The current state of the North Carolina real estate market is not as vibrant and active as any of us would like it to be. Yet it still is much better than many states around the country. In an effort to help set the record straight, the NC Association of REALTORS® is pleased to announce the launch of “For the Record,” a bi-monthly one-page document.

 FORECLOSURE FACTS

•  In November, North Carolina reported a 30 percent decrease in foreclosures compared to November 2007 as well as a 13 percent decrease compared to October (2008).
• N.C. recently ranked in the lower half of the states (31st) in a national ranking of foreclosure rates.
• North Carolina’s state-chartered banks are better equipped than their national peers to handle loan losses, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Collectively, the banks’ reserves for loan losses equal 87.6 percent of noncurrent loans and leases.

 ECONOMY

• North Carolina’s population rose 2 percent during the past year, making it the nation’s fourth fastest growing state in 2008.
• Three of the five best-performing real estate markets in the nation for the first three quarters of 2008 were in North Carolina, according to Zillow.  Those markets were Jacksonville, Winston-Salem and Burlington.
• The UNC Charlotte Carolina Economic Forecast has predicted growth should begin in the second quarter of 2009, with the gross state product in the quarter advancing by 1.4 percent.

 HOMEOWNERSHIP

• The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) has estimated that a one-percentage point decrease in mortgage rates will increase home sales by more than 500,000 homes. As of the first of the year, mortgage rates were at a 50-year low!
• The average price of a home, comparing November 2008 to November 2000, has increased 17 percent.
• The coastal city of Wilmington was named among the top six markets in the nation to show the most positive net home values in the past five years.
• NAR’s affordability index jumped to 131 at the end of 2008, up 17 percent from 2007 figures. The index indicates that households earning the national median income have 131 percent of the income needed to buy the national median-priced house!