What is selling in Chatham County

There are two varieties of Chatham homebuyers this season.  The first group is looking for homes priced under $300,000.  Homes in this price range are providing a more affordable home with more square footage than its Chapel Hill equivalent.  Coupled with the low Chatham County taxes, buyers in this price range are living large on less yet are still within a short commute to Chapel Hill and UNC.

The second group of buyers in Chatham are people who are taking advantage of high builder inventories.  They are buying new construction properties and they are getting a big discount.  The new homes are priced in the 500 and up range but many are selling in the 400s, even 300s.  How long can this continue?  Hard to say.  Buying in these new communities, you should expect that you will be living with construction noise for some time and also competing with the builder when it comes time to sell.  In my opinion, it is a good deal only if you plan to stay put for a good while.

What’s selling in Durham?

This is by no means scientific, it is simply my opinion of what I am seeing.  Market stats for the first quarter of 09 are due out any day, so I am making a prediction of sorts.

I am getting to the point where I can predict what will be gone in a week and what will be lingering at the end of the season.  Buyers have been very predictable in a way this year.  My impression is that buyers are looking for bargains.  It is that simple.  They want the best house, the one that is significantly better for the money than all the others they looked at.

What this means is that the sellers who are pricing their home aggressively are getting the offers…early.  Everyone else is waiting, waiting, waiting.  This is a buyers market, so sellers need to decide if they have the tolerance to sell in a buyers market.

In Durham, homes that are staged, show well, are move in ready and priced under 250 are moving.  Buyers want to be sure that if this is not the bottom, they will still be ok.  Getting a property that is priced aggressively, is providing a little reassurance.  One thing sellers can take comfort in is that the homes that are priced aggressively are selling at or near list price.  Location seems to be less of an issue in Durham, but Woodcroft and Hope Valley Farms properties are getting a lot of activity.

Durham green homes on tour

The fourth annual green home tour is scheduled for the next two weekends, 4/25th,26th and May 2nd and3rd.  The tour is sponsored by the Durham, Orange and Chatham County Homebuilders Association.  This is a free to the public, tour of new homes that meet or exceed the bronze level of green construction standards.  One interesting feature of this year’s event is that some of the homes will be partially finished, exposing the green features inside the walls. 

As an EcoBroker, I am offering a free ride to anyone who would like to join me on the tour.  Not only will you get free transportation, a personal tour guide, you will also have your own EcoBroker to answer your questions.  To inquire about joining me on the tour, please contact me at marie@kw.com or 919-357-6064.  To learn about my EcoBroker designation, go to my website or www.ecobroker.com.

How buyers found their home in 2008 may surprise you

NCAR graphics

If plastic was the most important invention of the 20th century, then it is likely that the internet was a close second. 

I don’t think I have ever had a buyer who did not use the internet in their home search.  I did have a seller who did not use email or internet and it made my job a bit more challenging.  Snail mail, phone calls and dropping by was the only way to communicate.  It is no surprise that an amazing 87% of home buyers are searching for their home on the internet these days.  The internet has let real estate and home searching evolve into an efficient, time saving tool that REALTORS are dependent upon.

What  I found interesting about this graphic, provided courtesy of the National Association of REALTORS, is that agents helped slightly more buyers find their home than internet searching alone.  Or at least according to this statistic, the buyer gave the realtor credit for finding the property.  Also, interesting to me, was that more people are using a realtor now than ever.  It is hard to say what this means, but I think for the most part, people are just too busy to try to do the job alone.  Hopefully, it also means that the public is realizing the value a REALTOR brings to the home buying or selling process.

Chapel Hill new construction prices not the bottom line

It seems like a lot of new construction is selling this season.  I certainly can understand that there is something special about getting a home that has never been lived in before.  What is amazing to me is that new construction, in the worst of location, on the busiest road, with absolutely no yard and plenty of road noise to scare off the resale buyers, will sell simply because it is new.

I want to make a couple points about buying new that many buyers find out well after the fact.  There are many things you get with existing resale properties that you will not get with a new home.  One obvious thing is there will be no blinds and no curtain rods or draperies.   Basic window treatments can easily get into thousands of dollars. Most likely you will have mature shrubs and established lawn with a resale.  Then of course there are the surprises; the things that you didn’t realize were going to be necessary during the construction phase.  The cost overruns, the lighting allowance that wasn’t adequate, the realization that the builder grade carpet will only last 5 years and the decision to pay more now or later.  Keep in mind that when you have a brand new home, you should plan on buying some new stuff.  Unless you have antiques in great condition, most older furniture is going to look just that…old and a stark contrast to the home.

Recent history is showing that builders are beginning to discount inventory homes.  Some of these homes are so reduced that it is hard to go wrong.  But, make sure you still get location, which is and always will be the most important factor in future value.

A bargain in need of renovation can represent other possibilities.  You will still get the things that are important to you and for less money, if you are thorough with estimates.  The final note;  existing housing is always the greener choice!

Pittsboro reviving local economy with goods and plenty

Pittsboro is known for the traffic roundabout, the confederate soldier statue, civil war history, slave poets and artists.  It is also known to be a progressive, quiet  little town.  Local authorities have been making real news lately with their own version of the economic stimulus plan.  The town has developed its own form of currency called the Plenty.  The local businesses who participate in this form of exchange, that is valued at $1, are sending a clear message that they want to see the money stay here, in their town. 

Pittsboro already does a lot to support local business.  Patrons can exchange $9US  for 10 plenty;  giving them an automatic 10% discount when they buy local.  This is making the news on a national scale.  You can read what USA Today had to say about it:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2009-04-05-scrip_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

Tarheels give us another reason to love Chapel Hill

Basketball, basketball and more basketball!  I moved here from Pittsburgh where it is all about the football.  The Steelers are the envy of the NFL.  They have the most enthusiastic and loyal fans.  So, when we moved here there was quite the void in our life…two hours away to see an NFL game. 

It didn’t take us long to get behind the tarheel football; in fact it was pretty much immediate.  But, basketball was like speaking a foreign language to me.  Living in a town that has no pro basketball, left me  a basketball incompetent.  When I was a student at University of Pittsburgh, I once had another student ask me to give a book to Clyde Vaughn.  When I asked who Clyde Vaughn was she looked at me as if I were from Mars as she replied with disgust, “he’s the star of the basketball team who sits next to you in class”. 

This brings me back to the point of this post.  Someone like me can go from basketball idiot to basketball fanatic living in Chapel Hill.  It is what the university is known for and living here gives us all the opportunity to see the next NBA stars go from redshirt to Michael Jordan status.  There was plenty of celebrating on Franklin last night and it is also great to know that it was a fairly uneventful and orderly party.  The only thing that would have made last night better would have been a UNC vs Duke game.  Maybe next year?