Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Monday, April 8, 2013
Lake Gaston Real Estate End of March Update
Lake Gaston Real Estate Update - End of March 2013
The
first Quarter of 2013 is in the history books. The spring season brings us much
sunshine, blooming flowers and wildlife that is more active. Boats start
venturing out. I am always excited to
hear the early morning bass anglers run up and down the lake. We love all the spring season brings us. Spring
also brings tourist to our area. Lake Gaston is not only a great place to live
but it is a favorite trip destination. Whether staying a day or weeks, we
appreciate every tourist who comes our way. Each dollar they spend in our area
helps fuel the local economy.
Commercial
growth is happening around the lake. Now open is Wakeboard Willie’s ice cream
shop (in the old Chamber building on the corner, near Food Lion). Dollar
General has two new stores in our area, one in Bracey VA and the other in
Gasburg VA. Family Dollar has announced
a new store opening soon for the lake area.
A
good number of Lake Gaston visitors will want to look at properties for sale
while they are here. Local REALTORS® are
eager to show them beautiful homes for sale, tell them the history of Lake
Gaston and all our area can offer them.
This
year we continue to see a slight increase in potential buyer activity. We have closed 57 properties in Q1 of 2013,
which consist of 29 waterfront homes, 11 offshore homes, 6 waterfront lots and
11 offshore parcels totaling $15,109,270.
The first quarter of 2012, we closed 46 properties totaling $12,732,600.
The
National Association of REALTORS (NAR) just released their 2013 Investment and
Vacation Home Buyers Survey covering existing and new-home transactions in
2012. They report vacation home sales
rose 10.1% over 2011 levels. The survey
also shows investment homes sales declined 2.1% over 2011 numbers. Vacation homes sales accounted for 11% of all
real estate transactions according to NAR.
Favorable
conditions such as the housing recovery overall and the strong stock market
recovery, both help people in their prime ages afford vacation homes. The survey states seventy-eight percent of
all second-home buyers say it is a good time to buy compared with sixty-eight
percent of primary home buyers. The typical
vacation home buyer was 47 years old with a median household income of $92,100
and bought a vacation home that was a median distance of 435 miles from their
primary home. The survey says 34% of
vacation home buyers purchase a vacation home within 100 miles from their
primary home.
Lifestyle
factors remain the primary motivation for vacation home buyers. Buyers listed many reasons for buying a
vacation home, the top reasons were to use as a family retreat followed by
using property for a second home now with anticipation of retirement.
Recent
article in REALTOR® magazine stressed the importance of not getting caught up
in the national numbers. Real estate is
a local business as are the market statistics.
We continue to be in a buyer’s market that simply means the buyers have
many properties in any given price range to choose from. It is important in today’s real estate market
to make sure your home is priced correctly the first time and in great
condition. Always consult a full-time
REALTOR® whom will share current market facts in writing to help you in the
home selling process.
Barney Watson
with RE/MAX On The Lake can be reached at (cell) 252-532-3274 or (web)
www.barneywatson.com
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Lake Gaston Real Estate Update End of Feb 2013
Lake
Gaston real estate update: The potential buyer activity has
increased slightly despite the winter weather we have experienced thus far. We’ve
survived the Winter and now we are shouting – Spring is almost here! We hope it will usher in an increase of
buyers in search of property on Lake Gaston.
In February, we had 17
properties in the Lake Gaston area make it to the closing table totaling $5,128,480. This included 9 waterfront homes, 1 offshore
home, 1 waterfront lot and 6 off-shores parcels. One of the waterfront homes closed at
$1,640,000. In February of 2012, we had
12 properties close for $2,875,225. In
the first two months of 2013 there have been 33 properties sold totaling
$10,190,130 compared to 24 in the same period of 2012 totaling $6,192,225. This represents an increase of 37.5% in unit
sales and an increase of $64.6% in dollar sales.
A few people have asked
where I get these numbers. The figures
come from our Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The numbers represent properties
sold, in all four quads of Lake Gaston, by all firms and all agents. The numbers are property specific, not firm
or agent specific. For example, if a
Lake Gaston real estate firm sells a property in Warrenton or Littleton, these
numbers are not included. Also excluded are private sales by individuals.
The National Association of
REALTORS® reported Existing Home Sales declined 1.0% in December but
edged up in January by 0.4%. NAR also
reported Pending Home Sale Index fell 4.3% in December and increased 4.5% in
January. Always remember that these are
National numbers and real estate sales are very local. The good news housing is recovering, the
recovery will be slow and we hope steady.
When you are serious about
selling your property Spring is always the perfect season to list it. Your
property should be in good condition and priced correctly from the start. Consult
your full-time REALTOR® for current market information.
Once your house is on the
market, we hope you get an offer from a potential buyer. The first price
negotiation may occur at this point. The second negotiation might take place
after the buyer completes a home inspection. Often buyers make the sale
contingent on a satisfactory inspection. If the home inspector finds issues,
the buyer will ask you, the seller to make the necessary repairs. I always
recommend having a home inspection before you place your house on the market.
Always use a qualified, licensed home inspector. The inspectors in the Lake
area normally charge between $250 and $400 depending on the size of the
home. This way you will know any issues
that exist and can correct these issues before you negotiate the sales price with
the buyer. This also gives the buyer a
little “peace of mind”. If your home has a basement I also recommend having a
radon test. If the radon test shows
radon levels are above 4.0 pci it is your responsibility to remediate to
correct the problem. The test should
cost in the $100 range and mitigation system will be in the $1,500 range.
I
feel it is to the seller’s advantage to have the home inspection and radon test
done before listing the property. Plus, a buyer may be encouraged to make an
offer when they know the seller has already addressed any issues.
Barney is a REMAX On The Lake REALTOR - you can reach him at 252-532-3274 or www.barneywatson.com
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Lake Gaston Real Estate Update End of Jan 2013
by: Lake Gaston Real Estate Specialist Barney Watson (Broker/Realtor with Re/Max On The Lake)
If you are thinking about
selling your Lake Gaston property this year, then now is the time to begin. I
recommend interviewing several full-time local REALTORS® to
start. A good working relationship, one
with an open line of communication, between the REALTOR® and
client is important. All Lake Gaston agents
have access to the current market statistics, which your agent should discuss
with you. Ask for a written copy of these statistics. It should reflect what the agent told you.
With your own copy, you can review the data at your leisure. Ask for comparable
properties that have sold in the last 6 to 8 months. Sales before this period
do not reflect the current market.
Always remember the market changes throughout the year. You may need to adjust
your asking price during the listing period. Once you receive an offer on your property,
the lender will order an appraisal for the new buyer. The offer will fall
through if the property does not appraise for the contract price. Your property
will go back on the market if this happens. Remember buyers do not look at
overpriced properties and experienced REALTORS® are
reluctant to show overpriced listings.
There is no doubt the real
estate market is on the road to recovery.
Nevertheless, the improvement in the housing market has not treated all
home sellers equally. Some well-priced
properties in good condition are going under contract within weeks while others
are taking longer. Please keep in mind
the housing market is coming out of the worst recession since the Great
Depression. This is never far from most buyers’
minds. However, plenty agree this is a
great time to buy correctly priced real estate.
Sellers often comment, “We
can always come down on our price after we receive an offer.” I have heard this a thousand times. Buyers
will not waste their time making an offer on an overpriced property. Overpriced property sends a signal to the
buyer the seller is unrealistic. Most
experienced agents will not waste their client’s time to look at overpriced
listings.
Remember, the market decides
the selling price of a property – neither the seller nor the REALTOR®. Again,
make sure you and your agent discuss current written market statistics before deciding
on a listing price.
Lack of showings will point
to an overpriced property. Most buyers will view showings several times before
making an offer. Let your real estate
agent know you want feedback from all showings, the good and the not so
good. This information is valuable and
may help you in adjusting the asking price.
In January we closed 16
properties for a total of $5,061,650 as compared to 11 properties in January
2012 totaling $3,127,000. We are seeing
an increase in potential buyer activity.
If you are thinking of
selling your Lake Gaston property, now is a good time to get started with the
process of choosing the right REALTOR®.
Listen to Barney's Video about the real estate market for the Lake Gaston NC & VA area.
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