The Week in Review

.....your Wilmington Connection

June 28th 2008

Wilmington' real estate market has heated up some with 530 homes sitting under contract this week. Buyers are taking advantage of the reduced home prices....smart move. In the past 6 months there were 1377 homes sold. If you are looking to relocate click here and let me know what I can do to make this happen.

Preservation Effort Nets three more Buildings

The Historic Wilmington Foundation has been on a roll saving threatened properties in the heart of Old Wilmington.

George Edwards, the executive director, announced this week that the foundation has saved several historic buildings from demolition, including one of the city's many modest historic homes, which as a category made it onto this year's list of threatened historic places.

The saved properties include commercial buildings at 620 and 622 N. Fourth St. and 411 Chestnut St. The "humble home" is a shotgun cottage on Wooster Street that was restored and turned into an affordable housing option that remains on the market.

Each of the buildings will have a preservation easement, which means the historic foundation can protect them from demolition

First No Port/Southport meeting draws a crowd

Tuesday night for the first public meeting of a grass-roots organization formed to stop an international port from being built in a small Brunswick County community.

They came from Southport, Oak Island, St. James and other communities, and, after filling more than 200 seats, they lined the walls, sat on the floor and filled the entranceway of the Southport Community Building.

They came to hear No Port/Southport's plans to stop the N.C. State Ports Authority from building a $2.3 billion international terminal on 600 acres near Southport.

National Assoc Realtors Reports

The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing single-family homes and condominiums rose by 2 percent to 4.99 million units last month

It was only the second sales increase in the past 10 months, but it was not viewed as a sustained rebound. Many economists believe that prices will have to decline more before the housing industry can mount a sustained recovery.

The median price of an existing home sold in May dropped to $208,600, a fall of 6.3 percent from a year go. That was the fifth biggest year-over-year price decline on records that go back to 1999.

The strength in sales reflected gains in all parts of the country except the South, where sales dropped by 0.5 percent. Sales were up 5.5 percent in the Midwest, 4.6 percent in the Northeast and 2 percent in the West.

Washington states new homes sales have dropped

The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new homes were sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 512,000 units in May, down 2.5 percent from the April level. The median price of a new home sold last month fell to $231,000, down 5.7 percent from a year ago.

The report on new home activity in May followed reports Tuesday that showed record home price drops in April, indicating the nation's housing slump is not only deepening but also widening to include previously untouched parts of the country.

The inventory of unsold homes rose to 10.9 months in May, meaning it would take that long to exhaust the current supply of unsold homes.

Green Commercial building

An executive of a leading green commercial building firm will speak Thursday at a Green Building Council luncheon hosted by the Wilmington-Cape Fear Home Builders Association. Alan Butler, senior vice president of client services for the Greensboro-based company, will speak about the company's highly touted Proximity Hotel in Greensboro and other green commercial projects.

Volvo Rents mulling Wilmington site

Volvo Rents, a division of Volvo Construction Equipment North America Inc., is seeking to expand its franchise into the Wilmington area, the company announced.

Volvo Rents stores, which are independently owned and operated, carry Volvo construction equipment and a line of equipment and tools for the construction, commercial, industrial and homeowner markets.

.....until next week in The Week in Review

Tina