Tina Abraham Broker, SRS, Realtor Wilmington North Carolina Real Estate

The Week in Review

....your Wilmington Connection

February 9, 2008

Well I don't know what you did today but I went to the beach. Wilmington had some gorgeous weather around 70 degrees. Can't beat this ideal lifestyle, come and see and let me know when you are in town. The Relocation market is strong right now with many companies moving there forces to other areas. Thinking of selling your home? Fill in this Market analyisis form and I will get back to you ASAP.

Existing-home sales have moved narrowly since last September, but when the full impact of higher loan limits for conventional mortgages begins to impact the market there is likely to be a notable rise in home sales and prices. If higher limits are enacted very quickly, we'll see a faster and more meaningful recovery by expanding safe, affordable financing in high-cost areas - that, in turn, would help to stimulate overall economic activity."

The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in December, slipped 1.5% to a reading of 85.9 from a downwardly revised index of 87.2 in November, and was 24.2% below the December 2006 level of 113.3. Nationaly. Have a look to see what has been happening in the Wilmington Market.

Historic Wilmington gets national notice

A major national organization has recognized what Wilmingtonians sometimes take for granted: "The city's charm exudes from every corner and it is, by far, one of the most historically interesting and culturally diverse places along the eastern seaboard."

The National Trust for Historic Preservation put our "gorgeous Southern city with roots three centuries deep" on its 2008 list of 12 vacation destinations whose "residents have taken forceful action to protect their town's character and sense of place."

The trust cites Wilmington's seven National Register Historic Districts and a staggering 300 blocks of "historic sites, homes, landmarks, churches, cemeteries, museums and markers."

The forceful action to protect all that has come from many people and organizations. The Historic Wilmington Foundation has helped save scores of buildings and is working to save more, both in the city and in the region. The city government, home owners and investors have also played indispensable roles in saving our architectural and historical heritage.

The result, according to the national trust, is that "a visit to this community is memorable, and not one soon forgotten."

Northeast Interceptor sewage pipeline passes major tests

Sewage should start flowing through more than a mile of new pipeline today as the City of Wilmington completes the first of three emergency repairs needed to lift a construction ban in northern New Hanover County.

The 6,000-foot section of the Northeast Interceptor off of Pine Grove Drive passed testing on Tuesday, said Frank Styers, Wilmington's deputy director of public utilities. He was hopeful that a shorter stretch of the 9-mile force main will pass today.

That would still leave several weeks of work on the pipeline, including replacement of a 100-foot section that ruptured last week as water pumped through it.

The break forced officials to back off earlier claims that all repairs would be completed by the end of January.

Styers said he expects all work and testing to be done by about Feb. 22, still well ahead of the April finish originally projected.


Developers, Shallotte feud over project

Shallotte | Developers of San Rio Ocean & River Club and town of Shallotte staff and officials haven't always agreed on plans for the gated community, and attempts at compromises became even more heated Tuesday night.

The Shallotte Board of Aldermen meeting was recessed to 6 p.m. Feb. 19 to further discuss two items that appeared on the agenda regarding annexations and amendments to San Rio's master plan.

Most of the contention Tuesday night resulted from a notice San Rio developers received requiring them to pay for a lift station that would serve the development and other town residents who wished to receive service.

Jim Wiseman, senior vice president for the coastal division of Wakefield Development Co., the Raleigh-based developer of San Rio, told town officials that the company would not pay for a 685-gallon-per-day regional lift station.

He said the town's staff wanted the development company to foot the entire bill for the lift station.

Calabash 'superstreet' plan weighed

Could a southern stretch of U.S. 17 at Calabash turn into a "superstreet" similar to the one in Leland's new commercial district?

That's one thing the N.C. Board of Transportation will consider at its meeting today.

The project would place a superstreet-modeled traffic signal system at the intersection of Thomasboro and Pea Landing roads on U.S. 17 in Calabash.

The system restricts left turns and requires drivers to make right turns from the side roads and then move to the far left lane into a median crossover. They then make a U-turn to travel in the opposite direction, but not before coming to a stop and waiting for a green light.

The idea is to keep traffic moving on major thoroughfares like U.S. 17 despite increasing development and traffic volume. And DOT officials have said superstreets do that much better than conventional traffic signal systems.

While the superstreet at Calabash would be similar to Leland's, it isn't planned to be as large or involve as many intersections, said Ben Hughes, assistant traffic engineer for DOT's Division 3, which includes Brunswick County. ......until next week in the Week in Review Tina

The Week in Review

....your Wilmington Connection

February 2, 2008

The most important factor in buying or selling a home isn't what is going on nationally-it is what is going on in your local market. Evaluating present and future trends and influences in your region or neighborhood is essential to creating long term wealth, whether you are in a buyer's or a seller's market. Wilmington still a highly desirable location draws families, retirees, relocation with some of the larger corporations (GE, PPD, Corning etc.) This is what has been happening in our real estate market . If you are planning on relocating to the area ask me about our White Gloves relocation service.

Monkey Junction annexation moves on
New Hanover commissioners oppose move, but have little recourse as plans progress

The New Hanover County Commissioners say there isn't anything they can do about Wilmington's plans to annex Monkey Junction.

That doesn't mean they like it.

State annexation laws give counties little recourse against cities annexing their territory - as long the city provides essential services to property owners in newly claimed areas. That means the commissioners are left to watch warily while Wilmington moves forward with plans to claim roughly 900 acres between South 17th Street extension, Carolina Beach Road and College Road, a commercial hub with numerous big-box retailers and 1,534 residents.

"Personally, I think the annexation laws in North Carolina need to be changed," said Commissioner Bobby Greer, the board's chairman. "I think it's not necessarily fair for people to be annexed at will."

Greer said the commissioners have not formally discussed the city's plans. There's time for that - any annexation of the Monkey Junction area is at least a year away because of state rules. The city's next step is to prepare a detailed report about the area, including cost estimates and how long it would take the city to provide residents there with services such as water and sewer and police and fire protection.

And there's the rub. Most of the businesses and residents in that area already have water and sewer service and have protection services from the county, so many property owners see annexation only as additional taxes with no benefit. The annexation would add about $1.2 million to the city's coffers. Bypass pushed as DOT listens
At Hampstead hearing, wider U.S. 17 opposed

Jacksonville | Hampstead residents asked N.C. Department of Transportation officials Tuesday not to bypass their traffic concerns when determining which projects the agency would focus on over the next seven years.

Nearly a dozen residents from the Pender County village rejected DOT's idea to widen U.S. 17 to six lanes at a public hearing to discuss plans that are a part of the draft 2009-15 State Transportation Improvement Program, which allocates funding for transportation projects statewide during that time period.

The residents instead asked DOT officials to accelerate the construction of the Hampstead Bypass, which would connect U.S. 17 just north of Hampstead to the Wilmington Bypass (I-140) in northern New Hanover County. Brunswick County revisits roads plan
DOT to meet with officials on 30-year outlook for infrastructure

In one Brunswick County official's view, a plan outlining the county's transportation needs for the next 30 years has at least one flaw: A lack of new roads.

After meeting with unsatisfied county commissioners this week, N.C. Department of Transportation staffers have decided to schedule a meeting with Brunswick County staff to discuss what needs to be included in the county's new comprehensive transportation plan.

Miscommunication between the parties might have led to the DOT not addressing some county officials' concerns in a draft of the plan, said Lanny Wilson, the N.C. Board of Transportation member who represents Brunswick County.

"We need to sit down and be sure we're addressing all of their concerns," Wilson said.

The Brunswick County Board of Commissioners refused to endorse the draft plan Tuesday night, citing concerns with a proposed route for Interstate 74 onto U.S. 17 at Shallotte and a lack of new roads planned for the county.

The plan outlines road needs for the next 30 years. It's a new plan that replaces the state's former thoroughfare plan, and it now includes community goals outlined in land use plans as well as alternative transportation systems such as bicycle paths and public transportation.
......until next week in The Week in Review Tina

The Week in Review

...your Wilmington Connection

January 26, 2008

A wet week in Wilmington, but some well needed rain. Not long before spring. A perfect time to visit Wilmington if you are planning on a trip.

The media presents the real estate market as slowing down prices having dropped. Mortgage rates are fantastic! So if prices have dropped and mortgage rates are great. Wouldn't it make sense to perhaps buy now?

Here is a snapshot of what has been going on in the Wilmington Real Estate Market.

Housing plan upsets some in Pender
Want greater controls to protect rural area; hearing today

James Dixon has always been attracted to rural living. The trees and wildlife found in more remote areas have offered Dixon seclusion and serenity that he said is difficult to find in the city.

Cypress trees, bald eagles and the close proximity to the Black River drew Dixon and his wife, Lois, to their Blueberry Road home in Currie near U.S. 421 in Pender County more than 20 years ago, he said.

"I'm close enough to the city to get to it when I need to, but I'm far enough away to still be in the country," said Dixon, who lives about 20 minutes from Wilmington.

"I've been able to hunt along the Black River, which is something you can't do in the city. I can't see myself living in a development."

Dixon may not choose to live in a neighborhood, but a local developer wants to build hundreds of homes around his property.

Duplin Land Development Inc. is petitioning the Pender County Board of Commissioners to rezone a portion of about 634 acres the company owns between Blueberry and Montague roads. The developer is requesting that county commissioners change 362 acres from a rural agriculture district, which allows one home per acre, to a planned development, which allows up to 12 homes an acre and can include commercial developments, said Joey Raczkowski, Pender County planning director. Yaupon Beach pier may be auctioned
Town forging ahead with its plans to purchase it

The town of Oak Island is not backing off its mission to buy the Yaupon Beach Fishing Pier, which could go to a foreclosure auction in March.

Cooperative Bank postponed a hearing scheduled for today to determine whether it can foreclose on the pier. The hearing was postponed until 2 p.m. Feb. 6 in the Brunswick County clerk of court's office to make sure everyone gets proper notice, said Hal Kitchin, Cooperative Bank's substitute trustee. The bank could foreclose on the pier 20-30 days after that.

Meanwhile, Oak Island officials and two state lawmakers are trying to garner funds to purchase the pier, which is one of two remaining on the island. "I'm on standby," state Rep. Bonner Stiller, R-Brunswick, said Wednesday. Wilmington-area home sales drop 21% in December
Average Brunswick prices drop 29%

Wilmington-area home sales continued their downward trend in December, falling 21 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the N.C. Association of Realtors.

The area covered by the Brunswick County Board of Realtors also reported a steep decline, of 28 percent, from December 2006.

Statewide, sales dropped 18 percent and average prices slipped 1 percent.

Average prices in Brunswick, however, dropped an eye-popping 29 percent in December, to $260,306 from $364,502 - the biggest drop in the state. Because the pool of sales is small in comparison with Wilmington and other metro areas of North Carolina, prices and sales comparisons are often volatile. In December, for example, 81 homes sold versus 89 in December 2006.

In Wilmington and surrounding areas, 393 homes sold in December compared with 498 a year earlier.

The area served by the Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors - which includes New Hanover, Pender and parts of Brunswick (including Leland) and other counties - saw average sales prices slip 1 percent in December to $266,624 from $270,486. Southport residents voice concerns about traffic

Southport | Residents near the new mainland ferry terminal for Bald Head Island don't want to be bypassed when the city decides how to deal with an impending traffic increase.

Traffic through the small city is expected to jump to 6,900 vehicle trips a day when the ferry landing is completed next to the state ferry landing at the end of this year. On its busiest days, Bald Head Island's ferry now brings about 1,500 cars.

The Harbor Oaks Homeowners Association is forming a committee of residents that will approach Southport officials with their concerns and ideas about traffic. Harbor Oaks is a subdivision across East Moore Street from the new ferry location.

"We're just trying to participate," John Spalding said recently while sitting in his Harbor Oaks home.

The subdivision is a couple blocks from a dirt road city officials have considered paving to divert traffic from East Moore Street and the downtown area.
....until next week in The Week in Review Tina

The Week in Review

...your Wilmington Connection

January 19, 2008

A late Week in Review I know, but all linked to the stirring of the real estate market. Things are picking up and there has been a great interest in Wilmington lately, with CNN naming Wilmington as one of the top 10 cities to buy.

WCFHBA makes housing prediction

Jeff Stokley, 2008 President of the Wilmington-Cape Fear Home Builders Association, projects a turnaround for housing to begin in late 2008 based on three broad factors: aggressive action by the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates; Congress acting on a series of bills aimed at shoring up the economy and helping home owners to stay in their homes; and no further unanticipated shocks to the economy.

The actions of the Federal Reserve should be the first step in reversing this housing slump. "The Federal Reserve must take aggressive action to cut rates when policymakers meet at the end of the month," Stokley said. "Usually, the Fed moves incrementally by cutting rates by a quarter of a percentage point when seeking to stimulate the economy. To keep the economy moving forward, a half a percentage point rate cut is necessary to add liquidity and provide a solid psychological boost to the markets and consumers."

A fairer deal for elderly property taxpayers

A welcome property-tax break for elderly or disabled Tar Heels of modest means passed the General Assembly last year. Called a "senior circuit breaker," it would offer an alternative to the existing homestead exclusion, starting in 2009.

Like every other tax law, this one would be complicated, but the gist of it is that people who qualify can delay paying a portion of their property taxes until they move, sell or die. The final tax bill would include interest on the deferred amount.

To qualify, taxpayers must have incomes below a certain level and must have lived on the property for at least five years. That's a blessing for longtime residents who are seeing their taxes rise out of sight because the old home place has become much more valuable.

Riggings owners bank on sandbags
Habitat prohibits nourishment, so homeowners cling to 22-year stopgap

Kure Beach | The Riggings wants one more shot to explain to coastal regulators why the 48-unit condominium complex should be allowed to retain the sandbags that have protected it from the encroaching Atlantic Ocean for more than two decades.

But the homeowners also have put the property across the street that was the basis of a federally funded relocation plan on the market for $13.5 million.

That could paint the Riggings property owners into a corner, with no place to rebuild their condominiums if the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission turns down the variance request.

State regulators have already ordered the bags removed, an action the homeowners so far have declined to follow.

Under state law, sandbags are supposed to be a temporary measure to buy a property owner time to come up with a permanent solution to protect oceanfront property from the encroaching ocean.

Generally that means either removing a threatened home or nourishing the eroded beach.

But the Riggings' sandbags have been in place since 1985, and state regulators have repeatedly chastised the homeowners for seeming to have little enthusiasm for working on a long-term solution to their erosion woes beside asking for sandbag extensions.
Sunset Beach bridge contract awarded

After 30 years of conflicts and lawsuits, the N.C. Department of Transportation has awarded a $31 million contract to build a new Sunset Beach bridge.

English Construction Co., of Lynchburg, Va., will build the bridge.

The new high-rise bridge will replace Sunset Beach's single-lane, wooden pontoon bridge. It will stretch a half-mile long and include two 12-foot travel lanes and 5-foot shoulders for bicyclists and pedestrians.

The new bridge is a long time coming for Joe Blair, DOT division construction engineer. He has been working on this project since he started at the department more than 20 years ago.

He said construction of the project will take 2 1/2 years to complete and could start within 30 days. Another clinical research firm to open area office, More growth for Wilmington

The world's largest clinical research organization is opening an office in Wilmington, bringing to at least five the number of companies either headquartered or represented here that are involved in clinical trials for drug companies.

Triangle-based Quintiles Transnational Corp. will open a clinical research office occupying two of three floors of the North State Bank Building at 1411 Commonwealth Drive, near the corner of Eastwood and Military Cutoff roads, the company said Thursday.

PPD Inc., which has about 10,000 employees worldwide, is headquartered in a downtown high-rise on the Cape Fear River. It and Quintiles, which has 19,000 employees worldwide, offer a full line of services to drug companies, from conducting clinical trials to managing regulatory matters up to and after a drug's approval by the Food and Drug Administration, a process that can take up to a decade and cost drug manufacturers $1 billion.

Quintiles would not say how many employees it will have in Wilmington, but only 1,500 of its 19,000 employees are in North Carolina. Wilmington is the privately held company's third location in the state. It employs about 50 people in Williamston, a spokesman said.

Quintiles has been advertising for positions in Wilmington that include clinical study manager, senior clinical project manager and clinical research associate. Coastal setback proposal modified
Allows more development in nourished areas

New Bern | Concern from property owners and coastal officials has prompted state regulators to modify their proposed setback rules for new development along nourished beaches.

But the new regulations still don't give what most people were calling for - "grandfathering" to allow property owners to rebuild structures to their current size.

Still, it allows new development and redevelopment in areas where it previously wasn't allowed.

"What's being proposed is limited development under limited conditions," said Jeff Warren, coastal hazards specialist with the N.C. Division of Coastal Management.

Under current rules, oceanfront setback requirements along beaches that have had large-scale nourishment projects are based on what the beach looked like before the new sand was added.

Locally, that includes large chunks of Oak Island, Ocean Isle Beach and all three New Hanover County beach towns.

The rationale behind the rule is that homes built closer to the ocean could be threatened if the engineered beach isn't periodically nourished and erodes back to its natural state.

But some beach towns, notably Ocean Isle Beach and Oak Island, complain that the current rules severely limit both new construction and the replacement of homes along wide swaths of their nourished beach front that are healthy and stable. .....until next week in The Week in Review Tina

The Week in Review

....your Wilmington Connection

January 12, 2008

To make a long story short the activity in the real estate market has picked up quite a bit. The stats on my website have proven it, with the mortgage rates as low as they are we will probably have the 5th best year for sales. As you know Wilmington is a highly desirable location, with relocation, retirement, and families just looking for a better quality of life.

Have a look at the wilmington real estate market to see what has been

happening this week.

Town Seeks Revitalization

Shallotte | When consultant Allison Platt first visited Shallotte, she didn't think the town had a character of its own.

"It looked like you could be anywhere in the country," Platt said during a visit to the town Friday.

The shopping strips are located behind large parking lots, and the sidewalks are uninviting to walk on, she said.

But, with Platt's help, the town could become more aesthetically welcoming for other visitors in the coming years.

Platt, of Allison Platt & Associates in Goldsboro, was hired by the town to come up with a conceptual plan that will guide efforts to revitalize Main Street and the downtown area near the Shallotte River.

The $50,000 plan, paid for by the town and private donations, will outline options the town can take to use its natural resources and enhance the commercial district.

But the plan isn't going to come from Platt's outsider view.

She will return to Shallotte later in the month to host a series of workshops called a charrette, to receive public input and ideas for the plan.

"It's not my plan," she said. "It's the town's plan."

After feedback is received, the plan should be presented to the town within six months.

Carolina Beach boardwalk hotel plan pushed anew

Developer to ask to close off public rights of way

Carolina Beach | A hotel developer will ask the town council for permission Tuesday to close off public rights of way near the Boardwalk and build a 90-room Fairfield Inn.

Tidewater Property Acquisition Inc. and Carolina Beach Land Holdings, LLC, are hoping their project will have better luck with the town council - which approved a similar hotel project in 2007 - than they did with the planning and zoning commission. The commissioners unanimously recommended denying the proposal.

The planning commissioners said they support a hotel but argued that the project was not in harmony with the land-use plan for the Boardwalk area, which the town hopes to restore by attracting new restaurants and shops. The developer says the economic benefits of a new hotel will outweigh those concerns.

Betsy McQuillen, a planning commissioner, said those rights of way - the eastern end of Cape Fear Boulevard, a portion of Carolina Beach Avenue South and a right of way leading to the Boardwalk - are heavily used by residents and tourists alike.

"I don't see giving them up as the betterment of the people," McQuillen said. "I see that as the benefit of the developer. They didn't show anything to me that the town should close those right of ways. I don't see giving that up because it's in use and it's open space, and that's something we should be preserving."

The planning commissioners were also concerned about the amount of land set aside for parking lots and that the project would not include public amenities such as restaurants and shops.

The developer argues that the project will provide an economic boost to the area. The hotel would hire 40 year-round employees and an additional 30 workers during the summer, as well as provide more than $700,000 annually in sales, property and room-occupancy taxes for the town and county.

In addition, the developer plans to make several improvements to the area, including running a new water line and deeding back land to the town for a possible park and an access to the Boardwalk, among other landscaping improvements. A gate or a bottleneck?

Supporters of the Gateway project see the proposed mix of condos, restaurants and hotel rooms as a sparkling bookend for the city's riverfront, a worthy partner for the PPD tower to the north.

Opponents see it as an oversized tombstone for the quality of life in the city's historic core.

Together they've turned the Gateway project into the first hot potato of the new year for the Wilmington City Council.

The council votes tonight on rezoning 10 acres of empty industrial land near the base of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge to mixed use, a necessary step in moving forward with the estimated $150 million development, envisioned to reach as high as the towers of the bridge.

Come early for a seat. Councilman Jim Quinn said he couldn't recall another project that had fired up both sides of an issue so much, with levels of support running equal on either side.

"The project as proposed is entirely out of character for this area," said Verne Strickland, who lives in a 140-year-old house in the 100 block of Castle Street, a quiet brick road that he fears would be overrun by Gateway traffic. City officials estimate the site will generate upward of 11,000 car trips a day.

"We would be inundated," Strickland said.

But John Evans, manager of the group of investors that owns the land, said such fears are baseless. He's been pounding the streets in the surrounding neighborhood, talking with anyone who'll listen. The more they know, the more they will feel at ease, he said.

....until next week in the Week in Review