Why Move to New Bern?

Why would you move to New Bern? The better question is perhaps, "Why wouldn't you move to New Bern"? The city has so much to offer besides the mild, yet seasonal climate, making recreation a year round event!

New Bern is a city rich in History: it is nearly 300 years old and about to have it's 300th year celebration. New Bern was the Colonial Capital of North Carolina and has many historic homes dating back to the 1700's, as well as Govenor Tryon's house, the Tryon Palace. The homes and historic businesses have been preserved, partly due to the help of the New Bern Historical Society, the New Bern Preservation Foundation and the City of New Bern. Tours of homes are offered to the public during the annual New Bern Homes & Gardens Tour as well as the Ghost Walk.

The many fine attributes of New Bern have attracted countless retirees as well as families based at Cherry Point MCAS. The mix of people from all over the country has helped to make the city rich in culture: a small city with big city elements. There are festivals and symphonys, art galleries and fine dining, historic homes and new homes, golf courses and kayak trails...the list goes on. I have provided several links below to get you started.

http://www.newbern300.com/index.html

http://www.newbern-nc.org/

http://www.visitnewbern.com/

http://www.tryonpalace.org/

http://www.marcia-joy.com/new-bern-real-estate/all-new-bern.htm

Or just come see us and I''ll show you around!

Marcia

What Are You Doing ?"

I think it all started with "Ed TV". Most of us don't remember the movie directed by Ron Howard, starring Matthew McConaughey. It was a movie about reality TV. The main character, Ed, signed an agreement to have a television crew film him during every aspect of his life and millions of viewers watched him, live. After much disillusionment, the only way Ed could "opt out" of his contract was to threaten to reveal a "private" implant operation of one of the male producers. It left us all thinking that reality TV was immoral and an invasion of privacy.

But "Survivor" started a surge in television shows ranging from Bachelors picking Brides to Jessica Simpson picking out Egyptian sheets to Ozzie Ozborne cursing at his children. New shows seemed to pop up daily showing us what people were doing, all over the world.

Then came the portals that allowed us to tell everyone, who cared to listen, what we were doing. We could text message, email, instant message, go to a chat room, blog, post on MySpace, FaceBook, LinkedIn, etc. But as quickly as we were learning to overcome all our fears about posting photos, sharing news with our friends and family via the Internet, along came a simple "Twitter".

Twitter touts itself as a "service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?" Signing up to Twitter is as easy as defining who you are and who you will "follow". Posting a "Tweet" and answer to the question "what are you doing" will send and automatic email and phone message to everyone following your stream. You can even set up your post to go to different places such as your FaceBook "wall". Suddenly, everyone knows what you are doing every second of the day, if you would like, and members of Congress are Tweeting" during Session. Wow, what an onslaught of information!

What's next for us? I don't know, but if you find out, Twitter me.

Marcia

http://twitter.com/new_bern

We're Still Selling!

The title of this blog can be deceiving as are some statistics. While most real estate companies in most cities can say, "We're still selling", the question is, "Where, to whom and how much". It is also important to know how many months supply your city has on the market, often referred to as the "absortion rate".

The New Bern Multiple Listing Service primarily covers Craven, Pamlico and Jones counties. The population density is heaviest in Havelock and New Bern, both located in Craven County. Since MCAS Cherry Point continues to grow, you would assume that the areas near the Air Station, specifically New Bern and Havelock, would continue to sell; and you would be right! An additional point is that most of these marines are young and therefore first time buyers, with nothing to sell before they buy and very loan worthy. (A Realtor side note: these are usually not lucrative sales since the price level is low but much more fulfilling, which I prefer. If you have never worked with a Marine family, you are missing one of the best parts of real estate sales.)

So how were our sales in 2008? Havelock closed 260 homes in 2008 and as of today, there are 110 on the market. That means there is less than a 6 month supply available, indicating a sellers market. WOW! The city of New Bern did not fare quite as well with available homes at 331, closed sales for 2008 at 331; more than a 12 month supply which is clearly a buyers market and yet, selling more than most cities across the US.

You can search for homes in Havelock and New Bern at http://www.marcia-joy.com/new-bern-real-estate/all-new-bern.htm , look at the City of Havelock homepage at http://www.cityofhavelock.com/ , or look at New Bern's 300 year celebration site at http://newbern300years.com

Marcia

20th Sunday Jazz Schowcase: a Tribute to Benny Goodman

The Sunday Jazz Showcase brings together top talent from all over and is a highly anticipated New Bern event for the past 20 years! The performances take place at the Sheraton Hotel Ballroom. This year the tribute is to the great Jazz Artist, Benny Goodman. The date is Sunday, February 8, 2009. Tickets go quickly to this popular event. Tickets for the 1:30 pm performance are $30 for members of Craven Arts Council and Gallery and $35 for nonmembers; tickets for the 7 pm performance are $25 for members and $30 for nonmembers. Tickets are available at the Craven Art Council and Gallery, 317 Middle St. New Bern and can also be ordered by phone at 252-638-2577. To get more information go to http://www.craventarts.org/. We look forward to seeing you at one of these grand performances.

New Bern, Havelock and Surrounding Area Sales

While it is true that home sales have decreased in our area, we are not as dramatically hit as the rest of the country seems to be, at least in moderate price ranges. This chart, compiled by New Bern MLS data, shows that homes less than $250k are selling. More homes in this price range sold last year than are currently listed. This takes a 12 month period into account (not a true absorption figure according to some experts) but it is a good measure of what is available and what is in demand.

Why are we still selling homes in our area? One reason is the influx of military personnel to our Marine Base in Havelock: Cherry Point Marine Air Station. Many of the pilots and crew are first time buyers and have no house to sell. They are still one of the only groups that can get 100% financing through the VA.

How is this valuable and to whom? As a builder, I would build spec homes under $250k and choose an area convenient to the MCAS. As a buyer, I would know which homes would, most likely, be more negotiable and as a seller, I would how much competition I have and how it is affected.

Marcia Werneke