Activity from visitors,
vacationers and part-time lake residents has increased. That means summer is
finally here! The Lake Gaston 50th Birthday Splash Celebrations have
begun. Many events will take place
around the lake all month. Visit www.osail.org
for the current schedule of events.
In May, we closed 16 waterfront
homes, 10 offshore homes, 3 waterfront lots, 8 offshore lots and a 100-acre
tract. Together the closings totaled of $8,599,820 compared to 29 parcels
closed in May of 2012 for $7,585,900.
Our sales through May are $34,595,990 compared to sales for May 2012 for
the same period of $24,441,250.
We had strong potential buyer
activity the first few months of this year then it weakened. Now we are busy
showing properties and communicating with potential buyers again. Overall, we
have experienced a strong increase, but keep in mind we are not experiencing a
property boom. What we are seeing is recovery. January through May sales increased 41.5%, compared
to the same period in 2012. Sales are down 32% compared to the same period in
2007, which was after the “boom”.
To put things in a little better perspective,
the average waterfront home sold this year closed at $408,532. The average waterfront home sold during the
first five months of 2007 closed at $581,117.
The average in 2012 was $375,573. The good part, we are heading in the right
direction.
The National Association of
REALTORS (NAR) believes the housing market is in a solid recovery. Despite
tight credit and limited inventory in some markets, existing home sale
nationally are at their highest pace since November 2009. We continue to see foreclosures and short
sales decrease, which should help stabilize prices. It seems mortgage rates may
be increasing slightly; I hope this will not slow the forward momentum.
The Consumer Confidence Index
increased slightly in May to 76.2 from 69.0 in April. Most economists believe consumer spending
will increase 2.3% this year. We heard
today, the unemployment rate inched up to 7.6%.
Before consumer spending increases people need to feel good about the
economy overall as well as their jobs.
According to NAR, vacation home
sales were up 10.1% in 2012 nationwide. They predict a slight increase in
2013. The recent gains in the stock
market have stabilized investor’s net worth. We hope increasing consumer
confidence will convince people that investing in a second home is good.
We are excited about the Lake
Gaston real estate market in 2013. We hope
the increased activity will continue through the year in both residential and
commercial growth.
Barney Watson with RE/MAX On The Lake can be reached at
252-532-3274 or lakegaston1@gmail.com. Website www.barneywatson.com
