Observations of A Newcomer & Much More

I have only seen photos and heard stories about Peak Fest and the number of people it looks amazing!

Starting Friday afternoon, in Downtown Apex, Peak Fest will have music, fun and food for all.

See schedule here!

I feel so lucky to live here! The quality of life is amazing, the really cool things I am able to do with my kids make life so much more fun.

My son and I have been going to the UNC baseball games at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary. Absolutely fantastic. Couple of miles from the house, a great facitility and the Number 3 baseball team in the country!

Here is the schedule for the remaining games, it is a must at least once this spring.

Wake County February Sales Report

February home sales in Wake County were up 205 from January to 1053 and homes under contract remained steady at just over 1200.

Although down slightly from February of 2007 these number look great and there is a lot of data to show this spring and summer should be fantastic form home buyers and sellers.

1. The “under contract” homes have exceeded the closed units; by 400 in January and 200 in February showing good month to month growth, statically there are 1600 homes still under contract at this time in Wake County.
2. Interest Rates are fantastic, this morning Wells Fargo was publishing a 5.75% 30 year fixed rate mortgage.
3. Sales in the North East were up 11% last month, this should spur demand in our area as many buyers are waiting to sell their homes “back there” to buy locally
4. Prices are holding very steady. Average sales price county wide last year was $260,000 in February and it was $261,000 in February of 2008.
5. A lot of builders are “blowing out” inventory at very low prices, this may create a short term inconvenience for sellers in newer subdivisions, but this will in no way be a long term problem. It is a great opportunity for buyers. This will cause inventory to shrink as demand should fundamentally increase.

The bottom line is sellers need to be aware of the competitive environment that 8.2 months of inventory will bring to prices, buyers act now as summer will bring higher prices (it does every year) and homeowners and buyers need to be aware of the amazing opportunities that a sub 6% 30 year mortgage offers to affordability, and 15 loans in the low 5% range do for their financial future.

Want to watch prices in your neighborhood? Or keep an eye on what is going on in the market?

Check out Real Livings MLS search and sign up for a MyRealLiving account, the coolest tool in real estate.

Brownstones on the Green

Nine new Brownstones are under construction on the Green at Scottsmill. These will be outstanding units with Elevator Options, up to four floors of living space with media rooms, large bedrooms (three and four bedroom plans), and great finishes.

Some of these units face the Green and will offer a great view from the second floor.

These units were designed to give the Urban Brownstone feel inside and out and start at $290,000 (last update).

For an information package hit leave a comment and leave your email address. I promise I will not make your email public! Or Call 919.290.2590 OR stop in either of the Real Living Partners office in Apex, downtown next to the Rusty Bucket or in Townside above Booda Beans in Scottsmill. You have to love options!

The January 2008 home sales for Wake County came out this morning, and there are some mixed messages. Sales for January 2008 were down 30% compared to January of 2007 (812 to 1240) but average price was up from $242,000 to $259,000 and average price per sq ft was up from $118 to $124.

In my opinion the reason for the decrease in sales is a symptom of the markets across the country, not the flu in Wake County. What I mean is IF people could sell there homes elsewhere they would purchase here. We are seeing a great deal of pent-up demand in the market, and as markets across the country (especially the northeast and Midwest) recover our market will explode. What we have in Wake County is the desire to buy, and that is not very prevalent in other parts of the country.

Homes under contract on 01/31/08 but not closed: 1179 only 94 less than closed in February of 2007. With the activity in the market the last 30 days I am sure that February closings will be on par or exceed the number from last year.

We are seeing a great market right now due to the recent interest rate cuts. With rates down 20% from this time last year, homes are more affordable in Wake County in spring of 2008 than they were in spring of 2007.

Months of inventory based on January closings is 10 months, based on pendings is 6.1, I prefer to look vs. pendings. With many builders slowing down production of spec homes first quarter of 2008 we should see this number decrease.