Highlands Real Estate Market Trends – North Carolina

News for Highlands, NC - Friday April 9th, 2010 5:35pm
U.S. - Pending home sales show healthy gain, hint at spring surge
WASHINGTON - April 05, 2010 - Pending home sales rose in February, potentially signaling a second surge of home sales in response to the homebuyer tax credit, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in February, rose 8.2 percent to 97.6 from a downwardly revised 90.2 in January. The Index is 17.3 percent above February 2009 when it was 83.2. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which usually occur with a lag time of one or two months.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says the improvement is another hopeful sign. "The rise in buyer contact activity may signal the early stages of a second surge of home sales this spring. The healthy gain hints home prices are continuing to flatten," he says. "We need a second surge to meaningfully draw down inventory and definitively stabilize home values."

The PHSI in the Northeast rose 9.0 percent to 77.7 in February and is 18.9 percent higher than February 2009. In the Midwest, the index jumped 21.8 percent to 97.9 and is 18.7 percent above a year ago.Pending home sales in the South increased 9.2 percent to an index of 107.0, and the index is 17.5 percent higher than February 2009. In the West, the index fell 4.8 percent to 98.0 but is 14.6 percent above a year ago.

"Anecdotally, we're hearing about a rise of activity in recent weeks with ongoing reports of multiple offers in more markets, so the March data could demonstrate additional improvement from buyers responding to the tax credit," Yun says.

© 2010 Florida Realtors®
... [ + Read Full Article ]

News for Highlands, NC - Saturday March 27th, 2010 11:20am
Where Homes Prices Are Rising
Les Christie, CNNMoney.com
Mar 19th, 2010
ARTICLE TOOLS: Email article Printable view IM article Save to del.icio.us Bookmark
The drama is nearly over. After a decade of extremes—the ebullient highs of the real estate boom, then the devastating lows of the bust—calmer forces are beginning to prevail in the housing market. The big fall-off in home values, which has taken the median price of a house down almost 30% since 2006, looks to be in its final stages in most places: Three-quarters of the nation's 384 metropolitan areas will see prices down less than 5% a year from now, according to projections from Fiserv and Moody's Economy.com; 10% seem poised for modest increases. Meanwhile, Uncle Sam is lending a steadying hand with programs designed to prop up the market — at least for a while yet.

In this quieter environment lie new challenges and opportunities for homebuyers, sellers, owners, and investors. For the first time in years you aren't completely at the mercy of market forces: You can really affect how much you make (or lose). To come out on top, though, you need to understand the key trends shaping the shifting market.

News for Highlands, NC - Wednesday March 10th, 2010 12:18pm
Discovering Highlands
by Susie on January 2, 2010

Dozens of years ago, my grandparents were looking for an escape from the brutal, summer heat of southern Florida.


Like many others who had heard about a gorgeous, cool mountain community in western North Carolina, they made their way to Highlands for a vacation. And over the course of their stay, they fell in love with the area and promptly purchased real estate.

It was a decision that would effect their lives, their children's lives as well as the lives of their grandchildren and even great-grandchildren.

Over the course of the years, my dad and his brothers vacationed in Highlands and spent their summers in an area camp for boys. They swam, fished, and canoed in the sparkling lakes and played in the streams and rivers. My dad and uncles hiked the hills and peaks and had many adventures around campfires.

The soft, ancient Appalachian mountains were hypnotic.

Nearly 50 years ago when my dad was seeking a place to start a business and his family, he immediately decided upon Highlands. He wanted to experience the joys of his boyhood summers on a daily basis for the rest of his life.

It seemed that Highlands still held his heart and soul captive.

When you hear how others first found Highlands and why they continue to return, the stories tend to sound very similar. There is just something about the place, even greater than its beauty, that beckons them. Highlands' residents and visitors make the community what it is — an extended family. Of course, there is also the mystique and magic of the small town perched upon a plateau at 4,118 feet above sea level.

The mystique and magic that is Highlands.

This blog will take you on a journey — one that will introduce you to Highlands and help you get to know the community. I will help you discover the secrets and special insights that insiders know.

And when you find yourself falling in love with Highlands like so many before you, I will help you understand the Highlands real estate market and how to make the best real estate investment decisions possible.

Welcome to Highlands, NC!

... [ + Read Full Article ]