If you want to be a master at anything, you’ll need to put in at least 10,000 hours of work.

In the context of hiring a Realtor, the market is flooded with agents that are a little shy of 10,000 hours …to say the least.

Did you know that the over 94% of agents in the country make less than $48,000 a year? It’s easy for an agent to wow you with their fancy clothes and new cars, but the reality is that 94% of agents out there will not be properly prepared to service you as your agent.

Your house is the biggest investment you’ll make over the course of your life, so doesn’t it make sense to make sure that you’ve hired a real estate “master”? The knowledge that one gains as a master agent can pay dividends for you and your real estate transaction.

Some of the benefits of choosing a master agent are:

• Thorough knowledge of your market
• Knowing when the other agent is bluffing or serious about an offer
• Negotiating prices so that you’re getting the top dollar at the closing table
• A solid network of the best appraisers, inspectors, contractors, and resources
• A steady stream of potential buyers for your home

There are so many benefits to hiring a master agent, especially when the commission you’re paying out is the same for the good agents or the bad ones.

The housing market has never been as confusing as it is right now. Prices and price correction will vary depending on where you live, cities, neighborhoods, school districts, etc. Six years ago, everyone understood what was going on: Home values were rising, and fast. Two years ago, it was the opposite; values were falling all across the country.

Now, however, we are seeing mixed values everywhere. According to Q2 Real Estate Market Reports, values rose in 94 of the 154 markets that were covered. Nationally, values were still falling, so “unpredictable” might be a great way to describe our current market.

So how do we know what’s going to happen in different markets? In the absence of market-level forecasts, one way to explore this is by looking at price-to-income ratio. It’s not the absolute best way to predict markets, but more often than not, prices will always go back to their normal levels based on income.

Where have values fallen below their historic norms? That was the case in one-third of the markets, and Las Vegas (25% below the market’s historic price-to-income level), Detroit (35% below) and Modesto, CA (18% below) had some of the most dramatic numbers. Does that mean Vegas home values need to rise by 25% for Vegas to regain normalcy? Not necessarily – there have surely been significant changes in the area’s economy since the housing recession began – but it means there’s a good chance that home values there have over-corrected, and may have some room to rise before the market levels out again.

On the other side of the coin, markets like Virginia Beach, Honolulu, and Charleston would need to fall by at least 50% to reconnect with traditional income levels. That doesn’t mean values will fall by 50% in those markets, but it could signal either a significant change in their economies, or that home values do have somewhat farther to fall.

If you would like to discuss how I think our markets in Wilmington and Raleigh are, send me a message here or leave a comment.

The preliminary numbers for April 2011 are in and it appears that the market is slowing compared to last year. While the final numbers won’t be in until after May 15 (Realtors are notoriously lazy about recording their sales in the MLS), taking a look now gives an idea of which way the market is trending.

Between April 1 and April 29, 2011, there were 146 single family homes sold in New Hanover County. As a comparison, there were 155 single family homes sold between March 1 and March 29, 2011. For the entire month of March 2011, there were 177 homes sold, so we can probably expect another 15-20 sales to be recorded for the month of April, bringing the total number of single family home sales for April 2011 to between 160 and 170.

Compare this to the 242 single family homes sold in April 2010 and there is a strong reason to believe that the Wilmington NC Real Estate Market is slowing. I’ll take another look as on May 15 and we’ll find out the actual numbers for April 2011. All of this data is pulled from the Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors MLS.

On a side note, please be on the lookout next week as I’m going to begin my luxury home pick of the week!

Until my oldest son, Caleb (now 7) said, “Dad, I want to play T Ball,” I had no clue that Wilmington, NC is such a great baseball town. Now, two years later, Caleb and my youngest son Oran are both playing in the Supper Optimist League- Caleb is playing machine pitch, Oran is playing T Ball. Supper Optimist is one of several youth leagues in Wilmington. Since 2009, I’ve gotten to know a little bit about the various baseball programs available here and want to pass on that knowledge to those of you that are baseball fans, those that are parents and anyone generally curious about what life in Wilmington is like.

While Wilmington is probably most famous for being the hometown of Michael Jordan, it actually has a huge baseball presence as well. There are a good number of former and retired pros including Trot Nixon, of Red Sox Fame, and Fletcher Bates who now owns and operates Coastal Athletics. Incidentally, Trot and Fletcher both graduated from New Hanover High School. In fact, Willie Stargell actually lived out the last years of his life here in Wilmington before passing away in 2001 and each year his foundation hosts the Willie Stargell Celebrity Golf Tournament.

If you are interested in getting your kids involved in baseball, there are youth baseball programs offered through the Supper Optimist Club, the Optimist Club of Winter Park, Cape Fear Optimist Club, and the Myrtle Grove Optimist Club. Additionally, the Wilmington Seahawks organizes youth travel teams. So, if you love baseball, Wilmington is a good place to be!

And on a final note, a shout out to Caleb- his team won tonight 14-2 and he went 3 for 3 against the machine. Not bad for his 2nd game of machine pitch!

Happy Spring! Since we are through the first quarter, now is a great time to take a look at the performance of the Wilmington, NC real estate market. At this point, the questions I get about the real estate market from people with whom I speak are: “is it turning around?” “Is it getting better?” Well, let’s tackle those head on! We’ll go through some big picture historical data, some more narrowly focused data and draw a few conclusions from that to paint a picture of where we are headed.

Historically across the country (and here in Wilmington as well), the average appreciation each year has been 4%. This has been true 30 or 40 years. I tested this on the Wilmington NC real estate market by creating the graph immediately below this paragraph. I could only get average sales price data as far back as 1996 (as represented by the blue line). The green line represents what 4% appreciation would have looked like, starting at the average price in 1996. Ever heard of the real estate bubble? Well, you can see it pretty clearly here where the blue line (average price) departs sharply from the green line (4% curve) starting in about 2004.

I’m sure you’ve all heard the saying “what comes up must go down.” Well, as you can see in 2007, the average sales price started to come down, and come down hard. At the end of 2009, we actually got back to the average price that we should have been at based on 4% appreciation (or about $232,000). Unfortunately, the law of averages says that the size of the bubble below the line is going to have to be about the same as the size above the line. The short answer here is that, in the BEST CASE, prices will stay the same for the foreseeable future.

So what about the first quarter? Well, here are the cold hard numbers compared to last year:

As you can see, the average sales price continues to drop in Wilmington real estate market. There is also good news in these numbers! From 2007-2009, all of the key numbers were plummeting. The fact that the two of them appear to be increasing is great news because it indicates that the market is beginning to recover.

What does all this mean? For sellers, this means that the best price that they can get is the price that they can get today. For buyers, it means that they should plan to hold their home for more than 7 years. Truthfully, purchasing real estate with plans to hold it for less than 7 years is considered speculation by professionals. All in all the market has stabilized a bit. In this Realtors opinion, the average home price in Wilmington, NC will probably stay under $225,000 this year. Please stay tuned for more posts about how to best deal with this market as a buyer and as a seller. I would love to hear your comments!

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!