Nationwide sales of existing homes increased unexpectedly in February after six months of decline, but private economists said it was too soon to say that the prolonged slide in U.S. housing is coming to an end.
The National Association of Realtors said that sales of existing homes rose 2.9 percent in February from January levels, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.03 million units. It marked the first month-to-month sales increase since last July.Apparently, potential home buyers are realizing that the glut of foreclosures and roughly 9 months of housing inventory, as well as low interest rates and other incentives are creating opportunities to get bargains not seen for for decades.Although sales may be taking longer, home prices in the Cape Fear region are holding fairly steady, defying national trend.New York, New Jersey and other northern states still makes the Port City seem like a bargain. Take a peek at what has been happening this week in Wilmington. Wilmington considers continuously annexing nearby areas
Monkey Junction may just be for starters. Wilmington could soon go on a steady diet of annexation.City staffers are recommending going to a two-year cycle of annexation where the city continually considers absorbing urbanized areas on its edges.In odd-numbered years, the council would identify areas for annexation; in-depth reports, public hearings and adoption would take place in even years. The city council will review the idea Monday at its all-day budget retreat.“People need to know when they move there that if they live close to the city, they’re likely to be annexed at some point,” said Councilwoman Laura Padgett, the major proponent of the change. “I think there needs to be some sort of communication and predictability.”The proposal comes as the council ponders pushing its boundaries south to Monkey Junction by taking in a lucrative 840-acre peninsula between Carolina Beach and South College roads. Padgett and others think any such annexation needs to be accompanied by a systematic plan for future growth so people know what to expect. New Hanover County considers selling park off Carolina Beach Road New Hanover County is considering selling Battle Park, a wooded area off Carolina Beach Road that was bought and funded with voter-approved park bond money.County Manager Bruce Shell told the commissioners during a recent budget workshop that developers are interested in purchasing the 42-acre tract and that the county has already had the property appraised.County officials say they are considering selling the land because it is only about two miles away from Veterans Park, the school and park complex off Carolina Beach Road.It’s possible the commissioners could vote on a purchase offer in April, Shell said at the workshop.But with so much land being developed in southern New Hanover, some residents worry that Veterans Park is already becoming too crowded and that more park land will be needed in the future.If the land is sold, they argue, the county will throw away an excellent opportunity to plan for the future. The mixed-use concept has made its way to Masonboro Loop Road.Masonboro Lodge, a building that combines office and residential space, is under construction at 4032 Masonboro Loop Road, at the intersection of Navaho Trail. Worsley Investment and Development Co. LLC, the developer, expects the project to be finished by early fall.“It will be an urban-type living arrangement near the water,” said Earl Worsley, manager of the development company. “We think there’s a need for neighborhood goods and services but in more of a neighborhood, relaxed atmosphere.”The project will have about 5,300 square feet of space for commercial condominiums on the first floor and four second-story, one-bedroom residential lofts of about 1,230 square feet each, said Lon Edwards, a broker for Worsley Real Estate Co., which is listing the property.Three lofts are on the market; two are listed for $204,900 and the other for $199,900. The developer is negotiating for discounted prices for loft owners to lease boat slips at nearby Masonboro Yacht Club & Marina, Worsley said.Commercial space is for sale at a list price of $200 per square foot, or for lease. Worsley said he’d like to see professional offices, a small coffee shop and some light retail on the site.Proposed Brunswick County port would cost 2.3 billion. The proposed seaport in Brunswick County will cost an estimated $2.3 billion, with the first phase expected to open in 2017, according to new studies released Thursday by the N.C. State Ports Authority.That’s a substantial increase from the $1 billion-plus cost the Authority had previously projected. Funding for new highways, better railroads, deeper navigation channels and construction of the facility is expected to come from a number of federal, state and private sources, with most of the burden falling on the Ports Authority, the state and future private partners.The N.C. State Ports Authority is planning the port on 600 acres on an undeveloped site near Southport. The container terminal, authority officials hope, will take advantage of expected growth in international trade and the resulting demand for East Coast ports as space dwindles on the West Coast.The authority has begun to search for the right development partner from a short list of companies worldwide capable of handling the complex job, said Carl J. Stewart Jr., chairman of the Ports Authority Board of Directors.....until next week in the Week in Review Tina
