I wanted to take a little time to go over the most recent Outer Banks Association of Realtors statistical report this week, before I go off the rails and start talking about random things. You can download the latest report here. The stats are quarterly in this one, which I actually like. Sometimes one huge house or one small condo and skew the stats over a 30-day period, but spread out across 3 months you get a better idea of what the trends are.
Could This Finally Be The Start of Hatteras Island’s Run?
This is probably the biggest takeaway from the entire report for July. As many of you know I continue to believe (and have believed for a while) that Hatteras Island is one of the last remaining areas here at the beach where home prices have yet to “catch up.” Duck saw a huge spike during the pandemic (especially oceanside) and Corolla and Nags Head weren’t far behind. But prices on Hatteras Island lagged behind all of those gains.
As you can see above, home prices on Hatteras Island in 2024 actually dropped vs 2023. But so far this year they are not only back to 2023 levels, the median sales price is $50k higher than those 2023 levels. Sales volume is steady across all 3 years, while homes are lingering a little longer on the market. I think the $640k median sales price is quite reasonable when you compare it to areas like Duck (almost $1m) or Corolla ($815k).
As I have said many times, a large % of Hatteras Island is federally owned/operated or considered marshland and can’t be built on. That leaves just around 12% of the island that can ever be built on. And if you find a vacant waterfront lot on Hatteras Island, there will come a day when there aren’t many left.
A Glimmer of Hope
Sales prices YTD are up 1%, while inventory YTD is down 1% vs the same period last year. That trend is fine with a lot of homeowners, they would love to see rising prices and lower inventory (especially when it’s time to sell).
New construction starts are down in 2025 vs 2024, which isn’t surprising considering the higher rate environment. Rates at this time last year were lower than they are today. And there’s just not a lot of certainty in the market right now, I think builders are more risk-averse than they were a few years ago.
Interestingly enough, there’s more building going on in the 4x4 area of Carova than there is in Corolla lately. Check out the permits for the last 2 years in those areas. That’s surprising!
Random Stuff
***None of this is financial advice or building advice, please consult your tax or finance professional for guidance, these are just my opinions and thoughts***
I’m fascinated by the changes Opendoor is making. They are an “iBuyer” company and in the past a lot of real estate agents have had a strong disdain for all of the iBuyer programs (like Zillow and Redfin who were engaged in it, but are walking away from that market). One of the big criticisms from agents was that they were excluded from the process, as the iBuyer would give a cash offer direct to the homeowner, and there was no guarantee that the sale would be entered into MLS as a “comp” and the homes weren’t pushed from the seller to the larger market so buyers had the opportunity to submit offers. Instead the iBuyer would acquire the property and then list it themselves (typically with some profit built into the price). Well now Opendoor has figured out that involving agents is a better approach, and their stock price has soared with some of their recent changes. A prominent X poster who was a voice in the wilderness hyping Carvana’s potential (when its share price was down in the dumps) has now latched onto Opendoor’s potential. And with their changes and agent involvement moving forward, I can see a lot of potential there. With Zillow and Redfin out of the way as iBuyers, that opens up a lot of market share for Opendoor.
I’m also fascinated by the Yieldmax ULTY ETF. For a $6.30ish ETF to pay out $0.10 this week in weekly income, I know what I’d be doing if I had a few million in a retirement account and I was retirement age. It’s an interesting fund that uses covered call options and puts to generate income per share. Just look at the yield % on the Yahoo stock page, it’s been yielding quite a bit since they changed the ETF to weekly payouts earlier this year.
I’ve been watching a lot of post and beam/timber frame videos lately, and one of the things I’d like to see more builders doing here at the beach is anchoring 8x8 and 4x4 posts to concrete using the stainless steel Simpson Strong-Tie post bases. Stainless steel nails and screws hold up a lot better than galvanized nails and screws (because of our saltwater environment) and getting those post bases out of the direct earth (where water/moisture can accelerate rotting the post base) and up onto a stainless steel base seems like a good idea around here.
Something I see a lot on older houses around here is siding and trim that needs replacement. Some older homes from the 80s have cedar shake siding and wood (typically cedar) trim around windows and doors. It’s asking an awful lot for those materials to last 45 years in our environment, and I’ve seen some homes that still have original siding and trim materials. Even the windows were replaced but they left the siding and window trim the same. Some of the newer PVC options are really cool, and much more water/mold-resistant than even cedar siding and trim. Not too hard to install yourself either. If it’s time to update the exterior of your home, you might want to ask your contractor what they think about PVC vs cement-fiber or cedar replacement materials.
If you go to the beach with your husband or boyfriend and you’re having a great time working on your tan and listening to the ocean, and he seems bored and starts bugging you, just bring one of these to the beach. I think I’d be entertained and quiet for at least 3 hours. And maybe more.
Tweet Of The Week
The US housing market is definitely slow right now, and here at the beach it feels even slower. Sure transactions are still happening, but it’s such a far cry from the 2020-2022 levels. But what a lot of pundits don’t understand is that low transactions does not equal low housing demand. It’s low demand for mortgages (since they base their “buyer demand” claims on mortgage applications) but it’s not low demand for homes. You have to go to polls of renters to find actual intent (to buy a house when the environment improves) and demand (% of renters who want to buy a house).
Potential buyers are being served early-80s levels affordability in the housing market and they are sending it back, like an undercooked piece of chicken. They don’t want it. But when rates make things more… appetizing? They will all come rushing back in at once-
A majority of the homebuyers surveyed ‒ about 80% ‒ said they are waiting for mortgage rates to come down before buying in 2025. This is similar to the 76% who said they put off buying a home last year due to mortgage rates.
That’s 2 years of backlog and it continues to build. In the meantime, things continue to churn along and cash buyers are out here picking up some pretty solid deals. Over 28% of closings so far in 2025 have been cash buyers. Traditionally that number YTD has been closer to 19% or 20%. Cash buyers are over-represented the last 3 years or so.
10% Homes List
49 properties this week (down 2 vs last week)
32 have been on the market 90+ days
26 are listed for $1m+
Local News
More data-gathering equipment is being installed to measure traffic ahead of the mid-Currituck Bridge project moving forward. Interesting note from the article that the bridge (if it finally happens) would be the 2nd longest bridge in NC, behind the Virginia Dare bridge heading towards Manteo from the mainland. We would have the 2 longest bridges in the state here in the Outer Banks, and the Basnight bridge spanning Oregon Inlet is 2.8 miles long as well!
Offshore fishing is wild right now, people coming back with multiple marlin and sailfish flags. If you have never been deep sea fishing here at the beach, I would keep an eye on Facebook pages and fishing reports, and if you see the offshore fleets having a good day, try to sneak out on a last-minute reservation within the next 2-3 days. It’s been a pretty good run for a few days now.
If you have dreamed of owning a hotel and prime real estate on Ocracoke Island, the Silver Lake Motel is going to be auctioned off on July 29th (get registered by July 25th). The price will start at $2.9m, but you get multiple parcels, an older motel, a newer inn and suites, and waterfront dockage (and a potential restaurant site) right on Silver Lake in Ocracoke. Total assessed value is almost $5.4m. This seems like a pretty good opportunity for the right person, there aren’t a ton of rental options on Ocracoke and all of the hotels sell out during various events. More details here.
30-year mortgage rates were up slightly vs last week (+.09%)
Listing Of The Week -
614-B Sea Oats Ct in Corolla. These townhomes are located near the Sea Oats condos (but not part of the association there) and are situated steps from the beach access. It’s not easy to find one of these, as the layout on this 3BR/2BA unit has nice tall ceilings in the open living area, and is steps to the beach. Sealoft Village is part of the larger Ocean Sands community and you can obtain a pool membership if you would like access to the association pool. But with 3 parking spots and being that close to the beach, it’s hard to find this combination of positives for under $500k in Corolla and this comes in at $484k. Owners have done several updates since purchasing. HOA dues are just $880/yr and X flood zone!
Have a great rest of the week!
Here are this week's local stats:
There were 41 houses sold on the Outer Banks last week (15 more than last week)
Average sale price of those homes was $705,113
Average time on market was 74 days (10 sold within a week on market)
There were 67 new listings last week
Based on information from the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® MLS for the period 7/8/2025 through 7/15/2025.
Detailed Market Reports
Curious about the market in Duck or Colington Harbor? You can click the link below for more detailed info on your area:
CLICK HERE FOR MONTHLY MARKET DATA BY AREA
(just X out “Polygon Area” (the entire OBX) and enter the town you want to examine)
It doesn't matter to me if you do a real estate transaction today or 10 years from now - I want to be the agent that helps you when the time comes! This email newsletter is my way of keeping in touch with my clients and friends, but if you think someone would enjoy the information feel free to forward or share it with your friends as well!
If you have any questions at all about the Outer Banks real estate market or your home at the beach, give me a call or send me an email and I'll be happy to help in any way I can.
Stephen Smith
Real Broker, LLC
stephensmithobx@gmail.com
252-216-9230
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