; 28412 had a small increase .06% over year end 2009. Homes sold at 96.4% of asking price; 28405 had an average selling price of $264,322 with an increase of 5.7% from year end 2009. The average list price had increased 6.7% from year end. But, 28409 zip code had a 3.9% decrease in average selling price over year end 2009 and the average list price decreased 4.4% over year end. Homes sold at 93.6% of asking price. The average selling price in zip code 28411 decreased 6.3% over year end 2009 and the average list price decreased 8.1%. 28412 average selling price increased slightly and the average list price decreased slightly.

Overall, we saw a positive increase in units sold in the second quarter, but average sold price from second quarter 2009 was down 4.2%.

2010 does offer excellent buying opportunities with median home prices down 7.9% from year end 2008; foreclosures and short sales are excellent buys; mortgage rates are at historic lows; and there are 2889 homes on the market in the six zip codes in and around Wilmington, NC.

Now is definitely the time to buy Wilmington NC real estate. If you are searching for a home, just log onto my website at www.cbbaker.com and there you can search by schools, zip code, neighborhoods, map and more. If you would like a list of foreclosures and short sales sent to your inbox, just email kaybaker@ec.rr.com.

If you are drawn to ocean breezes and the best of true coastal living, then look no further than The Village at Mayfaire, Wilmington, NC. Here you will find relaxing but luxurious condominiums just minutes to Wrightsville Beach and of course, Mayfaire Town Center.

For instance, this 3 bedroom 2.5 bath home with over 2000 sq ft is just $350,000. This is true true luxurious living in a convenient, relaxed and carefree atmosphere. This is one of the few and largest floor plans available with over 2100 square feet and an attached one car garage and is all on one level and on the first floor so no stairs to negotiate. Numerous upgrades include granite in the kitchen as well as both bathrooms and double hanging racks and shelving in master walk-in closet. There are gorgeous travertine floors grace the main living area and stainless appliances with a natural gas range. A wonderful covered terrace invites the breezes and begs for a relaxing afternoon. And best of all e joy a short distance to casual or fine dining, shopping or take in a movie. Or you can have your toes in the sand at Wrightsville Beach in less than 10 minutes or spend time in the state of the art fitness facility. Entertain friends and family at the clubhouse while enjoying a game of billiards, or the private screening room, swimming pool tennis or the community gourmet kitchen. Now that’s what luxury living is all about. Check out 557 Garden Terrace NOW!

Wilmington NC Real Estate

Or if you prefer, we can send you a list of Wilmington, NC real estate for sale just to fit your needs. Just send me an email kaybaker@ec.rr.com.

The real estate market conditions in Wilmington, NC are showing some signs of improvement in terms of number of homes sold in 2010 over 2009. The number of sales have been up for 10 months straight for the Cape Fear Region.

May and June average sales prices numbers have dropped from 2009, as the number of foreclosures and short sales are bringing prices down. The average sales price for  Wilmington NC homes area for June was $238,610. Complete sales history here..

If you are in the market for Wilmington NC real estate, right now is an awesome time to buy a home. Interest rates are at a historic low and inventories are high with an abundance of foreclosures and short sales to choose from. You can really get an excellent buy meaning more home for the money. If you would like a list of Wilmington NC foreclosures or short sales, just email kaybaker@ec.rr.com. We will send a complete list to your inbox. You may search real estate at www.cbbaker.com.

Wilmington NC Real Estate

Good news – Our Unit Sales and Average sold price are up, mortgage rates are at an all time low. Lawrence Yun – NAR Chief Economist has noted that the tax credit has broadly stabilized home prices. “Without the tax credit, there will be more aggressive price negotiations between buyers and sellers. The key test on whether the housing market can stand on its own without stimulus medicine will depend critically on private sector job creation in the second half of the year. We’ll also keep a close eye on market conditions on the Gulf Coast. If jobs come back as expected, the pace of homes sales should pick up later this year and reach a sustainable level of activity given very favorable affordability conditions,” Yun said. We have a lot of opportunities for growth in our area.

We have 10 months of growth in sold units over the same time frame from a year ago. June had an increase in sold units over May and an increase in the average sold price of 8.2%. The median price saw an increase of .8% over last month. Our pending index is down about 18.7% from last month. It appears that about May 3rd our pending index peaked (see chart), this coincides with April 30th deadline for first time homebuyers to be under contract. The other adjustment is the fact that Realtors have to report transactions to the MLS within 3 days.

In the month of June we saw an increase of 65 homes in our listing inventory, we have 5,729 homes on the market as of July 1st.  This continues to put us in a strong buyer’s market with a listing inventory of over an 11.3 month supply. Our average list price has stayed below the $400,000 range for ten months; we are currently at $380,567. Our rolling 12 months (year over year) shows a gain of 694 units or 16.9% gain. In June we saw an increase in our seller concessions, it is now 30.8%. Our average days on the market are 119. The list to sold ratio is 94.4% and is down .1% from last month; this number needs to continue to get better. The number of homes that sold in 15 days or less continues to remain very low, 20.4% of June sold homes. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.57% with an average 0.7 points for the week ending July 8, 2010. 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.

Wilmington NC Homes for Sale

In June we saw an increase in homes for sale of 65 units. We are about 294 units over July 1, 2009. We have 5,729 single family homes for sale in our MLS. The average list price of $380,567 is down by $6,057 from last month. The average list price has decreased by 8.8% from July 1, 2009.

Monthly Average Sold Price

Our monthly average sold price is up by 8.2% from last month and down 4.8% from June 2009. Our average sold price is up by $18,197 from last month. June average sold price ($238,986) shows an increase of 2.0% from year end 2009. Our average sold price had its first considerable increase since February. We can tie this to our peak pending index on May 3rd and the original tax credit deadline of June 30th (this has been extended to September 30, 2010 by Congress).

Monthly Sold Units

The number of sold homes is up 15.5% from last month and up 21.6% from June 2009 and we are up 12.9% from June 2008. June saw an increase of 90 sold homes over June 2009. This is our tenth monthly increase in year over year sold homes since September 2005. No doubt in my mind the First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit has contributed to this increase in sales units. I am concerned that with the tax credit removed as an incentive we will see a decrease in our sales as we approach the fall.

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 $226,880

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 six months of 2010 has a 443 sold unit gain over first six months of 2009. The average sales price is down 3.7% for the first six months of 2010 than the first six months of 2009. Our median sales price is just 2.2% behind 2009.

Rolling 12 months

Another bright spot is the rolling 12 month numbers. When we look at July 1st, 2009 to June 30th, 2010 we have 4,810 sold units and when we compare July 1st, 2008 to June 30th, 2009 we have a 694 unit gain (4,116 sold units). When we look at the same rolling 12 months for average sold price we see that we are only down by 5.5%. So the dates of 7/1/2009 to 6/30/2010 we have an average sold price of $230,213 while from 7/1/2008 to 6/30/2009 we had an average sold price $243,596.

Median Sold Price

Our Median sold price is up .8% from last month, about $188,500. 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 pending index turn back to its upward climb about the first week in January. We saw our peak pending numbers about May 3rd. We are down 21% from last month and we are down 31% from our peak on 5/3/10. 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 June, 506 divided by the current listing inventory, 5,729 gives us an 11.3 month supply of single family homes. This decreased by 1.7 months from last month. This is good to be 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 $253,292 and the average sold price is $238,986 for June which gives us a 94.4% list to sold price ratio – a decrease of .1% from last month. We have now managed to stay under 95% for over a year.

Seller Concessions – We had 30.8% of sold properties report a sales concession for June, 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 119 for June. That is almost 5 + months to keep a property on the market. Only 20.4% of the properties were placed under contract in less than 15 days for the month of June.

Carolina & Kure Beach

There are currently 516 single family homes for sale and this represents an 18 unit decrease over June 1, 2010 and 9.0% of our total WRAR inventory. The average list price is $418,525 an increase of about $3,047 from May. In June there were 27 homes sold, divide that by the homes available and you have a 19.1 monthly supply of homes in Carolina and Kure Beach. The average sold price for the month of June was $366,246 and is up $85,443 from last month. When we look at our rolling 12 months July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010 we have 295 homes sold at an average price of $293,076. While July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009 we had 248 homes sold at an average price of $323,910.

This data was pulled on July 10, 2010, based on information from the Wilmington Regional Association of REALTORS Incorporated, for the period Jan. 1, 2005 through June 30, 2010.

The Market

30 year fixed rate mortgage drop slightly to create another new low

Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.57 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending July 8, 2010, down from last week when it averaged 4.58 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.20 percent. This rate is yet another all-time low in Freddie Mac’s 39-year survey.

“With mortgage rates falling to historic lows, refinance activity has been strong over the past three months,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the effective mortgage rate of all loans outstanding was just below six percent in the first quarter of 2010, the lowest since the series began in 1977. Since the start of the second quarter, two out of three mortgage applications on average were for refinancing, according the Mortgage Bankers Association.

“Household balance sheets also improved in other ways over the first three months of the year. The Federal Reserve (Fed) reported household net worth rose by almost $1.1 trillion in the first quarter of 2010. The share of credit card loans that were 30-days or more past due fell to the lowest since first quarter of 2002, according to the American Bankers Association. Finally, the aggregate household debt burdens were at a level not seen since the third quarter of 2000, based on the Fed’s debt service ratio.”

Thanks to David Flory of Cunningham Mortgage .
Cunningham & Company is a full service Mortgage Banker – we handle everything in house. We do first time buyers, USDA, FHA and VA loans, Conventional and Jumbo Loans, 100% financing and we have a large selection of adjustable rate loans as well as several interest only programs. You may reach David at 910 352-8273

Wilmington NC Real Estate

It seems that the nationwide numbers in this week were not so good for the real estate market in May. The tax credit offered by Uncle Sam expired at the end of April and new home sales plummeted nationwide. But, Wilmington NC real estate is still ticking along pretty good. Our numbers for pending sales in May were up over April this year. We still have our fair share of foreclosures and short sales that are weighing heavily on prices, but overall we seem to be better off than most.

If you are a home seller in the Wilmington NC area, please keep in mind that you are competing with all the short sales and foreclosures in the marketplace. Buyers are out there, but they are looking for the best deal possible. And, they have choices. So, they will move on if they don’t get what they want.

And, if you are looking to purchase a home, now is the most perfect time in many years. Interest rates are at an all time low and everything is on sale! Start your search right here at www.cbbaker.com. You can search Wilmington, NC real estate by price, neighborhood, maps and more. We can also send you a detailed list of foreclosures and short sales .