New Construction at Marshes Light

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January 13, 2012

Renaissance Construction recently broke ground for the construction of a three bedroom home in Marshes Light on home site 7. This marks the fourth home in downtown Manteo’s newest neighborhood. Renaissance Construction is owned by Steve Daniels who is the Marshes Light preferred builder.

“I employ the best local craftsmen and personally oversee to be sure each home is well built in a timely and efficient manner.”

There are only a handful of home sites available at Marshes Light, and one or two will boast panoramic views of the Sound. Marshes Light is a unique location connected by a boardwalk to shops, restaurants, theater and Festival Park in downtown Manteo.

Categories: Home & Garden, Land Development, People of Interest, Real Estate, Roanoke Island, Uncategorized.

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New Year’s Resolution – Thinking Outside the Box, the Beach Box, that is

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January 5, 2012

As I was stumbling the Internet the other day, I came across a blog, www.thenester.com.  The tagline is “It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.”

The gist of the current post, as with most New Year’s posts, is about setting goals. And the goals at The Nester are relative to house and home.

No Water Views Here

Which got me thinking.  I live in a 25 year old reverse-floor plan single family home. We’ve made three major renovations, but it’s still a REVERSE FLOOR PLAN. For those of you not familiar with this layout, a reverse floor plan is a house on pilings (typically 8 feet above ground), with a drive under or carport and (hopefully) an entry on the ground floor, bedrooms on the middle floor, and kitchen, living, dining and maybe an extra bedroom on the top floor. A lot of homes on the Outer Banks are built this way to take advantage of views of the ocean or sound from the upper floors.

As the trees grew in our back yard, our views of the ocean dwindled. We haven’t had a view of the water for at least 10 years. We love where we live, but we are over the stairs. We want our main living areas – the kitchen, living and master bedroom to share the same floor at ground level. But tearing down and starting over is a major expense and not in our foreseeable budget.

So we’re stuck in a mode of not doing anything, except basic maintenance. But the post at The Nester made me take pause and think about making some goals of my own. Here are a few of her ideas (I won’t list them all here, just the ones that spoke to me):

  •  What’s my favorite room in my house? Why?
  • How and where does my family hang out together?  What’s working for that room? What’s annoying in that room?
  • Is there something in my home I want to do but I’m afraid?  What if I take that risk?  What’s the worst that can happen?
  • Am I neglecting my home and not putting money into something that is needed?
  • Stop apologizing for my home.

Categories: Home & Garden, outer banks, Real Estate, Remodeling, Uncategorized.

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Outer Banks Real Estate – Sharing the Benefits of the CMA

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October 26, 2011

I was approached by a neighbor recently about listing her home in Southern Shores for sale. Having been focused on Marshes Light in downtown Manteo for several years, I told her I was a bit rusty in the market outside of Marshes Light, but would welcome the opportunity to prepare a CMA, or comparative market analysis. After all, this would also reveal my own home’s current worth.

Our local realtor group uses a multiple listing service by Paragon. We recently converted to the newest version and it’s been a bit of a chore learning the new technology. It does have a great CMA wizard and it allowed me to enter information about the subject property (which can later be converted it to an active listing) and gather comparable properties, both active, sold and under contract listings. Using the wizard, I was able to prepare an attractive, easy to understand presentation that gave my neighbor a clear idea of what her property is worth in today’s market.

I also learned that the real estate market is strong on the Outer Banks.  On a national level, a recent CNN Money article states that “home prices continued a winning streak in August, the fifth straight month of price gains, but remain lower on a year-over-year basis.”

This new listing caught my eye:

Southern Shores west-side, 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath home sits on a large lot with pool has a newly renovated professional kitchen with stainless appliances and granite counter tops. There are lots of decks overlooking a large pool. The home was built in 1989 by Olin Finch, and will appeal to a year-round family or rental investment buyer. $419,000. MLS 72296.

Categories: Home & Garden, outer banks, Real Estate, Uncategorized.

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Spotlight On: Manteo

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July 27, 2011

Marshes Light Marina & Community

The Town of Manteo is known for its exceptional downtown waterfront, Victorian-inspired architecture and the large selection of bed and breakfasts in the Outer Banks. Situated on the eastern side of Roanoke Island, Manteo lies between the North Carolina mainland and the barrier islands of the Outer Banks along the Shallowbag Bay.

The town’s theme is decidedly nautical, with the daily weather reports coming in the form of flags flying from the Manteo Weather Tower. Beacons of light from the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse still guide boats in safely, and charming shops and cafes line the city’s waterfront.

While the residents of Manteo embrace the modern charms of the seaside village, they are also keenly aware of the island’s historical importance. Over 420 years ago, a group of 117 men, women and children, with the blessing of Queen Elizabeth I, settled on the island. An ideal location for an English settlement because of its lush vegetation and mild climate, they established a colony only to subsequently disappear. “The Lost Colony,” as it has come to be known, today remains one of history’s biggest mysteries.

Three hundred years later, Union forces took control of the waters of northeastern North Carolina, and the groundwork of modern Manteo was laid when freed slaves lived and worked on the island. Nearly 4,000 freed slaves had become part of this ‘Freedman’s Colony’ until its official closing in 1867.

Today, the town’s tree-lined streets, shops, restaurants, fishing charters and bed and breakfasts reflect its history while keeping one foot firmly planted in the present as well.

Marshes Light

Close to history and close to the water, Marshes Light is a one-of-a-kind waterfront community located within walking distance of the shops and restaurants of historic downtown Manteo. The last opportunity for new construction within the historic district, Marshes Light includes homesites, single-family homes and marina villa homes in addition to a host of amenities including a 60-slip marina, all while reflecting Manteo’s unique character and charm.

Mayo Boddie, chairman of developer Boddie-Noell, pointed out, “I have always loved Manteo, and it’s why we decided to develop Marshes Light there. I own a condo there, I dock my boat there, and I love to spend time there, which is why I’ve been so passionate about Marshes Light and about connecting the community to historic downtown Manteo.”

(This article originally appeared in Ideal Living Magazine.)

Categories: Historic Architecture, Home & Garden, Land Development, marina, Marshes Light Marina, outer banks, Real Estate, Roanoke Island, travel, Uncategorized.

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Real Estate News from around the Web

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June 21, 2011

Charlotte Business Journal: NC Foreclosures down 38% year-over-year

Date: Thursday, June 16, 2011, 8:02am EDT

“Foreclosures on N.C. homes fell 38.3 percent in May from a year ago and were down 3.4 percent from April. Some 2,689 homes in North Carolina were in foreclosure proceedings in May, or one in every 1,584 households, according to RealtyTrac Inc.    The state ranks 36th in the nation for the rate of filings, RealtyTrac says.

Foreclosures nationwide dropped 33.4 percent last month from May 2010 and dipped 1.98 percent from April. There were 214,927 filings last month across the nation, or one in every 605 households.”

WASHINGTON, Jun 16, 2011 8:30am EDT Reuters

by Lucia Mutikani, Editing by Andrea Ricci

“U.S. housing starts rose more than expected and permits for future construction touched a five month high in May, a government report showed on Thursday. The Commerce Department said housing starts rose 3.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 560,000 units, retracing almost half of April’s steep decline. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast housing starts rising to a 540,000-unit rate. Compared to May last year, residential construction was down 3.4 percent.

Last month, there was an increase in groundbreaking for both multi and single family homes. Starts in the West were the highest since August.

Multi-family home starts rose 2.9 percent. Single-family home construction, which accounts for a large portion of the market, rose 3.7 percent.”

The Wall Street Journal: He Says Maine. She Says Florida

How couples navigate one of the trickiest issues in retirement: where to live, by Kathleen A. Hughes.

It may be the trickiest and most troublesome issue couples face when approaching retirement: Where are you going to live?

The prospect of a new locale, of course, is enticing. Why not seize the moment and settle (finally!) in the destination of your dreams: the mountains, the beach, the city—even overseas. Baby boomers in particular, who begin turning 65 this year, seem ready to do just that.

The Wall Street Journal – Smart Money: A Bull Market in Rental Housing

By Annamaria Andriotis.

Five years into the real-estate bust, the market for single-family homes seems weaker than ever. According to the most recent S&P/Case-Shiller housing data, prices fell 3.3% nationwide in February from a year earlier.

The ongoing malaise, paradoxically, is only boosting the opportunities for investors in multiunit rental properties.

The days of buying and flipping a property for quick profit are long gone. But investors who purchase apartment buildings, perhaps as part of a retirement portfolio or estate plan, are seeing better deals now than at any time in the past decade, says Dan Fasulo, managing director at Real Capital Analytics, a real-estate research-and-consulting firm. On the cost side, housing prices are low and falling in many areas, while mortgage rates are near historic lows. On the income side, apartment rents are near all-time highs.

Categories: Real Estate, travel, Uncategorized.

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Housing is Back

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April 28, 2011

A recent article in Fortune Magazine has proclaimed The Return of Real Estate: “Forget stocks. Don’t bet on gold. After four years of plunging home prices, the most attractive asset class in America is housing,” writes Fortune Magazine senior editor Shawn Tully. Here’s why:

Inventory is shrinking in many markets, as homebuilders built far fewer homes during the recession. And, now that troubled properties are finally being bought up, this has reduced available inventory of homes. According to the article, in 41 cities, “a total of 78,000 houses are now either vacant and for sale, or under construction. That’s less than one-fourth of the 343,000 units in those two categories” at the peak in 2006.

In areas that suffered with fewer distressed properties, “the existing home inventory is lower, closer to seven months on average. So a modest increase in demand will translate into strong gains in both prices and new construction.”

And even in those markets with more distressed or foreclosure properties, “those properties are finding plenty of renters, since the rental market is still extremely strong across the country.” As such, the supply of renters has increased dramatically, causing considerable increases in rental rates, while price declines have been such that it is now actually more expensive to rent than to own for most people.

“Let’s state it simply and forcibly: Housing is back.”

In an earlier interview with Fortune, Economist Karl Case of the widely followed S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price index said “The lack of new home building is a huge help that a lot of people are ignoring….housing is looking like the little engine that could.”

What does this mean for the Outer Banks? A comparison of SOLD properties on the Outer Banks* (from Multiple Listing Service) during the time period January 1 through April 28 for 2010 and 2011 revealed that activity is up:

                246 sold  1/1/2010 – 4/28/2010

                291 sold 1/1/2011 – 4/28/2011

Yet, the average price of residences and land dropped slightly from 2010 to 2011, which means there are some great properties available at good prices on the Outer Banks.

*Outer Banks properties included Corolla, Duck, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head and Roanoke Island, residences, land, and commercial.

You can read the entire article by clicking here, and you can learn more about the opportunities to own at Marshes Light by clicking here.

 

 

 

http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/03/28/real-estate-its-time-to-buy-again/

Categories: outer banks, Real Estate, Roanoke Island, Uncategorized.

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From the Wall Street Journal Online

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February 12, 2011
WSR DIGITAL EDITION – Smart Money
February 11, 2011

Why You Should Buy That Home Now

Congress will ultimately decide whether Fannie and Freddie have a future, and whether the other changes could go into effect as soon as this fall. Here are the big three reasons (to obtain a mortgage now):

  • Smaller mortgages
  • Higher fees
  • Bigger down payments

Read more:  http://www.smartmoney.com/personal-finance/real-estate/why-you-should-buy-that-home-now-1297456803897/#ixzz1DmcBtY5i

WSR DIGITAL EDITION – Weekend Investor
February 12, 2011

The Great Customer Courtship

Banks Are Rolling Out New Incentives to Win Your Business. Here’s a Guide

Banks “need more cash on hand,” says Dan Geller, executive vice president at Market Rates Insight Inc., a San Anselmo, Calif., firm that tracks bank interest-rate data, “so they are intent on bringing in warm bodies.”

The current low-interest-rate environment is adding to banks’ sense of urgency. By bringing in customers now, banks are setting themselves up to profit when interest rates rise, by collecting the difference between the interest paid to depositors and the money they rake in from loans.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703313304576132593769879956.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

This blog is made possible by Marshes Light,  a new home community in the heart of historic downtown Manteo. Please visit our website at www.marsheslight.com or visit our new Sales & Welcome Center at the Marina – 301 Dartmoor Lane, Manteo.

Categories: outer banks, Real Estate, Roanoke Island, Uncategorized.

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Housing News from Around the Web

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February 9, 2011

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE:  Home Affordability Returns to Pre-Bubble Levels

“Based on incomes, this is as affordable as it gets,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. “If you can get a loan, these are pretty good times to buy.”

INMAN NEWS:  Real Estate Prices Fall for 5th Straight Month 

“Despite the continued monthly decline in home prices and year-over-year depreciation, we’re encouraged that on an annual basis we’re unchanged relative to a year ago,” said CoreLogic Chief Economist Mark Fleming in a statement. “Excess supply continues to drive prices downward, but the silver lining is that the rate of decline is decelerating.”   

MSNBC.COM:    New U.S. home sales soared in December

Monthly gain raising cautious optimism for housing market recovery.

REALTOR.ORG:  Real Estate Is as Affordable as it Gets

February 9, 2011 “Based on incomes, this is as affordable as it gets,” says the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics about purchasing a home in today’s market.

RISMEDIA:  Economic and Housing Outlooks Brighten According to Fannie Mae Analysis Group

“Improvements in consumer spending and consumer confidence, increased demand for goods and services, and falling unemployment claims are all positive factors for a brighter outlook as we move into 2011…” 

Prices are stable at Marshes Light which were discounted almost 40 percent since original 2006 price structure on single family home sites and new condominiums.

Categories: Land Development, Marshes Light Marina, Real Estate, Roanoke Island, Uncategorized.

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New Home Under Construction Sparks Interest/Sale in Marshes Light

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August 8, 2010

On the corner of Up & Fer, this charming 1,800 square foot bungalow is taking shape in the heart of Manteo’s historic neighborhood.

This home is located on lot #1 in Marshes Light, and is owned by Bob & Norma of  Lorton, Virginia. The street’s been abuzz with interest and lot #3 recently went under contract.

The Marshes Light Marina Ship’s Store is in the works with construction to start in the next few days.

Construction on both projects is provided by local builder, Steve Daniels and Renaissance Construction.

Categories: Historic Architecture, Home & Garden, Uncategorized.

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Marshes Light and a Word about the Developer

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January 25, 2010

For a real estate development company, our roots are deep.

Kitty Hawk Land Company started in the late 1940’s with the development of a large tract of land in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Ownership of the company switched hands, and in 1985, Kitty Hawk Land Company became a subsidiary of Boddie-Noell Enterprises (BNE), a diversified, family-owned company located in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

BNE, through Kitty Hawk Land Company, created The Currituck Club, a premiere residential golf course community in Corolla, NC, as well as a number of smaller desirable neighborhoods along the Outer Banks. Today, BNE’s new communities can be found at Arlington Place (near New Bern, NC), Marshes Light (historic Manteo, NC) and Viniterra (Williamsburg, VA).

BNE started business back in 1962 and is now the largest privately held franchise operator of Hardee’s restaurants. Our other restaurant holdings include: Café Carolina, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Texas Steakhouse, and The Highway Diner.

Wait, there’s more. When BNE is not creating enviable and sustainable communities or serving up great food in their restaurants, the beautifully restored 18th century manor home, Rose Hill Conference Center, is an elegant location to host corporate events and fundraisers, parties and weddings.

From Boddie-Noell’s website, their message is clear.

“BNE is a dynamic, modern and diverse company that adheres to good old-fashioned family values. Every person on our team is just that, a person, deserving of respect and constant positive reinforcement. So we work hard to foster a friendly work environment, where every member of the BNE family has the opportunity to grow and succeed.”

“We’re a family business—a second-generation family business, in fact, with an unbreakable commitment to each other. “

And I am extremely pleased to share BNE’s history and success as I celebrate my 25th anniversary with Boddie-Noell this year.

Lee Whitley
Sales Manager
Marshes Light

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The View from Marshes Light in Historic Downtown Manteo

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December 9, 2009

IT’S BEEN AN INTERESTING YEAR.

In spite of the recession and sluggish real estate market, the Marshes Light community continues to grow, In 2009 we welcomed four new Marina Villa owners and four new homesite owners. We have three full-time residents in the Marina Villas; and there’s a rumor that there may be a single family home under construction in 2010. Architects from Raleigh, NC, are working on the Marina Villa plans for building 15. This building will be parallel to the marina basin and each villa will have incredible sound views facing east. Depending on permits, we hope to begin a pre-sale program soon and start construction shortly thereafter. Currently, there are four three-bedroom villas available for sale (one in the Azalea, three in the Bayberry; prices start at $446,250).

We’ve launched a new marketing program for the Marina and recently attended the Annapolis Boat Show. The weather was awful, but that didn’t deter the crowds. We will be attending a “Trawlerfest” in Fort Lauderdale in January and the Miami Boat Show in February to promote the Marina. As part of our promotion, we are giving away two weeks complimentary dockage, electricity charged separately. We plan to start construction of the Ship’s Store soon in order to be open for the Summer season.

If you would like more information about the Marina and available boat slips, please contact Lee Whitley or Ann Davis at 252-475-9863.

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