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Bull City Real Estate

Real Estate in Durham with Sidetrips to Chapel Hill and elsewhere in the Triangle

Posts Tagged ‘Parade of Homes’

* The 2010 Parade of Homes – Same As It Ever Was?

Thursday, October 7th, 2010

As you can imagine, the Parade of Homes is a big thing in the real estate world. Last year, I took a look at homes offered in the Wake County Parade and asked “Where are all the starter homes?” Now that we are in the middle of the 2010 Parade, it’s worth taking another look at the distribution of Parade homes.

Here is the Wake County numbers for the 2009 Parade and this year’s

By Count By Percent
Wake 2009 Wake 2010 Wake 2009 Wake 2010
$100,000 to $150,000 4 3 3% 2%
$150,000 to $200,000 10 19 6% 10%
$200,000 to $300,000 38 54 24% 29%
$300,000 to $400,000 30 53 19% 28%
$400,000 to $500,000 29 24 18% 13%
$500,000 to $600,000 8 11 5% 6%
$600,000 to $700,000 11 6 7% 3%
$700,000 to $800,000 9 7 6% 4%
$800,000 to $900,000 3 7 2% 4%
$900,000 to $1,000,000 9 2 6% 1%
more than $1,000,000 7 2 4% 1%
Total 158 188

First of all, it is worth noting that there is a 20% increase in the number of homes in the 2010 Parade. The second thing to notice is that there are fewer homes at the high end of the market – last year a quarter of the homes on the Parade were over $700,000, this year it is half that. Those homes all ended up in the $150,000 to $400,000 range this year, which saw an increase from 49% to 70%. While those aren’t exactly starter homes, it does show the movement away from McMansions and towards the market that most people can actually afford.

I can hear some of you now – “That’s interesting, Steve, but what do the numbers look like for our side of the Triangle?” Glad you asked.

By Count By Percent
Wake 2009 Wake 2010 Durham Wake 2009 Wake 2010 Durham
$100,000 to $150,000 4 3 1 3% 2% 2%
$150,000 to $200,000 10 19 6 6% 10% 14%
$200,000 to $300,000 38 54 11 24% 29% 26%
$300,000 to $400,000 30 53 5 19% 28% 12%
$400,000 to $500,000 29 24 8 18% 13% 19%
$500,000 to $600,000 8 11 3 5% 6% 7%
$600,000 to $700,000 11 6 2 7% 3% 5%
$700,000 to $800,000 9 7 2 6% 4% 5%
$800,000 to $900,000 3 7 1 2% 4% 2%
$900,000 to $1,000,000 9 2 1 6% 1% 2%
more than $1,000,000 7 2 2 4% 1% 5%
Total 158 188 42

The price distributions in Durham [by which I mean Durham, Orange and Chatham counties] pretty closely follows the pattern set by our eastern brethren. It’s easier to see in a graph

So there is a trend, however small, away from the mansion and McMansion properties towards home that are a bit more affordable. While I would like to see that continue with a little more effort towards marketing homes in the $150,00 area, it is a welcome sign.

2009 Parade of Homes — Where Are The Starter Homes?

Monday, October 5th, 2009

I’ve had a chance to go through the 2009 Parade of Homes booklet, and one thing really struck me. Where are all the starter homes? Being an accountant is a previous career, I went through all the homes on the N&O site. Here’s what I found

  • Less than $100,000 ——– 0
  • $100,000 to $150,000 — 4
  • $150,000 to $200,000 — 10
  • $200,000 to $300,000 — 38
  • $300,000 to $400,000 — 30
  • $400,000 to $500,000 — 29
  • $500,000 to $600,000 — 8
  • $600,000 to $700,000 — 11
  • $700,000 to $800,000 — 9
  • $800,000 to $900,000 — 3
  • $900,000 to $1,000,000 – 9
  • more than $1,000,000 —- 7

I certainly understand that these are supposed to be “show homes” that have all the bells and whistles. 47 of these homes, however, would require a jumbo loan to purchase [even with 20% down] and those loans have been almost impossible to get at a decent interest rate. In another words, they are houses that [almost] won’t sell.

The segment that has been driving the housing market, however, has been the starter home market with first-time buyers using the $8,000 tax credit. Homes in Hassentree and Colvard Farms are really beautiful, but I always thought at least one builder would have tried to promote to the market that is actually moving. Or am I missing something?

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