How you view today’s real estate market depends on whether you are a buyer or seller and how long you have owned your property. and how much money you have in the stock market.

With the recent decline in the financial markets, real estate is once again starting to look like a reasonable investment.

Only time will tell if we are at the low point for real estate like I believe, but if you are a buyer, do not ignore this market.

If you are a buyer, there are plenty of properties to choose from on the market. Prices are lower than they have been in few years.
However, credit is not as easy to obtain, and banks will likely want your first home sold before you buy a second one.

You also still might not be able to find the property of your dreams because many of the choice properties have already been snapped up in the lower price ranges, and fewer properties are being listed.

If you are a seller, you face lots of competition selling your property. Buyers when they do show up are looking for good deals. They often will not even look at a property which is over priced. You can also expect some low ball offers since we have some buyers who are convinced that everyone selling their property is in dire straits.

Everyone should realize that newspaper headlines about the real estate market often only contain a grain or two of truth about any local market.



Carteret County is also a very different real estate market in that very few people move here for any other reason than personal choice. That along with a strong rental market and a substantial number of people here who are retired provides some stability to our market which is missing in many markets even in NC.

There is some good news in our market which would indicate that we might be close to the time when we can start thinking about the market improving for sellers as opposed to continuing to get worse.

First, the total number of listings has stopped growing and actually declined from record highs recently. Fewer people are listing their properties. Many people who have their homes listed are letting the listings expire.

This news has to be tempered with the continuing slowness in sales. The number of properties being sold continue to drop. Measuring from the third week in September the total number of properties sold has declined 44% from the same period in 2005.

This is an extreme drop, but the average price of a home has not followed the same steep curve. While average sold home prices have declined 10% from their peak in 2005, they remain 16% above 2004 prices.

In spite of this, it does not appear that pricing is biggest issue facing the home market. We continue to see few buyers actually able to move to the area. Potential buyers wanting to move to the area outnumber actually real buyers at least three to one. Many potential buyers are unable to sell their home or cannot find the type of job that they need to make a sensible move.

This buyer gridlock is compounded by a number banks demanding that homes be sold before a second home is purchased.

What are the recommendations for buyers and sellers?

For sellers, the recommendation continues to be, if you do not have to sell your property in the next year to fifteen months, do not list your property. However, if you do want to sell your property within the next fifteen months, there appears little advantage to waiting.

The market is not going to quickly turn around, and likely it will take you longer than expected to sell the property. Given the large number days on market before selling, you might as well get started.


Selling your property in this market requires that you pay special attention to prices of similar homes that have sold. In addition buyers are more educated about home prices than ever. Considering that Carteret County’s most recent tax evaluation was done in 2005, the time of peak prices, and that prices have declined since then, you should not be surprised to find out most buyers will start with an offer well under your tax value.

Selling in this market requires patience, tolerance, and willingness to accept a realistic price for your home or land. This is not a market for those whose feelings will be hurt if they get a low price offer.

For buyers, the recommendation is very clear. It you are planning on acquiring a new property in the next twelve to twenty-four months, you should be looking now. While you might not be ready to buy at this moment, you risk getting a very distorted view of the market as the number of listings available starts to decline.

Many exceptional buys are already gone. The idea that the best buys will be there for those who wait the longest does not often play out in the real estate market.

Properties continue to sell, and it should be fairly obvious that the best deals will be bought first.

Taking the time to look now, even if you purchase is several months out, will allow you to make a much more intelligent purchase.

The only risk is that you will be upset if prices go up and you were unable to purchase while they were lower.

Trying to play the timing game with a complex market like real estate is almost impossible.

The best you can do is buy when you need to and sell when you have to while allowing that to be tempered with as much local knowledge as possible.

I plan to regularly update my analysis and recommendation on the Carteret County real estate market. While my comments are no substitute for your personal investigation, if you read this newsletter and scan through the properties that have sold using the link on my website, you will have a pretty good idea of what is happening.

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