From Magic Kingdoms to Market Trends: A Disney-Driven Guide to Real Estate

I had the privilege of taking my family to Disney World last month. My kids, wife, and I were excited about the opportunity while at the same time nervous as we were uncertain how the trip would go. Part of the concern my wife and I had was that my six-year-old, Ava, would be too scared to ride some of the rides.

In looking back fondly at the trip, the uncertainty of how things would turn out may have dampened our excitement prior to the trip. This same thought of uncertainty is somewhat reflective of the current real estate environment. With the uncertainty in our world right now, some people are less excited about the opportunity to buy, sell or invest in real estate. In reality, they should be looking forward to good times and great memories to be made! Plus, there may even be opportunities for a little magic to happen…

Disney can be a bit overwhelming with all the decisions you have to make in planning a trip in deciding what rides to ride, places to eat, and t-shirts to buy. The idea of buying or selling can also be very overwhelming. Currently, there are 406 homes active or coming soon to the market in Craven County and 74 in Pamlico County, which is less than we had on the market at this time last year. One would think though for our area, 481 homes on the market would be plenty to choose from and give you plenty of decisions to make. To put things in perspective, there were around 1500 homes on the market 10 years ago. With the current demand for housing in our local magic kingdom, the data still shows that we are in a seller’s market. The average days on the market are holding steady both in Craven County at 56 days and in Pamlico County at 69 days. Both counties are up just a couple of days on average year to date compared to last year. With the snow and ice, we have had the last couple of months this is not surprising for a little lag either.

Just like the uncertainty of Ava riding the fast rides made us wonder, the uncertainty we are currently experiencing in our world is making buyers and sellers wonder also. With uncertainty, buyers are more hesitant to buy, and sellers are more reluctant to sell as they wonder how the economy is going to react with the current changes and challenges of our world. This has been shown in the numbers of homes going under contract and selling this year. There are currently 243 homes under contract in Craven County and 19 under contract in Pamlico County. This year there have been approximately 11% fewer homes going under contract in Craven County than last year. For Pamlico County there have been 32% fewer homes go under contract. Again, with the winter we have had like we were in the movie Frozen, these numbers being a bit lower is not very surprising, though it will be a trend to watch. My first real estate mentor taught me 22 years ago that the worse the winters were north and west of us, the better our spring selling season will be.

Like ALL of the roller coasters we all ended up enjoying, the real estate market must have its ups and downs! Currently, segments of the market are experiencing ups while others are feeling down. Of the 232 homes sold in Craven County this year, only 23 of them are above $500,000. We see homes having few days on the market and occasionally multiple offers on homes around $300,000, assuming the homes are priced correctly based on the location and condition. The market is also experiencing higher price points, having fewer showings, and fewer sales. In Pamlico County, 39% of the homes sold have been above $500,000. Pamlico does have a higher average price of $392,643 compared to Craven County of $328,168. Compared to last year, both counties’ average prices are basically flat. We are seeing sellers negotiate again, which is giving buyers the ability to get back in the market by possibly getting money off the price or having their closing costs paid. If a seller prices their home properly and with great marketing, we see that homes still sell for more than the asking price occasionally. As the uncertainty continues, there will likely be more foreclosed properties or distressed sales becoming available. Due to economic hardships, banks and people will be putting more homes on the market they just want to get rid of. The magic of these opportunities would make you Goofy not to try to take advantage of them.

Buying and investing in today’s real estate market is just like my Disney trip! In the long term, you will be happy you made the decision to move forward and have some amazing memories from it. The market may wear you out a bit, just like walking 10 miles a day all over a park. Five years from now, I will look back with smiles at Disney photos. Five years from now, you will be happy that you have bought real estate here! Just like we told Ava—just hang on, grit your teeth, and enjoy the ride!