New Bern Real Estate-The Year in Review

How was the Real Estate Market in 2014? Let's take a look.

2014-total home sales in Craven County=1148

2014-average sales price=$167,662.00

2014-average days on market before closing=145

2013-total home sales in Craven County=1144

2013-average sales price=$168,275.00

2013-average days on market before closing=164

Let's try and analyse this data

For most of the year the total home sales lagged behind last years sales, often by over 5%. However, by year's end. total sales were actually slightly up. That's good. Let's hope that carries over to 2015. 

Average sales price was up most of the year but by year end it was down  just a little. Not enough to be concerned about, however I am going to follow this number closely. 

Average days on market before a home closed was down. I don't know this to be the case, but my gut feeling for this number coming down is because folks are pricing their homes closer to current fair market value, not on what they want or need to sell it for.

If you are looking for an analysis of value for your home, please let me know. Jana and I stay on top of the current market values and we will be honest about the most you can expect. What you can count on is straight-forward answers and the truth about the market, even i it is not what you would like to hear.Sellers that take ur advice get their homes sold! 

Please go to our Facebook Page and "Like Us" and use our handy Home Value tool. Click below
https://www.facebook.com/TysonGroupRealtors/app_691252210905997 Keep in mind this is a computer-generated analysis and to get an more precise valuation, we need to view the home or property.

OK, Let's break it down a little more.

2014-total home sales in Craven County=1148

$10,000-$100,000=266

$100,000-$200,000=585

$200,000-$300,000=196

$300,000-$400,000=62

$400,000-$500,000=18

$500,000-$600,000=9

Over $600,000=13

2013-total home sales in Craven County=1144

$10,000-$100,000=285

$100,000-$200,000=540

$200,000-$300,000=229

$300,000-$400,000=41

$400,000-$500,000=21

$500,000-$600,000=11

Over $600,000=17

Here is my take on these numbers. Home sales priced under $100,000 sales were down 7%. This may have more to do with the decrease of bank owned sales than anything else.

Homes sales priced $100,000-$200,000 were up 8%. The reason. My thoughts are that there were some good deals on homes built in the 1980's, 1990's that were snapped up. Some of these were in really nice neighborhoods but needed renovation. Buyers were willing to put in some money and effort to make upgrades in order to live in the neighborhood of their choice, and sellers had the equity in the property to sell at low prices.

The $300,000-$400,000 price range was up over 50%. That's good news but I am not sure why it was up this much. I'll speculate by saying it is the result of a slightly improving economy. Also sellers in this price range have become more realistic about the value of their homes in today's market.

2014-New Home Sales

Total New Home Sales=157 total new home sales were down 17%. 

$0-$100,000=3

$100,000-$200,000=101

$200,000-$300,000=48

$300,000-$400,000=4

$400,000-$500,000=1

$500,000-$600,000=0

Over $600,000=0

2013-New Home Sales

Total New Home Sales=190

$0-$100,000=3

$100,000-$200,000=120

$200,000-$300,000=63

$300,000-$400,000=3

$400,000-$500,000=0

$500,000-$600,000=1

Over $600,000=0

Whats going on with new home sales? My guess is that not as many Marines are buying and instead are opting to rent. They are still buying, just not as many. 

Also our local economy is not creating enough jobs to increase demand for starter homes or move up homes. In 2006 there were 170 new homes sold between $300,000 and $400,000. Last year there were 4 sold in this price range.

Also, new regulations and stricter building and energy codes make it increasingly more difficult for builders to develop property, build homes, and make a profit.

Let's look at distressed sales for 2014 and compare them to 2013

Bank Owned Home Sales-2014=245

Bank Owned Home Sales-2013=319

Finally some good news, Bank Owned Sales were down by 23%. The Bad news is this is still way to many Bank Owned sales. In fact, other than 2013 it is the highest number on record. This number represents 21% of total home sales, and in a stable market it should be 5%. 

The local economy is improving. According to the County Economic Developer over 600 new jobs were added in Craven county in 2014.  Moen, Bosch, Hatteras, and the Fleet Readiness Center all added jobs. The new Craven 100 Alliance is now operational and is committed to Economic Development in Craven County. On 1-8-15 a Federal Reserve Board member spoke in New Bern and gave the first optimistic report on the economy in years. Our national, state, and local economies still have plenty of challenges however I am feeling better about the economy than I have in a long time.

That is the year in review report. If you have any specific questions feel free to give me a call. And if you, or anyone you know is looking to buy or sell real estate give us a call.

Go to www.NewBern-NC.Info 

For all your Real Estate needs click here. Or Call Steve and Jana J. 252-675-9595

The Weekly New Bern Real Estate News Report

This week we will look at new home sales year to date. Once again it is turning out to be a challenging year for home builders this year as the graph below would indicate.

Even though sales are down quite a bit, average sales price is up a little and absorption rates are down. Actually, absorption rates for new homes is much less than the overall market and indicates that we are close to a balanced market with new construction. So if builders will keep this level of construction up things may be ok. 

Builders, if you are thinking about gearing up and building more homes, you better be in tune with changes that will be happening at Cherry Point. From what I understand Cherry Point will be losing up to 1500 Marines over the next 3 years. Much of that loss will be replaced when the F-35's start to backfill the retirement of the Harriers and Prowlers.

For all your Real Estate needs check out our website www.newbern-nc.info 

The Weekly New Bern Real Estate News Report

This week we will look back at homes sales in all of Craven County year to date. We are looking at average sales price, volume of sales, and days on market before closing. first lets look at New Home Sales. 

New Home Sales

New Home Sales  1-1-14 thru 10-24-14=134

Average sales price=$194,116

Highest sales price=$430,000, this was in Carolina Colours.

New Home Sales  1-1-13 thru 10-24-13=155

Average sales price=$188,352

Highest sales price=$510,000, this was in Stillwater Harbour on the water.

Sales volume was down by 13.5%

Average sales price was up by 3%

Even with sales volume down 13.5% from last year there are still to many new homes being built. There are currently 84 new homes listed for sale in the MLS. Thats way to many, especially for this time of year. Most of the new homes are being built are under $200,000 targeted to young Marines.

Home sales under $200,000

Home Sales  1-1-14 thru 10-24-14=551

Average sales price=$122,528
Average days on the market before a sale=138

Home Sales  1-1-13 thru 10-24-13=524

Average sales price=$118,890

Average days on the market before a sale=150

Sales volume was up by 5%

Average sales price was up by 3%

This price home seems to be the best selling price right now. Even so, there are currently 473 homes for sale priced between $50,000 and $200,000.

Home sales $200,000-$300,000

Home Sales  1-1-14 thru 10-24-14=130

Average sales price=$240,591
Average days on the market before a sale=146

Home Sales  1-1-13 thru 10-24-13=141

Average sales price=$$238,794

Average days on the market before a sale=185

Sales volume was down by about 1%

Average sales price was up by less than 1%

Home sales $300,000-$400,000

Home Sales  1-1-14 thru 10-24-14=53

Average sales price=$326,617
Average days on the market before a sale=153

Home Sales  1-1-13 thru 10-24-13=32

Average sales price=$333,231

Average days on the market before a sale=248

Sales volume was up by 65%

Average sales price was down by 2%

Wow, sales volume was up by 65%. And average days on market is down significantly. About the only negative I can see here is that there are currently 79 homes for sale in this price range and that is a lot of inventory. That might be what is keeping average sale price down some. 

Home sales $400,000-$500,000

Home Sales  1-1-14 thru 10-24-14=16

Average sales price=$420,464
Average days on the market before a sale=145

Home Sales  1-1-13 thru 10-24-13=16

Average sales price=$424,267

Average days on the market before a sale=294

Sales volume was up by 0%

Average sales price was down by less than 1%

There are currently 32 homes for sale in this price range. Thats a lot of competition and if you want to sell in this price range you need have a special product and be priced right. Call Steve or Jana if you are in this price range and we will be glad to offer some advice on how to trump the competition.

Home sales over $500,000

Home Sales  1-1-14 thru 10-24-14=15

Average sales price=$610,132
Average days on the market before a sale=226

Home Sales  1-1-13 thru 10-24-13=19

Average sales price=$654,400

Average days on the market before a sale=290

Sales volume was down by 21%

Average sales price was down by 6.7%

Ouch, 57 homes for sale in this price range. There is just a lot of competition. To many homes chasing to few buyers. You better hire a Realtor that will tell you the truth and not what you want to hear if you are selling in this price range.



If you have any questions about any of this data give me a call. Want to know what your home is really worth in todays market? Give us a call at 252 514 9157.

For all your Real Estate needs go to New Bern Real Estate

Thinking of selling your home?

Then please read this article

http://realtytimes.com/consumeradvice/sellersadvice1/item/31279-20141024-your-house-usually-isnt-worth-as-much-as-you-think

The Weekly New Bern Real Estate News Report

New Bern Home Sales-10-15-14 through 10-21-14

Total homes sold=14

Average sales price=$188,775

Average days on market before sale=112

The most expensive home sold during this time period was $526,000

The least expensive home sold during this time period was $69,000

New Bern Home sales-last year, same time frame

Total homes sold=19

Average sales price=$224,568

Average days on market before sale=284

The most expensive home sold during this time period was $535,000

The least expensive home sold during this time period was $474,000

If you know anyone looking to buy or sell Real Estate please ask them to give us a call. And for all of your Real Estate needs go to New Bern Real Estate

The Weekly New Bern Real Estate News Report

New Bern Home sales-10-4-14 through 10-10-14

Total homes sold=18

Average sales price=$173,072

New Bern Homes sales-Last year, same time frame

Total homes sold=28

Average sales price=$150,630.00

As you can see, sales volume is down 44% from last year, bad news. Good news, average sales price is up 15%. 

This has kind of been the trend all year. For the year sales volume is down about 1.2%, however average sales price is up almost $6000. Whats going on? Well, bank owned sales are down this year 25% and that is the primary reason sales volume is down and average sales price is up.

While it is certainly good news that bank owned sales are down, there are still plenty of challenges in the real estate market right now. The biggest challenge, in my opinion, is quite simply the weak ecomony throughout much of the nation. When we climb out of the great recession we will see a robust housing recovery in New Bern.

Until next week.

For all your real estate needs go to www.newbern-nc.info

New Bern Real Estate News

Today is October 2nd, 2014

Here is the Latest New Bern Real Estate News

It has been a hectic week for us, and I mean that in a good way. We had a closing on Monday, two closings on Wednesday, and a closing on Thursday. It has been hard work and we are doing really well this year. OK, I know what you are thinking.

What people do care about is the housing market. It is a huge part of our economy and for most of us, a huge part of our personal net worth. So let's look at the data and see how the overall real estate market is doing in the greater New Bern area.

Homes sold in the last year=1152
Average days on market before sold=152
Average sales price=$172,052

Now lets look at the year before.
Homes sold the year before=1098
Average days on market before sold=161
Average sales price=$164,293

According to this data, we are moving in the right direction. This housing recovery has been, and will likely, continue to be timid. If you are buying, there are still good deals out there, but not quite as many as a year ago. Also, interest rates remain low. I closed a VA loan this week at 3.84%.

If you are selling, get your home in really good shape. There is a lot of competition out there and if you want to be in the game you must be priced right and the home must show well.

Have a great weekend, and for all of your real estate needs go to www.newbern-nc.info

Home sales year to date-Craven-Pamlico Counties

Includes all of New Bern and Oriental

Lets take  look at  a few sales charts and see how sales are doing year to date by price range

As you can see from the chart the under $200,000 accounts for 69% of sales. So if you re wondering what is taking your home so long to sell, this chart might help. It is still  buyers market and if you do not have the ability to be price competitive might not be the time for you to sell. 

For all your real estate needs, go to www.newbern-nc.info or give me  call at 252 514 9157

New Bern-Certified Retirement Community

New Bern-Certified Retirement Community?

I think we need to get New Bern designted as a Certified Retirement Community. Certainly we can beat out the cities listed below. We are missing out on opportunities such as the one listed below. What do you think?

RetireNC promoted at the Ideal Living expo in N.J.


The Division’s Andre Nabors (lf)
and Fearrington Village’s Nathalie
Condoret (center) listen intently
to attendees
Tourism Development Manager André Nabors and Division representative Ashlee Kirk promoted North Carolina as a retirement destination at the Ideal Living Resort & Retirement Expo in Whippany, N.J., this past weekend. The Expo drew approximately 800 potential retirees from the region interested in exploring opportunities and conversing with exhibitors from across the Southeast. Attendees talked with experts from towns and community developers to gain insights and get answers to help plan, design and enjoy their retirement. North Carolina has consistently been one of the most requested states by the attendees. The Division attended the Expo, along with community partners from Fearrington Village Real Estate, to continue its efforts to promote the N.C. Certified Retirement Community Program, which consists of Asheboro, Eden, Edenton, Lumberton, Marion, Mount Airy, Pittsboro, Sanford, and Tarboro. For more information about the Certified Retirement Community Program or the Division's marketing initiatives for retirement relocation, contact Andre Nabors at (919) 733-7502.

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