The weather in Greensboro has made a change from warm and sunny to decidedly autumn-like. The skies have been overcast, we’ve gotten some much needed if somewhat mood depressing rain and people have broken out their nubby sweaters.

Along with the gray skies are the latest foreclosure listing numbers for Greensboro. The last few weeks haven’t been great. The week ending 10/11/09 had 21 new foreclosure listings*. That’s the highest weekly number in 2009.

Gray, indeed.

The most recent listings are spread over nearly all the nine residential Greensboro zip codes with only 27409 and 27455 having none. And, again, 27405 and 27406 are the most impacted zip codes, with 8 and 4 new listings, respectively.

Why the uptick in foreclosure listings lately? There are surely several reasons, many of which are beyond me. But in discussing this with a colleague, Leslie Wales-Hecht, a couple of days ago, she pointed out that over the last several months there have been a good many sellers, along with their lenders, trying to stave off foreclosure by going the ’short sale’ route.

Short sales, she pointed out, are the last stop before foreclosure. And since the short sale process is a long and complicated one, the number of foreclosure listings may be have simply been delayed while the short sale attempts were made. Leslie should know as she is actually a certified Short Sale Specialist and has been up to he pretty eyes in short sales for some time.

For those properties where short sale terms were not able to be worked out the inevitable was merely put off.

Makes sense to me.

Whatever the reason, it will be a delight to report on this site when the numbers start shriveling up and blowing away. Stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, some details:

The prices for the the week’s foreclosures range from $15,900 to $329,900. 18 of the 21 are under $100,000 and 14 are under $75,000. Three of the listings are already under contract. Look below for a few listings representative of what is available in the foreclosure market in Greensboro as of today.

1207 Arlington Street, Greensboro, NC $19,900 (MLS#556629)

2627 Stratford Dr, Greensboro, NC $99,900 (MLS#55067)

4200 Peppervine Trail, Greensboro, NC $229,900 (MLS#530680)

As always, whether the news is good or bad, you’ll see it here.

_________________________________________________________

If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is only as good as the information entered, which is done by humans, who make errors. The information is only for those residential zip codes for Greensboro and does not include the surrounding communities

Tags: 1207 Arlington St, 2627 Stratford Dr, 4200 Peppervine Trail, Greensboro, Greensboro foreclosures, Greensboro housing statistics, Greensboro zip codes, Leslie Wales-Hecht, MLS, MLS#530680, MLS#55067, MLS#556629, Multiple List, Multiple Listing Service, Triad MLS

A quick snapshot of houses on the market in Greensboro show that there’s plenty to choose from, to say the very least.

Looking over the last 6 months, the total number of listings (including ‘active’ and ‘pending’ listings) is 2996*. That’s almost exactly smack-dab in the middle of the highest number of 3091 on May 26th and the lowest of 2892 on March 31st.

And the average list price – $222,900 – is lowest it’s been in that same time period.

This is not particularly welcome news for sellers, but awesome for buyers.

There has been a slight increase in the percentage of foreclosures in these numbers. Four of the nine Greensboro zip codes had a small increase in foreclosure listings: 27405 (+3), 27406(+5), 27410 (+2) and 27455 (+2). 27403 had a reduction (-1)The rest remained the same.

The percentage of overall listings that are foreclosures increased from 189 (6%) to 200 (7%). Nearly all of that gain is in the single-family category.

An example of a listing with an asking price representative of the average is this lovely thing at 1809 Colonial Avenues:

1809 Colonial Ave, Greensboro, NC 27408 $225,000 (MLS#526828)

The average listing price of $222,900 can buy a really nice house in a very nice neighborhood. The example to the left is such a house. With 3 bedrooms and 2 baths this house is representative of the size one would might expect as an “average”.

All in all, the numbers continue to show that Greensboro is following the very general trends of most of the country but without the big ‘ouchies’ some areas are enduring. Good deals are available, nice homes are on the market and a few houses are owned by banks.

Keep watching this space to see what happens next.

And now, the rest of the graphs, please…..

As always, whether the news is good or bad, you’ll see it here.

_________________________________________________________

If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is only as good as the information entered, which is done by humans, who make errors. The information is only for those residential zip codes for Greensboro and does not include the surrounding communities.

Tags: 1809 Colonial Ave, 27410, Greensboro, Greensboro housing prices, Greensboro housing statistics, Greensboro zip codes, housing inventory, listingbook.com, MLS, MLS 526828, Multiple List, Multiple Listing Service, PTI, Triad MLS

Finally, finally, finally. For the first time since May, the new weekly foreclosure listings in Greensboro have been in the single digits two weeks in a row. For the week ending 9/13/09 there were 7* new listings. The week before, 9.

Too soon to say there’s a trend, but we’ll take it.

Those 7 foreclosures are located in 4 zip codes of Greensboro:

• 27401 – 2 listings
• 27405 – 2 listings
• 27406 – 2 listings
• 27410 – 1 listing

All but one are single-family houses, 1 being a townhouse.

Some data of note: the list price range for the houses is substantially narrower – and lower – than for any week since May.

• highest list price - $89,900
• lowest list price – $24,900
• average list price – $54,314
• median list price – $44,900

AND, for the first time in a goodly while, the number of foreclosure listings over a 12-week rolling period declined. We’ve been on an upward tick for this measure since June. So, again, good news.

The zip codes most impacted by foreclosures continue to be 27405 and 27406, which account for fully 50% (64) of the total number of foreclosures listed (128) in the last 12 weeks

Below are the requisite charts and graphs, but first here are a couple of properties that represent some of the foreclosures available in Greensboro right now:

2400 Peppervine Trail, Greensboro, NC 27455 $239,900 (MLS#530680)

2000 S. Benbow, Greensboro, NC 27406 $33,500 (MLS#525347)

As always, whether the news is good or bad, you’ll see it here.

_________________________________________________________

If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is only as good as the information entered, which is done by humans, who make errors. The information is only for those residential zip codes for Greensboro and does not include the surrounding communities

Tags: 27410, Foreclosures in Greensboro, Greensboro, Greensboro foreclosures, Greensboro zip codes, listingbook.com, MLS, Multiple List, Multiple Listing Service, PTI, Triad MLS

I really like being in real estate. And I very much enjoy writing this blog. But sometimes I don’t love writing about real estate on this blog.

This is one of those times.

Nothing horrible. Just nothing good. Regular readers of this site know that every week I track how many properties are on the market in Greensboro as of mid-day on Tuesday. (Irregular readers….. well, let’s not talk about irregularity)

Anywho, for a few weeks there has been at lease one piece of data that could be classified as positive – maybe fewer listings or a higher percentage of pending sales or higher average list price.

This week? No, no and no.

Alas, one must write about the yin if one is going to champion the yang.  So have a look:

As always, whether the news is good or bad, you’ll see it here.

_________________________________________________________

If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is only as good as the information entered, which is done by humans, who make errors. The information is only for those residential zip codes for Greensboro and does not include the surrounding communities.

Tags: Greensboro

One of the most popular topics on this site is that of foreclosures. With all the carpet-bombing news stories about the distressed economic system, distressed banks, distressed real estate markets and distressed home sellers one could understandably be, well, distressed.

For sure, there is pain out there. True, real, flesh and blood people in tough positions.

But when we drill down to Greensboro foreclosure numbers*, we had another good week.

During the week ending 4/12/09, only 5 foreclosures were listed. That’s the fewest weekly total since tracking of the numbers started on this site. And of the 9 residential Greensboro zip codes, three have had no foreclosures listed in the last weeks. (27403, 27408 and 27455)

More importantly, there is a decided trend in the rolling 12-week periods of foreclosure listings. There were 12 fewer in the 12 week period ending 4/12 than the previous period. That’s a huge drop.

There has been a moratorium on foreclosures by some financial institutions, and those moratoriums are coming to a close. So perhaps the numbers will go the other direction in weeks to come. If they do, you’ll read it here.

But for now the trend is clear. There are fewer foreclosures in Greensboro than there were. And that means fewer stressed home sellers, which may lead to less stress on the real estate market, banks and the economy in general.

Let’s hope so because until they start putting Xanax in gumball machines, we all need less stress.

As always, whether the news is good or bad, you’ll see it here.

_________________________________________________________

If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is only as good as the information entered, which is done by humans, who make errors. The information is only for those residential zip codes for Greensboro and does not include the surrounding communities

Tags: Foreclosures in Greensboro, Greensboro, Greensboro zip codes, MLS, Multiple List, Multiple Listing Service, Real estate market

There are more listings in Greensboro this week. There are also more ‘pending’ sales. To be specific, of the 3045 houses on the market in Greensboro, 569 (19%) are under contract. Last week, that percentage was 18%. A couple of weeks prior to that, 17%. Two weeks for THAT 16%. What does all that mean?

It means, Grasshopper, that even as overall inventory of has increased, properties are selling at a faster rate than they’re being listed.

Can I get an “Amen”?

And, as you can see, the average list price is up – again. This is the 7th out of the last 8 weeks where the average list price has increased.

Here’s some more “graphitti”

As always, whether the news is good or bad, you’ll see it here.

_________________________________________________________

If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is only as good as the information entered, which is done by humans, who make errors. The information is only for those residential zip codes for Greensboro and does not include the surrounding communities.

Tags: Greensboro

I’m not trendy, but I know a trend when I see one. And there is a definite trend in the foreclosure listing activity in Greensboro.

It’s a downward trend, and that’s good. In order for the real estate market to rebound, there must be a reduction in inventory overall, and in the number of foreclosures specifically. That’s because foreclosures are the real estate equivalent of single celled organisms – not really productive in the grand scheme of things, taking energy the environment and are often slimy.

And I mean that literally. Some of these places look like they’ve been rode hard and hung up wet.

So, the first step towards economic evolution and advancement is to get these distressed properties off the market. And that’s what appears to be happening.

Looking at 12-week rolling periods, the week ending 3/1/09 has the lowest total since I started tracking, which was the beginning of September 2008.

That’s the first bit of good news.

The second is that, of the 146 properties listed in the last 12 weeks, the fewest yet are still on the market (comparing to other 12 week periods) and more are closed or pending than other periods.

Not only that, but of ALL the foreclosures listed since 9/8/08,  nearly 2/3 are closed or under contract..

This is a trend – unlike botox injections – behind which I can get.

[NOTE: It has been requested that I include numbers for  Summerfield, a 'bedroom' community north of Greensboro in Guilford County. I appreciate the suggestion and will start compiling the data and will post as soon as I have done so.]

For those who like to see the numbers for your zip code, here you go:

As always, whether the news is good or bad, you’ll see it here.

_________________________________________________________

If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Weekly fluctuations of the numbers can happen as the data is impacted by the promptness of input by members, properties that are temporarily withdrawn from the market, etc.,

Tags: Foreclosures in Greensboro, Greensboro, Guilford County, MLS, Multiple List, Multiple Listing Service, Real estate market, Summerfield

Credit: H. Scott Hoffmann / News & Record

[UPDATE: The addition of a 3rd runway at Piedmont Triad International Airport is nearly complete. It was built to accommodate the new FedEx hub. Here's a link to a Fox8 News story about it. Note use of the word "aerotropolis". Memorize it. Greensboro is becoming one.]

You may be a aware that for generations in Greensboro “Cotton Was King”. There was even a fine hotel named the King Cotton. But that building the textile industry itself, are memories.

The next logical industry for Greensboro is, of course…..aviation??

Greensboro has quietly become a center for many things airplane oriented (including my husband, but that’s a story for another post). And a prime example of that is the fact that HondaJet is opening it’s facility here. They’ve exceeded the hiring numbers they had projected and are talking of producing more jets than initially planned.

In addition to HondaJet there is airplane maintenance facility, TIMCO, supply house Aerosphere Aviation, and the coming FedEx sorting facility is preparing to open at Piedmont Triad International Airport. Greensboro is also in the running for aFedEx hub.

How did all this come to be in the land of cotton? I really don’t know, or I’ve long forgotten. But look this way. Look this way, look this way, to Dixieland – if you want to find an expanding industry.

Tags: Aerosphere Aviation, aerotropolis, FedEx, Fox8 News, Greensboro, HondaJet, Piedmont Triad International Airport, TIMCO

This audio was listed on a blog post by the editor or our city’s newspaper, The News & Record. It involves a bank robbery followed by a car chase with one of the suspects hanging out a window of the chased car, shooting at trailing officers.

Pretty dramatic in its own right.

But at about 5:45 seconds in, you can hear one of the officers advise they have initiated CPR on one of the downed suspects. One who had just moments earlier been trying to kill the officers.

Trying to save the life of someone who for no good reason was just trying to blow you away.

Now that’s drama.

Tags: bank robbery in Greensboro, car chase in Greensboro, Greensboro, Greensboro News & Record, John Robinson, police audio of car chase

A new element I’m adding to this site is periodic profiles of locally owned business establishments, artists and characters.

In my first such entry we find all three.

Vin Vin is a wine shop. But it is not what one usually expects from an establishment devoted to the grape. No pretense. No attitude. No ferns. Just really well-priced wine and two guys who know their stuff.

Fear not. Climb the stairs. Buy some good wine.

Not only do I never feel like an ignoramus when I enter, I sometimes feel overdressed. It is a most informal place – cinder block, concrete, lumber. And the whole space is kept at the ideal temperature for wine. The lighting is low tech. There’s usually a stack of empty boxes in the corner. And you you have to drive to the back of an industrial area to get there. Just climb the metal steps, ring the buzzer and enter.

But once you’re in, you’ll find Rob and/or Richard. And they really know wine.

They’ll take as much time as you need to help you come up with what you want – even if you don’t know what that may be. That’s what my situation usually is. I don’t know much about wine. So I’ll stop in and Rob will pick out a few bottles for me. And while they carry all price ranges, he knows that if the bottle costs more than about $10 I’m probably going to pass.

I’m a cheap date.

So around Rob goes, alternately talking to me and to himself, figuring out what I should try this time. He also has a record of what I’ve bought previously, so when I tell him “I really liked that white in the tall, skinny bottle” he can figure out which one that might have been.

Rob is apt to break into a Gaelic dialect, start explaining his take on the writings of Melville, and ask about your newly married daughter, all in one paragraph. You can sit on the red leather sofa and shoot the breeze while a wine expert loads up a box of various vintages for you.

They’ll even deliver to your home – for free. Even for one bottle.

There are regular tastings. They’ll have wine tastings in your home. And if they don’t have it, they’ll get it for you.

They carry a few wine accessories but only ones they feel good about. And they carry a very few food items. Rob says they’re planning on adding fine cheeses. I hope that happens. Richard really knows his foods, they both know their wines, they remember your name when you walk in, and it’s the only wine store into which I ever walked where I didn’t feel intimidated.

Rob and Richard are innovative, knowledgeable and adorable.

And they have wine!

Drop in and tell them Casey says “hey”. And that I’m digging that Wente white.

Tags: Greensboro, Greensboro merchants, Greensboro wine shop, local business, Vin Vin