Wilmington NC Real Estate Guide

Good news for Wilmington NC real estate home buyers today. The Senate has extended the closing deadline for home buyers that signed contracts by the April 30th deadline. The closing date deadline is now Sept 30, 2010 instead of June 30th. That is good news for many home buyers that are having difficulty with loan completion by June 30th. Many lenders are backlogged with the volume of loan applications right now.

Wilmington NC Real Estate

And, if you did not take advantage of the tax credit, there are still great deals to be had in the marketplace right now. Many sellers with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast are offering the $8000 buyer bonus. So, get out and take advantage of a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy a home. You can begin your search right on my website at www.cbbaker.com or email kaybaker@ec.rr.com for a complete list of Wilmington NC foreclosures and short sales.

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.

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

Wilmington NC Real Estate Short Sale Specialist

If you are in the market to sell your home in Wilmington NC and are facing a possible short sale, a HAFA Short sale Specialist in the local market place, is the agent you need to have on your side.  A HAFA short sale specialist will know how to present your personal situation to the lender for you, and when an offer is presented, a specialist will know how to negotiate and prepare the package for the lender. These steps are very important for the process to expedite in a timely manner.

HAFA Requirements

There are minimum requirements for a homeowner to qualify for the HAFA short sale program.

It must be your principal residence.

The Mortgage lien originated before 01/01/09 and it is first lien.

The mortgage is in default or will be in the near future.

The mortgage balance must be $729,750 or less.

The monthly payment exceeds 31% of the borrowers income.

And a bonus for the seller, $1500!

Please contact us immediately if you are facing a short sale situation, we will review the entire process with you, confidentially, of course. We are your HAFA  short sale specialist in Wilmington NC.

And, if you are a buyer looking to purchase a possible short sale, please email kaybaker@ec.rr.com for a complete list of short sales and foreclosures. Or you can log onto my website at www.cbbaker.com.

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty is among the nation’s top 500 real estate companies according to Real Trend magazine. The report ranks the companies by closed transactions and sales volume. Sea Coast ranked #151 among 500 other top real estate companies and ranked #23 out of more than 1074 Coldwell Banker affiliates.

Kay Baker of Sea Coast Realty is ranked in the top  Realtors with Coldwell Banker in the South East Region. If you are looking to buy or sell Wilmington NC real estate, give Kay Baker & Associates a call or email kaybaker@seacoastrealty.com. You can also search all for all homes in Wilmington NC at www.cbbaker.com.

Once again, Wilmington NC made the top 100 list for the most desirable places to live. The cities chosen by Relocate America were based on future recovery and growth including employment, the real estate market conditions, recreational opportunities and the quality of life. In other words, Wilmington NC is a great place to live and play!

Wilmington NC Real Estate

If you are thinking of moving to the area, you will definitely need a real estate professional who is knowledgeable about the area. I am a life long Wilmington NC  Realtor with all the experience and knowledge it takes to be your Realtor for life. Just give me a call or email kaybaker@ec.rr.com.

You can also search for Wilmington NC homes or Wilmington NC real estate at www.cbbaker.com. There you can search by schools, maps, zip codes, price ranges, neighborhoods and more.

Wilmington NC Real Estate Market Conditions

We have now seen 7 months of growth in sold units over the same time frame from a year ago, March had a gain of 8.3% over March of 2009. Our average sold price is down 7.1% from last month and up 3.6% over last March.  Our pending index is up about 17.4% over last month and is up about 19.5% over 2009 this time. In the month of March we saw an increase of 338 homes in our listing inventory, we have 5,577 homes on the market as of April 1st.  This continues to put us in a strong buyer’s market with a listing inventory of over a 15.2 month supply. Our average list price has stayed below the $400,000 range for seven months; we are currently at $380,975. Our rolling 12 months (year over year) shows a gain of 108 units or 2.5% gain. For March we saw an increase in our seller concessions, it is now 27.7%. Our average days on the market remained in the 130’s. The list to sold ratio is 94.1% 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, 18.6% of March sold homes. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.21% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending April 8, 2010. We still have the benefits of the $8,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers is for homes that are under contract by April 30th and closed by June 30th.

Wilmington NC Homes for Sale

In March we saw a big increase in listing inventory of 338 units. We are about 38 units over March 2009. We have 5,577 single family homes for sale in our MLS. The average list price of $380,975 is up by $4,081 from last month. The average list price has increased by 2.0% from January 2010. If you look back over the last three years you will see our low point in listing inventory to be about Dec/Jan time frame.

Monthly Average Sold Price

Our monthly average sold price is down by 7.1% from last month and up 3.6% from March 2009. Our average sold price is down by $17,152 from last month. March average sold price ($224,765) shows a decrease of 4.1% from year end 2009. Read the rest of this entry

A new law will allow investors who have bought homes to renovate and flip to get those homes back on the market immediately. Under the previous guidelines the investor must have owned the home for at least 90 days. As a result, investors have been skeptical of buying foreclosures because of the carrying expenses during the 90 day hold period. There are some guidelines for investors and buyers under the new ruling: 1) The property must not have a pattern of being flipped by investors. 2) All transactions must be “arms length”. In other words, no related parties. 3) Lender may require documentation of renovations if sales price is inflated by 20% or more or a second appraisal may be required.

For more detailed information about Wilmington, NC real estate foreclosures or short sales available , please contact me kaybaker@ec.rr.com. I will send you  a detailed list of Wilmington, NC homes right to your email. Or, if you are a homeowner and need assistance in selling your home, we are experts in the short sale and foreclosure market, too.

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Kay Baker & Associates is excited to announce our Greater Wilmington NC School Guide.  Your one stop shop for all the information you need on New Hanover County, Pender County and Brunswick County schools.  This innovative digital magazine is the first in the Wilmington NC area.  Useful information is at your fingertips when selecting the best school for you or your child from Kindergarden to Higher College Education, whether it be a public school or private school.  We have it all here for you.  Please take time to visit, and explore the links to each school system.  All the information about registering for schools, what each library has on it’s shelves, special need centers in each school and contact numbers are all put together for you in an easy digital magazine.  There is also a link for Wilmington NC real estate to search for homes in a certain school district.  We want to make your life easy, especially when entertaining a move.  Click here for the Greater Wilmington NC School Guide. Search all Wilmington NC real estate on www.cbbaker.com and let us know if we can help.

Wilmington NC Real Estate Homeowners

Starting April 5, 2010 the Government will be paying homeowners in default, to relocate. The new program will demand lenders to honor short sales whereby the homeowner can sell the property for less than the mortgage payoff. The Obama administration is trying a different approach to assist more than 5 Million households who are behind on their mortgages. In turn, the homeowner will receive $1500 for relocation assistance and the lender $1000 for expediting the short sale process.  

This arrangement could prove very beneficial to the homeowner, as they will not suffer further credit damage and they will get reassurance from the lender that they will not be sued for the balance. And, under this arrangement, the number of potential  foreclosed homes on the market should drastically decrease which in turn, should improve the  overall housing market.

Finally, short sales will have their day! If you are facing a foreclosure, and need assistance, we are specialists in the Wilmington NC real estate short sale and foreclosure market. We are there for you every step of the way. Just give us a call or email kaybaker@ec.rr.com.

And, if you are looking to purchase a short sale or foreclosure, we have you covered there, as well.  We have a Certified Distressed Property broker on our team and will help you with your short sale or  purchase a short sale or foreclosure with complete knowledge of the process.  Read more here