News about real estate values in the Outer Banks area

The Pending Home Sales Index, which is an indicator based on contracts signed in a given month, increased 1 percent and remains 10.9 percent higher than December 2008. 

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said it’s important to recognize how the tax credit is skewing market data. “There are easily understood swings in contract activity as buyers respond to a tax credit that was expiring and was then extended and expanded,” he said. “These swings are masking the underlying trend, which is a broad improvement over year-ago levels. December activity was the fifth highest monthly tally in two years.”

The index has risen in several different areas.  In the Northeast, the numbers rose 2.3 percent to 76.1 in December.  The Mid-west showed an increase of 5.2 percent to 86.9.  The South rose 2.2 percent to an index of 98.4. 

The US economy grew at the fastest pace in six years to close out 2009. 

The gross domestic product expanded at an annual rate of 5.7 percent increase the fourth quarter.  This is great news, but experts are a little skeptical on the economies’ long term pace of growth.  The growth rate in this quarter was the fastest growth since the third quarter of 2003. 

The Obama administration seized on news of the latest upturn as an opportunity to push its proposal to encourage hiring.  Companies would receive a tax credit of up to $5,000 for each new hire, and an additional credit on Social Security payroll taxes for raising wages — by increasing hourly pay or work hours, for example — in excess of inflation.  “Now’s the perfect time for this kind of incentive because the economy is growing, but businesses are still hesitant to start hiring again,” President Obama said in Baltimore.  

Up to this point, the economy has still been able to grow despite substantial job cutbacks across the nation.  Productivity of employees has increased 8.1% in the third quarter of 2009. It was also evident that businesses are spending more on technology in order to increase employee productivity. 

February 5, 2009

 

It is with great pride that I share the news that Coldwell Banker Real Estate has gained a major honor.  Through the amazing efforts of our Learning Department, we have been included in Training Magazine’s Top 125 organizations list for 2010.

 

Training Magazine is the learning industry’s top publication and annually selects top companies who excel in the training of their sales professionals.  Coldwell Banker is on the list, which includes such noted brands as Bank Of America, Microsoft, Continental Airlines, and McDonalds.

 

In 2009 the Coldwell Banker Learning Group had approximately  10,000 registrations for programs with over a 95% satisfaction rating; this speaks to the depth and quality of our programs.

 

The group has put together an aggressive list of programs for 2010 including eFastStart and BOO$T for new and experienced sales associates, as well ACT Now! for brokers and owners.

 

Obviously, an award of this stature is worthy of sharing with your sales associates and clearly benefits in your recruiting and retention efforts.

 

Thanks and continued good luck.

 

Regards,

Below is the Outer Banks Real Estate Market Update for the fourth quarter of 2009 provided by Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty. 

Please double-click the images to enlarge.

Dear Fellow REALTOR®,

By now, we all know about the severe devastation caused by the earthquakes in Haiti. NAR is helping answer the calls for help in two key ways.

First, we are contributing $550,000 to charities that will help bring much-needed supplies and care to the people of Haiti. Included in that sum is $100,000 donated by our REALTOR Benefits® Program partner, Lowe’s®, which we have matched at $100,000. From that we will donate $50,000 to The Harvest of Haiti, founded by REALTOR® Patrick Moore, a 2007 Good Neighbor Award winner. Patrick has done great work for several years in Haiti supporting orphans, delivering clean water and providing medical care for more than 3,500 people a year.

http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2010/01/donate_haiti

We are also contributing $500,000 to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, which is supporting earthquake recovery efforts with immediate relief and long-term support to earthquake survivors. For up-to-the-minute information about these efforts, visit NAR’s Haiti relief page on REALTOR.org.

Second, I have asked NAR to accept donations from REALTORS® through the REALTORS® Relief Foundation. Please consider giving today. To make a donation, go to www. realtor.org/relief, and complete the contribution form.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said: “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”

REALTORS® have earned a reputation for our compassionate work on behalf of others – both here in the United State and around the world. I hope you will join our latest efforts and bring that same compassion and hope to people who desperately need it.

The CEO of Coldwell Banker LLC appeared on Fox News yesterday to talk Real Estate.  Jim Gillespie appreared on the show Countdown To the Final Bell, with Liz Claman. To no surprise the topic of discussion was the current state of the housing market.  Click here to see the video…

Angel Tree Donation

When it comes to helping those in need, Seaside Vacations and Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty are committed to making a difference each and every day.

KITTY HAWK, NC (January 8, 2010) — Seaside Vacations and Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty, leading vacation rental and real estate firms located on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, are committed to improving the community each and every day. Their “Vacation with a Purpose” program encourages employees, homeowners and guests to join their mission and support local non-profit organizations.

They make a difference by building homes for low-income families, providing assistance to those in need and raising funds for charitable organizations. They support organizations such as the Albemarle Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, American Cancer Society, Outer Banks Relief Foundation, Interfaith Community Outreach, Homes4NC, Dare Education Foundation, The Beach Food Pantry, The Baltimore Station (a charity supporting men, most of whom are veterans, who are transitioning from the cycle of poverty, substance abuse and homelessness to self-sufficiency) and more.

In addition to their year-long efforts, this holiday season they also sponsored The Angel Tree – a non-profit organization that provides much-needed clothing, wished-for toys and other items to the area’s neediest children. This year, Seaside Vacations and Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty chose to support a needy family in Hyde County.

“I am very pleased at the willingness and excitement to support The Angel Tree program.  After we matched the contributions from our employees and vendors, we were able to provide what will surely be a wonderful Christmas for a local family, “says Gordon Jones, President of Seaside Vacations and Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty.

Seaside Vacations and Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty would also like to thank the local businesses who help make our donations possible.  Special thanks to Travel Guard and VBL Technologies as well as High Cotton – who graciously hosted their holiday donation celebration.

For more information on Seaside Vacations and their wide selection of Outer Banks vacation rentals, visit www.OuterBanksVacations.com – where you can search a wide variety of homes, book online with real-time availability, view up-to-the-minute Outer Banks specials and check out local Outer Banks events.  Guests can also follow Seaside Vacations on the Seaside Vacations Blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and MySpace.

About Seaside Vacations:
Founded in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1990, Seaside Vacations is a full-service vacation rental management company representing homes from Corolla to Nags Head.

Seaside Vacations offers a complete selection of Outer Banks vacation rentals. Guests can choose from 1 – 14-bedroom private vacation rental homes, condominiums, townhomes and villas.  Explore our homes in Duck and Corolla as well as numerous vacation rentals in Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head.

For more information on Seaside Vacations and their wide selection of vacation rentals, visit www.OuterBanksVacations.com or call one a Vacation Specialist at 866.936.4659.

Real estate prices in the Case-Shiller 10-city index have dropped 30% from the peak in 2005.  Declines this steep have not been seen since the great depression.  Mortgage rates have also declined and this along with current  prices are a great combination for buyers. 

According to expert studies, there has not been better deals with mortgage/pricing since the early 90s.  If you buy an average home today, and take out a 30-year mortgage at 5%, the annual bill for interest and repayment of principal will come to about 19 times typical weekly earnings (If you get the $8,000 refundable tax credit too, it drops below 18 times). As you can see from the bottom chart, we haven’t seen it that low since the early 1970s. In his article Latest Home Price Data Is Good News for Buyers, Brett Arends states that, “The Case-Shiller 10-city data go back to 1987. I ran the numbers comparing the index values, mortgage rates and average weekly earnings. Net conclusion: On average–an important point I’ll return to shortly–buying a home now is as cheap as it was in the mid-1990s, when houses were an absolute steal. No, the Case-Shiller data aren’t perfect. The biggest complaint is that they are weighted too much towards the coasts and the big “bubble” cities like Miami, Las Vegas and Phoenix. So I decided to run the same analyses–average prices, mortgage rates and weekly earnings–for the home price data tracked by the U.S. Census. Those numbers go back further than Case-Shiller, to 1972. “ The charts below represent Arend’s study:

In the US today, there are about 1.5 million foreclosures, and that number continues to grow.  Here are some great tips to keep in mind when buying a foreclosure as mentioned on www.CNNMoney.com

1. Don’t get caught up in a feeding frenzy

2. Contact lenders directly

3. Get pre-approved from the lender you want to buy from

4. Consider fix-ups

5. Hire a real estate attorney

6. Wait to make an offer

7. Tour properties with contractors

There are plenty of deals to be had on the Outer Banks.  Email sales@seasiderealty.com for more information on foreclosures on the Outer Banks

Sales of existing homes exceeded expectations of economists in November. 

The number of existing homes sold is at its highest level in 2 years.  The continued rise is thanks in large part to lower interests rates, decreased listing prices and government incentives. 

“Housing is in recovery mode,” Aaron Smith, a senior economist at Moody’s Economy.com said before the report.  “The combination of the homebuyers’ tax credit, good affordability and looser credit conditions going forward will continue moderate gains in housing.” 

In addition, the U.S. economy has grown at a 2.2 percent annual rate in the third quarter.