In North Carolina, the month of March is almost considered an official holiday for many basketball fans. Henry V. Porter said it best “A little March madness may complement and contribute to sanity and help keep society on an even keel.” If only something as simple as watching basketball could be the panacea for the Coronavirus epidemic, the stock market crumbling, and the endless political drama, many of us would be ok. It’s still very early in the year, but 2020 has already been one for the books.

In the last newsletter, we mentioned Dare County will be sending out new property valuations, and at the end of February, most of you should have received that letter. It appears a good number of the properties have increased in value, which should have been expected, since the last countywide assessment was in 2013. The increase in value is beneficial for those planning on selling in the near future, and though your taxes might go up a little bit, keep in mind that North Carolina’s property taxes are on the lower end compared to the rest of the country. If you feel your property has been assessed unreasonably and wish to appeal, go to the Dare County website at https://www.darenc.com/departments/tax-department/appraisal.

You might recall from last year, a local Duck homeowner was charged with trespassing at the Sea Breeze access in the Sand Dollar Shores subdivision while trying to get to the beach on a skateboard. He argued the owners’ association did not have the right to take control of what was deeded to the public by the town in the early ’80s, and the access could not be considered private. In late February, the judge ruled in favor of the local homeowner and determined that the walkway and the access is, in fact, public. This was a surprise to many Sand Dollar Shores owners, and as expected, the owners’ association filed an appeal on the decision in early March. The ongoing issues of this case will potentially last several years; however, we do hope the town and the owners can come to an agreement at some point.

In real estate news, our local market does not indicate any signs of a slowdown. In fact, the OBX Homes Team is on pace to record one of their highest number of home sales in many years! With the interest-rate cut at the beginning of the month, more buyers will benefit from one of the lowest mortgage rates in 50 years. We believe this alone may entice some potential home buyers to pull the trigger instead of waiting until the economy recovers from the recent decline. In addition to those prospects, many stockholders may change their minds about the volatile market and choose to buy a more tangible asset such as a rental property or second home. The number of under-contract listings from February is a strong indicator of the market’s continuing at a record-breaking pace. It is too soon to say we will not have a negative impact from the issues mentioned above; however, if nothing changes the Outer Banks will have another banner year for real estate.
Just a friendly reminder to all property owners with homes in the Twiddy Rental program that Homeowner Day will be at Duck Woods Country Club on Saturday, April 11th, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.

We’ve included the OBAR statistics for February for your review. If you would like a more tailored report with specific figures for your neighborhood, please let us know.

If you’ve been thinking about selling, we are happy to assist you with a free market analysis of your property. If you or anyone you know is interested in buying a property, we would love to help find the perfect home on the Outer Banks.

The OBX Homes Team is making an effort to help the environment and decrease our paper output. If you’d like to help in reducing our paper use, please send us a current email so we can add you to our paperless mailing list. We will send you an email each month with a copy of our updated owner note and statistics report. We appreciate your effort to help with this and thank you. We will continue with owner mailings to those who wish to receive them by mail.

Please don’t hesitate to call or email us if you have any questions or should you need anything at all.

The OBX Homes Team

We hope everyone has settled back into their normal routine after the busyness of the holiday season!   The weather for the last few weeks has been interesting, to say the least. One day it’s sunny and 70, and then the next day you’re wondering if the rain and wind will ever stop?   The only way to describe winter weather along the beach is “unpredictable.” Needless to say, we hope the groundhog was accurate in early February with his “early spring” prediction, and everyone can enjoy a milder weather pattern for months to come!

Despite sounding like a broken record, Dare County has released the new date of the effective flood maps for June 19.  The locals and town administrators have been in discussion about prolonging the release of these maps because there has been a lot of debate about the accuracy of them.  Many properties that had a previous history of flooding were removed from the “high risk” zones. If the property is not in a flood zone, lenders do not require flood insurance, which can lead to another new issue if a storm or crazy rain pattern does take place.  Some advocates for the new maps wanted to implement an overall elevation standard for new construction or any remodels. If your property has been moved to the low-risk flood zone, we highly recommend talking with your local insurance agent to discuss options. If you’re not sure if your home will be impacted by the new flood zones, please feel free to contact us, and we would be more than happy to help you.

Another huge topic we dare to bring up is the Mid-Currituck Bridge.  YES, you read that right! In January, a meeting took place in Duck to discuss the possible addition of the widely anticipated bridge.  The bridge would provide a second route to and from the northern beaches, providing substantial relief from the weekend traffic, in addition to offering a solution to expedite those who leave during mandatory evacuations.  Of course, there is a long uphill battle with this, and no dates of construction have been mentioned, but this might be one of the first things that has the undeniable support of most locals and tourists in a long time. If you have more questions please visit the following website for current updates at https://www.ncdot.gov/projects/mid-currituck-bridge/Pages/default.aspx

In real estate news, the local market hit the ground running in 2020!  The OBX Homes Team has been busy all of January showing homes, answering inquiries about properties,  and negotiating offers on listings. The same pace has continued into February, and we don’t see any sign of it slowing down soon. Typically during a presidential election year, the market tends to stall a little bit.  Most buyers will adopt a “wait and see” concept, but this year does not exhibit this trend.. We hope this remains true for the rest of 2020. It is noteworthy to point out the uptick in the luxury homes sector. In just one week our local MLS had three listings over the 3 million dollar range go under contract.  According to the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS* the number of properties that went under contract in January of 2020 was up almost 20% from the previous January, and the increase of under contract listings since December 2019 was up 17%!! This past month showed a record-breaking month for January sales since 2013 when OBAR started keeping records of when properties go under contract.

We’ve included the OBAR statistics for January* for your review. If you would like a more tailored report with specific figures for your neighborhood, please let us know.

If you’ve been thinking about selling, we are happy to assist you with a free market analysis of your property.  If you or anyone you know is interested in buying a property, we would love to help find the perfect home on the Outer Banks.

The OBX Homes Team is making an effort to help the environment and decrease our paper output. If you’d like to help in reducing our paper use, please send us a current email so we can add you to our paperless mailing list. We will send you an email each month with a copy of our updated owner note and statistics report.  We appreciate your effort to help with this and thank you. We will continue with owner mailings to those who wish to receive them by mail.

Please don’t hesitate to call or email us if you have any questions or should you need anything at all.

The OBX Homes Team

Happy 2020 everyone!! The OBX Homes Team finished 2019 with over 27 million in sales, the top producers at Twiddy & Company, in the top 5 agents on the OBX overall, and number one in residential Corolla sales!* What an awesome and fun-filled year we had! We want to give special thanks to you, our wonderful clients, for making it such a fantastic year.

Due to the storage needed with all our electronic files/documents now, we will be switching servers/emails for 2020 so we can better serve you! Our new emails will be [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected] BUT even better…just email us at [email protected], and you’ll always get the quickest response, as all three of us will monitor that address. We will still be using Twiddy emails for as long as it takes for the transition to be complete.

We are happy to announce that the OBX Homes Team will be donating a portion of all 2020 sales commissions to the Outer Banks SPCA. In 2019, Heather, Ashley, and Mandi all welcomed fur babies into their homes! We are so grateful to the organizations and people who helped care for them and find their furever homes with us, so we’d really like to give back to our local animal welfare/rescues. We’ll be adding information on our website and emails that allows you to find out about the programs the SPCA offers such as taking a shelter dog for a walk, volunteering time, donating items, and even fostering a pet while you’re here in town.

We have a favor to ask of you. If you haven’t already, we would LOVE your reviews on Zillow and Realtor.com. It’s amazing how many new clients are finding us on these sites, and your reviews help tremendously.  You can visit each site and pull up Heather’s profile (search agents) to add a client review/rating. Thank you again to those of you who have written reviews for us! We truly appreciate it.

The December 2019 Statistics as well as the 2019 Year End Statistics are included, but please let us know if you’d like more specific sales information for your neighborhood.

If you’ve been thinking of selling, are looking to purchase, or have friends/family interested, please don’t hesitate to reach out, as we can send a free market analysis for your property and also add prospective buyers to the auto-email notifications for specific types of properties here at the beach.

Thank you again for your loyalty and business over the years. We are so grateful and are looking forward to a wonderful 2020 ahead! As always, please do stop in to say hello if you’re here in Duck. Cheers!

The OBX Homes Team

Heather, Ashley, and Mandi

*Based on information from the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® MLS for the period January 1 through December 31, 2019.

We hope everyone is enjoying their fall! Things have calmed down quite a bit since last month’s scare with Dorian. As of the beginning of October, schools in Ocracoke have opened back up, demonstrating how hard people will work to get back to their daily routines and show their true grit during tough times. We are grateful to live in a strong community that shows such a strong will to go above and beyond the measures of being a great neighbor. We thank all of the restaurants, local businesses, and all members of the area who quickly offered to help with donating their time, money, and their hands to help those affected by Dorian. If you didn’t have a chance and wanted to donate there are still ways to offer help. Please feel free to email or call The OBX Homes Team to find out how, and we will be glad to guide you in the right direction.

For many “Outer Bankers,” fall is the perfect time to take advantage of the weather and the after-season charm from the busy summer season. Local events such as the Duck Jazz Festival, The Parade of Homes, The Outer Banks Seafood Festival, and the entertaining BrewTag offers great opportunities to invite potential buyers/investors to the area to seal the deal before the winter and holiday season. Some of these events will be donating part of their proceeds to victims of Hurricane Dorian. What more incentive could anyone need to come enjoy a fun-filled day or weekend and help a good charitable cause?

In real estate news, the Fed cut interest rates last month, which could cause concern for the future of the economy and the confidence some might have about their own personal finances. This may impact other real estate markets unfavorably, but we often remind our clients that our area is unique, and often times we see positive returns in some unsettling news about the economy. For example, some investors might turn to real estate instead of the stock market to decrease their risks. Savvy buyers will take advantage of the lower rates and use that as a tool to increase their maximum price point. At the same time, sellers who are competing with more inventory this year could potentially notice an uptick in buyers requesting to see and offer on their property, as the rate cut makes properties more affordable. The OBX Homes Team has not noticed any red flags for concern, judging by the number of clients and other agents requesting to show properties.

We’ve included the OBAR statistics for September* for your review. If you would like a more tailored report with specific figures for your neighborhood, please let us know.

If you’ve been thinking about selling, we are happy to assist you with a free market analysis of your property. If you or anyone you know is interested in buying a property, we would love to help find the perfect home on the Outer Banks.

The OBX Homes Team is making an effort to help the environment and decrease our paper output. If you’d like to help in reducing our paper use, please send us a current email so we can add you to our paperless mailing list. We will send you an email each month with a copy of our updated owner note and statistics report. We appreciate your effort to help with this and thank you. We will continue with owner mailings to those who wish to receive them by mail.

Please don’t hesitate to call or email us if you have any questions or should you need anything at all.

The OBX Homes Team

Is it fall yet? September is considered by many as a reward for enduring the heat and crowds of the summer months. The pleasant weather and less traffic in the fall are two of the main reasons why many locals choose to live on the Outer Banks year-round. Unfortunately, the old adage “be careful what you wish for” is something we were quickly reminded of right around Labor Day Weekend. Just before the end of August, the weather forecasters mentioned the dreaded word “hurricane,” and our focus quickly shifted from looking forward to cooler temps to praying for the hurricane to turn out to the Atlantic. Everyone paid close attention to Hurricane Dorian which had an unusual and destructive path up the entire southeast coast. The northern parts of the Outer Banks had several areas of flooding and wind damage, but gratefully we did not endure the devastation Dorian caused in other areas. Our hearts are heavy for everyone affected by Hurricane Dorian, and they are in our thoughts and prayers. If your property had damage from the storm and you need help finding someone to repair it, please feel free to contact us for suggestions on local handyman or contractors who can help. If you are interested in helping those who were deeply affected by the storm, please see the list below provided by the Outer Banks Voice. Every little bit will go a long way with those who lost everything.

In real estate news, the market was basically on hold for a few weeks until the storm passed. Many closings were delayed and due diligence extensions were requested by lenders and future buyers so they could wait to see what happened. Prior to this storm, the statistics report from July mentioned the number of homes under contract was the highest since 2013, and then in August, the report revealed the highest number of sales since 2004. Unfortunately, there is a strong chance the closings scheduled for September might not be as high as the statistics report predicts. We hope this is not the case, but it is a likely possibility.

We’ve included the OBAR statistics for August* for your review. If you would like a more tailored report with specific figures for your neighborhood, please let us know.

If you’ve been thinking about selling, we are happy to assist you with a free market analysis of your property. If you or anyone you know is interested in buying a property, we would love to help find the perfect home on the Outer Banks.

The OBX Homes Team is making an effort to help the environment and decrease our paper output. If you’d like to help in reducing our paper use, please send us a current email so we can add you to our paperless mailing list. We will send you a notification each month to look at our website for the updated owner note and statistics report. We appreciate your effort to help with this and thank you. We will continue with owner mailings to those who wish to receive them by mail.

Please don’t hesitate to call or email us if you have any questions or should you need anything at all.

The OBX Homes Team

The Outer Banks Community Foundation is coordinating monetary donations, which are of great help to those in need. All donations are tax-deductible and 100%
of all donations will be used to directly assist individuals and families in need. Donations can be made online at obcf.org/disaster or www.obxdisaster.org.
For those wishing to assist in the recovery in hard-hit Ocracoke, Hyde County officials say you can contact the following organizations to coordinate your efforts:
Donation Management: 833-543-3248, Volunteer Management: 252-305-2685

Alas, the peak of summer is here, and so it the HEAT!  Most of the country endured record-breaking temperatures for a good portion of July.  We hope you are having a fabulous and relaxing summer while staying cool and hydrated!

In keeping up with Southern Shores’ latest proposal, the town was not able to secure enough votes to pass the proposed ordinance requiring permits to limit the number of events held by individual properties.  The community and several board members made sure to voice their opposition to the ordinance. This is a small victory for Southern Shores’ property owners who do not appreciate having limitations that prevent their property’s being used for such events.

In local news, the long-awaited flood maps for Dare County show signs of a final resolution. “The last word from the state was that the Letter of Final Determination would be issued in August which will put the effective date of the maps in February 2020,” according to Planning Director, Donna Creef. These flood maps are long overdue, and we hope they can adopt and implement them.  The new flood maps for Dare County will remove many properties from “high-risk” flood zones causing a positive impact for the homeowner’s flood insurance costs along with possibly not being required to have it.

In real estate news, the market has continued to cool off as expected.  Even the lower interest rates and higher amount of inventory cannot change the course for this seasonal decline in activity levels.  The summer market on the OBX is about as predictable as the phases of the moon; therefore, we can predict an uptick as soon as fall knocks on our door.

We’ve included the OBAR statistics for July for your review.  If you would like a more tailored report with specific figures for your neighborhood, please let us know.

If you’ve been thinking about selling, we are happy to assist you with a free market analysis of your property.  If you or anyone you know is interested in buying a property, we would love to help find the perfect home on the Outer Banks.

The OBX Homes Team is making an effort to help the environment and decrease our paper output. If you’d like to help in reducing our paper use, please send us a current email so we can add you to our paperless mailing list. We will send you a notification each month to look on our website for the updated owner note and statistics report.

We appreciate your effort to help with this and thank you. We will continue with owner mailings to those who wish to receive them by mail.

Please don’t hesitate to call or email us if you have any questions or should you need anything at all.

The OBX Homes Team