Raleigh Residential Real Estate Blog | Raleigh Residential Real Estate Information, Listings and homes for sale in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill North Carolina Region.
Raleigh Residential Real Estate – Debate on Knightdale Growth – What some Knightdale Home Owners are doing.
One of the things the Poling Team likes to do in our Raleigh Residential Real Estate blog is keep readers informed about issues involving growth in the local real estate market. Today’s blog will focus briefly on Knightdale, NC.
With all the new Growth and Development in Knightdale, some growing pains surfaced with the decision of the Knightdale Town Board to rezone a site off of Highway 64 for a new Super Wal-Mart this past year. This week the issue went to the North Carolina Court of Appeals.
Local residents went to court to block the building of the new Wal-Mart so close to the Timber Ridge and Widewater Village subdivisions.
“The suit claims the town did not properly notify residents about the rezoning and that one of the council members who voted in favor of the project had a conflict of interest.”
The suit was denied by a Superior Court Judge last spring.
“Thursday, a panel of three, Judges John Tyson, Barbara Jackson, and John Arrowood, heard the case without oral argument. They were scheduled to look over briefs and documents submitted by both sides of the case.
A decision is expected to come down in about 90 days.”
Read the full article about the current status of the lawsuit at: Judges To Decide Knightdale Wal-Mart’s Fate
It is not unusual for the proposal of a new Wal-Mart to cause controversy. There is a national push to stop Wal-Mart and it often brings high emotions to the issue of grow and development. One internet website dedicated to stopping Wal-Mart is http://walmartwatch.com/
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Raleigh Residential Real Estate – An interesting Raleigh Real Estate Market Indicator – The Consumer Confidence Index
One of indicators that those who are involved in investing in the stock market, the buying and selling of real estate or other kinds of investments is the Consumer Confidence Index. The Consumer Confidence Survey that determines the index is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. This index is not based upon any kind of reality or scientific measurement of how the economy is actually performing; rather it is based upon the opinions of a random group of 5000 people.
If you read the reports the index has been declining since the summer, but consumers have not lost their holiday spirit and anticipate spending more on gifts this season than they did last Christmas. So despite how they feel about the direction of the economy, at least those surveyed are going to do the opposite. They are going to spend more.
Another facet of the survey covered what consumers are thinking about future jobs. “The outlook for the labor market was also more pessimistic. The percent of consumers expecting more jobs in the months ahead fell to 10.8 percent from 13.3 percent, while those anticipating fewer jobs rose to 23.1 percent from 20.2 percent.”
Again, this is based upon the feelings of these 5,000 people who were surveyed. It is not based upon any scientific evidence. The recent job numbers came in better than anticipated and last months figures were adjusted upward.
So one of the indicators that is used to help in day-to-day decision-making and long-term planning in based upon how 5,000 people feel about things. And those feelings are quite fickle and as we have seen their actions are inconsistent with their thinking.
You can read the November 27 Press Release here: The Consumer Confidence Press Release
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Raleigh Residential Real Estate – There is some good news for the Raleigh, NC real estate market. Good news for Raleigh, NC home buyers and sellers. Mortgage Volume Escalates After Thanksgiving
I am always amazed at the amount of negative news that is out there on almost every topic. As we have seen over the last months real estate has been talked down by just about everyone. Home selling stats are used to generate uncertainty and that uncertainty generates fear and fear affects what is bought and sold.
I do not mean to downplay the effect of the national downturn in real estate, but some in the news media jump on every statistic and then spin the worst case scenario. Today, I am happy to report positive news regarding real estate.
Today, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released the results of its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending November 30, 2007 and the mortgage volume soared after Thanksgiving. There had been an error in reporting due to Thanksgiving shortened week and the numbers had to be revised.
Read the full article: Weekly Mortgage Application Survey
Most of this increase appears to have been a result of refinancing as a result of lower interest rates. However, this still is good news for home sellers and home buyers. Lower interest rates are a good thing for real estate sales.
Visit our website and see our new home search tool or try in out by clicking here: Best Home Pro Search
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Raleigh Residential Real Estate Good news for existing Raleigh, NC Home Owners! Mayor Meeker said on Thursday of this week that he plans to move forward with higher impact fees on builders and developers of new housing in the city of Raleigh.
While it may not be a “politically correct” thing for a realtor® to support development fees, I do believe the mayor and several of the newly elected City Council members have it right. New construction should pay its fair share of the impact it will have on roads, parks, water and sewer facilities and other infrastructure. And Raleigh’s impact fees are too low.
The Poling Team was opposed to the recent actions of the General Assembly which gave the counties the right to ask voters to add a home tax as a part of the budget approval process this year. Read our Nov. 6 blog on this topic: Home Tax
This tax is in addition to the yearly property taxes. It is paid by the seller every time a home is sold. It hurts our state’s existing homeowners by arbitrarily singling them out to pay for more than their share. Fortunately, the issue was rejected by all 16 counties where it was put on the ballot.
Opponents have said that this will slow growth in the Raleigh, NC housing market which is feeling the effect the housing market slowdown and the recent mortgage industry problems. I am not favoring slowing our growth, but I believe it should be done with proper attention to the cities ability to pay for and to support the growth.
While it is true that everyone can benefit from growth, I do not believe the numbers have been equitable in Raleigh for some time. Developers and new home builders should pay more
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Raleigh Residential Real Estate Thinking of selling your Apex, Cary, Knightdale, or any other Raleigh area home? Concerned about listing during the holidays? There are 11 reasons why you should put your home on the market now.
Thinking of selling your Apex, Cary, Knightdale, Raleigh or Wake Forest home? Concerned about listing during the holidays? The Poling Team has 11 reasons why you should put your home on the market now. In yesterday’s blog I covered No. 11 through no. 6 and today I will finish with the top 5 reasons.
No. 5 Buyers are more emotional during the Holidays, so they are more likely to pay your price.
No. 4 Houses show better when decorated for the Holidays.
No. 3 Since the supply of listings will increase in January; there will be less demand for your particular home. Less demand means less money for you.
No. 2 Serious buyers have fewer houses to choose from during the Holidays and less competition means more money for you!
And the Number One Reason Sellers Should List During the Holidays…
No. 1 People who look for homes during the holidays are serious buyers!
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Raleigh Residential Real Estate Thinking of selling your Apex, Cary, Knightdale, or any other Raleigh area home? Concerned about listing during the holidays? There are 11 reasons why you should put your home on the market now.
Thinking of selling your Apex, Cary, Knightdale, Raleigh or Wake Forest home? Concerned about listing during the holidays? The Poling Team has 11 reasons why you should put your home on the market now.
No. 11 – By selling now, you may be able to be a non-contingent buyer in the spring.
No. 10 – You can sell now for more money now and we can arrange for delayed closing or extended occupancy until early next year.
No. 9 – Even though your house will be on the market, you still have the option to restrict showings for the six or seven days around the Holidays.
No. 8 – January is traditionally the month for employees to begin new jobs. Since transferees cannot wait until the spring to buy, you need to have your home listed during the holidays in order to capture that market!
No. 7 – Some people must buy before the end of the year for tax reasons.
No. 6 – Buyers have more time to look for a home during the holidays than during the regular work week.
In, tomorrow’s blog I will have the top 5 reasons for listing your home during the holidays.
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Raleigh Residential Real Estate – Bill stalled in the Senate may help the Raleigh Housing Market
There is a bill moving through Congress that will help the ailing mortgage industry and the housing market – including the Raleigh, NC housing market. It will also correct predatory lending practices that help cause the subprime mortgage meltdown that occurred this past summer.
The House of Representatives passed H.R. 3915, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007, on Nov. 15 in an effort to address the turbulence in the mortgage market.
Under the new law, lenders would require borrowers to have a reasonable ability to pay back a loan, bring mortgage brokers under a nationwide licensing registry, expand some limits on high-cost mortgages and establish some legal liability standards for the mortgage industry.
The bill, which seeks to curb abusive mortgage lending practices, would require lenders to make sure borrowers have a reasonable ability to pay back a loan, bring mortgage brokers under a nationwide licensing registry, expand some limits on high-cost mortgages and establish some legal liability standards.
The bill would also establish federal standards for appraisers and require certain borrowers to open escrow accounts along with their mortgages to protect against unexpected taxes and insurance premiums.
The bill has not passed the Senate
I believe the bill or some form of it is a good idea. If you would like to support the passage of the bill, I recommend you read the bill for yourself before contacting your Senator.
You can read the proposed bill at FHA Modernization Act of 2007
If you need to know how to contact your Senator, click here: Senators of the 110th Congress
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A Quarterly Comparison of New Construction Closed Home Sales in Each of the Four Main Counties in Raleigh, NC Market Area
The third quarter sales report for New Home Construction from the Triangle Multiple Listing Service (TMLS) has recently become available.
It is important to note that data on closed new home sales are based upon subdivisions in the Triangle market and includes only new home housing listed in Triangle Multiple Listing Service (TMLS). In addition, not all subdivisions or builders list their homes (or all their homes) in the TMLS so these numbers should just serve as an indicator.
Supply
At the end of the 3rd quarter there were 4,918 new home listings which was an increase of 20% compared to 2006 new home inventory levels. The average list price of a new home is currently $381,500. This is a 7% increase from the average list price in 10/06.
Sales
The first three quarters of 2007 showed a 6.9% decrease in sales of new homes in the four county markets. However, sales for all four counties were 1.2% above 2005 levels.
Durham County showed a 4.1% increase in sales for this time period, while the other three counties declined.
There were 6,481 closed sales of new homes in the four county markets during the first nine months. This is a decrease of 6% compared to the 6,960 closed sales during the first nine months of 2006.
Current Supply
The current supply of new homes within the four main counties is 7 months. The current supply at the end of September, 2006 was 5 months.
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A Comparison of New Construction Closed Sales in Each of the Four Main Counties in the Raleigh, NC Market Area
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| Area/Time Period |
Jan-Sept 2005
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Jan-Sept 2006
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Jan-Sept 2007
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% Change 06-07
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% Change 05-07
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| Wake County |
4,624
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4,897
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4,526
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-7.6%
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-2.1%
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| Durham County |
582
|
675
|
703
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4.1%
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20.8%
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| Orange County |
288
|
296
|
205
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-30.7%
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-28.8%
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| Johnson County |
908
|
1,092
|
1,047
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-4.1%
|
15.3%
|
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Totals
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6,402
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6,960
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6,481
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-6.9%
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1.2%
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All information in this report is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed.
The Poling Team – Keller Williams Realty
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Raleigh Residential Real Estate –
Hot Real Estate Topic Affecting Raleigh Area Home Owners – New Home Revaluation Letters on the way.
Monday of this week updated tax values were placed on-line on the Wake County Register of Deeds website. Mailings went out to 312,000 property owners and Wake Count Officials expect about 10% of the property values will be appealed.
In North Carolina, property values are re-evaluated every 8 years, but the tax rate can be adjusted every year. The last revaluation was done in 2000 and under the new revaluation; home values will increase an average of 43%.
Durham County also sent out letters with the new property values to 97,000 property owners and so far about 400 people have made appointments for an informal review according to the News and Observer.
The Poling Team’s home in Knightdale, NC was valued at $198,529. The letter we received this week says that our Knightdale home is now valued at $258,981. That’s a 30.5% increase. It’s amazing how much difference a day makes.
You can read the full News and Observer article here: Wake Property Value Notices Go Out
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Raleigh Residential Real Estate – Just Listed in Raleigh, NC – Best Home Buy in Riverside Subdivision!
At just $249,900, this 2573 square foot home offers great value in an ultra convenient location. Just minutes from I-540, this home is easily accessible to just about everything.
You can also access me and more information about the home on our website: www.PolingTeam.com.
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