One of the first big OBX real estate marketing changes that occurred when the virus hit was the Homes and Land Real Estate magazine stopped publishing. That magazine has published continuously here for about 30 years. I had been advertising with them for every issue since we started Scott Team Realty in 2002. Print advertising for real estate has become less and less effective as smart phones have become ubiquitous. Resort Real Estate Market Outer Banks Real Estate marketing has always been a … Continue reading...
Virus Effects to Outer Banks Real Estate
With access to Dare and Currituck County beaches closed off to most people without local driver's licenses, we are sure to see some virus effects to Outer Banks Real estate. Some changes to the busy Outer Banks real estate market are already happening. Probably the most affected type of property is homes for sale since people can not get here. Here are some initial thoughts about how local real estate is being affected. Comparing Months It makes sense to compare residential real estate … Continue reading...
Dare County 2020 Tax Revaluation
This past Thursday I received my Dare County Tax Revaluation in the mail. By Noon on Friday I had received numerous calls or visits from OBX property owners wanting to know if this is really what their house is worth. This post is a little bit about this new revaluation. Hopefully it will help you in your decision about what to do next. What is a revaluation? The state requires that counties revalue property values at least once every eight years. Dare County decided to complete their … Continue reading...
Outer Banks Market Report Winter 2018-19
Thanks for taking a moment to view the Outer Banks Market Report Winter 2018-19 edition. The last few months have been promising for Outer Banks real estate activity. Sales for the first two months of 2019 have been better than recent years. Part of this trend may be due to the lack of snow storms and relatively calm winter weather. When a snowstorm is forecasted for a weekend anywhere between Virginia Beach and Boston usually buyers postpone their trips to view homes here. Rarely did … Continue reading...
Carolina Review Newsletter Fall 2018
I will remember recent months as one of the better fall seasons for summer-like weather. Ocean temperatures remained in the 70's into late October. Being surrounded by that warm water extended our warm days and nights for a few extra weeks. Surfers enjoyed that warm water with one of the longest stretches of good waves in recent memory. Hurricane Leslie stayed hundreds of miles off the coast generating good surfing waves for close to three weeks. Speaking of … Continue reading...
OBX Home Sales Improve
The summer of 2018 was relatively busy compared to recent years. The number of OBX home sales over the last few months has been fairly similar to 2017. Last year was our best year since the boom years of the last decade. Poor weather hampered sales earlier in the year but brisk summer/fall sales are helping us catch up. According to the Outer Banks Association of Realtors’ August report, the number of residential sales for the year is now off just 3% compared to last year. See our full fall … Continue reading...
Spring 2018 OBX Real Estate Conditions
Real estate conditions on the Outer Banks are improving. Both average sales prices and median sales prices are higher than they were for the first quarter of 2017. According to the Outer Banks Association’s MLS system average prices are up 7% over last year and median prices are up 1%. Another indicator pointing towards appreciation is the sold price per square foot. You can see that trend in this report. It’s interesting that these indicators point towards appreciation even though the number of … Continue reading...
What is the best season for an OBX purchase?
If you are thinking about purchasing a home on the Outer Banks, then you are also probably thinking about timing. What season is best for your OBX purchase? The two busiest seasons for an Outer Banks purchase are Spring and Fall. That's partially due to the convenience of purchasing. In the summer it can be difficult to get in most vacation rentals. Access to those homes is just between vacation renters, (changeover days). Changeover days are filled with traffic. Also, the window of time to … Continue reading...
North Carolina’s Residential Offer to Purchase
It's common in most state Offers to Purchase for earnest money to be paid by the buyer at the time of the contract. North Carolina is the same. However, there is another type of money that is also listed in North Carolina's Residential Offer to Purchase. That's due diligence money. Due Diligence This residential offer form is similar to commercial contracts where buyers pay for a period of time to reserve the property. During this time the buyers should complete all their inspections and … Continue reading...
Has the OBX real estate market hit bottom?
Defining what the bottom of a market is may be different depending upon who you talk to. Looking at numerous sales indicators and their trends can give you a good idea of what is happening in the market. Unfortunately you won’t know for sure where the bottom is until many months later when trends show solid positive signs for a few months in a row. Right now there are numerous trends that have begun to show positive signs. If these trends continue it is likely we are at the bottom right now. … Continue reading...