Houses for Sale in Emerald Isle, NC

The Real Estate Market is a VERY Hot Thing Right Now

What follows are my impressions of the current real estate market in Emerald Isle. The real estate market in Emerald Isle has had a challenging 16 months since Hurricane Florence arrived in September 2018. The storm left this island a mess. Thousands of homes were damaged.  Contractors and builders were overwhelmed by the number and extent of repairs. This "perfect storm" reduced inventory overnight and has kept inventory very low ever since.  At present we have roughly 140 (+/-) homes for sale in Emerald Isle. To put this in perspective, there was a time not too long ago when we had 97 oceanfront homes for sale in Emerald Isle.

The island is recovering nicely. The foliage is back and better than ever. The beaches are responding well to re-nourishment projects. The backlog of damaged homes is decreasing. It is very likely that inventory will increase in 2020. That is a good thing. A larger inventory generates more buyers, and more buyers generates competition. Mortgage rates remain low/stable. Taken together, these trends suggest a more positive real estate market for both buyers and sellers in 2020.

Some other impressions: for the past year, buyers have been very demanding because they are very frustrated with low inventory. And, sellers are not budging much, if at all, for the same reason. The end result is that buyers  look at other islands. These behaviors would be ameliorated, I think,  with increased inventory. 

Lastly, vacant land has not sold well because builders have been occupied with repair work. That should change, too, as more and more properties are made whole. That will bring more eyeballs to Emerald Isle and more eyeballs are good for everyone.

These comments are supported by more regional and national data, too. Black Friday is behind us and holiday gifts are flying off the shelves in stores and online and finding their place under the Christmas tree. Unlike last year, however, there’s another type of buyer that is very active this winter – the homebuyer.

Each month, ShowingTime releases their Showing Index, which tracks the average number of appointments received on active U.S. house listings. The latest index revealed:

“Traffic was more active once again compared to 2018, as the nation saw its third straight month of higher year-over-year showing activity…The 5.5% increase in showings nationwide was the largest jump in activity during the now three-month streak of year-over-year increases vs. 2018.”

The same report indicates showings increased in every region of the country: Showings increased the most in The South by a whooping 10.8%; Showing in The West were not too far behind, showing an increase of 8.6%; The Northeast increased by 3.8%; The Midwest increased by 1.5%

Why is the traffic more active?

One of the main reasons buyer traffic has increased year-over-year is that mortgage rates have fallen dramatically. According to Freddie Mac, the average mortgage rate last December was 4.64%. Today, the rate is almost a full percentage point lower!

Bottom Line

There are first-time, move-up, and move-down buyers actively looking for the home of their dreams this winter. If you’re thinking of selling your house in 2020, you don’t need to wait until the spring to do it. Your potential buyer may be searching for a home in your neighborhood right now.

When you are ready to get your house ready for market or when you decide to purchase property here in Emerald Isle, please call or text me at 919-308-2292 or send me an email to: DRaczkowski@fathomrealty.com and request a copy of my book on Emerald Isle real estate, "Live Where You Vacation."

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