Congratulations, you have officially made it through the first half of 2020! Although there might not have been any fireworks or large friends and family barbecues to celebrate the holiday, we hope everyone was able to enjoy their 4th of July regardless of the current conditions!

June was another month that had everyone scratching their heads wondering if the sun will ever come back out and if the country will ever fully rebound from any of the current issues. Many of us are in a state of awe just trying to guess what the next few months will be like here on the beach, not even trying to predict further than that. First and foremost, the new normal isn’t the most appealing for many of us. Yes, the mandated face masks keep us from being able to spread the virus, but they also prevent a smile as a simple greeting or to change the course of any conversation. As each state grapples with its own approach of controlling the outbreak, visitors and locals alike are not sure of how to go about restructuring their vacations or daily routines. Truth be told, it might be harder to really relax and enjoy the beach, but it’s something we should all try to do to remain calm, amicable, and cordial with each other. We must be patient and understand that this isn’t how things usually are on the beach.

Whether it’s the lack of ability to vacation outside the US, the proximity to a few major cities, or the notion of its being easier to social distance here, the Outer Banks is experiencing some of the highest volumes of vacationers it has seen in over a decade. Rental companies, restaurants, and all of the local businesses are working harder to keep up with the demand and at the same time dealing with new protocols.

In local news, both Dare and Currituck counties are working diligently to keep everyone informed with virus updates and current conditions on their websites. This has been helpful for travelers who might not understand what is required (masks) or if there is any cause for concern when traveling to the area. Another topic which we have mentioned numerous times since 2016, is the Dare County Flood Map. Alas, that is officially in effect! This map has been the subject of many discussions for several years and was finally put in place as of June 19. There are still questions about the approval and if it is accurate, but it’s in place now and that is what is being used to determine flood insurance plans and quotes.

In real estate news, the market continues to break all kinds of records. If you look at the statistics report attached, the number of properties under contract for June shows a significant increase from May. It’s important to note that May had a huge spike from April which amplifies the surge for June. The number of multiple offers and back-up offers on properties is off the charts. Although many parts of the country are experiencing a real estate slow down, our local market along with other resort areas are leading the country with sales. Very shortly after the onset of this virus in March, many contracts fell apart due to financial advisers giving caution to their clients. This concern has greatly changed in the last two months. More people who might not have thought about purchasing a home along the Outer Banks are coming to discuss this option now. Perhaps it’s the threat of another lockdown or people not wanting to miss out on one of their lifelong dreams, but buyers are flocking to the beach. We hope this trend continues to stay this way for a long time!

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.

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.

Stay safe and stay healthy,

The OBX Homes Team

On May 16th the Outer Banks will open back up for anyone to come and go as they please.  As the global pandemic continues to hinder all sense of normalcy, there will be many opinions floating around from locals, homeowners, and tourists.   Whether or not one believes the decision-makers along the Outer Banks have properly handled the Covid-19 crisis in a way they agree with is similar to having them correctly choose the side of a coin facing up multiple times in a row.  Even in perfect conditions, it is impossible to make everyone happy.  Unfortunately, they were placed in a position to act quickly and effectively, and they did what they felt they had to do.  Everyone can dwell on whether or not they made the right decision or, as a group, we can collectively move forward and hope the summer months and remainder of the year can be a reminder for why the OBX holds a special place in each of our hearts.

In local news, the tourism industry will experience an astounding change in how things will be for the foreseeable future.  Rental companies will have to learn how to effectively change their operations concerning everything from possibly changing check-in times, cleaning policies, and responding to guests’ issues.  Restaurants and other businesses will have to navigate around social distancing and new capacity requirements. It’s a no-brainer that every aspect of living and visiting the beaches this summer will have to adapt to a new standard.  Towns are currently discussing ways to decrease spending, and some have even mentioned not having fireworks and other 4th of July activities.  We are in uncharted waters, folks.  The best advice we can come up with is we are all in this together.  The Outer Banks cannot thrive without tourism. As the saying goes “this too shall pass.” We look forward to this being another thing of the past soon.

In real estate news, the year has only completed its first quarter, and what a roller coaster it has been.  As we previously mentioned, the first few months started off strong.   As the circumstances drastically changed, so did our local economy.   March’s home sales continued to rise, whereas April’s sales plummeted 23%.  Without a doubt, we can say this decrease was solely due to the pandemic.  On the other hand, it is worth noting that sales for the year are still above the sales for this time last year!  Let’s hope the market awakes fully rested from its slumber and rebounds quickly.   There is a new section on the MLS statistics report that shows the dramatic decline in showings from mid-March through the first week in May.  Once visitors are allowed back this month, we strongly believe we will notice showing requests return to normal levels.   Let’s hope we are accurately guessing the right side of the coin!

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.

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.

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

March didn’t come in like a lion or go out like a lion, it was a lion.  Shortly after our last homeowner note, things escalated rather quickly.   Unfortunately, not with the positive outlook of being able to contain the pandemic.   North Carolina was one of the earlier states to establish the Stay at Home policy. In addition to the statewide orders, Dare and Currituck County implemented their “Stay Home-Stay Healthy” policy that prohibited anyone other than non-local ID holders to enter the county.   Many property owners with second homes or investment homes have been turned away at the bridges and prevented from being able to enter, which was considered unfair to many. Both sides of the argument can be understood, and we respectfully hope if you were affected by this policy that you understand everyone has been impacted greatly from this event.  We know these are trying times for everyone, and we cannot wait for this to be over and get back to normal. With that being said, we send our well wishes out to all of you and hope you stay healthy and safe. Please know we will continue servicing our clients as best as possible and are evolving our business practice to better serve you and keep everyone healthy.

In local news, the entire beach has come to a standstill.  Almost all of the local businesses aside from those deemed essential have shut their doors and have no date set for reopening.  The Outer Banks has been strong before when facing hardships, and we know once this is over everyone will get back to work with smiles on their faces and stories to tell.   Overall the sense of community has been amazing! Together we will continue to do our best to keep the OBX a place we cherish and treasure.

Before the Coronavirus hit last month, the local real estate market was on course to post a record number of sales for 2020.  The March Statistics report appears to continue on the same schedule; however, we can almost guarantee April and May will be the big indicators of how much our market was impacted.  This couldn’t have come at a worse time for the “prime” real estate season, but is there ever a good time for a pandemic to hit? There is a chance for a last-minute uptick late spring if this turns around quickly and the bridges open back up.   It is worth noting that, the OBX Homes Team has still had requests for showings, and inquiries on our listings during this time. One of the benefits we offer that is especially helpful now more than ever is the virtual tours we do for each listing with the Matterport camera.  We have noticed more buyers using this tool, which we believe will help with making the listings stand out in the upcoming months. Please feel free to ask any questions or request a demonstration of a house we have done this for on a previous listing.

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.

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.

Stay safe and stay healthy,

The OBX Homes Team

In North Carolina, the month of March is almost considered an official holiday for many basketball fans. Henry V. Porter said it best “A little March madness may complement and contribute to sanity and help keep society on an even keel.” If only something as simple as watching basketball could be the panacea for the Coronavirus epidemic, the stock market crumbling, and the endless political drama, many of us would be ok. It’s still very early in the year, but 2020 has already been one for the books.

In the last newsletter, we mentioned Dare County will be sending out new property valuations, and at the end of February, most of you should have received that letter. It appears a good number of the properties have increased in value, which should have been expected, since the last countywide assessment was in 2013. The increase in value is beneficial for those planning on selling in the near future, and though your taxes might go up a little bit, keep in mind that North Carolina’s property taxes are on the lower end compared to the rest of the country. If you feel your property has been assessed unreasonably and wish to appeal, go to the Dare County website at https://www.darenc.com/departments/tax-department/appraisal.

You might recall from last year, a local Duck homeowner was charged with trespassing at the Sea Breeze access in the Sand Dollar Shores subdivision while trying to get to the beach on a skateboard. He argued the owners’ association did not have the right to take control of what was deeded to the public by the town in the early ’80s, and the access could not be considered private. In late February, the judge ruled in favor of the local homeowner and determined that the walkway and the access is, in fact, public. This was a surprise to many Sand Dollar Shores owners, and as expected, the owners’ association filed an appeal on the decision in early March. The ongoing issues of this case will potentially last several years; however, we do hope the town and the owners can come to an agreement at some point.

In real estate news, our local market does not indicate any signs of a slowdown. In fact, the OBX Homes Team is on pace to record one of their highest number of home sales in many years! With the interest-rate cut at the beginning of the month, more buyers will benefit from one of the lowest mortgage rates in 50 years. We believe this alone may entice some potential home buyers to pull the trigger instead of waiting until the economy recovers from the recent decline. In addition to those prospects, many stockholders may change their minds about the volatile market and choose to buy a more tangible asset such as a rental property or second home. The number of under-contract listings from February is a strong indicator of the market’s continuing at a record-breaking pace. It is too soon to say we will not have a negative impact from the issues mentioned above; however, if nothing changes the Outer Banks will have another banner year for real estate.
Just a friendly reminder to all property owners with homes in the Twiddy Rental program that Homeowner Day will be at Duck Woods Country Club on Saturday, April 11th, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.

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.

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

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

Happy 2020 everyone!! The OBX Homes Team finished 2019 with over 27 million in sales, the top producers at Twiddy & Company, in the top 5 agents on the OBX overall, and number one in residential Corolla sales!* What an awesome and fun-filled year we had! We want to give special thanks to you, our wonderful clients, for making it such a fantastic year.

Due to the storage needed with all our electronic files/documents now, we will be switching servers/emails for 2020 so we can better serve you! Our new emails will be [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected] BUT even better…just email us at [email protected], and you’ll always get the quickest response, as all three of us will monitor that address. We will still be using Twiddy emails for as long as it takes for the transition to be complete.

We are happy to announce that the OBX Homes Team will be donating a portion of all 2020 sales commissions to the Outer Banks SPCA. In 2019, Heather, Ashley, and Mandi all welcomed fur babies into their homes! We are so grateful to the organizations and people who helped care for them and find their furever homes with us, so we’d really like to give back to our local animal welfare/rescues. We’ll be adding information on our website and emails that allows you to find out about the programs the SPCA offers such as taking a shelter dog for a walk, volunteering time, donating items, and even fostering a pet while you’re here in town.

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.

The December 2019 Statistics as well as the 2019 Year End Statistics are included, but please let us know if you’d like more specific sales information for your neighborhood.

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.

Thank you again for your loyalty and business over the years. We are so grateful and are looking forward to a wonderful 2020 ahead! As always, please do stop in to say hello if you’re here in Duck. Cheers!

The OBX Homes Team

Heather, Ashley, and Mandi

*Based on information from the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® MLS for the period January 1 through December 31, 2019.