There’s a Light at the End of the Tunnel
Kathy Riggs March 8th, 2009
There is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Kinston finally caught a glimpse of spring this weekend. Temperatures are warm, Bradford pears are beginning to bloom and the yellow daffodils signal that winter’s end is near.
Winter’s end should pull us away from the the 24-hour gloom and doom as the national media projects. While I hope the government’s efforts to rescue the economy don’t take as long as it took me to unscramble a Rubic Cube in the 1970s (a task still unaccomplished), let me share a little real estate sunshine with you.
First, foreclosures are down – nationally, statewide and locally. In January national foreclosures were down 10 percent compared to the previous month and according to the North Carolina Association of Realtors foreclosures in N.C. decreased 29.3 percent from the same month a year ago. Officials at the Lenoir County Clerk of Courts office even tell me that local foreclosures are down from a year ago. Think perception vs. reality.
Second, home prices are the most affordable since the National Association of Realtors began its housing affordability index in 1970. Did you know in 2008 for every 100 people that left North Carolina 180 relocated here? The Tarheel state (and Wolfpack Country and Pirate Nation) offers some of the most affordable housing in the country? And some of the most reasonably priced homes are right here in Lenoir County? 2009 might be the best year to invest in the American Dream. Interest rates are low and the NAR estimates 900,000 additional home sales in 2009 will be stimulated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Read my previous post about the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit.
Yes, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
…on the lighter side
If you want to know exactly where the property line is, just watch YOUR neighbor cut the grass.
SHAMELESS PLUG
Visit my website at www.kathyriggs.com and open the door to Kinston area listings.
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