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The Week in Review Wilmington NC, November 15 2008

By
Real Estate Agent with Coldwell Banker Seacoast Realty

The Week in Review

....your Wilmington Connnection

November 15, 2008

Currently their are 2809 homes on the market with 243 under contract and a total of 1401 solds in the last 6 months. Interest rates are still low so its still an optimal chance to buy. Why wager on the stock market that appears to be so unreliable. If you would like any info regarding what your home may be worth please feel free to fill out the CMA form here and I will give you an up to date market analaysis.

 

Construction halted on two Brunswick County developments

 One of the state's largest community developers has stalled construction on two developments in southwestern Brunswick County, leaving municipal officials wondering if they'll ever see the tax base there grow.

Wakefield Development Co. has stopped building at San Rio Ocean and River Club in Shallotte and Kingfish Bay in Calabash, said Jim Wiseman, project manager and senior vice president of the company's coastal division.

"We are in a maintenance mode as we negotiate with our lenders," Wiseman said of San Rio, which is planned to be a gated resort-style community with a Caribbean theme off of Gray Bridge Road.

Original plans for that development called for more than 2,000 single-family homes, townhomes and condos. The properties had been projected to be worth more than $800 million and would generate $3 million to $4 million in local revenue to the town of Shallotte.

But only a partially constructed model house stands on the property, said Shallotte Town Administrator Paul Sabiston.

He said the town expected to see at least a handful of houses there already.

The town and the developer have disagreed before about plans for the community and the town's regulations, but Sabiston said he hasn't heard much from the developer lately except for a notice that Wakefield was renewing its bond for phase three of the development.

What will it take to get consumers back to buying:

Financing remains one of the biggest issues for both buyers and sellers. As long as mortgage credit is not widely available, the demand for real estate purchases will remain low.

In addition to facilitating selling of distressed properties and nonperforming loans to buttress the capital base of lenders, government must have an active role in ensuring that mortgage credit is available. FHA, as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, have jumped in aggressively to fill the void. Still, there are gaps in the product mix in the market and many consumers are being left behind. For instance, many minority and immigrant borrowers lack traditional credit history but can demonstrate payment patterns related to rent, phone, utilities and so on. A new provision within the FHA bill includes the development of an automated underwriting solution for alternative credit borrowers to ensure that individuals with consistent but alternative credit history can get a fair priced loan. This has huge importance to minorities that are otherwise in a position to buy now.

What is happening in the market locally and how is the national discussion about real estate affecting that?


Many parts of the Wilmington real estate market's long decline began to slow this summer, but the overall financial market meltdown and the economic slowdown have triggered additional fallout locally. The implementation of the federal Emergency Economic Stabilization Act will have a far-reaching impact on the recovery. If implemented well, the new law will help to stabilize the market, reduce the number of foreclosures and rebuild confidence in the housing market. We need to keep people in their homes. It is critical that those affected by the crisis are given an opportunity to recover by getting a loan that they can afford and keep.

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

Tina

Comments (1)

Jason Ellis
Coastal REO Solutions - Myrtle Beach Short Sales & REO's - Myrtle Beach, SC

Tina - I was aware of Wakefield stopping in Brunswick Co. but what was the other development -- I heard about another one with Creek access to the Waterway -- Can't remember the name -- Thanks for the info --With Brunswick Co right on our border I try to keep up with the land sales up there - JE

Nov 16, 2008 11:12 PM