Southport NC Real Estate - Vicki Burton- Buyer's Agent

October is already half gone and I don't want the rest of it to pass without offering some suggestions on how to get out and enjoy this final run-up to Halloween. It's a busy time of year when it seems like every group, establishment, and organization has something planned to ring in the Fall season.

The cooler temps, bright blue skies, and an ebbing pace are a much-anticipated and welcome change, bringing with them a much-needed attitude adjustment! My energy level is up, my running regime bolstered, my to-do list is getting shorter.....and the "soup is on!"

Walking outside this morning and I am thinking oysters...It is about time for the annual clean-up of "Camp Burton", our little hideout in the back yard, camouflaged by tall wax myrtle on one side, a wall of cat briar on the back, and tall stacks of firewood to finish out the enclosure. It's a rough-around-the-edges little oasis...nothing out of one of those "Backyard Hideaways" magazines I may be guilty of fawning over occasionally. There's a fire pit of course, dug out and lined with old bricks from our river beach, carried home long ago when we still had easy access to child labor. The sides are block and brick stacked up tall enough to hold a wire mesh grate and a half a bushel of oysters at a time. Stump seating and big colored Christmas lights complete the scene.

As usual...I digress... Now on to the "What's Happening Now" calendar...

Tomorrow head on down to Ocean Isle for their big annual Oyster Festival. There's an oyster shucking contest, a surfing contest, games, food vendors, entertainment, and an oyster stew cook-off. Oct 17 and 18. While you're down there, you might try and catch the Ingram Planetarium - Music Laser Show in Sunset Beach Saturday evening only.

Angela Eastering, a highly touted singer-songwriter makes a stop off on her current tour to the Amuzu Theatre in Downtown Southport on Saturday, the 17th at 7 pm. Tickets are $15 and part of the proceeds go to the renovation of the theater, a historic local landmark, home of Stage II Productions and featured musical artists brought in by Circle Entertainment throughout the year. Please get out and support your local arts scene. It takes numbers to make these creative endeavors viable.

Things start to get busy next weekend as Halloween approaches. On October 23rd starting at 6:30, Southport is hosting a Pumpkin Festival on the Garrison lawn. There's a pumpkin decorating contest, a costume contest, cake walk, games, and a "Creepy Hayride" along the river. If that doesn't get you in the Halloween spirit, on Saturday, the 24th, head out to Boiling Spring Lakes for their own Halloween Carnival to be held at the Community Center. Everyone is encouraged to bring two cans of food to benefit area food banks. A haunted hayride will start after dark. Admission free with food donations.

Don't miss the opportunity to see Brunswick Little Theatre's adaptation of Charlotte's Web. This will be BLT's first show in the newly completed Virginia Williamson Event Center at Odell Williamson Auditorium on the campus of Brunswick Community College. Opening night is Friday the 23rd at 7:30 with matinees on both Saturday and Sunday at 3pm. The same schedule follows for the next weekend. (Oct 30-Nov1) Anyone who has seen a show directed by Debbie Skillman, then you know what a fantastic job she does assembling a batch of local youth and funneling their energies and talents with positively engaging results. Admission $15 for adults, $10 for students, and $6 for kids under 12.

Oak Island's Parks and Recreation will hold it's own "Fall Community Spooktacular" on the 24th from 5 to 7 pm at Middleton Park. Children rides, family entertainment and hayrides are on the menu. Middleton Park Cinema will show "Ironman" beginning at 7pm, weather permitting. Bring chair or blanket.

For the grown-ups, on Halloween, the Stede Bonnet Halloween Regatta and after party at the Provision Co are long-standing traditions in Southport. Local and visiting sailors take this verrry seriously and bragging rights are good for a whole year. As for the pirate sailors, the Captain's meeting is at 9am and the course will be decided that morning depending on conditions. The race starts at 1pm at the old Yacht Basin and will commence all around the Cape Fear between Southport and Bald Head. The Block Party starts at 5pm at Provisions with awards, live band, and plenty of merriment, as this is the last hurrah before they close down for the winter.

And last but not least, on the 31st is the Brunswick County Fall Festival offering lots of Halloween fun starting at 8:30am. There will be tons of music, food and entertainment a 10am softball and kickball tournaments, a 1pm pie-eating contest, water balloons, and tug-of-war. At 5, there's a bon fire and marshmallow roast, at 6, hay rides, and at 6:45pm, and a Christian karate light show. And if that's not enough, Trunk or Treat starts at 7pm. All this will be held at the Bill Smith Park on Fish Factory Road off of Long Beach Road. Free Admission. Contact: Mike Hilliard - 910.547.0431

I'm sure I am missing some things here. Please feel free comment and add anything I haven't covered. So let's all get out there and enjoy the season; the cool weather, the sparkles on the water, the changing colors, the spectacular sunsets, the smell of a campfire, and the taste of that first Lockwood Folly oyster. Life is good.

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"When the dodlimbed tourists leave, the bluefish cannot be very far behind.... They like people who admire nor'easters and don't mind a little rain and a squall or two." says the Old Man. ©Robert Ruark's Old Man and the Boy

This is still on of my favorite books. Set back during the Depression and days of Prohibition, Ruark speaks right to the Southern heart of life spent outdoors; fishin', clammin', oysterin', duck huntin', all embellished with a crusty cast of characters, and warmed with southern coastal cooking traditions and forbidden corn "licker. The Old Man's home, now a Bed and Breakfast, is just down the block from my home of nearly 24 years now.

And it was over 25 years ago, when we were still caretakers over on Bald Head Island, that we had our first run-in with September bluefish. Skippy Stiller, a Southport original who came across the river to Bald Head every evening at 7 to relieve my husband of active security duties, was our able Captain. Now Skippy knew a thing or two about fishing and he'd been talking about the blues starting to run out on Jaybird Shoals. So our "trolling for bluefish" adventure came late one September afternoon in an old blue patched up 14' McKee Kraft. We had already caught a mess of mullet minnows in Bald Head Creek, so armed with live bait, and Hopkins lures and Clark Spoons, off we went. He had already warned, "Darlin' now if we get into ‘em, be careful," peppering his words with tales of digits lost to a blue's razor sharp teeth. I had caught bluefish out of the surf before and managed to keep all my fingers, but none the less, he had my full attention here with his talk about big schools of hungry blues and feeding frenzies.

So we made it out to Jaybird, the three of us with Skippy at the helm, in a small boat not quite fit to cross the shipping channel. But the wind was light and we trolled and fished hard ‘til dark, our arms weak from reeling in the ornery suckers. We didn't exactly slay ‘em but we caught about sixty and lost about that many. Some say nothing fights pound for pound harder than a bluefish. I believe it. Back on the Island, we quickly went to cleaning and filleting. The plan was for Skippy to take them back to Southport and smoke ‘em. I wish I had gotten his recipe for smoking. All I know is they started out in a brine in an old glass Lance cracker jar. But we held out a good mess and fried them up for dinner. They've never tasted better, before or since. You need to eat bluefish right out of the water cause the next day they're hardly fit to eat...

So I'll leave you with a final passage from "The Boy" ... "I feel sorry for people who never had a chance at grilled bluefish... The way the Old Man cooked them, they tasted better than any fish has a right to taste. He just laid them on the grill over hot coals and left them until you could see the skin blistering and cracking and turning gold and black, with the white showing through and the grease sizzling steadily on the coals. When he finally took them off, they were so tender they just fell apart. He bathed them in about half a pound of butter apiece, poured vinegar over them, and then dusted them with black pepper. I ate about four pounds of fish before I quit."

September is just the start of the "good months" in Southport. October is nearly here and as the tourists leave us, it'll be time for the fall fisherman to come out of the woodwork. The US Open King Mackerel Tournament kicks off early this year, the 1st-3rd, and the Captain Charlie kids fishing Tournament on the 3rd at the City Pier. More to come!

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If you live in Southport, it's that time again....time to hang the buntings, replace that faded "Old Glory," clean off the front porch for visitors, and get ready to sit back and watch another 4th of July festival in Southport unfold. Is it really almost here? You betcha... the Fireman's Competition will kick things off today! It seems early but it's not. The town never looks better than it does right now. If you feel like I do, that there seems to be a serious lack of patriotism in our Country these days, then this is just what the doctor ordered.

Tomorrow at 5PM, bring your chairs and come to the Garrison for the 2nd Marine Division Band Concert. There's not a better spot to enjoy a Sunday evening, with the mouth of the Cape Fear as your backdrop. Another highlight of Southport's 4th of July festival is the Naturalization Ceremony that also will take place at the Garrison on Friday, July 3rd at 4:45. If you've never attended one of these, you'll just have to take my word for it ... you just can't help but walk away feeling a little misty eyed and moved by the earnest exuberance of these brand new Americans who have gone through so much to get here so they might have the opportunities that we all take for granted.

Oak Island always hosts a pre-4th day of activities called Beach Day at the Cabana and Middleton Park. This year it is on Wednesday, July 1st and is a jam packed day of family fun ... horseshoe competition, kids games, live music, volleyball and bocce tournament, and topped off by their own fireworks display at Ocean Crest Pier.

On Thursday, the 4th of July festivities hit wide open, and for the next three days, Southport will transform itself into a virtual sea of red, white, and blue. The smells of funnel cakes, bloomin' onions, curly fries, and philly steak are surely gonna draw you in even if you had planned to be good this year. The Arts and Crafts Fair gets started at 10AM at Franklin Square Park, as well as the National 4th of July Art Show next door at Franklin Square Gallery. The Dennis Walton Band kicks off an afternoon of music and entertainment at the Waterfront Stage starting at 1:00PM. And I just found out today that the Brunswick Big Band is headlining the evening slot from 7-10PM. Normally it's the Wilmington Big Band fills this slot so I know our local musicians are all fired up about the chance to wow a big festival crowd. And I'm sure they will! Note that many of them will be pulling "double duty," as there'll be little time to rest before the Brunswick Concert Band performs on the Garrison Lawn at 4PM on Friday, just prior to the Naturalization Ceremony.

Southport's 4th of July Festival continues full throttle on Friday, starting out bright and early for the much-anticipated Kid's Games at the Waterfront Park. Registration is at 8:30. I know it's hard to get up and get your kids there at that time of morning in the summer...I remember...but it's always worth it and the three-legged races and the watermelon rolls won't wait. They might just get lucky... the smile on the face of your little one being handed a blue ribbon... priceless.

The fun in the sun continues throughout the day and is capped off by the Street Dance from 7-10. This year's dance is hosted by the Peace and Love band from Charlotte playin' your favorite oldies and dance classics. This is where you go when you want to see all the people you haven't seen since last 4th of July!

It's been a long time since the 4th finished up on a Saturday ... well, seven years to be exact. It'll be nice cause then you still have Sunday to relax in much needed peace and quiet. So Saturday morning you might as well come on in to town real early and find you a shady spot to put out your chairs. Then you can go over to the Methodist Church, who's been having a pancake breakfast on the 4th for the masses as long as I can remember. North Carolina's largest and oldest 4th of July parade starts at 11AM and no matter how many times you see it, it is ALWAYS a huge crowd-pleaser.

Down on Bay St. in front of the Garrison, will be a classic car show, and at the Waterfront Park, Civil War re-enactors will provide a chorus of cannons to keep us awake. The Saturday night band this year is Carl Newton and the 5th Avenue Band. I'm not familiar with them but from the sound on their website, they'll get the crowd out of their seats, and on the dance lot with their unique brand of classic soul. Of course, no 4th of July celebration is complete with fireworks, and fireworks there'll be alright. Having lived in downtown Southport for 25 years now, I can say for sure the fireworks are still my favorite part...lying on a blanket by the water...watching the bobbing of boats out in the river until the launch barge fires that first missile in the air. Then it's just time to relax and enjoy the show. Happy Birthday America.

My only real advice for getting out of Southport after the fireworks, is to park on the East side of town facing out. Here's a map I made last year...hope it helps.

SouthportSoundings © 2009 - please do not copy without permission - thank you

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Photograph by: Emily Timberlake

Vicki Burton

Loggerhead Realty

Southport, NC

910.540.0551

Website: Southport Soundings

EMAIL

***Please do not copy or reproduce without expressed written permission. Thank you.

It's still too early to tell, but those who are following the real estate market in Brunswick County will find this February report similar to January's, but with a much broader mix of properties. Again, I am offering details of single-family site-built homes that have gone under contract in February. And staying with the same communities of interest in my January Report, my search includes the communities and developments I consider "my neck of the woods" including Southport, Bald Head Island, Oak Island, Arbor Creek, St. James Plantation, Sunset Harbor, Sea Watch, River Run Plantation, Lennon Hills, Winding River, River Sea, Lockwood Folly, Supply, Winnabow, Town Creek, Bolivia, and Boiling Spring Lakes.

Starting the furthest South here are the results: (33 total)

Bald Head Island had the highest listed price home under contract at $1,995,000 on Cape Fear Trail.

In Southport, there were eight. In town, one on Herring and one on Long Leaf were 129,000 and 199,000 respectively. On Spikerush in Indigo Plantation ... a real beauty for 499,900. In Harbor Oaks there was a foreclosure with an asking price of 290,000 ... wow. A new construction in Price's Creek went under contract at 399,000 as well as a home on Brenden Court for 395,000.

Oak Island had by far the most activity with 14, including two foreclosures in the mid 300s. Five interior homes priced between 169,000 and 178,000 went under contract. There were three more on the ocean side of Davis Canal in the 289,000-445,000 range. On the Yaupon end there were also three....one on Live Oak at 320,000, one on Trott at 849,000, and a great deal on Quail Hollow on the golf co

urse at 399,900. Finally, on Caswell, was another golf course home in Ocean Greens at 499,000.

St. James Plantation had 3 homes under contract ... one on Ascot at 365,000, on Fa

irway Village at 399,000, and a fantastic home at the marina on Midshipman...990,000.

One of my favorite communities, Lockwood Folly, also had 3 homes ... A great home on the golf course at 235,000...crazy, a 3500 SF home on Genoes Point also on the golf course for 4

19,000... unbelievable, and finally another on Genoes Point but this one waterfront with dock on nearly an acre ... 1,350.000.

And finally, Boiling Spring Lakes had 4 go under contract ... two on Sycamore at 99,000 and 122,900, a foreclosure on Greensboro at 152,500, and one on Springdale at 156,000.

I continue to have strong leanings towards the more well-established communities here in coastal North Carolina. Now it seems the Brunswick County real estate market is leaning that way as well. When the market was hot, investors flocked to every new

community trying to take advantage of creative financing incentives by developers and "first pick" opportunities. Now many of these are struggling. Lots are not selling well and spec homes sit vacant, victims of a market slowdown that no one ever expected to hit in second fastest growing county in North Carolina. Because we are such a strong retirement destination, I believe that recovery will come here a bit faster than most places. It's hard to imagine finding much better deals than are out there right now. I love finding them. Just give me a call.

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I ask you to consider the many advantages in having a Buyer's Agent assist you if you are considering a real estate purchase in Brunswick County. A Buyer's Agent represents YOUR best interests at all times, and at NO cost to you. I will show you ALL properties that meet your criteria, including the entire MLS, and For Sale By Owner. No pressure, no steering..... just helping you find the very BEST properties, uncovering material facts, negotiating the BEST price, and facilitating a smooth Closing. It's that simple.

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