I found this blog and thought it was right on for our market right now:

The sagging economy is influencing home design as more home owners favor smaller indoor and outdoor spaces that are often cheaper to maintain. Forget the formal spaces that are rarely used. Home owners nowadays don’t want to waste space and want to use every square inch of their home.

Home sizes and lots continue to decrease as preferences grow for low maintenance property improvements, according to the American Institute of Architects Home Design Trends Survey for the first quarter of 2010.

“We continue to move away from the McMansion chapter of residential design, with more demand for practicality throughout the home,” AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker said in a public statement about the survey results. “There has been a drop off in the popularity of upscale property enhancements such as formal landscaping, decorative water features, tennis courts, and gazebos.”

To learn more about Wilmington real estate contact me at 910-431-9395 or visit my website at www.livingbythecoast.com.

It looks like a beautiful weather week, cooler evenings and not-so-hot days!  Great beach days and perfect for looking at Wilmington area real estate.  To learn more about Wilmington weather or Wilmington real estate contact me at 910-431-9395 or visit my website at www.livingbythecoast.com.

Lumina Daze will take place at The Blockade Runner Resort on Sunday evening at 5pm.  This evening of fun for all ages will benefit Wrightsville Beach Museum and feature shag and big band music.  Fun and games for the young at heart will include activities such as an old-fashioned cakewalk.  A Silent Auction and Raffle will include a wide assortment of fine art, services, and specialties from local businesses.  Stroll through areas with presentations on themes relating to Wrightsville Beach history.  Watch a movie just like they did at Lumina - on the beach!  Food and drink will be plentiful, sales of which will be provided by the Blockade Runner Resort at Wrightsville Beach.  To learn more about Lumina Daze or Wilmington real estate contact me at 910-431-9395 or visit my website at www.livingbythecoast.com.

Cape Fear Soccer Association will be hosting the 2nd Annual Beach Soccer Classic this weekend.  All games will be played in the Wilmington area.  Last August 2009 teams traveled from all over North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia.  To learn more about the tournament or Wilmington NC real estate contact me at 910-431-9395 or visit my website at www.livingbythecoast.com.

Here are the rest of the statistic for the Wilmington area (through June 30th):

Market Absorption rate - 11.3 month supply of single family homes. This decreased by 1.7 months from last month.

List to Sold price ratio - the average list price of the sold properties is $253,292 and the average sold price is $238,986 for June which gives a 94.4% list to sold price ratio - a decrease of .1% from June.

Seller Concessions - 30.8% of sold properties report a sales concession for June, an increase of 2.4%.

Days on Market - The average days on market for the sold properties is now at 119 for June. That is almost 5 + months to keep a property on the market.  20.4% of the properties were placed under contract in less than 15 days for the month of June.

To learn more about these statistics or Wilmington NC Real Estate contact me at 910-431-9395 or visit my website at www.livingbythecoast.com.

Take a look at this gorgeous home I just listed in Vineyard Plantation!  It is a true 5 bedroom, 4 full bath plus it has an office, huge bonus room, living room, family room, and a huge backyard.  I am having an open house tomorrow from 2-4 pm, stop by and take a look at this fabulous home.  Vineyard Plantation is located in the Porters Neck area of Wilmington, close to Mayfaire Town Centerand Wrightsville Beach.  To learn more about this fantastic home contact me at 910-431-9395 or visit my website at www.livingbythecoast.com.

While the current year to date numbers in the Wilmington MLS are lower than Year End 2009 they do show promising signs that area sales are on the upswing. The first seven months of 2010 has a 358 sold unit gain over first seven months of 2009. The average sales price is down 1.9% for the first seven months of 2010 than the first seven months of 2009. The median sales price is just 1.7% behind 2009.  To learn more about Wilmington Real Estate contact me at 910-431-9395 or visit my website at www.livingbythecoast.com.