The Newsweek rankings are out for the the best high schools in the U.S., based on AP courses and International Baccaulaureate programs. Several area high schools made the list, which included 1600 schools across the U.S., or the top 6% of all high schools as based on these criteria. Here's the scoop for Orange, Durham and Chatham counties:

Woods Charter School, Chapel Hill (Chatham county): 107

East Chapel Hill High: 118

Chapel Hill High School: 214

Durham School of the Arts: 251

Jordan High, Durham: 415

Riverside High, Durham: 839

Northern High, Durham: 1056

Carrboro High is still too new to be ranked; hopefully the school will be included next year when the first class graduates.

So if you own property (or are considering property) in one of these school districts, it's always a positive to be a part of the Newsweek rankings.

To check out the full list, visit http://www.newsweek.com/feature/2010/americas-best-high-schools/list.html

University Mall is getting a makeover!  There will be a new entrance to A Southern Season off of 15-501, as well as a renovated interior and new landscaping and outdoor seating.  They management company is also courting new businesses, including women's clothing stories, locally owned restaurants, and a new bookstore to fill the hole left by Walden Books earlier this season.  The work at the mall and new tenants are expected to add 250 jobs to the area as well.  The driveway is expected to open late June, and the exterior renovations by late August or early September. 

I was recently interviewed by Jeremy Salemson of "Today in Real Estate" for WRAL.com.  Jeremy and I discussed the new book "Sell Your Home Fast in a Buyer's Market', including the areas of home staging, green trends, and market conditions in Orange and Durham counties.  "Sell Your Home Fast" interview.

Orange County has just launched a new GIS website that's more user-friendly and easier to navigate than the old.  It also includes improved graphics, updated aerial and parcel photos, and several new mapping layers.  It's much easier to export the information via text, excel or HTML. If you want to see the lot lines for your property or another, look at aerial views of how a house sits on its lot, or get property ownership information for a parcel, check it out, at http://server2.co.orange.nc.us/OrangeCo/default.aspx

I am excited to share with you that I am a featured contributor to the newly published book, "Sell Your Home Fast in a Buyer's Market." Award winning author Norma Lehmeier Hartie details the nine steps for a quick and successful sale and includes over 100 tips to give sellers a competitive advantage in today's challenging market.

I was interviewed at length by Hartie, and contributed to several chapters regarding home staging, green options, and market trends.  Check out "Sell Your Home Fast" at Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com.  If you have friends or family who are considering selling their home this year, it's an easy read and helpful resource.

I heard an presentation this morning by Stacey Adfinsen, who does market statistics for the Triangle MLS, regarding Orange County and Chapel/Hill Carrboro real estate trends.

Some of the numbers were rather sobering:

50% of Orange County listings were expired or withdrawn in 2009.

Showings in fourth quarter 2009 were down 25% from the third quarter, and almosts 50% from the second quarter.

40% of properties on the market experienced price drops.

The average price in Chapel Hill/Carrboro dropped 2% in 2009 versus 2008, and is off 10% from our highs in 2007.

Average days on market was 94 for closed properties, and 185 for listings.  Those properties with price reductions aveaged 135 days.

And some hopeful news:

Fourth quarter pending listings were up from 2008's dismal showing, and off just 10% from fourth quarter 2007.

Closings were also up from 2008's very low levels, and off just 10% from 2007.

January seemed a brighter month; anectdotally, I experienced four competitive offer situations, something I haven't seen for months.  Hopefully a  sign of stabilization in our marketplace.

The Morehead Planetarium at UNC Chapel Hill is set to go fully digital!  As a result of a $1.5 M grant from GlaxoSmithKline, the planetarium will reopen on February 5th with a state-of-the art system that, according to the UNC folks, "puts Morehead in the same class as the National Museum of Air and Space and the American Museum of Natural History."   The digital system features super high definition 4000 x 4000 pixel resolution, a 5.1 channel digital surround system, and reconfigured seating for better sight lines.  The new system, called fulldome digital video technology, will create an "immersive environment" in which each visitor is surrounded by the sights and sounds of the planetarium show.   To learn more, visit the Morehead Planetarium's site at http://www.moreheadplanetarium.org/

The Woolworth store in Greensboro, NC, , where four black students infamously sat at its lunch counter on 2/1/1960, will open as a civil rights center and museum in February.  Marking the 50th anniversary of this seminal event in the civil rights movement, the International Civil Rights Center and Museum will feature the original lunch counter and stools, exhibits about racial injustice, and a myriad of films highlighting aspects of civil rights history.  The museum, which covers 30,000 feet on two floors, will also showcase the accomplishments of African-Americans overcoming discrimination.  The museum is located at 132 S. Elm Street, and will be open Tuesdays through Sundays.  For more information, visit www.sitinmovement.org.