“My beloved October has returned—with its brilliant colors, cool temperatures, and sunny, cloudless, azure skies, and I must enjoy it before it escapes for another year.” Peggy Toney Horton describes October in a way that reminds us to slow down and appreciate the magical experience that happens when summer turns into fall. If only we could have more than one October each year!

One of the many great things about fall in our area is the local events held during this time. Although a few of them were canceled or postponed this year, others are planning to return to their normal schedules. The Outer Banks Seafood Festival, the Bluegrass Music Festival, and the Outer Banks HALF Marathon (not the full, but we will take half) will all be taking place in the next few weeks. If you’re in the area, we highly recommend joining in on the festivities.

It is our great honor to announce a remarkable milestone for Heather McLay. This past week, Heather celebrated her 25th anniversary with Twiddy. Her many years of hard work and dedication have helped many homeowners exceed their real estate needs. May she continue to negotiate through the impossible and smile while doing so! Congratulations to Heather and may success always follow her!

In local real estate news, our current market condition is comparable to the fall weather. One day the emails and phone calls are above average like the warm temperatures, and the next they cool off like the wind. Although there was a slight increase in properties listed for sale last month, it wasn’t game-changing enough to offset the low supply and high demand. It is possible there could be an uptick in sales for the next few months with buyers trying to take advantage of the low mortgage rates before they start rising, and for investors who want something less volatile than the stock market. If you’ve been thinking about selling in the next few years, these next few months might be the best time to sell to maximize your home’s potential.

We’ve included the OBAR statistics for September* 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 well,

The OBX Homes Team

We hope everyone had a fun and relaxing Labor Day Weekend! We welcome September with a sense of relief that the hot summer days will be cooling off, and anxiously await for some of the best weather of the year to arrive! Although many of us embrace this time of year, we also know there is a nine-letter word that starts with an H that is potentially hanging over our heads. If you thought we were going to say hurricane, you were mistaken! We are talking about housework. After a busy rental season, this is the best time of the year to address major repair items and potential updates. If you are planning any renovations, large or small, we strongly encourage you not to wait for the last minute (spring). Doing so could cause a loss of income if the job isn’t completed by the time the rental season starts next year! Many contractors and handymen are extremely busy and backed up which could take them longer to finish the work. If you’re having trouble finding vendors, please feel free to reach out and we will be happy to send you suggestions.

In local news, the signs of the busy tourism season slowing down are nonexistent. Rental homes continue to be booked, and the beach parking lots are full of visitors. Even with several fall events being canceled, tourists continue to book vacations to experience paradise at its best! As long as the weather cooperates, and there are no hurricanes, this year could exceed last year’s record-breaking numbers.

In real estate news, our market continues to be unpredictable. Under normal circumstances, we typically see inventory pick up in the fall after the rental season is over. Last year, that was not the case and was one of the main causes for the imbalance of supply and demand. Will that be the case this year? That is the million-dollar question. In many parts of the country, more properties were listed for sale in the past month, but that does not necessarily mean the same will be true for our area. The next few weeks will likely determine if the current market will potentially stabilize or remain in the sellers’ favor for the rest of this year. If we notice an uptick in inventory levels, the current pricing strategy will need to be updated.

In OBX team news, we would like to inform you that Ashley Ladd has left the OBX Homes Team to work independently. We thank her for her time with the team, and we extend our best wishes to her future endeavors.

We’ve included the OBAR statistics for August 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 well,

The OBX Homes Team

Happy belated 245th birthday USA! We hope everyone was able to relax and have a safe and happy Independence Day! If you were in the area for the holiday, hopefully, you had the opportunity to enjoy the fireworks and other traditional 4th of July celebrations the Outer Banks had to offer this year!

In local news, the tropics started uncommonly early this year. After Claudette and Elsa zipped by the OBX in June and July, we continue to cross our fingers that no more storms will threaten our area. Another local topic of concern is controlling traffic in Southern Shores. We might all want to take advice from Ernest Hemmingway’s suggestion about traveling during the busy season. “Never go on trips with people you do not love.” When it comes to driving to the northern beaches or even just going to the grocery store, the issue of traffic has been a force to reckon with. Patience is the key message for everyone. As we all know, the town has tried many times to combat this in earlier years. The most recent decision was physically barricading the median along E Dogwood at Hillcrest, Sea Oats Trl. and Wax Myrtle Trl., to block anyone from being able to turn left to head north during the weekend of July 10 and 11. If the town determines that was successful, they will likely add some extra barricades, and this approach will stay in effect for the weekends during the high season and holidays.

On the real estate front, a few homeowners questioned the median home prices in last month’s (May) statistics report. We wanted to point out that these reports are generated by our local Outer Banks Association of REALTORS, and those median prices for each town include all residential properties, not just single-family homes. If you’re curious about what the median price is for your specific type of property (condo, townhouse, single-family, etc) please feel free to call /email us to find out. Another thing worth noting this month in real estate news is that the number of properties that went under contract in June has decreased 14%. This is a slight indication that our market could be experiencing a cooling-off period. Although this is very normal for our area, it’s worth mentioning since it is the first time since last year we have witnessed this. Are things returning to normal? At this point, it’s anyone’s guess, but it’s something worth pointing out since it hasn’t occurred since the spring of last year.

We’ve included the OBAR statistics for June* 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

Truly, what was synonymous with the start of the prime season became almost just another Monday in May. We really did not notice the dramatic increase in traffic and crowds because they were here long before Memorial Day this year! Business is back to normal and even booming at record-breaking levels along our coast. We hope everyone had a great Memorial Day Weekend and enjoyed an extra day off!

As many parts of the country dealt with a slower reboot to their local economy from Covid, the Outer Banks somehow became an even more popular destination for travelers and those who wanted to move here permanently. The Cape Hatteras National Seashore (CHNS) reported that in the first four months of 2021, it hosted 588,904 visits. That is the highest level for that four-month period in its history, which indicates our little secret place of paradise is not a secret anymore! Another shocking statistic we are proud to announce is the OBX Homes Team has sold more this year as of June 4 than it did in all of 2020! With almost 50 million in sales this year already, we are extremely humbled and honored to be representing you, our clients, and beyond grateful for all of your business!

The OBX Homes Team is happy to pass along information that might be of interest to any Outer Banks property owner. The OBXOA (Outer Banks Owners Alliance) is dedicated to working toward EQUAL RIGHTS for all property OWNERS of the collective counties within the Outer Banks. They are a FRIENDLY non-profit, non-partisan organization that provides forums for property owners to COLLABORATE and opportunities to build relationships in the communities where we own property. For more information about the Alliance or to join, please visit www.OuterBanksOwnersAlliance.org or email [email protected]. We will continue to keep the link on our owner notes at the bottom, but please feel free to reach out to them.

On the real estate front, May showed a drop in activity levels. Normally, this is common for our area due to summer rentals and availability to show; however, we now believe this is in addition to the lack of inventory, the higher property prices, and the lenders. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, “Low inventory is plaguing areas across the country. Total existing-home inventory at the end of April was 1.16 million, down nearly 21% from a year ago. Unsold inventory nationwide is at a 2.4-month supply at the current sales pace—representing near-record lows.” Although the inventory is at record-breaking lows, we are hearing the same comment from several buyer prospects. They want to wait until after the summer to see if more inventory becomes available to help offset the bidding wars and aggressive pricing. We are also seeing the banks putting up a fight against the current values with the appraisals. Lenders do not want to be on the hook, like they were during the last housing market crash, and are trying to prevent over-valuing properties. That being said, fewer people will be able to purchase homes at the current market prices.

We’ve included the OBAR statistics for May* 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

*Based on information from the Outer
Banks Association of REALTORS® MLS for the period (May 1 through May 31).

If you are working with another real estate agent, or your property is listed with another broker this is not intended as a solicitation.

For more information about OBXOA (Outer Banks Owners Alliance) or to JOIN, please visit www.OuterBanksOwnersAlliance.org or email [email protected]

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

Blue skies and warmer temperatures are finally on the horizon!   Hoping everyone can go outside and enjoy the great outdoors!  Even the federal government delayed tax season for a month so everyone can enjoy April!  Okay, maybe that wasn’t their reasoning, but we can pretend, right?

Did you know that a part of our local history will expand beyond the realm of not just our country but our planet?  For the aviation enthusiasts who are reading this, a piece of the Wright Brothers will be heading to Mars!  According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a small part of their plane will be a part of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. Another piece of their plane was onboard the famous Apollo 11 mission to the moon in July 1969.  Interesting to see how our small part of the world and its history is still preserved and highly respected with each major aviation advancement.

In other local news, the lawsuit that brought a lot of attention to the Town of Duck last year has resurfaced.   This time the North Carolina Court of Appeals reversed the original ruling and has now decided that the Sea Breeze beach access in the Duck subdivision of Sand Dollar Shores is, in fact, private.  After the ruling was announced to the public, the plaintiff said he plans to appeal the decision, arguing that his tax dollars for beach nourishment are unfair since he cannot access the beach.  This will likely bring about more publicity as this continues to be a hot topic for the town.

In real estate news, the lack of inventory continues to be a huge issue. At the beginning of last month, according to The National Association of Realtors, its membership count actually exceeds the number of homes for sale.  There are literally more people to sell homes than homes to sell!  The demand for second homes across the country has skyrocketed since last January – up to 84% year over year, according to Redfin. Pending sales along the Outer Banks at the beginning of March increased 63.1% from March 2020.  Let’s break this down in a way that really explains the current market.  A few weeks ago, our team had two different clients offer on the same property in Corolla, and that listing agent let us know the sellers had over 19 offers presented to them.  There is no denying it, this is a seller’s market!  However, the lenders are starting to tighten up on their end.  A few weeks ago, Fannie Mae announced that as of April 1 they will limit their loans to second homes and investment properties to no more than 7 % of their lending portfolio.  This will make it tougher for borrowers who are more than qualified, to be approved for these mortgages.  This directly impacts our local market since many of the properties here are second homes or investments.   The upcoming months will indicate how much impact this will have on the current market conditions.  As of now, the only reason our sales volume is slowing down is that there are not many properties on the market.

We’ve included the OBAR statistics for March* 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