Outer Banks Real Estate

Feds decide to leave short term rates steady for now

The Federal Reserve Board wrapped up their two day meeting this afternoon and have decided to leave short term interest rates the same for now.  The current fed rate is 5.25% and is used by most banks to set their prime rate (usually fed rate + 3%). 

The good news is that it appears the long range forecast is to keep the fed rate steady - maybe throughout the year.  This would be good news for the Outer Banks Real Estate market. 

North Carolina General Assembly propose a bill to Incorporate the Village of Corolla

The current session of the North Carolina General Assembly have proposed a bill to Incorporate the Village of Corolla.  Five members have been appointed to the interim town council and elections are expected to take place in November of 2007.  For more information, please visit the North Carolina General Assembly site or the Outer Banks Sentinel.

Currituck County says no to road improvements in Carova

The Currituck County Commissioners voted this week to not approve road improvements for the 4WD area of the northern Outer Banks.  They have also decided not to create a service district which would allow for street maintenance of Sandfiddler Road in Carova and Swan beaches.

According to The Daily Advance, the commissioners felt the local residents did not want the service district or the road improvements.  The Fruitville Beach Civic Association welcomed the news.  The civic association wants to keep the traffic on the beach instead of in the neighborhoods. 

Outer Banks Bloggers

Cottage at the Beach - a blog by Ruth Ann Ross - a Realtor from Seaside Realty in Nags Head.

The Ridge Coffee Shop - a blog about running a coffee shop on the Outer Banks - looks like they still have time to fish.

More Outer Banks Bloggers

Philip Howard from Ocracoke writes the Ocracoke Journal and it gives a glimpse of life on the Island.  Ocracoke (map) is truly a place to go and get away from it all.  The only access to the island is by boat, ferry or small plane. 

I enjoy reading Philip's blog - with only around 800 permanent residents, you can really get to know your neighbors.  If you are visiting the Outer Banks, it is definitely worth your time to visit Ocracoke.  Stop in and see Philip at his store and soak up the beauty of this awesome island.

To learn more about this Outer Banks getaway, you can visit their wikipedia page or the Civic and Business page.

Nags Head takes a step closer towards beach nourishment

Nags Head held two public hearings on Wednesday night to discuss creating a new Municipal Servicing District and the issuance of $24,000,000 bonds to cover the cost of the Nags Head Beach Nourishment project.  You can find more details at The Outer Banks Sentinel.

My understanding of the project is as follows:

• Total estimated project costs are $32,000,000 and will cover 10 miles of beaches
• Dare County has agreed to pay for 25% of the project up to $8,000,000
• Nags Head is proposing a 5.5 cents per $100 assessed value Real Estate tax increase to cover another 25%
• The Municipal Servicing District will be responsible for the remaining 50%.  The servicing district is mostly oceanfront and second row homes.  The proposed tax assessment for these properties will be 32 cents per $100 in assessed value Real Estate taxes
• The town expects a referendum to be presented to residents in April of 2007.
• The town hopes the project can begin as early as November 2007.

Beach Nourishment has been a hot topic on the Outer Banks for some time.  Dare County tried to implement a program which was defeated by the county voters.  Nags Head decided to proceed with their own plan once the county proposal fell through.

According the the Sentinel, there was a mailing sent to non-resident owners encouraging property owners to switch their voter registration to Nags Head so they can cast a vote in April.  The Sentinel published a copy of the letter.  Some are claiming that the letter encouraged voter fraud.   

There is something to be said for allowing the property owners to have a say in the program.  They are allowed to attend the public meetings but when it comes to casting a vote, they have no say in how or if the program is implemented.  Non-resident owners pay property taxes just like the residents.  They will also be footing the largest portion of the bill if the plan is passed.  I do believe most would support the plan - the alternative is not a rosy picture.

One Letter to the Editor suggested Nags Head drop the beach nourishment program and purchase at-risk properties.  This sounds like a great idea - until you consider what that would take.  $32,000,000 would not go very far when you are talking about purchasing oceanfront homes. 

The vote to approve the bond referendum was unanimous. 

 

Six steps to raising your Credit Score

Just as you should maintain your health through periodic visits to your physician, you should adopt a similar strategy for your financial health, which in many cases is influenced by your FICO score, a three-digit credit rating used to determine the likelihood you will pay back a loan.  Credit scores range from 350 (poor) to 850 (excellent).  

Here are six steps to raise your FICO score:

• Pay bills on time! Your payment history makes up 35% of your FICO score.

• Don't consolidate and then close out your old, revolving debt accounts. The age of your credit accounts is an important, positive factor for a good credit score.

• Don't load up a credit card's debt close to its limit.  This weighs negatively on your credit score.

• Pay down high-balances; don't shuffle debts among several lenders.  Keep no more than a balance of 30% of your limit.

• Settle any collections or past-due accounts.

• Dispute and resolve any inaccurate items in your credit report. Time may be your only remedy for mitigating the damage from bankruptcies, foreclosures and other judgments. The last two years of your credit history are the most important.

• Do your credit shopping (mortgage or automobile) over the same 45-day period so that numerous credit applications show up as one inquiry on your credit report. This minimizes the impact to your credit score.

For more information, view "The Credit DVD" (available at creditdvd.com), which offers an in-depth look at credit scores.

Mortgage Market Update

Last week in review

It has been a while since I posted.  The Outer Banks has been relatively quiet but there has been a recent uptick in activity.  Here is the latest update on the economic front.

Employers boosted payrolls by a hefty 167,000 workers in December, 50,000 more jobs than analysts had forecast. With the hiring surge, the unemployment rate remained at a historically low 4.5%, the Labor Department said January 5.

The U.S. manufacturing sector rebounded in December, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) index, which rose from 49.5 in November to 51.4 in December. An ISM reading below 50 indicates contraction, while above 50 signals expansion.          

Orders to U.S. factories for manufactured goods edged up 0.9% in November, less than the 1.4% analysts had expected, the Commerce Department reported January 4. Declining demand for autos, machinery and steel was blamed for the tepid performance.

Same-store sales at the nation's retailers in the critical November-December holiday period gained 2.8% over the same span in 2005, the International Council of Shopping Centers said January 4. Same-store sales measure the performance of retailers at stores open at least one year. The gain was consistent with analysts' expectations.  

Overall construction activity dipped 0.2% in November, following declines of 0.3% in October and 0.8% in September, the Commerce Department said January 3. A 1.6% drop in home construction led the decline, as builders struggled to reduce their large backlog of unsold homes.

For the first week of 2007, interest rates on 30-year mortgages remained unchanged, after three consecutive increases closed out 2006, Freddie Mac reported January 4.