Investment and Vacation Real Estate - Orlando, Florida & North Carolina

2007 Florida Home Sales trends - Great time to Buy Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. – Jan. 8, 2008 – One in three Florida homebuyers is single, with 21 percent of 2007 home purchases made by single women and 12 percent by single men – just one finding from the newly-released Florida version of NAR’s “2007 Profile of Florida Homebuyers and Sellers.” Another highlight: Over two-thirds of Florida buyers (64 percent) had no children younger than 18.

The 2007 Profile of Florida Homebuyers and Sellers describes the characteristics and motivations of recent homebuyers and sellers in Florida to help real estate professionals track the changing demands of consumers in a dynamic market. Here’s a summary of the report’s findings: complete story

Source: Florida Association of Realtors

Orlando florida Real Estate    Orlando Real Estate

Second Home - Vacation Property: sales accounted for one-third of transactions in 2007

WASHINGTON – March 31, 2008 – The combined total of vacation- and investment-home sales declined with the overall market in 2007, but still accounted for 33 percent of all existing- and new-home sales, which is close to historic norms, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).

The market share of homes purchased for investment last year was 21 percent, down from 22 percent in 2006, while another 12 percent were vacation homes, compared with a 14 percent market share in 2006. The total share of second homes declined from 36 percent of transactions in 2006.

NAR’s annual Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey shows vacation-home sales dropped 30.6 percent to 740,000 in 2007 from a record 1.07 million in 2006, while investment-home sales fell 18.1 percent to 1.35 million last year from 1.65 million in 2006. At the same time, primary residence sales declined 10.0 percent to 4.34 million in 2007 from 4.82 million in 2006. complete story

Source: Florida Association of Realtors

Orlando Vacation Property   Orlando Investment Property

Florida Housing Recovery on the Way - Great time to Buy Florida

It looks like the housing market may have hit bottom, setting the stage for a mild housing recovery to begin prior to year-end 2008, according to a new study by SMR Research Corp. The market’s recovery is likely to be gradual, with house prices merely firming up or increasing slightly, rather than returning to the strong growth seen from 2002 to mid-2006, the firm said. An SMR study was among the first to declare (in 2002) that a housing price bubble existed, defined as prices rising faster than consumer incomes. In a 2004 study, SMR forecast that a “perfect storm” in credit quality would cause an explosion in foreclosures within two years. SMR specializes in mortgage and home equity loan industry research. “Our prior forecasts were accurate but widely disbelieved when issued,” says SMR President Stuart A. Feldstein. “We similarly expect a skeptical reaction now to a recovery forecast, which is not the common view. But the numbers are what they are.” The new recovery forecast was published within SMR’s annual spring study. “Homes are now affordable again,” Feldstein says. “Consumer psychology is the biggest remaining hurdle to recovery.”

Source: Florida Association of Realtors

Orlando Florida Real Estate  Orlando Investment Property

10 Best Places for Bargins - Great Time to Buy Orlando Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. – Feb. 12, 2008 – The best place to get a bargain on a home is an area where there is healthy job growth and more houses available than people to buy them.

These are markets “where you have high inventories but pliable borrowers, with lenders willing to deal,” says Anthony Sanders, a professor of finance at Arizona State University.

Forbes magazine went looking for markets where the damage from risky lending hasn’t been as dramatic as in some parts of the country and where employment growth will burn off an over-abundance of inventory quickly.

3. Orlando, Fla. This part of the state had fewer speculators than Miami and Tampa, and it’s adding jobs faster than those cities as well.
complete story

Source: Florida Association of Realtors

Orlando florida Real Estate    Orlando Real Estate

Open Season for Bargain Hunters - Great time to Buy Florida

KEY WEST, Fla. – March 10, 2008 – Intrepid home shoppers are venturing back into some of the nation’s hardest-hit real-estate markets, convinced they can cherry-pick good deals amid broad price declines.

Among these bargain buyers are affluent baby boomers eager to lock in low interest rates on retirement homes, high-end shoppers who had been waiting for prices to soften and serial investors determined not to miss the boat on a perceived opportunity. complete story

Source: Florida Association of Realtors

Orlando florida Real Estate    Orlando Real Estate

GREAT REASONS TO VISIT HISTORIC WILMINGTON & NC'S CAPE FEAR COAST

Bring an ocean and a historic riverfront town together and there are lots of stories to tell. Here are 10 great reasons to visit Historic Wilmington & North Carolina's Cape Fear Coast. You'll likely discover at least 100 reasons to return!

1. 31 Miles of Wide Sandy Beaches

2. Historic Riverfront Town

3. New & Nostalgic Attractions

4. B&B Capital of NC's Coast The Cape Fear Coast

5. The Finer Things in Life

6. Family FUN Discover why Historic Wilmington & NC’s Cape Fear Coast

7. "Hollywood East”

8. Arts Alive!

9. Explore Outdoors & More

10. Cool Events

Complete story...

Source www.cape-fear.nc.us Wilmington / Cape Fear Coast CVB

Wilmington NC Real Estate  Bluffs Cape Fear Real Estate 

Wilmington North Carolina ranks Top 10 Healthy Places

Wilmington, N.C. is one of the Top 10 Healthy Places in the Southeast for longevity and enjoying a productive retirement lifestyle, according to Retirement Lifestyles, a ten-year-old magazine that highlights locations, communities and lifestyles for prospective retirees across the U.S.

The editors said they considered quality healthcare, climate, safety, ecosystems, recreation and other criteria in making what they acknowledged was an “unscientific” and “subjective” poll.

“Using these criteria as a general foundation, combined with a small degree of research, plus comments from anti-aging professionals, we took a subjective poll of some of the healthiest places to live in the Southeast,” the editors said.

Other cities in the magazine’s Top 10 Healthy Places are Asheville, N.C.; Brunswick, Ga.; Virginia Beach/Norfolk/Newport News, Va.; Cape Coral/Fort Myers, Fl.; Charleston, S.C.; Greenville, S.C.; Ocala, Fl.; Roanoke, Va.; and Chattanooga, TN

Retirement Lifestyles magazine focuses on communities and retiree lifestyles in 11 southern states: Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

To read the story about Healthy Places in Retirement Lifestyles’ visit www.retiresouth.com.

North Carolina Real Estate  Wilmington NC Real Estate 

Wilmington NC named one of Dozen Distinctive Destinations

This year Wilmington was one of the very elite 12 honored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of the country's Dozen Distinctive Destinations.

It's a major award chosen from dozens of competitors across the country.

George Edwards with the Historic Wilmington Foundation said, "You couldn't ask for better recognition. It's incredible."

The national trust for historic preservation included Wilmington on its 2008 list of the country's 12 most distinctive destinations.

Source: The National Trust for Historic Preservation.

For more info click this Video link

Wilmington NC Real Estate  Bluff on Cape Fear NC    

Wilmington NC Real Estate News  

The Bluffs on the Cape Fear is Top Selling Community in 2007 Grand Opening of Blackbeard's Forest to Kick Off 2008 BRUNSWICK COUNTY, N.C.

According to county tax records, The Bluffs on the Cape Fear closed more homesites than any other preconstruction community in either Brunswick or New Hanover county in 2007. The Bluffs on the Cape Fear is a new 600-acre, gated, fully-amenitized, dockable, waterfrontcommunity located off of Dogwood Road in Leland.

The Bluffs closed 181 homesites in 2007, totaling $28.3 million in sales. This brings total sales to $51.6 million for the 386 homesites sold since the community's Grand Opening in mid-2006. The Bluffs' sales and marketing company, Vision Producers, Inc. of Wilmington, N.C., attributes the success to the community's scenic location on the Cape Fear River, the land planning and nature preservation philosophy, extensive amenity package, conservative pricing, close proximity to historic downtown Wilmington, and significant progress in infrastructure and amenity construction.

When complete, The Bluffs on the Cape Fear will offer more than 700 homesites in a variety of environments, including riverfront, lakefront, and nature. Amenities include extensive nature trails and parks; a Private Beach Club on Oak Island; a 6,000 square foot Lakeside Clubhouse uniquely built to extend over one of the many community lakes; a fitness center; a media center; indoor and outdoor swimming pools; lighted HarTrue tennis courts; a waterfront park with boat launch facility; a proposed 40-slip marina; gaming areas with bocce ball and horseshoe pits; boat and RV storage; close proximity to renowned area beaches; and over 40 golf courses within a 40-mile radius.

Source -- (Wed Feb 20, 2008 Business Wire)--

Bluffs Cape Fear NC   Wilmington NC Real Estate   Coastal NC Real Estate