Outer Banks Real Estate

Will Bernanke and crew cut the Fed Rate today?

Talk about a busy day in the Outer Banks Mortgage business...  There is quite a bit of activity which is nice (good news).  We have a corporate trainer visiting the Outer Banks today (another good thing - education is key in these crazy changing times) and the economic calendar is loaded today.  Seven major reports are due out today - the first at 8:15 and culminating with the Fed announcement on potential rate cuts at 2:15 this afternoon.

Vegas odds (a joke but not that far from the truth) has the rate cut at 1/4% which would bring prime down to 5%.  Many expect this to be the last cut for some time - mainly because of increased inflation fears.  I am not so sure if this will be it - most of the inflation is in the food and energy sectors and these are usually not given as much weight.  I am leaning towards 1/4% cut today and maybe one more before the summer heats up. 

The Eena Project - Rip Current Awarerness Day

The 2nd Annual Eena Project Rip Current Awareness Day is scheduled for Wednesday June 25th in Rodanthe.  What is the Eena project?

The Eena Project was created to educate others on rip currents and other beach related hazards.  In September of 2006, Kristina (Eena) Koles drowned as a result of a rip current on The Outer Banks.  She was our daughter, sister, aunt, sister-in-law, and friend.  Education is key and we do not want any other families to experience the tragedy we had that day.  Please use this site and the links to educate your family.

Two years ago I had some first hand experience with a Rip Current.  The weather was awesome, the water was warm and the family was having a great time playing in the surf.  There was a guy my age 15 feet away that started to swim in to shore.  His strokes started to become more deliberate and he was not making any headway at all.  I could see in his eyes that he was starting to panic.  I was a lifeguard many years ago, I guess it is similar to a being a Marine (except the shooting part) - once a Marine always a Marine.  I first told the guy to swim towards me but he had already started to panic.  I swam over to him and pulled him just a few feet to safety.  The lifeguard from the beach was sprinting towards us with buoy in hand and escorted him back to the shore.  The whole thing took less than a minute.  The guy calmed down quickly but you could tell it really shook him up.   He and his family packed their bags and headed back to their cottage - they had enough excitement for a day. 

One of the quickest ways to have two drownings at once is to have an unexperienced person try to rescue someone in trouble.  The person in trouble will do anything in their power to save themselves including holding you under as a float.  If you recognize someone in trouble - alert a lifeguard and try to encourage them to swim parallel to the shore.  If you find yourself caught in a Rip Current, stay calm and swim parallel to the beach.  You may see a magnet in your cottage with instructions on Rip Currents - take a few minutes to review these safety tips with everyone in your house.   

If you are interested in sponsoring this event or contributing items, please contact Michelle Koles.  The cost of a sponsorship is $500 and it gets your logo on our bags and the t shirts. The bags will be a fabric reuse able tote that are becoming very popular in grocery stores as an eco alternative to plastic bags. In the bags will be items from the Eena Project and the park, but they are looking to fill it with coupons and small items from local businesses. They hope to have 500 bags and give them out for a $1 donation.  Please support this worthwhile cause. 

How to tell it is tourist season on the Outer Banks

The vacation season has started on the Outer Banks.  One of the best ways to tell that the tourists are here is witnessing what I call the OBX U-Turn.  The OBX U-Turn is similar to Russian Roulette.  Here is how it works:

The driver is heading in the right hand lane of the bypass.  All of a sudden, they realize they missed their turn.  Instead of carefully moving over and taking one of the side streets that occur about every 500 feet, they decide that the only way to get the the restaurant, cottage, beach access or whatever is to cut across 4 lanes of traffic. 

Saw my first OBX U-Turn yesterday.  Horns were blaring from the cars and trucks that had to slam on brakes in order to not kill the guy.  Remember folks - most of our streets are on a grid - a very small version of what you have in your home town.  You don't want to spend part of your vacation visiting our fine Outer Banks Hospital.  Be safe and enjoy your stay. 

Outer Banks Real Estate Market Conditions - Hatteras Island Style

There are a lot of searches and inquiries as to the Outer Banks Real Estate market conditions.  Tom Hranicka from Outer Beaches Realty published a newsletter this week with some interesting statistics for Hatteras Island.   

Perhaps the broadest summary statement that could be made about first quarter results is that some segments of the market appeared to be stabilizing while other areas continued to deteriorate. More specifically, the gap between the supplies of cottages and lots that are for sale and the corresponding buyer demand for these properties has remained relatively stable.  The median selling price of residential properties increased over the same period last year, while the selling price of unimproved lots trended downward.   Let's take a closer look
at the various dimensions that defined the real estate market during the first
three months of the year compared to the first quarter of 2007.

·       Residential properties for sale - +1.5%
·       Residential sales volume - (-26.7%)
·       # of residential sales - (-18.8%)
·       Median residential selling price - +5.5%
·       Unimproved lots for sale - (-4.3%)
·       Unimproved lot sales volume - +3.2%
·       # of unimproved lot sales - +16.7%
·       Median lot selling price - (-21.3%)

As you evaluate the percentage changes in these statistics, please keep in mind
that we are dealing with very subdued sales numbers, i.e., 26 residential sales
and 7 lot sales. This can magnify the percentage changes.

Looking over a longer time frame at the changes that have occurred in these indicators since the buyer's market began in the summer of 2005, the magnitude of the shift that has occurred is quite evident.

·       Residential properties for sale - +45.5%
·       Residential sales volume - (-79.3%)
·       # of residential sales - (-75.9%)
·       Median residential selling price - (-25.1%)
·       Unimproved lots for sale - +29.2%
·       Unimproved lot sales volume - (-93.6%)
·       # of unimproved lot sales - (-88.7%)
·       Median lot selling price - (-54.0%)

Evaluating these historical statistics together with trends that we are seeing
on a real time basis, we believe that reasons for cautious optimism about the
future are starting to appear.

I appreciate his time and effort in putting this information together - plus I really like statistics.  We have seen some increased activity on the mortgage lending side.  There are quite a few looking to take advantage of reduced prices in our market.   

 

Another Outer Banks Blog

OBX Alert - News is a blog written by Tony Sylvester - a local reporter with The Coastland Times.  This blog offers local news and has recently added an editorial.  His latest takes on the turmoil within the Kill Devil Hills Police Department.   Good luck Tony.