Are you a thalassophile? If you are someone who loves the sea or ocean, then you might have learned a new way to describe yourself, and you are probably a person who loves the Outer Banks. According to Yahoo Finance, a recent poll earlier this spring mentioned the Outer Banks was tied with Disney World for the second most searched travel destination in the world. In case you were wondering, the number one searched travel destination was Yellowstone.
During the past year, millions of people have changed their priorities about where they want to live and travel. The majority of the people who left the cities moved closer to beaches or mountains. As this trend continues, more and more people are vacationing and purchasing properties here in our little piece of paradise. Even Bill Gates is known to visit Corolla each year.
In local news, the Outer Banks did not escape the gas panic crisis. Shortly after the Colonial Pipeline hack that slowed gas distribution, the lines of cars stretched far beyond the stations. Many towns ran out of gas just a few days after the shutdown. So far the state of North Carolina had more gas shortages than any other east coast state in the US. Over 65% of the gas stations were out of gas by May 12. We hope this is just a short-term issue, but only time will tell. If you’re traveling to the Outer Banks, it might be wise to stop and refuel before crossing the bridge until that storm has calmed down.
In real estate news, the extraordinarily low level of inventory is the ongoing headline. Previously, obtaining a loan to purchase a property was the most excruciating process of buying real estate. Now, that is a mere speed bump in comparison to finding an available property along the Outer Banks. Locating the house and submitting the offer in time before the property is under contract is a difficult task in itself these days! The OBX Homes Teams has been busier than ever typing offers on same-day listings or listings that have been on the market for only a few short days. Another interesting note about this market is the noticeable volume of luxury home sales. As of mid-May, there were 127 properties that sold with a price tag of over $1 million recorded in the OBAR MLS! There are currently 90 listings under contract with an asking price of $1 million and over. Although there is no guarantee that the under-contract listings will end up as a sale, that is still potentially 217 listings above the $1 million price before this year is halfway through! In all of 2020, which was a record-breaking year, there were 174 properties sold at or above the million-dollar price tag.
Should we be concerned about a housing “bubble”? Is this market sustainable? According to Forbes economist, “the fundamentals of the current housing boom are relatively, structurally sound even in markets where prices ostensibly seem like they’re spiraling out of control.” In other words, not quite. Of course, there are no guarantees with any market conditions, but as long as someone wants to sell and someone wants to buy, we will be here to assist with any real estate needs you may have!
We’ve included the OBAR statistics for April* 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. Please note we are more than happy to preview homes for anyone, and we can video call from a property if that is of interest to you.
Please don’t hesitate to call or email us if you have any questions or should you need anything at all.
Stay safe and stay healthy,
The OBX Homes Team
