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Outer Banks Realty Report:
February 2010

The Outer Banks Realty Report is brought to you monthly by Morgan Mason and Jean-Paul Peron of Sun Realty. Morgan and JP focus on the northern beaches of the Outer Banks and hence their commentary will report on current market conditions from Carova NC to Nags Head NC. If you are interested in buying or selling a property in this area, please contact them by clicking on the link attached to their names.

Outer Banks Realty Sales Statistics Analysis

February brings us more statistics without a definitive pattern for Outer Banks realty. On the Northern Beaches we see an increase in housing units sold with a decrease in average price. In contrast to this we have a decrease in number of units sold in the Southern Beaches with an increase in the sale price! Keep in mind that one sale with a sold price out of the norm skews the statistics. This is evident in the 4 Wheel Drive sale comparisons that show no home sales last month but one large sale in February 2009. And one sale is not a true indication of conditions.

Vacant land seems to bring its own pattern with a major increase in lot sales for all the beach plus a large increase in average sale price as well. I wondered how long all those gorgeous lots could stand unwanted and overlooked!

So we continue watching, hoping for a hint of what is to come with the Outer Banks realty market. For the most part our market appears stable now with prices seeming to have stopped declining in most sectors. And we are seeing some price increases in certain pockets of the Outer Banks.

However, distressed properties are still the wild card on the Outer Banks. How many and how much they will continue to affect the average sale price is the real question. Only time will tell us that.

One very bright note is a 17.1% increase in pending sales compared to February 2009. For all of the Outer Banks including Hatteras there are 137 pending sales versus 117 at this time last year. Lets just think about that, shall we.

Until next month, keep the faith! Fortunately, we live in a paradise that will always be in demand and things are looking up!

House Sales Comparison

		Current Year		Last Year		Change
		# Sold	Average Sale Price	# Sold	Average Sale Price	# Sold	Average Sale Price
4 Wheel Drive (1)	January 2010	4	$551,250	0	$0	N/A	N/A
	February 2010	0	$0	1	$1,150,000	-100%	-100%
Northern Beaches (2)	January 2010	24	$584,108	12	$824,658	100%	-29%
	February 2010	21	$631,424	11	$752,004	90%	-16%
Southern Beaches (3)	January 2010	34	$437,085	19	$384,968	79%	14%
	February 2010	21	$406,621	37	$296,578	-43%	37%
Total Northern Outer Banks (4)	January 2010	62	$1,572,443	31	$1,209,626	100%	30%
	February 2010	42	$519,022	49	$416,233	-14%	25%

Notes:
1. The area of Carova Beach and north.
2. The towns of Corolla, Duck, Southern Shores, and Martins Point
3. The towns of Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, and Nags Head.
4. The towns of Nags Head and north to Carova.

Lot Sales Comparison

		Current Year		Last Year		Change
		# Sold	Average Sale Price	# Sold	Average Sale Price	# Sold	Average Sale Price
4 Wheel Drive (1)	January 2010	3	$94,883	2	$172,500	50%	-45%
	February 2010	2	$122,000	1	$165,000	100%	-26%
Northern Beaches (2)	January 2010	2	$512,000	5	$291,800	-60%	75%
	February 2010	4	$422,500	0	$0	N/A	N/A
Southern Beaches (3)	January 2010	0	$0	10	$118,040	-100%	-100%
	February 2010	6	$80,500	20	$125,000	20%	-36%
Total Northern Outer Banks (4)	January 2010	5	$606,883	17	$582,340	-71%	4%
	February 2010	12	$201,416	3	$138,333	30%	46%