Local market is starting to fire up!
This past Sunday, 24 different buyers came to 4 Kaspar Team Open Houses, which we ran on the same days, Sunday, February 9th, 2007.
That in itself may not sound so remarkable, but just 60 days ago, we did a few Open Houses and just one buyer showed up. With interest rates so low, hovering about 5%, and over 17,000 homes on the market in the Raleigh, Durham, Cary area, buyers are starting to get the message. Now is a great time to buy. Many sellers who put their home on the market in Cary, Holly Springs, Garner, Raleigh, Wake Forest, and Clayton, have now been trying to sell for over 150 days! So prices have been going down on that inventory, which was offered starting in October and over the holidays.
Meanwhile, new listings are coming on higher, due in part to the new Tax Assessments, which in many cases went up 20% to 30% and more. Although sellers should realize in North Carolina that tax rates have no relationship to market rates. Tax Rates are just a way to get more money from property owners, and are fixed for several years. The market can go up and down, the tax man gets his at a guaranteed rate.
I urge sellers to stop looking at tax rates, and only focus 3 things: 1) Similar square footage homes on the market now and their cost per square foot. 2) Similar size homes that sold and transferred ownership in the last six months, and 3) The condition, features, maintenance, age of critical systems like heating and cooling, room, etc., and how the current condition of their home compares with others on the market and recently sold. Then we'll establish a price $5,000 or $10,000 higher in most cases, and market it aggressively. With my system of Internet Advertising, and local marketing, homes usually sell before the average time.
For current market statistics, background and expert real estate advise and service for the Research Triangle Area, Cary, Apex, Raleigh and Durham, go to: www.kasparteam.com
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
NC Still a Top Destination Choice!
Check out this great article from the editors of Conway.com
North Carolina keeps its spot atop Site Selection's U.S. Business Climate ranking; a defense contractor explains why he's not surprised.
by MARK AREND and ADAM BRUNS,editor bounce@conway.com
North Carolina has no intention of ceding its Top Business Climate ranking any time soon. For the third consecutive year – and for the sixth time in seven years – North Carolina ranks first in Site Selection's annual state business climate analysis.
Dan Busher, executive vice president, Force Protection, Inc.
Photo by Karen Tam Photography, Raleigh, N.C.Fifty percent of the total score is based on a survey of corporate real estate decision makers and 50 percent comes from data associated with actual project activity as tracked by our proprietary New Plant database (see the charts). Even as North Carolina economic development officials were learning of their latest business climate win in October, the state's power to produce jobs was evident. INC Research, a contract research organization (CRO), announced October 10th that it would create 1,093 new jobs through a $19-million expansion at its headquarters in Raleigh, where it already employs 362. A Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) helped close the deal, but CEO Jim Ogle cited "access and proximity to world-class academic and research facilities" as the key factor in growing its Raleigh operation. In September, PRA International, another CRO, announced it would relocate its headquarters from northern Virginia to Raleigh, where it will have access to a well-stocked talent pool; more than 40 biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies are based in the Raleigh area. But CEO Terrance Beiker said at the project announcement that another factor was in play, as well. "The business climate and quality of life offered by North Carolina should allow the company to reduce corporate infrastructure costs and ensure a highly efficient, qualified and satisfied work force." And speaking of CROs, Quintiles Transnational Corp. announced in November 2006 a $10-million, 1,000-job expansion at its Durham headquarters. A private developer is investing $50 million to build a facility for Quintiles in Durham. But CROs aren't the only companies investing in North Carolina.
Quick and Assertive' Dan Busher, executive vice president of armored vehicle manufacturer Force Protection, Inc., wasn't surprised to learn of North Carolina's Top Business Climate billing. Busher recently worked with the state in securing a former Collins & Aikman plant in Roxboro in which to expand its manufacturing operations. "I became acquainted with what North Carolina had to offer because we were already doing business in South Carolina," he explains. "We were looking for another site and wanted to stay in the southeast generally. We spent a lot of time looking in South Carolina, which, by the way, has a good business climate, too." After scanning existing sites and buildings in the North Carolina Dept. of Commerce's database (since updated to a new EDIS, or electronic data information system),
Busher's team narrowed the search to two buildings. "The Commerce folks were very quick and assertive," says Busher, in terms of "understanding the project and our needs, and making preliminary commitments to how they might support those needs. They referred us to resources to support the grant process, too," he relates. "Locally, the folks in Person County were hungry to understand our project and needs. They wanted to not just bring on money, but take on projects as inducements to bringing in the plant. Instead of discussion about tax incentives, they wanted to know about our needs. "We were looking at a large, unsecured site, and they were aggressive about understanding what security meant to us," Busher says. "They worked with neighbors to solve existing right-of-way issues, and were quick and aggressive to resolve and move that right of way. It's really just a climate of seeking to understand in more creative ways than just throwing money at it."
United in Success "What stood out at the state, city and county levels was that once we expressed interest, they were very proactive," Busher says. "There was not a lot of bureaucracy, not a lot of red tape. They worked with us to make the application process as painless as possible. "We had one very memorable meeting," Busher recalls. "After my first viewing of the property, I told our CEO it might be worth his time for a second visit. When we came back, the economic development team of Glen Newsome [executive director of the Person County Economic Development Commission] and Jim Stovall [chairman of the Person County Economic Development Board] arranged a lunch at Piedmont Community College, whose president was there. They had the mayor, the school superintendent, city council members and county council members. We had lunch together, got to know each other and shared material about the company and the community. It wasn't just a table full of people attending a meeting. To a person, everyone had something they wanted to offer to help our project succeed. They all had something tangible to contribute to make the project a success." Force Protection's customers are led by all branches of the U.S. Dept. of Defense, but also include the Iraqi military, via the U.S. Dept. of Defense, "as part of the effort to equip and train the Iraqi Army," says Busher. Other customers include the U.K. Ministry of Defense, and there are "sales pending with the Canadians and Italians, and ongoing discussions with other parties," he says. "But you can imagine the U.S. government is inclined to consume most of our capacity."
For other pertinent info go to www.KasparTeam.com for searching for ALL listings in the triangle, Raleigh, Cary and other areas of NC real estate.
North Carolina keeps its spot atop Site Selection's U.S. Business Climate ranking; a defense contractor explains why he's not surprised.
by MARK AREND and ADAM BRUNS,editor bounce@conway.com
North Carolina has no intention of ceding its Top Business Climate ranking any time soon. For the third consecutive year – and for the sixth time in seven years – North Carolina ranks first in Site Selection's annual state business climate analysis.
Dan Busher, executive vice president, Force Protection, Inc.
Photo by Karen Tam Photography, Raleigh, N.C.Fifty percent of the total score is based on a survey of corporate real estate decision makers and 50 percent comes from data associated with actual project activity as tracked by our proprietary New Plant database (see the charts). Even as North Carolina economic development officials were learning of their latest business climate win in October, the state's power to produce jobs was evident. INC Research, a contract research organization (CRO), announced October 10th that it would create 1,093 new jobs through a $19-million expansion at its headquarters in Raleigh, where it already employs 362. A Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) helped close the deal, but CEO Jim Ogle cited "access and proximity to world-class academic and research facilities" as the key factor in growing its Raleigh operation. In September, PRA International, another CRO, announced it would relocate its headquarters from northern Virginia to Raleigh, where it will have access to a well-stocked talent pool; more than 40 biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies are based in the Raleigh area. But CEO Terrance Beiker said at the project announcement that another factor was in play, as well. "The business climate and quality of life offered by North Carolina should allow the company to reduce corporate infrastructure costs and ensure a highly efficient, qualified and satisfied work force." And speaking of CROs, Quintiles Transnational Corp. announced in November 2006 a $10-million, 1,000-job expansion at its Durham headquarters. A private developer is investing $50 million to build a facility for Quintiles in Durham. But CROs aren't the only companies investing in North Carolina.
Quick and Assertive' Dan Busher, executive vice president of armored vehicle manufacturer Force Protection, Inc., wasn't surprised to learn of North Carolina's Top Business Climate billing. Busher recently worked with the state in securing a former Collins & Aikman plant in Roxboro in which to expand its manufacturing operations. "I became acquainted with what North Carolina had to offer because we were already doing business in South Carolina," he explains. "We were looking for another site and wanted to stay in the southeast generally. We spent a lot of time looking in South Carolina, which, by the way, has a good business climate, too." After scanning existing sites and buildings in the North Carolina Dept. of Commerce's database (since updated to a new EDIS, or electronic data information system),
Busher's team narrowed the search to two buildings. "The Commerce folks were very quick and assertive," says Busher, in terms of "understanding the project and our needs, and making preliminary commitments to how they might support those needs. They referred us to resources to support the grant process, too," he relates. "Locally, the folks in Person County were hungry to understand our project and needs. They wanted to not just bring on money, but take on projects as inducements to bringing in the plant. Instead of discussion about tax incentives, they wanted to know about our needs. "We were looking at a large, unsecured site, and they were aggressive about understanding what security meant to us," Busher says. "They worked with neighbors to solve existing right-of-way issues, and were quick and aggressive to resolve and move that right of way. It's really just a climate of seeking to understand in more creative ways than just throwing money at it."
United in Success "What stood out at the state, city and county levels was that once we expressed interest, they were very proactive," Busher says. "There was not a lot of bureaucracy, not a lot of red tape. They worked with us to make the application process as painless as possible. "We had one very memorable meeting," Busher recalls. "After my first viewing of the property, I told our CEO it might be worth his time for a second visit. When we came back, the economic development team of Glen Newsome [executive director of the Person County Economic Development Commission] and Jim Stovall [chairman of the Person County Economic Development Board] arranged a lunch at Piedmont Community College, whose president was there. They had the mayor, the school superintendent, city council members and county council members. We had lunch together, got to know each other and shared material about the company and the community. It wasn't just a table full of people attending a meeting. To a person, everyone had something they wanted to offer to help our project succeed. They all had something tangible to contribute to make the project a success." Force Protection's customers are led by all branches of the U.S. Dept. of Defense, but also include the Iraqi military, via the U.S. Dept. of Defense, "as part of the effort to equip and train the Iraqi Army," says Busher. Other customers include the U.K. Ministry of Defense, and there are "sales pending with the Canadians and Italians, and ongoing discussions with other parties," he says. "But you can imagine the U.S. government is inclined to consume most of our capacity."
For other pertinent info go to www.KasparTeam.com for searching for ALL listings in the triangle, Raleigh, Cary and other areas of NC real estate.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Why Mortgage Rates Just Went Up!
Check out this info from our good friends at New Garden Mortgage:
As you might know, I've been lamenting lately about the wild swings in mortgage interest rates and the difference between where rates SHOULD be and where they REALLY are.
Some of the problems are tied directly to the fact that with so many homes across the country empty or in foreclosure - and so many borrowers delinquent on mortgages - mortgage backed securities are NOT SEEN as the "safe haven" they were for the last 15 years.
Every few weeks the treasury department auctions US Treasuries to fund government debt. The treasury bonds are generally purchased by large funds wanting to have a balanced weight in their portfolios (your 401Ks and IRS accounts). This afternoon the Treasury held an auction for 30 year treasury bonds, and were surprised that there were virtually no bidders. It was the worst auction results EVER for the treasury department with 90% of the bonds purchased by dealers not funds managers. This gives the government very little options as they will obviously have difficulty issuing additional bonds to cover the new $600 per person bail out stimulus plan being debated in the Senate.
The "no bid" on 30 year treasury bonds sent the rates on 10 year treasuries sky rocketing. We are interested in this because mortgage interest rates generally follow the lead of the 10 year treasuries... All of this just reinforces the fact that the FED has no control over long term rates. They can cut the short term rates down to 1.5% - but if no one is lending money it doesn't really matter.
Bottom line, the FED and Congress are in a pickle... and rates continue to be VERY volatile!
If you know someone in need of educated mortgage options - please give them our name!
Steve and Eleanor Thorne
New Garden Mortgage
919-649-5058
As you might know, I've been lamenting lately about the wild swings in mortgage interest rates and the difference between where rates SHOULD be and where they REALLY are.
Some of the problems are tied directly to the fact that with so many homes across the country empty or in foreclosure - and so many borrowers delinquent on mortgages - mortgage backed securities are NOT SEEN as the "safe haven" they were for the last 15 years.
Every few weeks the treasury department auctions US Treasuries to fund government debt. The treasury bonds are generally purchased by large funds wanting to have a balanced weight in their portfolios (your 401Ks and IRS accounts). This afternoon the Treasury held an auction for 30 year treasury bonds, and were surprised that there were virtually no bidders. It was the worst auction results EVER for the treasury department with 90% of the bonds purchased by dealers not funds managers. This gives the government very little options as they will obviously have difficulty issuing additional bonds to cover the new $600 per person bail out stimulus plan being debated in the Senate.
The "no bid" on 30 year treasury bonds sent the rates on 10 year treasuries sky rocketing. We are interested in this because mortgage interest rates generally follow the lead of the 10 year treasuries... All of this just reinforces the fact that the FED has no control over long term rates. They can cut the short term rates down to 1.5% - but if no one is lending money it doesn't really matter.
Bottom line, the FED and Congress are in a pickle... and rates continue to be VERY volatile!
If you know someone in need of educated mortgage options - please give them our name!
Steve and Eleanor Thorne
New Garden Mortgage
919-649-5058
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