Denis Raczkowski here, agent for Crystal Coast Realty Group. Everyone’s complaining about interest rates, homes not selling and saying how today’s market is nothing like two years ago. Hey, unless we have another pandemic and 0% interest rates, nothing will be like two years ago, again, Experience tells me that regardless of market conditions, a truckload of deals is happening every day in real estate. So, it is March and this is a quick video about what is happening in the beachfront and sound front real estate markets along the Crystal Coast of Carteret County, North Carolina as we get ready for the spring market. The spring market is the best time to be selling a home, here on Bogue Banks for multiple reasons. For starters, the supply of ready, willing and able buyers is highest in spring. Second, buyers typically get their income tax refunds during the spring, money that can be put towards the down payment of a home. Third, more daylight into the evening makes buyers want to go out and see more houses. Fourth, landscaping and curb appeal, what with newly sodded lawns and colorful flowering plants, is better than in the fall and winter months. Fifth, the weather remains cool into May here along the Crystal Coast and sixth, the vacationing hordes don’t start arriving until Memorial Day.
There are a lot of numbers in local real estate markets and the coastal real estate market on Bogue Banks and the adjacent mainland is no exception. If you are not careful, you’ll find yourself in the weeds wondering whether to buy or sell. So, I whittled all those numbers down to three, three numbers that you absolutely need to know. The numbers are Price Trend, Average Days on the Market, and List-to-Sale ratio. Together, these numbers give you clarity on the health of the real estate market: how many homes are selling, how fast and is there still a strong demand. Before I review these three numbers with you, please subscribe to my video channel now, or at the end of this episode.
Ok, let’s look at the numbers. Starting with price trends, the numbers for the 1st quarter of 2023 for residential homes on Bogue Banks and Carteret County are rather mixed. For example, on Bogue Banks there are four major communities, Emerald Isle, Indian Beach, Pine Knoll Shores and Atlantic Beach. Of these, the ONLY community with a positive price trend is in Pine Knoll Shores. On the mainland, where we have the towns of Morehead City, Beaufort, Swansboro and Jacksonville, to name a few, the upward pricing trend in Swansboro really stands out.
Turning to my second key number, Average Days on the Market or DOM, the DOM in the Bogue Banks beachfront communities of Emerald Isle and Indian Beach are about half that of the beachfront communities of Pine Knoll Shores and Atlantic Beach on the eastern half of Bogue Banks. On the mainland, the DOM of every community is lower than the communities on Bogue Banks. Of special note is the town of Swansboro where homes are moving very quickly with a DOM of 24.
My third key number you as a buyer or seller needs to pay attention to is the List-to-Sale ratio. When that number is over 100%, like it is in Pine Knoll Shores, a beachfront community on Bogue Banks, there is more demand than supply. Indeed, the list to sale ratio in Pine Knoll Shores is higher than any other town or community in the entire Crystal Coast real estate market, which spans Carteret and Onslow counties. When the ratios are between 90 and 100%, the market is in really good shape for sellers. When the list-to-sale ratio goes below 90% the market favors buyers and this is the case in most of the communities in this coastal real estate market with the exceptions of Jacksonville and Swansboro where the ratios remain relatively high. Ratios below 90% doesn’t mean hopes are not selling. They are selling every day. It just means sellers will have to look at alternative strategies.
So, what can buyers and sellers learn from these numbers? Well, as a real estate agent, two conclusions really stand out. First, among the beachfront communities on Bogue Banks, home prices in Pine Knoll Shores are still very strong despite a lengthy time on market. If you were my seller client in PKS, I would recommend first that you get your home listed ASAP to beat the spring market. Second, I would be patient. Third, expect to have a great offer by early summer. On the mainland, the Swansboro market really sticks out for sellers. Houses are moving quickly AND prices are staying steady as well.
For my buyer clients, home prices and list to sale ratios are trending lower across most of Carteret and Onslow counties, the beachfront communities on Bogue Banks and the popular coastal waterfront towns of Beaufort and Morehead City. With DOM generally above 50-60 days everywhere with few exceptions, notably Swansboro, buyers have the leverage to bid down sellers from their asking prices.
If I didn’t mention a town or community that you are interested in, say DownEast or New Bern, for example, drop a comment and I’ll do this analysis for you for free. If you have a friend who’s been thinking about a home purchase in coastal Carolina, be sure to tag them in the comments. They NEED to see these numbers. Even if they don’t use me, they still need to see these numbers. Finally, if you’ve been thinking about selling yourself, wondering if now is the right time, what you need is to know what your home would go for today. I do a free, 50 point CMA, just like a professional appraiser but that would cost you $800. I’ll do this for free, no strings attached and the report will show you EXACTLY what you would gross if you were to sell your house right now or in the next 6 months. Click the link in the comments to request your 50-point CMA TODAY. To learn more about real estate trends on Bogue Banks and the adjacent mainland waterfront communities, sign up for my blog on my website, www.EIHomesforSale.com, and subscribe to Emerald Isle Vacation Home Specialist on YouTube.
It won't be long before North Carolina is the new Florida.