Here is a snap shot of our local Real Estate Market in New Bern North Carolina:

What is Currently under contract:

Under $100,00: 8 Homes

$100,00-$150,000: 24 Homes

$150,000-$200,000: 22 Homes

$250,000 – $300,000: 24 Homes

$300,000 – $350,000: 12 Homes

$350,000-$400,000: 5 Homes

Over $400,000: 16 Homes

There are Currently 1181 Homes for sale in Craven County to include New Bern, and Havelock.

From August 17 to Sept. 17 2008: 73 Homes have closed

Compare these to the home sales stats for August 2007.

I had a call today from a first time home buyer looking to purchase his first home. He unfortunately made the mistake of going with the first company he came to. Avoid this pitfall and you will save yourself a great deal of hassle and money.

1. If you are paired with a Real Estate Agent referred to you by a bank, make sure they are acting in your best interest? If they are associated with a referral company, then they must maintain their allegiance with that company.

2. Get a good faith estimate from your mortgage company and do not rely on verbal quotes. If it is not in writing then it can not be guaranteed.

3. If you do not look further than the first mortgage company you come to, do not expect to get the best deal. Go to 3 recommended companies and get good faith estimates to compare them side by side.

Now that a new tax bill has been passed, maybe you can buy that new home you have always wanted to buy!

On July 30th 2008, The President of The United States signed a bill that will help our housing economy get back on it’s feet, or will it?

This new bill HR 3221 called Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, will provide tax breaks for the first time home buyer.

The first time home buyer will receive a tax credit equal to 10% of the purchase price of their home up to $7,500 but this is temporary and will need to be repaid.

This credit is also tied to ones adjustable Gross Income and there is a time limit in which to buy your home.

To Read More About this New Tax Law go to this web site.

An effective way to deal with predators is to taste terrible.

This past weekend I spent sometime in Chapel Hill, NC, which is where I went to college.  While relaxing in the Carolina Inn, an awesome place to stay I might add,  a newspaper cover story caught my eye. The title of the cover read “The American (Bad) Dream, How we got in the foreclosure mess- and how we can get out”

OK media people enough is enough!

This story seen in the Independent Weekly is a prime example of what is wrong with the Real Estate market. Why can no one in the media report on how a few bad

lenders, a part of the subprime market, gave all of the lenders a bad name.   

New Bern and Havelock, markets in which I practice Real Estate, have not seen this level of malpractice and deceptive practices. Our lenders on the whole seem to have placed people in the homes that they can really afford.      

It seems that some people in the media are now trying to report on ways to help but do not realize that what would help is some positive influence from them, a heart felt story of people trying to help other people. 

How about how a Real Estate Agent worked with a Lender to prevent a good man from losing his home to the foreclosure process!

 We do care about people!