Real Estate Information

Some love it, some hate it, but it is definitely snowing here in Wilmington, NC. If you ask my five year old, she is definitely in the "love it" crowd.  I have to admit, I am enjoying watching it as well.  I am sure the folks who moved down from the northeastern States are not as excited but since it is so unusual, you can certainly feel a little excitement in the air.

Since we are so far south and close to the ocean, it seldom snows here.  I believe the last accumulation we had was 4-5 years ago--at least.  It was April and we had about 4 inches on the ground.  The Azalea Festival was 4 days later and we had 80 degree weather!

The worst problem of this snow is that since it seldom occurs, the town pretty much starts shutting down offices and schools since it makes little sense to keep substantial equipment to take care of the roads.  Bridges will be salted/ sanded but that is mostly it.  In all likelihood, what snow we do get, will be gone by the end of the next day.  I have some more work to do but I will make this a shorter day and go home and play with my daughter in the snow!

Many of you know about the Home Buyer Tax credit available for first time home buyers.  Essentially, qualifying first time home buyers may qualify ofr a $7500.00 tax credit as an incentive to get them to move forward with a purchase.  That money is not free, it is actually paid back over a period of 15 years.

There are ongoing discussions concerning this tax credit to make it even more effective at helping to reduce the housing inventory and consequently helping to pull the economy out of the recession.  One option would be to eliminate the payback of the $7500.00.  Should this happen, it is estimated by the national Association of Realtors that over 202,000 home sales would occur. Onother option is to open up the tax credit to all home buyers.  If the repayment feature is left intact, opening the tax credit up could create 181,000 sales of homes.

If the repayment feature is dropped and it is open to all home buyers, the net effect could mean the sale of over 550,000 homes--enough to have a substantial effect on housing inventories. Keeping option for the credit open is key to it's effectiveness such as allowing the credit to be used for down payments, etc.

What a great world we live in!  As much as we often curse the technology that we have come to rely on (and are often therefore tortured during the times when it fails) what can be easier than home shopping while sitting in your pajamas Saturday morning?

With MLS access readily available to consumers from many on-line resources, the time saved by searching for homes on the internet is huge compared to flipping through often outdated magazines and maps and then having to drive around wasting the precious little time we have.  Don't even mention the cost of gas!

Generally the way it works is the home shopper logs in to an MLS access website, enters thier home criteria, and the results are displayed.  Then they look through the list and print or save interesting properties.  Cool--but what if it were simpler and more convenient than that?   How about entering your criteria only once, and then getting instant email updates when a New Listing, that meets the search criteria, appears on the MLS?  That would be awesome!  Well, it is real and www.HomeSearchWilmington.com provides that service as well as a handy file system to save properties you like, and delete the ones you don't.  No need to be concerned about huge files being emailed--it is just a link!  Try it out and let me know what you think!

Chris

Welcome to the Chris Baynes and Associates Blog!  We will post helpful and hopefully entertaining information about the real estate market in the coastal area as well as many of the community events that make the lifestyle here in Wilmington, NC so desirable .  We will also provide seller and buyer information in addition to the general market data.  We welcome your responses and questions whether you choose to post or email us directly!