OBX Spring MARKET 2025: Spring has sprung on the Outer Banks! Everywhere you look, there are signs of spring! From the Dogwood trees in full early bloom to the light coating of pollen on everything to the increase in traffic, we know the summer season is near! We are also enjoying warmer weather earlier this year than is typical. Dare County Property Tax Revaluations All the buzz around town this week is focused on the new property valuations, which became public this week. On April 1, the Dare County Tax Appraisal Department announced that 2025 revaluation notices containing the updated appraised value for 41,567 taxable properties have now been mailed to all Dare County property owners. According to the county, the total value of those properties is $27,453,300,000 or about $27.5 billion, representing a 67% gain over the $16.4 billion in assessed value in 2024. When the county’s properties were last reappraised five years ago in 2020, the tax base was $15.9 billion. These numbers may seem outrageous, but they are close to accurate. In some cases, assessments are lower than current market values, and in others, they may be higher. Upon receiving a revaluation notice, property owners who disagree with the new assessed value may file an informal appeal with the Dare County Tax Department. The informal appeals process will remain open until the Dare County Board of Equalization & Review convenes; at this point, they must review and decide on appeals. Additional details on submitting an appeal will be included in the revaluation notices and can also be found online at DareNC.gov/Revaluation. Mid Currituck Bridge News It was standing room only at the Duck Town Hall on Tuesday, March 18, as more than 70 people lined the walls to participate in a Mid-Currituck Bridge permit hearing. This hearing was to sample public sentiment for a major CAMA permit for the bridge that the North Carolina Department of Coastal Management (DCM) will issue. The permit is needed for the construction and operation of the bridge. To issue the permit, DCM gathers information from a number of agencies and local government, including the US Army Corps of Engineers, Wildlife Resources Commission, and Marine Fisheries. The planned two-lane 4.5-mile bridge connecting Aydlett on mainland Currituck County with Corolla is now in the permitting stage. If permits are issued this year, according to the Mid-Currituck Bridge website, construction will begin in 2026, with a completion date sometime in 2027. The bridge, with a price tag of more than $1.1 billion, will be a toll road. In the towns of Duck and Southern Shores, the project enjoys widespread support, and the first speaker, Kevin Wright, representing the Duck Community and Business Alliance, outlined the case for the bridge. “We have a choke point and one way in and one way out for everything from Southern Shores north…Even in the off season, more than 50% of the traffic flowing through the town of Duck is for traffic northbound and southbound from Duck,” he said, adding that the bridge would “support being able to get out of town in an emergency, even in the tourist season.” Concerns about emergency services and evacuation were a consistent topic for the speakers. Southern Shores Councilwoman Paula Sherlock described emergency services as “severely compromised. Fire trucks and ambulances can’t get through. This is not just an annoyance. This is a safety risk and an environmental hazard.” She also noted that “Evacuations are a constant concern…Getting people off of these [Outer Banks] in these emergency situations would be virtually impossible, because there is only one way out. It should not take a catastrophe to get this bridge built.” Particularly vexing to Southern Shores residents are GPS directions that recommend the town’s residential streets as a viable alternative to NC12 for traffic heading north. Southern Shores resident Sarah Sullivan described being trapped in her driveway on summer weekends and added that, “tourists have been seen relieving themselves on our lawns or knocking on people to use our bathrooms.” “It happens even to me on Seventh Avenue,” said Paul Borzellino, who lives on the ocean side of NC 12. “I happen to have a nice-looking drive that people pull in and say, ‘My kids gotta use the bathroom, please. Can we come in?’ That’s the situation we’re in. I’m not exaggerating.” Several speakers called attention to air pollution created by thousands of slow-moving cars idling for long periods, with one speaker describing running his finger along the railing of his porch. “It comes up black because of the constant idling cars,” he said. Asked after the meeting if air pollution would be considered part of the CAMA major permit process, Tancred Miller, DCM Director, told the Voice, “It’s not in our purview.” There were voices, however, raised in opposition to the bridge project at the hearing. Southern Environmental Law Center Associate Attorney Zoe Mehta said the Currituck Sound is a “globally rare ecosystem” and that “the bridge would spell disaster [for] the water quality and the coastal resources in the area.” Mehta, referencing Currituck Sound National Estuarine Reserve and Mackey Island National Wildlife Refuge, also called for the DCM to consider the “impacts on wildlife refuges [and] preserves…” Corolla resident and business owner Barb Marzetti. a member of No Mid- Currituck Bridge group, pointed to potential environmental damage the bridge could cause as well as its cost. “This bridge is more damaging and there are more effective options,” she said. “We have limited transportation dollars that could go to other areas, particularly Western North Carolina that need them more than we do for 14 weekends a year. The tolls will be prohibitive for workers. It won’t help my business to get workers.” Representatives of the no Mid-Currituck Bridge Group called for an additional hearing on the bridge in Corolla. The deadline for public comments is Thursday, April 17. Comments may be submitted by email at DCMcomments@deq.nc.gov Mortgage Update From The Evans Lending Team Rates faced upward pressure at Monday’s opening bell due to raised expectations of economic growth stemming from weekend reports that planned reciprocal tariffs slated for April 2 may be narrower in scope. Global Services PMI, which measures economic health across forty-five economies, released later that morning, exceeded expectations, registering an expansionary index reading and further applying pressure on rates. The mortgage market regained a little ground on Tuesday when consumer confidence fell below consensus. Still, this gain was forfeited on Wednesday when durable goods orders were much stronger than expected. The rate environment was flat on Thursday, with weekly jobless claims close to expectations and February pending home sales increasing by 2%. Friday had the most anticipated reports of the week, which included the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, Core PCE, and personal income. Inflation came in slightly above expectations, and income came in significantly above expectations, both of which typically apply upward pressure on rates. However, lower than anticipated personal spending more than offset their impact. For the week, rates for most programs ended slightly higher.Friday’s inflation reading wasn’t exceptionally hot, but it will likely keep the Fed in a monetary policy holding pattern for longer before cutting rates. There are potentially influential reports scattered throughout next week, with most attention focused on Friday’s employment report, which details the number of jobs, wage increases, and the unemployment rate. In real estate news, Inventory continues to climb and, compared to February of 2024, inventory is up 31%! Residential inventory is up 56%. Lots / Land inventory has not changed. Commercial inventory is down 27%. Overall, sales for 2025 are holding steady compared to the same period in 2024, up by 3.9%: Single Family Detached sales are up 14.7%. Condo sales are neutral with no increase or decrease. Lots / Land sales are down 7%. Median sale prices increased. Residential Median Sale Price is up 14%. Lots / Land Median Sale Price is up 8%. Each town is a little different, so I am breaking it down for you town by town below: 4×4 Area: Currently for sale: 38 (down by 6) Currently pending: 5 (up by 3) Sold year to date: 6 Average sale price: $614,166 Average sale vs. list price: 85% Average days on the market: 148 Corolla: Currently for sale: 124 (no change) Currently pending: 25 (down by 1) Sold year to date: 36 Average sale price: $1,011,909 Average sale vs. list price: 95% Average days on the market: 81 Duck: Currently for sale: 33 (up by 2) Currently pending: 12 (up by 4) Sold year to date: 12 Average sale price: $1,277,283 Average sale vs. list price: 92% Average days on the market: 71 Southern Shores: Currently for sale: 29 (down by 2) Currently pending: 17 (up by 4) Sold year to date: 20 Average sale price: $917,820 Average sale vs. list price: 95% Average days on the market: 39 Martins Point: Currently for sale: 3 (no change) Currently pending: none (no change) Sold year to date: 3 Average sale price: $1,534,166 Average sale vs. list price: 94% Average days on the market: 16 Kitty Hawk: Currently for sale: 24 (no change) Currently pending: 12 (same) Sold year to date: 21 Average sale price: $744,123 Average sale vs. list price: 95% Average days on the market: 64 Kill Devil Hills: Currently for sale: 105 (up by 19) Currently pending: 29 (down by 2) Sold year to date: 66 Average sale price: $669,675 Average sale vs. list price: 96% Average days on the market: 65 Nags Head: Currently for sale: 57 (up by 9) Currently pending: 29 (up by 4 )Sold year to date: 44 Average sale price: $953,809 Average sale vs. list price: 95% Average days on the market: 59 Hatteras Island: Currently for sale: 170 (up by 7) Currently pending: 39 (up by 1) Sold year to date: 56 Average sale price: $666,882 Average sale vs. list price: 91% Average days on the market: 91 Manteo: Currently for sale: 40 (up by 8) Currently pending: 14 (up by 1) Sold year to date: 14 Average sale price: $501,607 Average sale vs. list price: 89% Average days on the market: 81 Colington Island: Currently for sale: 24 (up by 1) Currently pending: 9 (down by 3) Sold year to date: 25 Average sale price: $547,573 Average sale vs. list price: 94% Average days on the market: 74 If you have any questions about the current market and how it impacts your investment, please don’t hesitate to ask! |
