“If you saw a heat wave would you wave back?” Thank you for sharing your sense of humor, Steven Wright. Sometimes all we can do is laugh about the heat and express our gratitude for air conditioning. You are not alone if you have considered frying an egg on the sidewalk in recent weeks. This summer will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the hottest on record. The good news is that September is quickly approaching, and fall will soon follow! Can you tell we love fall around here?
In local news, a bill to promote elevator safety at short-term rental properties was approved by North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper last month. The new law was enacted in response to a young child’s death at a vacation rental last summer in Corolla. Rental property owners are now required by law to install a barrier over any sizable openings between the floor and the elevator. The updated safety requirements outlined in the new law will go into effect on October 1, 2022. Please take note that the homeowner must file documentation with the state Insurance Department. We would like to offer a friendly piece of local advice: If you own a property with an elevator, it might be in your best interest to contact a local elevator company very soon so you can get on their schedule to make the necessary changes before the law goes into effect. We noticed that a few elevator companies were already having supply problems and were being forced to place backorders for the parts to complete the repair. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions regarding this new regulation.
In recent months, the real estate trend has remained consistent. Despite a gradual increase in inventory, homes are staying on the market for longer periods of time. Buyer activity is somewhat flat, but this could change once they have a better sense of the overall economy’s direction. The pattern appears to correspond with the seasonality of the neighborhood market, but we won’t know for sure if the market has shifted until the fall. We’ve seen a flurry of price reductions, some of which immediately increased interest in specific properties while having no effect on others. We remain optimistic that the activity will resume in the fall.
If you’ve been thinking of selling, are looking to purchase, or have friends/family interested, please don’t hesitate to reach out, as we can send a free market analysis for your property and also add prospective buyers to the auto-email notifications for specific types of properties here at the beach. If you’re not able to visit in person, we offer virtual showings and are more than happy to preview a home for you and send some notes.
We’ve included the OBAR statistics report for July* for your review. If you would like a more tailored report with specific figures for your neighborhood, please let us know, as the report we send contains figures from Corolla south until Nags Head.
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
