Wilmington Real Estate Blog

Women and Children's hospital set to open

New Betty H. Cameron Women's and Children's Hospital to Open September 14 Designed with using the latest research and the unique needs of women and children in mind, the 195,000 square foot Betty H. Cameron Women's and Children's Hospital is getting ready open! It will have all-private spacious rooms, neonatal intensive care, and the region's first pediatric intensive care unit. To take a look inside, plan to attend a free Open House for the public on Saturday, August 16 from 1-4pm. New Buildings Bring Big Improvements for Area Patients this Summer New to the area or considering a move to Southeastern North Carolina? Click here to learn how you can get information on the healthcare resources available in the area.

UNCW ranked as one of the best colleges in the region

The University of North Carolina Wilmington has been ranked as one of the best colleges in the southeast. The Princeton Review selected UNCW as one of 139 institutions on its website feature 2009 Best Colleges: Region by Region. Colleges were selected from student responses to an 80-question survey about their respective school's academics, administration, campus life, student body, and themselves. The Princeton Review is a New York City-based company known for its test prep courses, education services and books. It has conducted the survey since 1992, when it first published its annual "Best Colleges," the only guide offering college rankings based on student ratings of their schools and reports of their experiences with them.

Real Estate Prices Rise for Four Straight Months - Is Anyone Noticing?

Amidst the gloom on Wall Street about housing someone forgot to check the stats. The National Association of Realtors® has now reported four straight months of rising housing prices, but it seems no one is listening.According to NAR statistics, the median home price has fallen from a high of $230,200 in July 2006 to a low in February 2008 at $195,600, a drop of 15%. Since February, however, it has risen steadily every month. By May the index (which will be revised on July 24) had risen to $208,600, up $13,000 and a full 6.6%. Another indicator, the mean home price (otherwise known as the average home price), has also shown strength and has risen from a low of $242,000 also in February of this year to $253,100, a rise of $11,100 or 4.5%. It, too, has risen every month since February of this year. “I just don’t know where Wall Street’s brains are today,” said David Michonski, CEO of Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy in New York City. “Everyone on the ..(read more)

The Best Time To Buy Real Estate Is Now

By Jim Gillespie, President & CEO, Coldwell Banker

The real estate market is the best I have seen in my 33+ years in real estate for buyers, whether they are buying for lifestyle to move in with their families or for buying for Jim Gillespie investment. There are four main reasons why I say this:

First - The interest rates are still near 40 year historic lows. Rates continue to be well under 7%.

Second - There are more homes for sale than we have had for decades – therefore there is much more to choose from as a buyer.

Third - Prices are stable in the heartland of the USA and in several states, California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona as well as the rust belt of Michigan, Indiana and Ohio the prices have dropped enough that the smart buyers are beginning ..(read more)

NOW SELLING - Villas At Murrayville

Stylish living in a prime location at an affordable price! Easy access to beaches, I- 40 & I-140, UNCW, Cape Fear Community College, historic downtown Wilmington, ILM airport, Mayfaire Town Center, & other business and shopping districts.. Starting in the 140s, these luxury 2 bedroom - 2 bath are ideal for first time home buyers, families, 2nd homes and much more. Enjoy the neighborhood swimming pool, extensive clubhouse, elevators and much more. We are now taking pre-construction contracts on building one which has 24 units. This first builiding is selling quickly and we expect a significant price increase for building two. Now is the time to act... We expect completion of these homes in August 2008. We 100% financing available and we offer closing cost incentive as well. Free Information package here . If you would like me to have our preferred lender contact you please send me an email ..(read more)

Want to sell your home? Take some advice from a local stager

By Lewis Beale
Star-News Correspondent
Published: Thursday, July 10, 2008 at 7:08 p.m. Photo by Melissa Williamson Nomi Shannon's decluttered den after Pam Ives works her magic. Pam Ives despises clutter. She also hates getting up early, lukewarm drinks and dog hair. But a room filled with too much stuff, well, that really jerks her chain. “Clutter eats equity,” says Ives, and she should know. As a home stager, a woman whose mission is making a home look good to potential buyers, she has seen her share of needless tchotchkes, overflowing bookcases and houses where every nook and cranny has been filled with plates, bowls, pictures, wall hangings, exercise equipment… You know – CLUTTER! Well darn if it isn’t Pam’s job to rid homes of this plague, this spreading disease of tsunami-like proportions. Which is why she’s at the Marsh Oaks home of Nomi Shannon, a writer moving to San Diego who brought in Ives to ..(read more)

Area sales trending upward

Good afternoon and Happy Father's day! I thought you might like to be updated periodically about the market conditions in Wilmington. A business associate, David Flory over at Cunningham & Company provided us with the following statistics "The number of sold homes in May is up 14.7% from last month. Our monthly average sold price is up 15.4% from last month. We have reversed our last three months trend of sold prices in the $230,000 to $240,000 range, notice the dip in the chart for 2008. The last couple of years we have seen a steady monthly average sales price, look at the chart and you can see our brief decline for 2008 in the average sales price with the increase in May." "From what I have seen for May – our numbers were HOT! An increase in average sales price of 15% over last month and an increase in sold units of 14.7% from last month. Our year over year is ahead by only $1,878 or .07%. I could not agree any stronger that now is the best time to buy. ..(read more)

A great place to call home

A Popular Place ... Southeastern North Carolina is one of the most beautiful places on Earth to call home. In fact, Brunswick County is the 4th fastest growing county in America! Pristine beaches, a thriving city, an extraordinary arts community, world class dining and entertainment, along with hidden escapes make our small slice of Heaven a place of leisure and booming economic growth. When recently asked ... "What is the best thing about the Wilmington area?" ... one of our happy Buyers recently answered "Get down here as quick as you can, and you'll find out!" Check out the latest USA Today travel article that speaks about the National Trust for Historic Preservation has named Wilmington among its “Dozen Distinctive Destinations”. . An Easier Way ... Try the New and Improved Instant Email MLS Notification System. Our automated search is the easiest way to find Your ..(read more)

USS North Carolina Officially Joins Fleet

The USS North Carolina, the Navy's newest nuclear-powered submarine, was commissioned Saturday at a ceremony in Wilmington. The sub, built in Virginia, will be the fourth Navy vessel to carry the N.C. name. It will also be the fourth in a new class of submarines designed for warfare after the Cold War, when the primary adversary was the Soviet Union. The ceremony was at a State Ports dock on the Cape Fear River, just downriver from the World War II battleship USS North Carolina. The battleship, now a major tourist attraction, was the latest Navy vessel named for the state. Navy Secretary Richard Danzig named the submarine in 2000 after reviewing requests from citizens, veterans and state representatives, according to a Navy spokesman. Construction, done jointly by Northrop Grumman Newport News and General Dynamics Electric Boat, began in October 2001. The sub was lowered into the water for the first time last May. The crew of about 135 officers and enlisted men ..(read more)

GE-Hitachi promises 900 new jobs for N.C.

GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy could receive more than $25 million in state incentives to create 900 jobs at its campus near Wilmington, Gov. Mike Easley's office says. The company, a joint venture of General Electric (NYSE: GE) and Hitachi (NYSE: HIT), already employs more than 2,000 people in New Hanover County. The expansion would add manufacturing, training, simulation and testing facilities at GE-Hitachi's 1,300-acre campus. Workers in the new jobs will be paid an average of $85,000 a year, plus benefits, Easley's office says. That's more than double the New Hanover County average of $33,226. Source: Triangle Business Journal

Don't confuse Hype with the Facts

Fact #1: Some six million Americans are expected to buy a home this year. Six million people in the game make up a pretty big game. That’s a level of sales equal to the one we experienced in 1998—by all accounts, a pretty good year. Fact #2: There is still over $23 trillion of value in u.s. housing stock. Home ownership continues to be the basis of our wealth in this country. Fact #3: The housing market cannot help but grow. Our country’s tremendous wealth, liquidity, and entrepreneurship will continue to drive our economy. 70-100 million people will be added to our market in the next 40 years. Fact #4: Real estate is cyclical. The biggest fear in good times is that the fair weather won’t last forever—because it doesn’t. But the reality of a cyclical real estate market also provides its brightest hope in bad times—foul weather won’t last forever either. What’s happening today is a market correction, severe in some places, but ..(read more)

We can help anyone moving anywhere

My company, Coldwell Banker SeaCoast Realty, is a Principal Broker with the world's largest relocation network, the CARTUS Corporation. That means I can help you, your friends, family, business associates, neighbors or other acquaintances - anyone - work with a qualified agent - anywhere! Agents who work with our relocation offices have received certified training and are among the top producers in their firms, and are highly qualified to assist your referral in finding the right property or listing their property with the best firm possible. Just share the name and contact information with me and once I have their consent to refer them, I can "introduce" them to an agent in their desired search area. Our Relocation Department will make all the necessary arrangements. You can be confident that the person you refer to me will be placed with a "Relocation Expert! Let us help.

Wilmington area Economy Remains Strong

We had an opportunity to hear Dr. Woody Hall, Senior Economist at UNCW yesterday with a forecast for what’s ahead. While the outlook may not be as bright as we would like, there is still much positive to be said about Southeastern North Carolina. Here are some stats to consider: While the national economy (when all figures are in) apparently grew at a rate of 2% last year, our region grew at 3.5%, a full 1.5% above the national rate! Predictions for 2008 have our growth projected at 4.5%. New Hanover County unemployment is under 4% which economists refer to as “full employment” considering people who are in transition on jobs. Pender and Brunswick are not quite as strong but still, our entire area employment is strong! One job in five in our area is construction related (including all aspects of real estate and insurance). Tourism for 2007 vs. 2006 was up 9% based on room tax figures. Airport traffic was up 25% ..(read more)

Brunswick Forest: The new community sets its own pace in sales and development.

Although the decline of the real estate industry has been a familiar drumbeat for the past 18 months, at least one major area community is bucking the trend.Brunswick Forest, a 4,500-acre, master-planned residential and retail community set on U.S. Highway 17 six miles south of Historic Downtown Wilmington, has quietly surged past the $37 million mark in sales just eight months after its grand opening. Between February 2007, when the development’s Dream Street model homes opened, and the end of October 2007, 105 homes and homes sites went under contract for a total sales volume of more than $37 million. That figure excludes the Jefferson Landing section of Brunswick Forest that saw its entire 278-home inventory sell in 2006. In total, more than 380 homes and home sites have sold or are under contract. Brunswick Forest development officials say the pace is accelerating.

"Despite everything you hear about the terrible housing ..(read more)

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty voted Best real estate company by Encore readers

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty has become the dominant agency in Southeastern North Carolina, now celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Having opened shop on Wrightsville Beach, as Wilmington Sea Coast Properties, in a tiny office now occupied by a surf shop, Tim Milam, president, remembers his daily duties as a new agent included “putting up the flag outside in the parking lot.”

Milam, along with his wife, Vicki, and business partners Jim Clark and Jim Teachey, bought what became Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty from his brother in 1996 when it had one office and about 30 agents.

Since then, the company has grown to more than 300 agents in seven offices in New Hanover, Pender, Brunswick and Onslow counties.

Sales success has followed; Sea Coast Realty selling more properties in the Southeastern North Carolina market for the past eight straight years than any other company, and also recording the highest dollar volume ..(read more)