A Homewarming Party in Parkside at Mayfaire

We are so lucky to have such wonderful clients and homeowners. A few Saturday's ago, our newest Parkside at Mayfaire homeowners threw a home warming/thank you party for everyone who made building their home possible. Thank you again to the Williamson's for hosting a wonderful party, as well as being such great clients.

In other news, Whitney Blair Inc. will be profiled by Wilma Magazine in their September issue. Please pick one up at your local newsstand, or on the web at http://www.wilmaontheweb.com/.

Whitney Blair Inc. would also like to congratulate the Soltis family on their new Whitney Blair Inc. Custom Home. This custom home was built over looking a beautiful creek near the Intracoastal Waterway. Stay tuned for pictures of their home in the next few updates.

We continue to see the real estate market conditions improve. Interest in custom home construction is on the rise. Do not wait until interest rates and construction prices begin to rise to build your dream home. All of the economist agree the worst is behind us for the housing industry.

As always, if we can be of any assistance or if you have any feedback you would like to share, please do not hesitate to contact us. Have a great remainder of the week.

Best regards,

The Whitney Blair Inc. Team

Whitney Blair Inc. is Featured on the Southern Living Magazine Website

Whitney Blair Inc. is currently being featured on the Southern Living Magazine Custom Builder Program Website. See the link below

The Southern Living Custom Builder Program is a network of some of the finest custom homebuilders in the South. The Southern Living Custom Builder Program reviews the homes each builder member has built for their customers in order to look for craftsmanship, excellence in architecture, and home building that tells a Southern story.

Southern Living has selected these homebuilders because of their commitment to great architecture, and building homes in their communities that families love from generation to generation.

Only the finest custom homebuilders are invited to be a part of this one-of-a-kind program. Each member is reviewed based on their reputation among local building trade and consumers, strength in the marketplace, financial stability, and of course, customer service.

http://www.southernlivingcustombuilder.com/find_a_builder

Housing Market Continues to Improve

Good Afternoon Everyone. Have you heard the great news today? New Home sales are up for the third straight month... and not just a little bit... 11%, which just happens to be the largest month over month increase in 8 years.

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WASHINGTON AP - ...the figures released Monday were another sign the housing market is finally bouncing back. Earlier this month, the government reported that new home construction rose to the highest level since last fall. And data out last week showed home resales rose almost 4 percent in June, the third straight monthly increase.

"The worst of the housing recession ... is now behind us," said David Resler, chief economist at Nomura Securities. "We're turning the corner toward increased activity in housing."

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There are some great deals still out there, but they will not last forever, especially with this housing data. We only have two homes remaining with the 3 7/8%zero down special financing offer. Don't miss the opportunity of a lifetime to buy at record low prices.

We want to welcome the Mahoney family to our extended Whitney Blair family of homeowners. The Mahoney's just purchased a beautiful new Whitney Blair home just a few blocks from the ocean. Congratulations and welcome.

If you missed our summer e-newsletter be sure to log onto www.whitneyblair.com and sign up, and don't forget to follow us on twitter and Facebook.

Continue to stay tuned for a launch date of our all new cottage home designs.

Have a great week!!!

The Whitney Blair Inc. Team

Homeowener Spotlight - Tom and Alicia Williamson

Homeowner Spot Light:

Each quarter in our E-Newsletter and in our Blog we will be featuring a Whitney Blair Inc. Homeowner. This quarter in the "Homeower Spotlight" we are featuring Tom and Alicia Williamson.

On a recommendation from a neighbor in Charlotte, Tom and Alicia Williamson packed the car and headed to Wrightsville Beach for a little get away vacation nine years ago. “It was love at first site,” Tom and Alicia said when they crossed the Cape Fear River and looked down on the town of Wilmington, North Carolina. “It reminds me of my hometown in Southern California - no high rises and a very community-oriented town where people take pride in where they live” Alicia said, when asked what made them fall in love with Wilmington. Moving to Wilmington this past year from Washington DC, and living in cities such as Las Vegas, the San Francisco bay area, and Charlotte has been quite a change of pace. “The environment in Washington was loud, populated, and very stressful,” Tom said. He continued by saying, “since my move to Wilmington, my stress level has been noticeably reduced and the new surroundings have a soothing effect.”

Tom is the Vice President of Marketing for AREVA, a global energy company based in Washington DC that specializes in nuclear power. Alicia spends time focusing on her passion for gardening, a hobby she has enjoyed since living in the Bay Area many years ago. Alicia and Tom also spend time giving back to the community they feel “privileged to live in”. Alicia is actively involved in the New Hanover County Master Gardener Program, and serves on her neighborhood’s Homeowner’s Association Board of Directors. This year they felt very fortunate to give their time to “Hands on Wilmington.” Together, Tom and Alicia both assisted in repainting the ceiling at the New Hanover County Arboretum.

Two other members of the Williamson family are Sunshine and Dusty, two rescue cats from the Rockville Maryland Humane Society. Moving from a small, seven hundred square foot apartment in Washington DC to their new residence with unlimited opportunities for exploration, took a little getting used to. We are happy to announce that Sunshine and Dusty have adjusted just fine.

Of all the things Tom and Alicia appreciate about Wilmington, they love their new home the most. When asked what their favorite room in their new home was, Tom and Alicia both quickly answered with different rooms. Alicia likes their hearth room the best. “It is the most incredible room on the first floor. It allows me to multi-task near the kitchen,” Alicia says. She continued by saying, “the open space really has a calming effect and the fireplace takes the chill out of the winter air.” Tom on the other hand enjoys spending time in the great room/kitchen combo. “I love to sit in the great room watching TV, and enjoy the delicious smells from the kitchen”, Tom says. Alicia thinks it must be “a guy thing”. One area of the house that they do agree has the most “WOW factor” is the two story study to the right of the foyer: “We get many compliments from our friends and neighbors on the craftsmanship in the study,” Alicia said.

We wish to thank Tom and Alicia for agreeing to be our first homeowner included in our homeowner spotlight, and want to welcome them to Wilmington and to the Whitney Blair Inc. family!

Is it really already June...???

Happy Friday everyone. We hope this week has been a great one for you, and that you are looking forward to a wonderful weekend. Can you believe we are already to the first weekend in June? The weather has been amazing so far this spring/summer here in southeastern coastal Carolina.

As you know, Whitney Blair Inc. has launched a new Facebook page for Whitney Blair Inc. Custom Homes. Along with the new Whitney Blair Inc. page we have also launched a new Facebook page for our CapeSide Community. You can find these pages by going to Facebook and typing in "Whitney Blair Inc." and/or “CapeSide Development”. We will keep them updated with pictures of our homes as well as information about the company. Whitney Blair Inc. has also begun to Twitter under screen name whitneyblairinc. This weekend we are running special home discounts for our Twitter followers. Be sure to check out www.twitter.com and look us up to see what great deals we are offering.

The market continues to hold its own. We are still receiving a steady flow of people who are interested in building a Whitney Blair Custom Home. It seems to be a mixture of people who truly believe we have found the bottom in housing market and do not want to miss out on the great deals, and people that are concerned about interest rates starting to climb. Interest rates were up 7/10 of a percent over the past 2 weeks. That can translate into a much larger monthly payment, approx $200.00 a month or $72,000.00 over the life of a $400,000.00 mortgage. As we have been saying for months, if you are in the market to buy or build a new home within the next 2 years, do it now, you may never see interest rates and building costs this low again.

Below you will find pictures of the Mathews Family’s beautiful Devaun Park home site. Keeping with Whitney Blair’s tradition of being environmentally friendly, and at the request of the Mathews Family, we were able to position the house on the home site so numerous live oak trees were saved.

The summer addition of the Whitney Blair Inc. Newsletter will be going out in about a month. If you do not receive our electronic Newsletter, please log onto whitneyblair.com and go to the contact page to be put on the mailing list.

Stay tuned for a new Whitney Blair Inc. remodel blog that will be launched in the next two weeks.

Have a great weekend!

Best Regards,


The Whitney Blair Inc. Team
910-579-9994 / derek@whitneyblair.com

The Summer Has Arrived!

May 22, 2009 Whitney Blair Custom Home Builder Blog update


Happy Holiday Weekend Everyone. The summer officially begins. We hope you had an enjoyable week.

It is official, you can view our latest blog launch at http://greenbywhitneyblair.blogspot.com. We hope this blog will help consumers understand a little more about green & sustainable building. Also if you use Facebook be sure to check out our fan page, Whitney Blair Inc. Custom Home Builder.

We want to welcome the Mathews family from Mathews, NC to the Whitney Blair Inc. extended family. This past week we cleared their lot in Devaun Park, a wonderful Traditional Neighborhood Design community in southeastern, Brunswick County (www.devaunpark.com). We will post pictures and updates as we begin making progress on the Mathews beautifully designed custom home.

Traffic remained strong this week throughout most of the communities we currently build in, Parkside at Mayfaire, Seagrove at Carolina Beach, Anchors Bend, Rutledge, CapeSide, and Landfall. Being that it is a beautiful holiday weekend, traffic should increase for Saturday and Sunday. If you have a few spare moments this weekend, we encourage you to stop by the Parkside at Mayfaire model home or the Seagrove model home and check out the Whitney Blair Inc. preconstruction home offerings and values. Who knows, you may even fall in love with one of our displayed home plans.

The First Federal 3.875% rate 30 year fixed loan, 100% financing, no fees/points, expires in 9 days. We have already generated a lot of interest with this offer and hope to have a contract next week. Just for kicks, I ran the savings this rate will provide someone. On a $599,900 mortgage you will save $349,497 in interest payments over 30 years, based on today’s rates. If you would like more information on this offer, please contact Whitney Blair Inc.

Have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend. We will catch you next week. As always if we can be of any assistance to you, including answering any questions you may have about Whitney Blair Inc. or the industry in general, please do not hesitate to contact us.


Best regards,


The Whitney Blair Inc. Team
www.whitneyblair.com
http://greenbywhitneyblair.com
derek@whitneyblair.com
910-579-9994

Industry Upswing

May 15, 2009 Whitney Blair Custom Home Builder Blog update

Happy Friday Everyone. We hope you had an enjoyable week.

Next week Whitney Blair Inc. will launch our new “Green” blog. This blog is designed to inform our blog followers of the different ways that Whitney Blair Inc. is becoming more environmental friendly, and how you can affordably build a greener more sustainable home. The scheduled launch date of the blog is next Friday, May 22nd.

Believe it or not, the good news continues to come from the housing industry, especially in North Carolina. According to the Charlotte Business Journal, North Carolina foreclosures fell by 14.9% in April from the same period as last year. Currently in North Carolina one in every 1,339 households has received a notice of an impeding foreclosure. The national average is one in every 374 households. This information was provided by RealtyTrac Inc.

In more news, the associated press has reported pending home sales are on the rise, up 3.2% in March. These results not only beat analyst expectations, but were 1.1% higher than last year. "After nearly three years of freefall, housing activity may have found a floor," wrote Paul Dales, U.S. economist with Capital Economics in Toronto.

We continue to see a trend upward as well. If you are in the market to build or purchase a home, don’t miss this opportunity. You will look back a few years from now and kick yourself. Do not forget that typically in real estate, by the time the media and public call a market recovery you have missed the bottom by a good three months or more.

Below you will find a few pictures of a Whitney Blair Custom Home currently being built in Crow Creek. The house is really coming out beautifully.

Have a safe and enjoyable weekend. We will catch you next week. As always if we can be of any assistance to you, including answering any questions you may have about Whitney Blair Inc. or the industry in general, please do not hesitate to contact us.


Best regards,


The Whitney Blair Inc. Team
www.whitneyblair.com
derek@whitneyblair.com
910-579-9994

New Home Construction Beginning to Pick Up

May 8, 2009 Whitney Blair Custom Home Builder Blog update

I know it has been almost two weeks since our last update, but that is a good thing. Business has really begun to pick up. Exciting things are happening at Whitney Blair Inc.

If you receive our newsletter then you have already heard about the fantastic financing that First Federal Bank (formally Cape Fear Bank) is offering potential buyers on select Whitney Blair Inc. homes. If you do not receive our newsletter then you need to sign up at http://www.whitneyblair.com/. The special financing offer is a JUMBO or Conforming Loan, 3.875% interest rate fixed for 30 years, 100% financing (Zero Down), no fees/points. If you can find a financing deal better than this one, you better jump on it. Average current rates are 5.25% for a 30 year conforming loan and 6.5% for a 30 year JUMBO loan.

The parade of homes appears to have been a great success for many of the local builders and developers. Over the past two weeks traffic numbers have steadily been rising. Last week local real estate giant Intracoastal Realty had their best contract week in over a year. As well, Whitney Blair Inc. has recently been speaking with numerous potential clients that are finally ready to get started on their custom homes. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that all of this potential work comes to fruition.

Last week Whitney Blair Inc. wrapped up the commercial renovation of the Ice Factory in Carolina Beach. Owners Marshall and Kelly Cooper could not be happier, and if we can say so ourselves, the project turned out spectacularly. The Ice Factory (http://www.theislandicefactory.com/) will be opening for business this weekend, so if you find yourself in Carolina Beach stop in for some Ice Cream. Below you will find pictures of the finished product. If you scan through our past blog postings you will also find progress pictures of the Ice Factory.

Have a safe and enjoyable weekend. We will catch you next week. As always if we can be of any assistance to you, including answering any questions you may have about Whitney Blair Inc. or the industry in general, please do not hesitate to contact us.


Best regards,


The Whitney Blair Inc. Team
http://www.whitneyblair.com/
derek@whitneyblair.com
910-579-9994

Wilmington Cape Fear Home Builders Assoc. 2009 Parade of Homes

April 24, 2009 Whitney Blair Custom Home Builder Blog update

WOW… What an end to the week here in Southeastern, North Carolina. The weather is better then anyone could ask for. We were out checking on a few homes this morning and homeowner that moved here from Illinois said… "This is why we moved down here, sunny skies and temperatures in the 80’s, it is only April." Awesome.

Last night the 2009 Parade of Homes kicked off with an great party thrown by Intracoastal Realty, Watermark Mortgage Group, and MarKraft Cabinets in beautiful Parkside at Mayfaire. The party was a complete success. Over three hundred invited guests gathered around the gazebo and pond in the center of Parkside to eat great food from Middle of the Island and listen to live music from Blivet. The weather should be amazing this weekend, so please come out and view all of the beautiful homes on parade.

Whitney Blair Inc. is offering tremendous Parade of Homes incentives. We have slashed prices on both current inventory homes as well as custom build to suite homes. You must act quickly to capture these incentives, as they only run through Sunday May 3rd. For more information on our offerings, please contact us by e-mail info@whitneyblair.com, phone 910-579-9994, or stop into one of our model homes in Parkside at Mayfaire & SeaGrove at Carolina Beach.

Over the next couple weeks Whitney Blair Inc. will begin rolling out our WB Cottage Series, as well as a new Green Building Blog. Please stay tuned for more information about both of these wonderful new additions to Whitney Blair Inc.

As always if we can be of any assistance to you, including answering any questions you may have about Whitney Blair Inc. or the industry in general, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Best regards, and have a Great Weekend

Best regards,


The Whitney Blair Inc. Team
http://www.whitneyblair.com/
derek@whitneyblair.com
910-579-9994

Whitney Blair Inc. Launches New Residential & Commercial Remodel/Home Improvement Division

April 17, 2009 Whitney Blair Custom Home Builder Blog update

Happy Friday, wow the weeks are flying by. We cannot believe it is almost May! The upbeat news for the economy continues. It appears that the market is going to close up for the sixth week in a row. It is a nice change to hear the media discussing the light at the end of the tunnel instead of complete devastation.

Here at Whitney Blair Inc. we continue to plan for the future. If you received and read our newsletter you will know that we have launched a new Commercial and Residential Remodel/Home Improvement Division. This is geared toward clients who love their current home and its location, but want to do some modernization. What better way to modernize a home then by adding a little custom Whitney Blair flare to it. No job is too large or too small, and we can customize our services to fit your individual needs. We currently have three remodel projects underway, two residential and one commercial. The commercial project is located in Carolina Beach, North Carolina. It is an old retail building that we are renovating into an Ice Cream Parlor. The new Ice Cream Parlor is going to be called, The Island Ice Factory http://www.theislandicefactory.com/. Our crews have been hard at work on it for the past few weeks and it is looking amazing. Be sure to check out the pictures below, and if you are in Carolina Beach be sure to stop in and say hi at The Island Ice Factory.

If you would like to know more about our Remodel/Home Improvement Division please fill out a contact form at http://www.whitneyblair.com/ or call our office at 910-579-9994.

This weekend is Intracoastal Realty’s Open House Extravaganza. Three Whitney Blair Inc. homes will be on the open house tour, our multiple award winning Parkside & Seagrove Model Homes, as well as our Spot Lane home in Seagrove. Why not take a few hours on this beautiful weekend to visit Parkside and Seagrove. On that note, just a reminder the Wilmington Cape Fear Home Builders Association 2009 Parade of Homes is April 25th & 26th as well as May 2nd & 3rd. For more information on the Parade of Homes, please visit the Wilmington Cape Fear HBA on the web at http://www.wilmingtonhomebuilders.com/.

As we mentioned in last weeks blog, we have launched our new quarterly electronic newsletter. If your name is in our database you received it, if for some reason you did not receive the electronic newsletter and would like to, please visit us at http://www.whitneyblair.com/, go to the contact page and fill out your information. Each newsletter will update everyone on the happenings at Whitney Blair Inc., as well as market updates, maintenance tips, and incentives.

As always if we can be of any assistance to you, including answering any questions you may have about Whitney Blair Inc. or the industry in general, please do not hesitate to contact us.


Best regards,

The Whitney Blair Inc. Team
http://www.whitneyblair.com/
derek@whitneyblair.com
910-579-9994






Exterior Before Picture



Exterior with a few improvements


Interior Before Picture



Interior During



Interior During




Wainscoating Starting





Interior Painting Starting


Interior Painting


Kitchen Area After


Finishing Touches



Stay Tuned For Pictures of the Completed Project

Spring has Sprung In Coastal North Carolina

April 10, 2009 Whitney Blair Custom Home Builder Blog update

Happy Friday and WELCOME SPRINGTIME! The azaleas and cherry blossoms are out in full force. For those of you who call Southeastern North Carolina Home, or even if you just visit from time to time, I am sure you would agree it doesn’t get any prettier then this! The 62nd Annual North Carolina Azalea Festival went off without a hitch, the weather on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday could not have been better!

The housing market continues to show signs of firming up and starting the recovery process in coastal Carolina. Whitney Blair Inc. has already sold the same number of homes in the first four months of 2009 as we did in all of 2008, and interest in new construction has increased dramatically in the past three to four weeks. Construction prices remain the lowest they have been in recent history. We can say without hesitation, there is no better time to build than now.

We have an exciting addition to our new marketing campaign. Last week, just in time for the Azalea Festival we began advertising at Wilmington International Airport (ILM). I know that does not sound very exciting, but if you know anything about Whitney Blair Inc., you know we take a lot of pride in everything we do, and nothing gets done halfheartedly. Our airport advertising is not your typical wall sign, we actually built a small model home, complete with a front door, window displays, interior & exterior trim, a metal roof and an arbor. It looks amazing if we do say so ourselves. We encourage you to check it out when you travel in and out of Wilmington International Airport, and don’t forget to tell your friends all about it also. It is located between baggage claim belt 1 & 2 in the baggage area. The airport even offers free short term parking for fifteen minutes, if you are in the area and would like to check it out.

Last week we also launched our new quarterly electronic newsletter. If your name is in our database you received it, if for some reason you did not receive the electronic newsletter and would like to, please visit us at www.whitneyblair.com, go to the contact page and fill out your information. Each newsletter will update everyone on the happenings at Whitney Blair Inc., as well as market updates, maintenance tips, and incentives.

As always if we can be of any assistance to you, including answering any questions you may have about Whitney Blair Inc. or the industry in general, please do not hesitate to contact us.


Best regards,

The Whitney Blair Inc. Team
www.whitneyblair.com
derek@whitneyblair.com
910-579-9994