MyGoldsboroAgent.com News & Information

Wayne Cty. Market Stats. 1st Qtr 2008

2008-04-15T10:12:00.002-05:00

The first quarter of 2008 was a similar reflection of the overall housing market in the United States. A positive note to bring out of the doom and gloom is that we have fared much better than many other state and metropolitan markets. Our average time on market is still under 6 months! Many states are still over a year or longer on market.

The stats do show a slowdown and an adjustment in prices by about $2,000 on average from the 4th quarter of 2007. Average days on market did increase but not by a huge amount as everyone might have expected. The tightened credit market did reduce the overall sales volume, but personally I am very happy with our local market considering the state of affairs for the country. The number of new listings increased, but this is normal for sellers to get listed and prepared for the spring market increase.

Our current trends are looking upward at the moment. Sellers have been reducing their homes to market bearing prices and homebuyers have responded. The response has been much quicker than the previous year as well. Also, after many delays by the government, Seymour Johnson is finally starting to see a trickle of the net gain of approximately 300 families that are moving to Goldsboro. MyGoldsboroAgent.com is booking with buyers fast for the summer months from this historically significant move. Much of the economic development you are currently seeing such as new restaurants, stores, and apartments have been in anticipation of this sudden population increase for Goldsboro/Wayne County.

I feel fairly confident that the military move may be the shot in the arm that our housing market needs until the overall market turns around. This should keep our market balanced and if expert's predictions are correct, the 2009 housing market should be very close to getting back to normal.

Total New Listings During This Time Frame: 477

Average Sold Price: $134,132

Average Days on Market: 144

Total Home Sales Sold Dollar Volume: $32,057,493

Information About Our Virtual Tours

2008-03-25T10:19:00.005-05:00

I was asked a really great question by a home seller recently about the size of our virtual tour pictures compared to some other real estate company's virtual tours. I thought it was such a great question that I decided to include the answer in our company's Real Estate Q&A section of our website. Here is a copy of the answer:

9. Why doesn't MyGoldsboroAgent.com currently use larger pictures and moving-panoramic virtual tours to showcase homes?

Actually, I would love to put big, beautiful photos of seller's homes and fancy panoramas on our website! Unfortunately, the reality is only about 30% of the North American population has a broadband connection as of the end of 2007 (237,168,545 Total Internet Users & 72,313,133 Broadband Connections). The panoramic virtual tours you may see on other REALTOR's websites do look great, but if if a homebuyer is using dial-up, these tours are virtually useless or it may take the potential buyer several nights just to look at a few homes online. There are still areas of Wayne County where broadband is not even offered!

Many studies have been done regarding internet users and webpage loading times. To simplify and make this short, basically, if a potential homebuyer has to wait too long to see a virtual tour, he will "surf" to someone else's real estate webpage that takes less time to load. For example, if you are a home seller with a virtual tour that is too large, your home's virtual tour may not be viewed but a buyer views your neighbor's home up the street because the virtual tour downloads quickly, and that homebuyer falls in love and purchases it, not even looking at your home. This is a scenario that we are avoiding by keeping our home pics and virtual tours at a reasonable size.

As the web technician for MyGoldsboroAgent.com I am walking the virtual tour quality/size vs. download time tight-rope to allow our homes to have the most exposure possible. I am always monitoring website usage and will continue to increase the quality/size of our virtual tours as internet technology increases for the average homebuyer and/or web surfer. The last thing MyGoldsboroAgent.com wants to do is eliminate 70% of the potential homebuyers (refer to statistics above) due to a slow loading website.

Weldon Williford, REALTOR
Broker-In-Charge
MyGoldsboroAgent.com

After the Smoke Clears

2008-03-18T11:05:00.003-05:00

Wayne county has been somewhat protected from the mortgage fallout in 2007 due to the fact that our market never seems to have a big price boom like more metropolitan areas. However, we started feeling the credit "squeeze" near the end of last year and it blew in hard the first quarter of this year.

If you know anything about credit scores, you understand how they affect your ability to get a loan. During the great sub-prime days of the past booming years, we saw clients with 560 or lower scores get loans. Now, it seems for even a government backed FHA loan clients need to have 620 or even higher depending on circumstances just to get a loan.

This increase in criteria has caused a slow-down in our market. Homes are still moving and certain pockets of the county still do not appear to be affected. However, we are starting to see very mild price pressures and a slowdown in new construction starts. These price reductions do not seem to be in vain though.

We have seen an increase in buyer activity in the past few weeks. The reductions and/or lack of home price increases, combined with some government tinkering with interest rates, and beautiful early spring weather has stimulated our real estate market. Our company outlook for later spring and summer is very positive. We currently have the most listings in company history and our web traffic is continually increasing. Web traffic is a great indicator of buyer activity since most buyers go to the internet first, before actually calling an agent. The government continues to tinker with FHA loans and interest rates. We'll have to see what affect these things have on the market over the next few months. We are all watching.

I'll have a first quarter report available the first of April.

Wayne Cty. Market Stats. 4th Qtr 2007

2008-01-11T13:30:00.000-05:00

The 4th quarter of 2007 was a reflection of the state of overall housing issues facing NC and the nation. Wayne county has grown over past several years, which has lead to a greater number of potential sellers as reflected in the number of total new listings. This new listings figure has continued to rise and has caused a glutton of inventory for real estate companies. The average sales price decreased and the days on market increased even as total volume remained stable. The main issue is that the volume is not increasing to keep up with the number of new listings on the market. At one point during the months of Nov. and Dec. there were over 150 listings in the $200,000 - $225,000 price range alone. So, if your home was for sale in the price range, you were lucky to have a showing with 8-10 in 150 odds per homebuyer. The positives of this market are that we have not seen a great decline in volume and buyer activity is still strong regardless of the negative news and media. Based upon buyer calls and web activity, we see a definite increase in sales volume for the first quarter of 2008.

Total New Listings During This Time Frame: 448
Average Sold Price: $136,073
Average Days on Market: 137
Total Home Sales Sold Dollar Volume: $35,651,068

AT&T to Create 350 Jobs, Invest $4.5 Million in Goldsboro

2007-12-11T18:24:00.000-05:00

GOLDSBORO, N.C. — AT&T Inc. plans to invest $4.5 million and create 350 new jobs in Goldsboro.
Company officials said Tuesday that hiring for the new positions will begin by next month. The jobs will be at a support center for AT&T's Internet subsidiary.
The center will provide technical assistance to high speed Internet subscribers in the Southeast.
AT&T officials said the center should be up and running in the second quarter of next year.

Map It! Listing Detail Feature Got Microsoft'd-Update

2007-12-11T11:26:00.001-05:00

Hello Everyone!
Now the MyAgent Mapsearch feature is directly linked to the Map It! feature on the listing/home detail pages. This way, regardless of how you found the listing detail page, the link will carry you to the innovative MyAgent Mapsearch page where you can zoom in, get driving directions, and view an actual satellite view of the property through Google's interface.

MyGoldsboroAgent.com is now Firefox Browser Friendly

2007-11-29T12:20:00.000-05:00

A larger percentage of the internet browsing population are using other browsers besides Internet Explorer than ever before. Mozilla's Firefox is the #2 leading browser on the web, currently. This browser, packaged as part of a Google download and available independently through Mozilla, is supposed to be faster, easier to use, and more secure. Firefox, however, reads HTML coding a little differently. This has posed some issues for viewers who have been using Firefox to browse our site. I have corrected all active listings and navigation pages to be Firefox compatible. I will be correcting closed/sold listings as I have time. The internet is always evolving and MyGoldsboroAgent.com is doing everything we can to stay ahead of the curve.

Map It! Listing Detail Feature Got Microsoft'd

2007-11-28T14:04:00.000-05:00

It seems I have a love/hate relationship with Microsoft. I love using Outlook, hate it when it crashes. I love the functionality of Windows, hate rebooting when it crashes. Now, Microsoft, in an effort to compete with Google and Yahoo, have redesigned their Live Search mapping program. I believe it is worse than before and has ruined the functionality of MyGoldsboroAgent's Map It! feature on each of our listings.

I am currently researching ways to make the Map It! feature function without the use of Microsoft. In the meantime, the Map It! feature is practically useless. I apologize for the inconvenience and hope have this resolved as quickly as possible.

Wayne Cty. Market Stats. Aug. & Sept. 2007

2007-10-16T14:11:00.000-05:00

August and September's results show an indication that home prices are relatively stable for now. The average sold price actually increased over the 3 month period previously. The average days on market does continue to increase but is still not as long as the stats for January and February with 142 days on market at that time. The total MLS inventory does seem to be growing with over 600 listings at $100,000 and above in the MLS. MyGoldsboroAgent.com has also seen our inventory grow to over 40 listings for the first time in company history. The growing total MLS inventory combined with a growing average days on market does give us something interesting to watch in the coming months. In this competitive climate, an aggressive and creative marketing plan like MyGoldsboroAgent.com has to offer is definitely a benefit.

Total New Listings: 296

Average Sold Price: $144,847

Average Days on Market: 135

Total Sold Dollar Volume: $27,521,023

Another Reason We Partnered with Countrywide Home Loans

2007-09-20T12:57:00.001-05:00

1/3 of Purchase Loans Originated by Mortgage Brokers Failed to Close Last Month Says Survey
Thursday, September 13, 2007 - By Staff Writer, The National Realty News

WASHINGTON, DC – About 33% of home purchase closings of loans originated by mortgage brokers were canceled during August, according to a new national survey, which also found that 57% of brokers’ customers could not refinance adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) that had resetting interest rates.

The survey also asked mortgage brokers to specify the lenders they are most likely to use going forward. For prime conforming production, Countrywide was most often selected as the most likely lender going forward.

Countrywide Home Loans is an actual lender, not a broker. When you deal with Nelda Cales of Countrywide Home Loans you are getting a loan "directly from the bank". There is no question of your loan closing when you are working with the #1 mortgage lender in North America. MyGoldsboroAgent.com demands the best for our clients and this just one more reason that we chose Countrywide Home Loans as our strategic partner and team member.

MyPayment Calculator-Now Available!

2007-09-20T12:47:00.000-05:00

With the announcement of our strategic partnership with Countrywide Home Loans, our MyPayment Calculator is now functioning again! Look for the link on the left hand navigation side of our website. Here is a direct link.

Introducing A Partnership With Countrywide Home Loans

2007-09-20T12:27:00.000-05:00

MyGoldsboroAgent.com is proud to announce a strategic partnership with the #1 mortage lender & the strongest financially in North America, Countrywide Home Loans. MyGoldsboroAgent.com has always strived to provide the best service for our clients and after thorough research of mortgage lenders, we chose Countrywide Home Loans to be a part of our team. Our loan officer representative, Nelda Cales, is outstanding at giving our clients the best customer service possible. Nelda Cales is also an East Carolina University graduate who is intelligent, personable, and a genuinely caring person. Nelda is available 7 days a week and you may call her anytime of the day.

Countrywide Home Loans

Nelda Cales, Loan Officer

800-875-1266 Ext. 4804

Nelda_Cales@Countrywide.com

For More Information about Nelda or To Apply Visit

http://countrywide.dorado.com/neldacales/

Train Service Coming Back to Goldsboro!

2007-08-20T10:11:00.000-05:00

In a victory with the DOT over Fayetteville, NC, Goldsboro has won the right to be the connector for the "new" old passenger rail system for eastern north carolina. This connector will link up from Wilmington to stations in Raleigh, NC. A north/south connector is planned from Wilmington to Richmond,Va. This is just the beginning stages as the DOT has just purchased the historic Union Station in Goldsboro for renovation. This is exciting news for Goldsboro and one more reason that Goldsboro will continue to grow and thrive.

News Article From Goldsboro News-Argus

Credit Guide Now Updated

2007-08-10T13:16:00.001-05:00

The MyGoldsboroAgent.com credit guide has now been updated with latest links to credit information from HUD and the companies that provide the credit scores themselves. Explore the links of information; there are hours of reading about everything and anything you would want to know about credit!

Here's a direct link: http://www.mygoldsboroagent.com/creditguide.htm

MyPayment Calculator-Temporarily Down

2007-08-06T15:26:00.000-05:00

Our mortgage calculator will be back online soon. We are in the process of partnering with a new mortgage company that will be a huge asset to our company and our clients. Once this partnership is complete we will have the MyPayment Calculator up and running again. If you have any questions about mortgage payments in the meantime, feel free to call our office at 919-778-8481 and we will be happy to recommend a mortgage lender that can quote an accurate, quick payment on any amount that you may be interested in.

Wayne Cty. Market Stats. May, June, July 2007

2007-07-30T14:48:00.000-05:00

May and June's results were as expected. Wayne county experienced a great flow of summer buyers and many new listings were added to the market. As always, the market cooled for the July 4th weekend vacationers and has slowly picked up pace since.

Total New Listings During This Time Frame : 636
Average Sold Price: $141,269
Average Days on Market: 134
Total Sold Dollar Volume: $46,053,667

Retirees Stay at Home-Developers Evolve

2007-06-18T14:34:00.000-05:00

I have always wondered where everyone lived once they retired due to all of the marketing that has been done to retirees-even entire magazines are devoted to relocating retirees. Because of experience with our clients I have seen that they tend to stay within driving distance of family. According to this census study, this confirms that the majority of retirees are simply using this information to buy 2nd homes or vacation properties. Developers now are changing focus to a "local" level. Single-story townhomes here in Wayne County are also very popular with retiring locals. Give us a call to find out more about these neighborhoods.

Developers Home in on Retirees Who Stay Near Home

It’s a myth that most retirees pull up stakes and move to Florida or Arizona. In fact, retiring close to home is the norm rather than the exception.

An AARP analysis of U.S. Census figures from 1990 and 2000 shows that nine out of every 10 Americans 60 years and older were living in the same county they’d lived in five years before the surveys were taken; more than three-quarters had even lived in the same house.

Savvy developers are recognizing this reality and finding ways to benefit from it. Pulte has opened 53 Del Webb active-adult retirement communities since 2001, many of them in states not considered retirement meccas: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, and Illinois.

Dave Schreiner, a vice president for Pulte homes, says his company started out building retirement villages in Arizona and California, where they served a minority who wanted to leave home in favor of a warmer spot. But by the mid-90s, Schreiner says, the company had switched its focus to building retirement villages near population centers all over the country.

“It's perceived to be a trend, but really, we were just catching up," says Schreiner. "There was a market there always; it was just a market that hasn't been served."
Source: USA Today, Adam Edelman (06/11/2007)

Asheville Bans Gated Communities

2007-06-18T14:18:00.000-05:00

In an attempt to make the city of Asheville, NC more open to traffic and an attempt to make the city available to all classes of people, they have banned the use of gates and security at the front of new neighborhoods. Do you see this as a good thing or a restriction of choice? Builders want to provide gates because this is what home buyers want -to feel safe or at least have the appearance of safety. Opponents to the ordinance also feel that this will contribute to urban sprawl, just pushing development outside of the city. Just on the surface, using the law of supply and demand, the current owners of homes in gated communities just received a huge increase in their property values as the ordinance does not affect current gated or already approved communities.

by Joel Burgess, JBURGESS@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM
published June 13, 2007 12:15 am
ASHEVILLE — The City Council voted Tuesday to forbid new gated communities, following through on concerns the developments make the city less of a community.

The ban passed by the council on a 5-2 vote applies to future developments, which would no longer be allowed to restrict access to only residents and their guests, done usually with gates or security workers

“I’m not for them because I think it is segregation by class,” said Heather Rayburn, one of two people speaking at a public hearing before the vote. Both spoke for the ban.
Rayburn, the president of the Five Points Neighborhood Association, said developments with gates offer good things, such as green space and a sense of security.

But they also hamper “social connectivity” and traffic flow and rarely have affordable housing, she said.
The council action also forbids new gated developments just outside municipal borders where Asheville exercises zoning control.

It does not affect existing gated developments or those already approved by the city.
Voting to approve the ban were Mayor Terry Bellamy, Vice Mayor Holly Jones, Brownie Newman, Bryan Freeborn and Robin Cape. Jan Davis and Carl Mumpower voted no.

Supporters of the ban have said it would keep Asheville from fragmenting along class lines and would help traffic flow.
Gated developments add cars to access roads without adding to the overall traffic grid, they said.
“I just don’t want Asheville to become a series of gated communities, especially with the more high-end neighborhoods as they continue to be developed,” Mayor Terry Bellamy has said.

Before Tuesday’s vote, Cape and Davis tried to insert an amendment to allow gates in rare cases.
Reasons could have included stopping speeding traffic through residential areas and protecting poor high-crime neighborhoods.

“The developments will move outside the city to take advantage of what Asheville has to offer but also that exclusivity,” Davis said.
The Rev. Christopher Chiaromonte, a City Council candidate and the other person to speak for the ban, said gated communities were based on fear.
“Gated communities are just a manifestation of our own fear and fear breeds fear,” Chiaromonte said.

Home Prices Fall-First Time in 16 Years!

2007-06-04T10:26:00.000-05:00

Home prices fall 1.4 percent over last year
Prices of single-family homes edge down in 1st quarter for 1st time since 1991; Detroit and San Diego lead declines.

May 29 2007: 10:10 AM EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Prices of existing U.S. single-family homes fell in the first quarter from a year earlier for the first time since 1991, the Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller national home price index reported on Tuesday.
The quarterly index dropped 0.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2006 and was down 1.4 percent from the first quarter of 2006.
"The fall of the national index into negative territory, after more than 15 years of positive annual growth, is a reaffirmation of the pullback in the U.S. residential real estate market," Robert J. Shiller, chief economist at MacroMarkets LLC, said in a release.
"The national index was yielding solid returns as recently as a year ago," he added. "First quarter 2006 growth rates were up 11.5 percent versus Q1 2005, a sharp contrast to the returns we are seeing today."
House prices in March fell in 13 of the 20 metro areas covered by the index, S&P said in the release.
The composite month-over-month index of 20 metropolitan areas fell 0.3 percent to 200.89 in March from February and was down 1.4 percent from March 2006.
S&P said its composite month-over-month of 10 metropolitan areas dropped 0.4 percent in March to 219.54, or a 1.9 percent year-over-year decline.
Detroit and San Diego posted the biggest annual declines of 8.4 percent and 6.0 percent, respectively.
Phoenix and Las Vegas have seen the largest price slides from their peaks. In September 2005, Phoenix showed a 49.3 percent growth rate and Las Vegas jumped 53.2 percent in September 2004. Those cities in March had respective price drops of 3 percent an 1.6 percent.
Sluggish home sales have hit the nation's largest homebuilders such as Centex (Charts, Fortune 500), Pulte (Charts, Fortune 500) and Hovnanian (Charts, Fortune 500).

Over-Inflated Areas Taking Home Sales Hit

2007-05-23T15:58:00.000-05:00

The report below from the North Carolina Association of REALTOR(s) is confirming that there was an over-exuberance in "popular" real estate markets throughout the state. There is rarely an instance to justify a 25% - 50% increase in sales prices over just a one year period, yet this is what has happened in many areas of the state. I recently traveled to the Emerald-Isle/Beaufort areas and saw real estate signs everywhere. As any REALTOR would say, price is the number one factor for selling a home. Some say(and obviously the REALTOR(s) in that area agree with the pricing) that out-of-state buyers can afford these inflated prices, but these states that they are coming from are experiencing difficulties of their own. In my opinion, the local economy in this coastal region does not support these home prices. Average income locals and even those within driving distance are not able afford these homes- even with 2 earner house-holds. You will continue to see sales volume and sales prices decline until some sort of balance is achieved. I also saw a report of a 17% decrease of sales in the Asheville, NC area as well, so the mountains are not immune to this price correction either.

North Carolina existing home sales for April 2007 held fairly steady with a 3 percent decrease in unit sales when compared to the same time period a year ago. However, the state’s slight dip shows signs of correction when compared to March numbers that showed a decrease of 7 percent.
According to statistics compiled by the North Carolina Association of REALTORS®, 11,256 units were sold in April. Total sales dollars for the month were $2,466,888,812 and the average existing home sales price was up 4 percent to $219,162.
Jacksonville posted the state’s strongest year-to-date sales growth at 17 percent and the state’s largest price appreciation at 16 percent. Mountain and coastal areas of the state are continuing to see downturns in total dollar sales. Areas of the state seeing the largest downturn include Brunswick County, Brevard, Washington-Beaufort counties, Haywood County and Carteret County at -49, -30, -24, -22 and -20 percent, respectively.

Wayne Cty. Market Stats. Mar. & Apr. 2007

2007-05-23T15:48:00.000-05:00

Although the average sales price dropped from January and February, total volume increased and the days on market also decreased. I believe this shows we have a healthy market and the "spring-early summer rush" is beginning. May is looking to be a very strong month as well.

Total New Listings During This Time Frame : 371
Average Sold Price : $125,592
Average Days on Market: 132
Total Sold Dollar Volume: $21,852,953

Gardening Links Updated in Info Center

2007-05-21T13:49:00.000-05:00

While I have been busy updating and creating new features for the MyGoldsboroAgent.com website, I haven't kept the MyGoldsboroAgent.com InfoCenter as up-to-date as I would like. Today, I was able to check the links and add some of my favorite gardening websites to the list. If you have a gardening site that you use on a continuous basis, please share it with us so we can use it too! Here a link to the gardening page: http://www.mygoldsboroagent.com/garden.htm

You can spend all day on these sites, trust me. :)

Tax Maps Now Available on Property Detail Pages

2007-05-17T10:25:00.000-05:00

Just looking at lot dimensions or total acreage doesn't tell the whole story. Now we have the ability to show you the actual tax map for properties listed in Wayne County. The tax map is available in the lower left hand corner of each property detail page in the Lot Size section, under the Property Info header. By clicking on Tax Map, a new page will pop-up with an easy to print version of the map. Keep in mind that you may have to refer back to the lot dimensions, as the tax office does not always list every dimension. PLEASE NOTE: the tax map is not an actual survey and is only for observational purposes.

Another MyGoldsboroAgent.com First!!!

2007-04-11T14:29:00.000-05:00

MyGoldsboroAgent.com is "leading" the way, again, in Wayne County! We are the first and currently the only firm with a customized, easy-to-use map search for our company listings! Now you can visualize where our homes are located on a map. This allows you to choose the perfect home based upon location. The map is easy and simple to use. Just mouse over the icons on the map and the address and price for each home will pop up. When you find one that you are interested in, simply click the icon and a balloon will appear. If you would like a larger picture click the enlarge icon. If you would like a link to the home's main information page and Virtual Tour, just click the main blue heading and you will redirected to that page. Happy home searching!

Link to MyAgent MapSearch

Wayne Cty. Market Stats. Jan. & Feb. 2007

2007-03-14T10:20:00.000-05:00

The Goldsboro/Wayne County market is still moving along at a very good pace. MyGoldsboroAgent.com has been very strong and has seen an increase in sales volume over the same period in 2006. Below are NAR statistics that I have pulled from our MLS system for Wayne county only.

Total New Listings During This Time Frame: 256
Median Sold Price : $136,000
Average Sold Price: $134,035
Average Days on Market: 142
Total Home Sales Sold Dollar Volume: $19,166,941