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.

This Brunswick Forest home was a previous model and shows like one!  The Wrightsboro floor plan is 4br/4ba and 2562sf of spectacular features.  A true southern charmer, this home has an inviting front porch & a back deck with covered patio offering options for outdoor living spaces.  Walk inside and you will discover every upgrade and more of a new Brunswick Forest home!  Brunswick Forest is a lifestyle community located near downtown Wilmington and the area beaches.  It offers a Wellness Center with pools, fitness center, group classes and more, area parks, walking and biking trails and it is home to the Cape Fear National Golf Course.  To learn more about 2012 Simmerman Way 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.

This is the first monthly decline in the number of homes sold in the Wilmington MLS when compared to previous year.  The number of sold homes is down 32.3% from last month and down 22.2% from July 2009.  Last month there were 517 sold units and this month only 350 sold units, last year in July there were 450 sold units. Due to the First Time Home Buyer increase in sales, a lot of these sales were pushed up and people that might have been planning to buy in July moved up their purchase to coincide with the tax credit.  To learn more about Wilmington Real Estate contact me at 910-431-9395 or visit my website at www.livingbythecoast.com. 

This week it looks like the area will have more mild temperatures and it looks perfect for looking at Wilmington real estate!  To learn more about the Wilmington area or Wilmington real estate contact me at 910-431-9395 or visit my website at www.livingbythecoast.com.

These photos were taken on my walk in Brunswick Forest a few days ago.  One of the bridges pictured is almost a mile long and takes you through a 250 acre nature preserve.  My dogs and I enjoyed the beautiful morning and gorgeous scenery!  Brunswick Forest offers many amenities that include hiking and biking trails that connect with neighborhood parks.  To learn more about Brunswick Forest contact me at 910-431-9395 or visit my website at www.livingbythecoast.com.

The 38th Cape Fear Blue Marlin Tournament will take place Thursday through Sunday at Wrightsville Beach.   Once again, the headquarters and weigh station will be at Wrightsville Marina.  To learn more about the Blue Marlin Tournament or Wilmington area real estate contact me at 910-431-9395 or visit my website at www.livingbythecoast.com.