After a chilly and rainy May, we are grateful for the beautiful summer-like weather we have had this June. Visitors are here, marked by a visible uptick in traffic and crowds at restaurants, shops, and sidewalks. All systems are a go for another successful summer on the Outer Banks! Luckily, the Duck Shoreline and Resiliency Project is complete, and traffic flows freely through the Town of Duck once again! In Kill Devil Hills, the first WAWA in North Carolina is now open.
The new EMS station in the Town of Kitty Hawk will begin construction sometime over the summer. It will be located in North Kitty Hawk along Highway 158 in the 4900 block of Putter Lane and have a bay for the fire department.
Duck was the first town on the Outer Banks to ban the release of inflated balloons within its limits. Within two months, Southern Shores, Nags Head, and now Kitty Hawk followed suit. It is now illegal to intentionally release an inflated balloon, and the Towns will impose a $250 civil penalty on violators.
The beaches in Rodanthe are again open following the collapse of another oceanfront house along Ocean Drive on May 28th. If you plan to use the beaches in Rodanthe, please be extremely cautious, as additional debris is expected to wash up. Unfortunately, Rodanthe is one of the only towns along the Outer Banks that does not qualify for beach nourishment, so this will be an ongoing problem.
In real estate news, inventory is consistently increasing. Residential inventory is up by 57% since April of 2023. Residential sales are up by 19% when compared to April of 2023. However, sales are actually down by 5% when looking at the year totals.