New Home sales in New Bern

It is a tough world out there for homebuilders throughout the country. Craven and Pamlico Counties are no exception. Just look at the statistics for sale of new homes over the last 4 years.

1. 2006 Jan.1-May 28 233 new home sales.

2. 2007 Jan.1-May28 213 new home sales

3.2008 Jan.1-May 28 118 new home sales

4. 2009 Jan.1-May 28 92 new home sales. As you can see new home sales are down 60% from 2006. On the plus side the inventory of new homes is down from last year but with current absorbption rates there is well over a year inventory. While that is not good for homebuilders it is good news for homebuyers. With plenty of homes to choose from and the lowest rates we have seen in over 60 years if you need a home now is the time to pull the trigger.

Great and Free-That's hard to beat

Free Concerts at the Tryon Palace

June 8th 7:PM
The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Band will play on the lawn behind the Palace

June 22nd 7:30 PM
The NC Symphony will play in the lawn behind the Palace

Bring your chair, blankets, drinks, and unbrella if weather is suspect. Come early as it gets very crowded.

See you there

Steve Tyson
www.newbern-nc.info

New Bern Real Estate News

Hello Folks,

Real Estate Inventory is rising quickly and is up around 15% since the beginning of the year. The reason is many folks are listing their homes at prices that buyers are not finding attractive.

When we get a call from someone looking to list their property I tell them that I am going to be straight up with them about what their house is likely to sell for in today's market. We will not take overpriced listings because they are not helpful to us or our customers. Forget last years prices and certainly don't think about the value of your home in 2006. We have to deal with the reality of the moment. The strategy of well we can always come down on price is not working. There is plenty of inventory out there priced right that buyers can choose from.

If you are not happy with the current market value of your home don't try to sell it. Perhaps renting your home is an option. The Tyson Group has a property management division so we can help you with that if you so choose.

If you looked at a graph of home prices nationwide for the last 70 years there would be a gentle rise of around 2-3% per year depending on where you were. In 2004-2006 home prices rose 89% which was unsustainable and required the real estate market to correct itself. That is what is happenning now. A home is a great investment. You get to live in it and in the long term home prices will appreciate around 2-3 % per year. In the short term, as with any investment, we don't know what will happen.

Art sale

Now that Ballantyne Framing & Art has moved out of their old building, it’s time to do some cleaning up! In honor of this historic move, Ballantyne Framing & Art, will hold a huge Art Rummage Sale at their former location 223 Middle Street in New Bern. There are numerous bargains that will interest artists and art lovers. Dozens of old frames will be drastically marked down. Also in the sale: art prints, original art, fixtures, shelves, collectables, filing cabinets, desks, mat board scraps and much more. The sale starts at 9 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 9, 2009. One day only.

Things to do in New Bern

The RetroRockets present: “Professor Doo-Wop’s History of Rock & Roll” at Broad Street Music May 9! The RetroRockets, New Bern’s premiere oldies band, will present “Professor Doo-Wop’s History of Rock & Roll”, on Saturday, May 9. Tracing the history of Rock & Roll through its roots in Blues, Jazz, Pop, and Traditional Music, the RetroRockets will perform a fascinating mix of vintage Rock’n’Roll, Surf Music, British Invasion, and more, spanning the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, served up with humor, hot licks, and a great sense of fun! The RetroRockets feature guitars, bass, drums, fiddle, and a surprise instrument or two. They perform songs from Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, the Beatles, Beach Boys, Stray Cats, Lynard Skynnard, and many others. Broad Street Music is just located at 411 Broad Street; tickets are $5, available at the door. The music will start at 7:00, and go until 10:00. Call Simon at 252-636-1256 for more information. Preview the band by searching “Retrorocketsnewbern” on YouTube. Visit the band's website, "retrorocketsnbnc" on Myspace.com. “…Rocking arrangements that get audiences singing, clapping and toe-tapping along…” –Arts Alive “Coming down from their celestial eclectic rock orbit to perform Rock & Roll, Rockabilly, Surf Music, Beatles covers, TV themes and much more…” --This Week “The Retro Rockets have a thing for time travel…. the quirky group ‘boldly goes where few bands go anymore’… the band shares stories and offers nuggets of rock trivia. The trio considers playing tunes that time left behind as its calling, preserving the rich musical heritage of the '50s and '60s.” --New Bern Sun-Journal “This is great stuff…cool website too…” –Jeff Diamond, Oldies 107.9 “The RetroRockets are sure to play some of your favorites!” --Historic New Bern Herald

Home sales in New Bern

316 homes were sold from January 1, 2009- April 30. That is off from 477 January 1, 2008- April 30, 2008. That is about a 34 % decrease in home sales. If you look at just new home sales during this same period they are down by 25%.

What does all this mean? Well for buyers it is good news. Great selection of homes to choose from and the lowest interest rates in 60 years. For sellers it is a different story. It is a falling market. If you need to sell forget about the price your neighbor sold their house for in 2006. Not goning to happen. Find a good broker who will do an honest and accurate market analysis and listen to what they say. Do not let a broker buy your listing. There are plenty of overpriced homes out there and you don't want yours to be one of them.

If your market analysis comes up for less than you want to sell it for than consider renting your house or staying put untilthe market recovers. Not much else you can do. Please feel free to contact me if you need more information or advice.

Steve Tyson
www.newbern-nc.info
stevetyson@ncmove.com

Swine Flu

Craven County H1N1 (Swine Flu) Update 5/1/09

Note that since this report there have been 5 probable cases at Arthur Edwards School in Havelock and the school is closed for 7 days or until further notice by the Craven county Health department. 5/4
We learned today that Craven County has its first suspect case of H1N1. The case is an adult male that returned from Mexico three days ago and began having flu-like symptoms. I have issued the isolation order and our staff is working with the suspect case and his family and any other close contacts. This is much like working an active TB case for our communicable disease staff so they are very adept at handling situations like this. We plan on notifying the media because at this point the word is out and the notification needs to come from the health department rather than some other source. The gentleman’s name will be kept confidential and I can assure you all of the necessary precautions are being taken to protect the public’s health.
The antivirals that we were supposed to receive from the state did not arrive. They will be delayed and we expect them the first of next week. There should be enough antivirals on hand at our local pharmacies to treat several cases without the use of the stockpile antivirals.
What can people do at this point?
There is a great website: http://www.ncpublichealth.com/ , just click on the swine flu information to the right of the screen. It has information for medical personnel and the general public. Initial numbers indicate the swine flu is no more lethal than the seasonal flu, however the data is questionable because it is very new and there are not enough confirmed cases to make a good determination on the virulence of the H1N1 strain.
We anticipate local providers and our staff will be bombarded with calls and anybody exhibiting flu like symptoms. As more cases surface we may need to implement some control measures such as cancelling public gatherings. We are not at that level yet but it is something we should be prepared to do if the situation calls for it. We are reviewing the CDC guidance in regard to this type of control measures.