Whitney Blair Inc. Custom Homebuilder Blog Update 4/3/09
Happy Friday to everyone. It is amazing what a few positive days in the stock market will do to people’s attitudes. Over the past few weeks real estate showings have begun to pick up at a consistent rate throughout the Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, and Southport markets. The consensus throughout Coastal Southeastern North Carolina is that we have seen the worst of the housing downturn. Currently there are incredible buying opportunities available on new construction inventory homes. As well, construction costs are the lowest they have been in a decade, if designing and building your dream home with Whitney Blair Inc. is more your speed.
In other great real estate news, Wilmington, NC and Myrtle Beach, SC were named the 14th and 15th (respectively) best housing markets in the country for 2009 by Builder Magazine. This is yet another reason many industry experts say that if you are planning to build or purchase a new home within the next three to five years, now is the time to do it.
If you feel that you have to wait for the value you have lost in your current home to return before you attempt to sell, you could be making a big mistake. The problem with that thought process is that once value returns to your current home it means the market is already in full recovery mode. When this happens, most incentive programs are discontinued by builders. As well, the cost of your dream home will move higher in relation to your current home price, meaning not only will you not save money, but most likely it will cost you more in the long run by waiting.
Another reason to act now is that interest rates are at historic lows. Author Dan Kadlec described in a recent Time magazine article the benefits of buying now instead of waiting. "Consider a typical home that sells for $218,900. You put down 20% and get a 30 year fixed rate mortgage of 5.5%. Monthly principal and interest come to $994.31." wrote Kadlec. Let's say that 12 months from now that same house goes for 10% less or $197,010. But by then the recession is history and the Fed is jacking up rates to stem inflation. If mortgage costs raise just half a point to 6%, your monthly payment would be $994.94 and you'd have saved nothing. Meanwhile, home prices might steady and sellers might become less willing to negotiate. And you have spent a year living someplace you'd rather not be."
One thing is for certain, buying a home for your family to enjoy is one of the best investments someone can make in their lifetime. If you wait until the media tells you the market is recovering and it is now time to buy, then you will have missed the boat.
As a reminder, if you are in town for the 62nd Annual North Carolina Azalea Festival please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to view any of our model homes. If you would like more information regarding the Azalea Festival, please visit http://www.ncazaleafestival.org/.
Best regards,
The Whitney Blair Inc. Team
www.whitneyblair.com
derek@whitneyblair.com
910-579-9994
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