In its new book, THE BEST 373 COLLEGES – 2011 EDITION, The Princeton Review has included UNCW in its list of best colleges in the southeast for the seventh consecutive year.

UNCW Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo said in a statement, “UNCW is proud to be recognized among such a prestigious group of universities.”

Robert Franek, author of the book says “Each of our 373 best colleges offers great academics and we salute them for that. However, they differ widely in their program offerings and campus culture. That’s why we don’t rank them 1-373. Instead we tally 62 ranking lists based entirely on how students at these schools rated their experiences at them.”
About 25 percent of the nation’s more than 2,500 four-year colleges make the Princeton Review’s region’s best lists.

The University of North Carolina at Wilmington consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Cameron School of Business, the School of Nursing, the Watson School of Education and the Graduate School.

UNCW is known for its strength in the natural sciences which forms the core of its respected niche in marine science. Those involved in the school’s Center for Marine Science engage in basic and applied research, service and education.

UNCW also stands out in its creative writing program and film studies. Atlantic Monthly has named UNCW’s Master of Fine Arts in creative writing as one of the “Five Top Innovative/Unique Programs in Creative Writing. The Department of Film Studies makes use of its relationship with EUE/Screen Gems studios, a full-service film-production facility in Wilmington.

Recently while reading an article about the housing market in Kiplinger magazine, we realized that many of you may feel you missed out as the first time home buyer’s tax credit draws to an end. The real story is that with mortgage rates at historic lows, hovering around 5%, there is still time to reap rewards. Is now the time for you to buy? Let’s look at some numbers.

According to the National Association of Realtors, at a national level, the median price for a single family home is $163,600. The local Wilmington, NC market saw a 14% decline in the past year with the current average sales price of $219,813. Although we are seeing our fair share of short sales and foreclosures, we aren’t riddled like some areas of the nation but the local unemployment rate of 9.7 % may play a role in further price declines.

Freddie Mac predicts mortgage rates near 5.7% for a 30 year fixed rate by the end of 2010. If you continue to wait hoping for prices to drop further any financial gain you could realize may be swallowed up by increased mortgage rates.

If you must sell before you are in position to purchase, get your home realistically priced from the start. Unfortunately, we see sellers who followed the market with their pricing strategy instead of pricing the home ahead of the market. Your home will not be worth more than it is right now; at least for the foreseeable future. We remind our sellers that the current market competition forces us to be in a price war and a beauty contest. Your profits will be greater and the days on the market less if you price it right from the get go. We can advise you how to make your home appealing and priced right to move. Give us a call today 910-442-2030.

See the link below for more information from the Kiplinger article.
http://kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/nows-the-time-to-buy-a-home.html

You may remember that last January, Wilmington experienced a mere 82 real estate transactions, which was a 60% decline from the year before. While last spring picked up some, 2009 ultimately was the slowest year New Hanover County had seen since pre-millennium days. The good news is…

This January, Wilmington had 128 sales! While this hardly touches the city’s glory days (336 transactions in Jan 2006, for example), it’s certainly a lot healthier than last year, which hopefully means a healthier year to come.

In addition to this market update, I’d like to offer you first dibs on a deal before it becomes available to the public through the Multiple Listing Service.  Located on Hickory Knoll Road in the 28409 zip, this creek/marsh front cottage boasts spectacular views of the Intracoastal Waterway (see photo below).  Home is in great condition with hardwood floors, stone fireplace, butcher block island and Corian counters in the kitchen, large deck, and more. And the asking price is just $349,000! If you or someone you know has interest, please call 910-616-2171.

Happy New Year! As you are in the midst of obtaining the list of 2010 resolutions which normally have a tendency to consist of hefty promises to yourself like hitting the gym, or tossing a bad habit, you may want to be enlightened on one more worthwhile resolution! According to a survey available on Move.com, 18 percent of Americans resolved to become a homeowner in 2010. Why wait? With mortgage rates and property prices at an all time low, this is the perfect time to buy your first home! If that is not convincing enough, maybe the extension of the $8000 first time home buyer tax credit will persuade you. The first time home buyer tax credit has been extended to April 30th 2010. Although that may seem right around the corner, the purchaser will have up until July 1, 2010 to close. Current homeowners who are looking to upgrade to a newer home can take advantage of the $6500 credit until April 30th, 2010, if they have lived in their primary residence for at least five years.

Making your move now would not only be smart, but extremely timely because of the favorable market conditions and bargain home prices! As a result of the incentives the extended home buyer tax credit has on first time home buyers, purchasing a home is finally in reach! This is a 2010 resolution that can be achieved in no time, and the Fine Coastal Living team is available to assist you throughout this exciting experience whether you are buying or selling your home!

I hope your 2009 ended well and that your New Year is off to a great start! Our team ended the year strong with a 60% increase in sales, putting us in the top 1 percentile of agents in Wilmington.

As a whole, New Hanover County ended the year with just over 2500 transactions, down 11% from 2008.  The ‘09 average sales price was also down 11% from last year and average days on market up 17%.  Total closed dollar amount (the sum of sales prices of all sold homes) declined 21%. 

With interest rates bouncing above and below 5% (for a 30-year fixed), this continues to be a great time to move up or buy a first home. If you or anyone you know has plans to buy, sell or invest in the New Year, please don’t hesitate to give us a call.  We are by no means the high-pressure sale type, and we promise to take great care of you!

Keller Williams Realty, Inc., the fourth largest real estate company in North America, launched their Commercial Division last fall.

Buddy Norman, a veteran of commercial real estate, joined Keller Williams as president of this new division. Norman has more than 18 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry, including leadership within international firms, such as The Staubach Company and Burnham Real Estate, which was acquired by Cushman & Wakefield. He has led the development of new business divisions and trained commercial agents all over the U.S. including Dallas, Atlanta, Washington D.C. and San Diego.  

Locally, Keller Williams Wilmington has also added several seasoned commercial and business brokers to its family including Dennis Musser and Rudie Malpass.  Dennis is the current President of the Realtors Commercial Alliance of South Eastern North Carolina and has worked in commercial and investment real estate since 1985.  Rudie has over 10 years experience in land development and and business brokerage.  So if there’s ever ANYTHING you need - from a place for your new restaurant, to the restaurant itself - please don’t hesitate give us a call!

Last Saturday Star News published a nice little article summarizing median home values and activity levels for various Wilmington zip codes.  You can click here to read it if you haven’t already.  In all, year-to-date activity for the area is off 29% from last year at this time and the average sales price is down 10.25%. 

Despite this downturn, our local Keller Williams office has increased market share by 49.10% over the past year.  And it gets better.  Our team’s personal sales business has also experienced an increase of around 40%.

“Why should I care?” you ask.

A few years ago, using just any agent to buy or sell worked fine.  But in a market like this, where prices and sales are falling rapidly, making the wrong decision is costly.  Time is money.  You owe it to your friends/ family/co-workers/whoever to make sure they get connected with a professional who is on the winning team.  We are passionate about helping people, and we love this business.  If you know someone who needs help buying or selling, please don’t hesitate to give us a call with their name and number.  Thanks and God bless!

I normally don’t like to poke fun at houses or other Realtor’s marketing, but this listing was too good to resist. Click here to view.

=)

Well, it certainly has been an embarrassingly long time since our last post. Though the Wilmington real estate market took a 55% nose dive in January (for # of transactions), we’ve been busy “getting after it.” In times like these our seller clients need more marketing and more consulting than ever before.

That being said, I recently came across an article from the NC Association of Realtors that’s worth sharing. Thank you NCAR for getting us out of our bloggers-block.

About the Economy:
> North Carolina is consistently at the forefront of affordable housing. Most recently, Cornelius was named one of the most affordable suburbs in the country. Fayetteville and Rocky Mount were both recognized for high price appreciations.
> In 2008, North Carolina welcomed the most newcomers (versus loss of residents) of any state, according. For every 100 people leaving, 180 moved in.

About Home Ownereship:
> In February, Gov. Bev Perdue signed an authorization that could save NC homebuyers more than $30 million.
> The National Association of REALTORS® estimates the impact of the stimulus package and lower interest rates on the housing market to be about 900,000 additional home sales in 2009 compared to conditions before the stimulus package.
> Homes were more affordable in December 2008 than at any other point since the National Association of REALTORS® began its housing affordability index in 1970.

About Foreclosures:
> Nationally, January foreclosure filings decreased 10 percent compared to the previous month.
> In January, the number of foreclosures occurring in NC decreased 29.3 percent when compared to January 2008. Nationally, foreclosure rates were 18 percenthigher in January 2009.
> North Carolina continues to descend in the official ranking of foreclosure rates, and is 33rd nationally.
> Four states – Nevada, Arizona, California and Florida – represented 53 percent of the 274,399 foreclosures in the US in January.

This year’s Fashion Victim’s Ball was a huge success! On December 6th, approximately 300 people sacrificed fashion to benefit local charities at the Coast Line Convention Center. Guests wore gaudy, wacky attire, danced to the music of Lenny Frank, dined on yummy eats catered by Angie’s, and bid on silent auction items.

More than $4000 was raised for charities including the Boys and Girls Club, Breast Cancer Awareness, Carolina Canines, Habitat for Humanity, Project Linus, and the Ronald McDonald House. 

Thanks again to our sponsors: Coastal Insurance, Hutchens, Senter & Britton, Paul Davis Restoration, Law Office of Eugene Davis, Wine Styles, Safeway Chevrolet, and Equity Services.