Outer Banks Real Estate Blog

Outer Banks Real Estate Blog- 2010 Off To Great Start For The Outer Banks Real Estate Market

To say 2010 is off to a great start is an understatement.  This year there has been 186 closings, 31% more than at this same point last year. In 2010 the average sold price of a house is up 12.6% from the end of 2009 and 13.5% from October ‘09, the last month prices declined. With the pace of buyer activity not slowing down I think we will continue to gain momentum.  

The majority of the homes sold, 75% continue to be in the under $500,000 category. However there is more movement in the higher price ranges mostly due to the easing of obtaining Jumbo Loans plus with decreased pricing and solid rental income those homes are getting  8-10% Gross
Return on Investment (ROI).  That makes for an attractive return that we have not seen on the Outer Banks for years.  

The majority of rental management companies are reporting strong pre-bookings for the 2010 rental season. These bookings are ahead of last years pace which are helping to lead the way for these houses to have a strong ROI. 

There is another interesting statistic I just discovered that shows the market is coming back.  For the first 2 months of the year the average price of a house under contract, $383,543, was lower than the average price of a sold house, $386,181. Normally houses sells for less than the listed price. I have not seen houses sell for more than the listing price since the “boom days” of 2001-2005. For the 186 closed sales this year buyer’s on average are paying more than full price.  We are not back to the “boom days” and most of this can be attributed to multiple offers on foreclosures/short sales. The point is that buyer’s are now realizing that our market has turned a corner and they are taking advantage of it. They realize that prices are at 7 year lows, have stabilized and rental income remains strong.  That’s a great combination!! 

Low prices + strong rental income= Great Opportunity !!