N.C.'s coastal real estate in slump (Charlotte, Wilmington: for sale, real estate market)

[SunnyKayak]

recent home sales show a modest recovery.

Single-lot sales, though, have fallen to less than a fifth of their peak in late 2005.

And foreclosure notices this year are running about 50 percent higher than those in the rest of the state

Charlotte Observer | 07/14/2008 | N.C.'s coastal real estate in slump

[Rtom45]

I'm not sure thats a bad thing - the prices I saw there earlier this summer were outrageous - ridiculous.

[Bill Hitchcock]

Please note-The forclosures to which the article referes to is in the SE region of coastal NC. Foreclosures are not a Crystal Coast phenom.
I'll post more on this later-Gotta go to RDU to pick up my daughter!!
Bill

[dsobotta]

Originally Posted by Bill Hitchcock

Please note-The forclosures to which the article referes to is in the SE region of coastal NC. Foreclosures are not a Crystal Coast phenom.
I'll post more on this later-Gotta go to RDU to pick up my daughter!!
Bill

We get calls all the time looking for foreclosures. I have dealt with a grand total of one in the last year, and it just isn't something that we see often along the Crystal Coast.

The only large scale development in the area was Cannonsgate and actually a home was just started in there as all the amenities are close to being turned over to the homeowner's association.

Home prices have come down more than lot prices so the good news is that homes are much more reasonably priced than they were a few years ago.

The total number of residential homes on the market is close to what it was last year, but the number of condos for sale is down substantially. Also fewer people are listing homes and condos so the supply will adjust.

I have already seen almost all of my "best buys on or near the water list" sell in the last six months.

I have recently seen a couple of places sell that could not be replaced in the same subdivisions for anywhere close to what they sold for this year.

When the real estate market turns around, my bet is that the buyers in 2008 will be seen as the ones who got the best buys at least on the Crystal Coast.

[wilmingtonangel]

Originally Posted by dsobotta

When the real estate market turns around, my bet is that the buyers in 2008 will be seen as the ones who got the best buys at least on the Crystal Coast.

I disagree. The market has a long way to go. You might see a slight up or down movement, but overall the trend is down. It is still not affordable for many people...especially when the prices of everything else are going up leaving less income for housing. People are still not buying houses. It is much cheaper to rent than to buy right now. I've really been watching the market and I see big price reductions....yet the house is still sitting there months later.

Personally I'm enjoying all the money that is being transferred to my savings account since my rent is so cheap and someone else is fixing the faucet And if what you say is true and the current prices are as low as it goes.....maybe I'll consider moving to a place in which I can actually buy a decent house and get a high paying job that reflects my experience and education. I really don't go to the beach anymore anyway.

btw.....I hope you have a financial backup plan!!!!!

[dsobotta]

Originally Posted by wilmingtonangel

I disagree. The market has a long way to go. You might see a slight up or down movement, but overall the trend is down. It is still not affordable for many people...especially when the prices of everything else are going up leaving less income for housing. People are still not buying houses. It is much cheaper to rent than to buy right now. I've really been watching the market and I see big price reductions....yet the house is still sitting there months later.

Personally I'm enjoying all the money that is being transferred to my savings account since my rent is so cheap and someone else is fixing the faucet And if what you say is true and the current prices are as low as it goes.....maybe I'll consider moving to a place in which I can actually buy a decent house and get a high paying job that reflects my experience and education. I really don't go to the beach anymore anyway.

btw.....I hope you have a financial backup plan!!!!!

We're selling homes and people are moving to the Crystal Coast, but unfortunately homes will never be affordable for everyone. For some people renting makes more sense.

You can buy new homes from under $160K in our area. In my opinion that is affordable. I don't see it going any lower.

You can buy new well constructed four bedroom homes well under $300K, that is a reasonable price.

If builders can't make money on homes they won't build them. Then the supply tightens. It is a normal for that to happen in the market.

There are plenty of high paying jobs in the Washington, DC area, but I know you will not find single family homes prices like those that I mentioned in Carteret County. On top of that Carteret County taxes are very low.

It is always a trade off. The great jobs are where the expensive homes are.

You just have to decide what you want in life and go for it.

If you are happy renting a home and waiting for the market to go down, that's great.

You can always expect to see price reductions on homes that were put on the market at unrealistic prices, but we are seeing less and less of that.

Many of those homes are just being taken off the market.

As I said all of what I considered my best home buys on or hear the water have sold in the last six months so I expect improvement by 2009.

I do think we may see some adjustment in lot prices which haven't come down as much as homes.

I'm not too worried about a backup financial plan, I have done everything from building and running a cattle ranch in Canada to working twenty years at Apple Computer. I expect to survive the real estate downturn, it would be impossible for it to be tougher than running a cattle operation.

I stand by my prediction that the year of the best buys on the Crystal Coast will be 2008.

[wilmingtonangel]

A lot of people that are NOT in the real estate business disagree with your predictions.

But I guess you have your money regardless, so screw the "little" people that want decent affordable housing to reflect wages.

[dsobotta]

Originally Posted by wilmingtonangel

A lot of people that are NOT in the real estate business disagree with your predictions.

But I guess you have your money regardless, so screw the "little" people that want decent affordable housing to reflect wages.

I only know my real estate market, and don't make any pretensions to know markets other than western Carteret County.

Since I am in real estate, I can see what is happening in my local market. I have access to sales figures for this area, and I believe my prediction will be proven right.

We are a little different on the Crystal Coast in that we have a huge rental market that provides a floor for prices. People put their homes in a rental program if it can't sell.

We also normally don't have people other than military folks who are transferred into the area, so no one is forced to live here. If you can't afford to live near the coast, there are some less expensive homes farther inland, but even inland, there is a limit to how low homes prices can go.

Most people who come to the coast do so by choice, and many like me have worked hard all their lives for their money. They often pick Carteret County because it is one most scenic and reasonably priced places to live along the coast.

Carteret County is not a fancy area, there are people of all income levels here. We have lots of people who live in very nice manufactured homes, and we have plenty of people who rent homes. We have some who live in elaborate sand castles, but I am not one of them.

There is nothing in economic law that says the wages you earn have to be able to pay for a home. Home ownership is not guaranteed in the bill of rights. It is something you work for and hopefully attain during your life.

I don't control what people make for a wage, and I don't control what builders charge for a home.

As a real estate agent I will often work for months with a client and spend a considerable amount of money only to see them buy in another area or decide to wait another few years before moving.

It's rare these days when I take someone to see homes these days, that it doesn't cost me $25 in gas. When I mail something to someone it is $4 or $5. I do a lot of mailing.

We don't make a salary and actually we pay a desk fee to work in the real estate offices and other fees to have access to MLS.

With the downturn in the real estate market, all but the most established real estate agents have lost money over the last 18 months. I am one of the ones who lost money last year. That means I didn't make as much money selling property as I spent trying to sell property.

This year even some of the best agents have had to struggle.

We try very hard to find affordable homes for people and to get them the best value for their dollars.

Usually market turns are missed by almost everyone. I worked at Apple Computer and we kept a running total of the magazine covers including ones from Business Week that predicted Apple was going out of business.

Now the whole world knows Apple is doing well. We knew it years before the media picked it up.

Bad news sells, and often the real story is in the numbers.

The market is very slow right now, but homes have not stopped selling and the supply is starting to adjust with fewer new listings.

That's basic economics as the supply adjusts the market will improve.

Today's market is the buyers' market, sometime in the future it will be back to a sellers' market. That's just the way it works for little and big people.

[wilmingtonangel]

dsobotta - sorry....I jumped the gun a little. You have some good points about the market & real estate. Every market is different. I guess I'm just frustrated with my own house search & shouldn't have taken it out on you.

It's very frustrating to work really hard, though, and still be priced out of the market. I am a single parent that put myself thru 6 yrs of college, then worked 2 (sometimes 3) jobs at a time just to get my foot in the door in the job market. After all of my years of hard work I finally landed a great job with great benefits, only to still be priced out of the market in Wilmington. Oh sure, I could buy a condo or a modular home, or even a single-family house that needs work. But I'm trying to hold out until I can afford something decent in a good neighborhood WITHOUT maxing out my borrowing limits. I'd like to stick to the "3 times your income" rule so I can actually send my kids to college.

[dsobotta]

Somehow I expect you will eventually get to that spot where you want to be. Sounds like you have the determination to make it. The best dreams are the ones we work really hard to achieve. I had just about given up on mine a few years ago, but we finally made it happen.