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

Good news everyone, spring is almost here! The bad news is we cannot promise the weather will improve and coincide with the date on the calendar. As Henry Van Dyke reminded us, “The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month.” We truly hope March brings in the warm weather and the sunshine soon. The past few weeks have been cold and rainy and not as appealing as other times of the year, and we are ready to enjoy the outdoors again. Happy St Patty’s Day to everyone who is Irish or likes to pretend for the day!

This past winter was vastly different from any other before. There was not a remarkable change in traffic or vacant homes during the colder months, thus making it harder to notice the usual indicators of an upcoming season. This is directly attributed to the latest real estate market and the pandemic. As we mentioned in our last owner note, many new and existing homeowners have removed their homes from the rental market and are using their homes only for personal use. It doesn’t seem like it would make a huge difference, but this new pattern is creating some concern for local businesses and town representatives. For local business owners whose business is geared towards tourism, the decrease in available rentals will create a ripple effect resulting in a diminished income for them. These businesses will have to learn how to adapt to this transformation quickly, and possibly come up with a new strategy. In addition to the local businesses, the county representatives who come up with the town budgets are being forced to generate other sources of revenue to offset the possible loss of income from occupancy taxes. Fewer rentals equal fewer occupancy taxes creating a decline in revenue that needs to be addressed. Only time will tell if things return back to the normal ebb and flow of seasonal changes, but for now, it is apparent that this transition is going to impact more than real estate along the Outer Banks.

In real estate news, the crucial issue right now is the undersupply. The number of properties for sale continues to decrease to levels never seen before. Two years ago in February, there were 1547 residential listings active on the market. This past February only had 413 residential listings for sale. That is only about a quarter of the listings available from just two years ago! People are going to the extremes right now to buy properties along the Outer Banks. We have been requested on behalf of buyers to reach out to homeowners and all but beg them to sell their homes. Almost every time, the answer is an emphatic no, they are not ready to sell their home. After talking with many local agents, they have said the same thing, people just do not want to sell. As this trend continues, sellers are able to aggressively price their properties, and many buyers are spending significantly more to purchase them.

We’ve included the OBAR statistics for February* 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

Happy 2021 everyone!! We wanted to start the year off with a special thanks to you, our wonderful clients, for making 2020 such a fantastic year. The OBX Homes Team finished 2020 with over 47 million in sales, the top producers at Twiddy & Company for another year, and in the top six agents on the OBX. What a busy year it was for real estate on the Outer Banks and we are looking forward to what we hope will be another fantastic year in 2021!

Some exciting news for this year. We have added a new member to our OBX Homes Team. Crystal Swain, who is a Broker Associate in our Duck office will be joining us for 2021. Of course, we will all be working together so you’ll start to see new names on some correspondences, as we also added a contract administrator, Jeannine Maridon, to our team.

We are happy to announce that the OBX Homes Team is the proud corporate sponsor of the Outer Banks SPCA for another year.

We have a favor to ask of you. If you haven’t already, we would LOVE your reviews on Zillow and Realtor.com. It’s amazing how many new clients are finding us on these sites, and your reviews help tremendously.  You can visit each site and pull up Heather’s profile (search agents) to add a client review/rating. Thank you again to those of you who have written reviews for us! We truly appreciate it.

If you’ve been thinking of selling, are looking to purchase, or have friends or 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/videos etc. For those thinking of selling, now is the time! Inventory is extremely low and buyer demand is high! We are happy to complete a FREE market analysis for you, and for those who requested one earlier this year, we would love to update the report for you, as home values have gone up in the last 5-6 months.

We’ve included the 2020 Year End statistics 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 to Nags Head.

Please don’t hesitate to call or email us if you have any questions or should you need anything at all. Thank you again for your loyalty and business over the years. We are so grateful and are looking forward to a wonderful 2021 ahead!

Stay safe and stay healthy,
The OBX Homes Team