Category — outer banks

"True Friends"

With low prices and affordable mortgage rates, there is no question that the current economic conditions have helped to create a tremendous opportunity for real estate investors.  This is especially true on the Outer Banks. 

With low prices and great selection, there has never been a better time to buy that second vacation home.  Investing in a second vacation home could eventually allow you to be able to pay for the home and use it as your permanent residence when you retire. 

“Buying and renting out a second home as a vacation rental property until you’re ready to move in upon retirement can significantly help offset the cost of ownership,” says Brian Sharples, CEO of HomeAway, the world’s leading online vacation rental marketplace. “The income stream, in addition to tax write-offs for maintenance and repairs, make this an attractive strategy for many people nearing retirement.”

According to HomeAway, on average $28,000 of rental income is pulled in from owning a second investment property.  With the  popularity of vacation homes increasing, it is hard to overlook this opportunity.  It is reported that about 87 percent of all travelers that have stayed in a vacation home in the past will stay in one again this year.

HomeAway suggested taking the following steps in preparation for investing in your second vacation home. 

• Consider the location and market potential – Carefully review the markets where you want to retire, and before you buy, consider the areas where consumer demand for vacation rentals is high, but inventory is low.
• Factor in tax write-offs – Talk to an accountant about the tax advantages of owning and renting out a second home. Expenses such as insurance, utilities, home maintenance and depreciation can be deducted, depending on how often you rent out the property and how many weeks you personally stay there each year.
• Advertise to attract renters – When you’re ready to rent out the property, be sure to market the availability of the vacation rental to travelers by listing it on sites like HomeAway.com or VRBO.com, which reach millions of travelers each month. A 12-month listing costs $329 – or less than $28 per month – on HomeAway.com, so the advertising pays for itself with your first booking – and the rest is pure rental income.
• Stay competitive and network with owners – Check out other similar vacation rentals in the area to determine what rates they’re charging travelers, and price your home at a competitive rate to help drive bookings. Also, be sure to talk with other owners to get their tips and advice for maximizing a second home investment.

For more information about owning a second vacation rental home, visit www.coldwellbankerobx.com or email sales@seasiderealty.com

Clarion Associates, a consulting firm from Chapel Hill, NC  was recently hired to help Currituck County rewrite their planning and zoning rules; the county will rewrite thier entire Unified Developement Ordinance. 

The first two meetings were held last week, and they gave county residents a chance to weigh in on the issues.  About 30 residents stopped by the meeting.  Attendees were given a series of 35 questions.  The questions were split into two categories, Currituck Mainland and Currituck Outer Banks.

A representative from Clarion Associates commented, “We found it very helpful, especially when you’re getting results consistently, when 80 or 90 respondents favor one preference over another.”  The main objectives for the UDO rewrite, according to Clarion Associates, is to ensure the environment is protected, agriculture remains viable, and county residents’ quality of life isn’t negatively affected.  The updates are also designed to make the county’s planning codes more user friendly.

"The Good Life"

The Outer Banks of North Carolina has become the prime east coast destination for vacationers to escape to the beach and relax. The OBX offers unique local appeal with historic relevence like the legends of Blackbeard the Pirate to the birth of aviation.  The east coast is covered with resort towns that have become heavily populated, and most beach towns on the east coast are covered with shopping, high rise developements, parks and  huge condo units.  The Outer Banks has preserved its quaint charm throughout the years, and its unique feel attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. 

Starting at the Virginia Border, the Outer Banks spans three counties and runs south along the North Carolina coast for about 130 miles.  One reason for underdevelopment on the OBX is the thinness of the islands.  Most homes are either oceanfront or within short walking distance to the ocean.  Towns such as Duck and Corolla have become very popular for second home owners because these are popular rental markets.

In a recent USA Today article the Outer Banks was classified into three different areas.  They are as follows:

• Northern beaches: This area includes the towns of Duck, Corolla, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills. “Favorites include Duck and Corolla, and it’s mostly single-family homes, though at the low end you can get a one-bedroom waterfront condo for under $200,000. Most homes are in the $400,000-$800,000 range, though Corolla is known for larger oceanfront homes up to $5 million,” a local Outer Banks realtor notes. North of Corolla, where Highway 12 ends, nearly 15 miles of dunes stretch to the Virginia border, dotted with vacation homes accessible only by four-wheel-drive vehicles: “That’s a whole different buyer seeking remote privacy.”

• Southern beaches: Hatteras Island is even less developed than the Northern beaches, and it is well-known for its excellent fishing, windsurfing, kiteboarding, and surfing. It is also at least another 30 minutes farther from the mainland bridges and includes more protected lands. Avon, Hatteras Village and Rodanthe, where the Richard Gere romance Nights in Rodanthe was set, are the most popular towns, and prices are lower than farther north. “Low-end one-bedroom condos start around $100,000, and the high end would be a seven-bedroom oceanfront home for about $2.5 million,” a local Outer Banks realtor notes.

• Mainland: The main bridge from the Outer Banks connects to a peninsula jutting into Albemarle Sound, including the town of Powell’s Point 4 miles from the bridge. “We consider it part of the Outer Banks even though it’s on the mainland,” notes a local Outer Banks realtor, who mentions that the Kilmarlic Club is popular with second-home owners. A master planned golf community with amenities like tennis and health club “started less than 10 years ago. All are single-family homes, from the mid-$300,000s to the $600,000s.”

Continually increasing in popularity, there is enormous opportunity in these rental markets.  If you are interested in owning a second home on the Outer Banks, contact sales@seasiderealty.com or visit www.coldwellbankerobx.com.

Been on the fence about buying a home in the Outer Banks?

Enjoy a day on the Outer Banks and explore the potentials of vacation home ownership.  The OBX Team will hold a foreclosure tour  on March 20th.  It will include breakfast, a tour of available foreclosures, and the opportunity to talk with local insurance, mortgage, and property management representatives about the unique opportunities of purchasing a foreclosed home.  

More Information on OBX Foreclosure Tour

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.

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.

Below are some great statistics on the local Outer Banks real estate market for November provided by The OBX Team.

OBX housing market overall:

·         100 residential homes in the Outer Banks sold.

·         November had an increase of 5 and 3 units sold from September and October respectively.

·         An additional 42 homes sold November 2009 compared to November 2008.

OBX distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales):

·         Distressed sales made up 27% of the total sales

·         17 foreclosed homes were sold in the month of November, along with 10 short sales for a total of 27 transactions.

·         Down from distress homes being 34% of the total sales in the month of October.

 The OBX Team is a group of three Realtors from Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty that is ready to handle all of your buying and selling needs. 

Total Active Listings:

Total Property Sales:

Total Sold Price/Average Sale Price

Median Sale Price/Single Family Units Sold:

Distressed Property Sales:  2008 – 10.2009

There has been much talk about the sale of luxury homes in the real estate industry as a result of our current economic conditions.  Research appears very positive for the short term future of luxury home sales. 

Million dollar homes are selling in many markets for steep discounts.  As mentioned in a previous post, this can largely be attributed to low interest rates on jumbo loans, which have dropped significantly over time. 

In cities such as San Francisco, $1 million dollars in 2007 bought about 1150 square feet; now it buys an additional 400 feet.  In Las Vegas, time on the market increased from 220 to more than 260 days, and the size of the house available for $1million has increased by 50% to 5400 square feet.  In South Florida, homes listing for $1 million and more average well over 100 days on the market. One particular waterfront home has been waiting for a buyer for almost 4 years. 

Here on the Outer Banks, there a plenty of $1 million dollar plus homes that are on the market.  However, with interest rates the way that they are, this inventory is steadily shrinking.  Now may be the time to buy that Outer Banks dream home.

Real estate professionals on the Outer Banks continue to see a positive shift in real estate activity.

Recent statistics demonstrate that there are many interested buyers in OBX real estate.  For the fifth month in a row, the number of homes sold on the Outer Banks was above 100. On top of the sale of homes, the sale of raw land also saw an increase.

Low mortgage rates have helped stimulate sales in the area.  Professionals are also seeing the number of luxury homes sold increase as well.  This could be because rates for jumbo loans have been dropping and 10% down programs are being offered to 2nd home buyers.

Distressed sales have also been helping some to boost the Outer Banks real estate market.  In September, 25% of homes sold were considered distressed.  Out of the 100 plus number of homes sold, 17 were bank owned and 7 were short sales.