We hope everyone has settled back into their normal routine after the busyness of the holiday season! The weather for the last few weeks has been interesting, to say the least. One day it’s sunny and 70, and then the next day you’re wondering if the rain and wind will ever stop? The only way to describe winter weather along the beach is “unpredictable.” Needless to say, we hope the groundhog was accurate in early February with his “early spring” prediction, and everyone can enjoy a milder weather pattern for months to come!
Despite sounding like a broken record, Dare County has released the new date of the effective flood maps for June 19. The locals and town administrators have been in discussion about prolonging the release of these maps because there has been a lot of debate about the accuracy of them. Many properties that had a previous history of flooding were removed from the “high risk” zones. If the property is not in a flood zone, lenders do not require flood insurance, which can lead to another new issue if a storm or crazy rain pattern does take place. Some advocates for the new maps wanted to implement an overall elevation standard for new construction or any remodels. If your property has been moved to the low-risk flood zone, we highly recommend talking with your local insurance agent to discuss options. If you’re not sure if your home will be impacted by the new flood zones, please feel free to contact us, and we would be more than happy to help you.
Another huge topic we dare to bring up is the Mid-Currituck Bridge. YES, you read that right! In January, a meeting took place in Duck to discuss the possible addition of the widely anticipated bridge. The bridge would provide a second route to and from the northern beaches, providing substantial relief from the weekend traffic, in addition to offering a solution to expedite those who leave during mandatory evacuations. Of course, there is a long uphill battle with this, and no dates of construction have been mentioned, but this might be one of the first things that has the undeniable support of most locals and tourists in a long time. If you have more questions please visit the following website for current updates at https://www.ncdot.gov/projects/mid-currituck-bridge/Pages/default.aspx
In real estate news, the local market hit the ground running in 2020! The OBX Homes Team has been busy all of January showing homes, answering inquiries about properties, and negotiating offers on listings. The same pace has continued into February, and we don’t see any sign of it slowing down soon. Typically during a presidential election year, the market tends to stall a little bit. Most buyers will adopt a “wait and see” concept, but this year does not exhibit this trend.. We hope this remains true for the rest of 2020. It is noteworthy to point out the uptick in the luxury homes sector. In just one week our local MLS had three listings over the 3 million dollar range go under contract. According to the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS* the number of properties that went under contract in January of 2020 was up almost 20% from the previous January, and the increase of under contract listings since December 2019 was up 17%!! This past month showed a record-breaking month for January sales since 2013 when OBAR started keeping records of when properties go under contract.
We’ve included the OBAR statistics for January* for your review. If you would like a more tailored report with specific figures for your neighborhood, please let us know.
If you’ve been thinking about selling, we are happy to assist you with a free market analysis of your property. If you or anyone you know is interested in buying a property, we would love to help find the perfect home on the Outer Banks.
The OBX Homes Team is making an effort to help the environment and decrease our paper output. If you’d like to help in reducing our paper use, please send us a current email so we can add you to our paperless mailing list. We will send you an email each month with a copy of our updated owner note and statistics report. We appreciate your effort to help with this and thank you. We will continue with owner mailings to those who wish to receive them by mail.
Please don’t hesitate to call or email us if you have any questions or should you need anything at all.
The OBX Homes Team
