Real Estate Listings and Information for Buyers in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham and Chatham County NC from SarahGray Lamm,SRES,ABR,CRS,GRI

Chapel Hill and Orange County are part of a broad region in North Carolina called the Research Triangle. Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and many other smaller communities in the region have been consistently highly rated as places to live and do business. You couldn't ASK for a better place to live and work than the Carolinas!

Chapel Hill is the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, our nations first state university, and is the largest city in the county. It has a lively downtown, and along with it's sister city Carrboro, the distinction of being one of the hottest music scenes in the country and a thriving artistic community.

It MATTERS to a great agent! How do you prefer to communicate? Cell phone or desk phone? Voicemail or email? Text messaging or Facebook? Virtual or actual? Your Realtor should talk to you the way you want to talk...and WHEN you want to talk!

Not surprisingly, the most important factor considered by buyers and sellers across all generations when choosing an agent is REPUTATION! Our buyers and sellers benefit from our attention to the marketplace, exemplary service, superior negotiating skills and years of experience..and they'll be happy to tell you about it! Contact us for references and assistance today!

If you were not under contract by the end of April 2010, you will not qualify for the federal tax credit. Does this mean you need to give up your plan to buy a home in Chapel Hill, Durham or Raleigh? Hardly. Relative to the cost of buying a home in previous years, there is still a sale going on in Chapel Hill real estate, not to mention Durham and the rest of the Triangle of North Carolina. But there are some things you will need to consider. Now that the federal government is no longer subsidizing home purchases through tax credits and artificially low interest rates, you will see the dynamics of the market begin to change. As banks get back into the lending business we will see interest rates rise. How much? A safe bet would be that by the end of 2010 you will be paying between 6 and 7% interest on a home loan. While home prices in our area will stay attractive for some time, a higher interest rate means it will cost you more per month in a house payment to get that new home.

It hardly seems like a huge jump from 4.75 or 5% and I will be the first to tell you that 6 or 7% is still a darn good interest rate; yet consider this: even a 1% increase in your interest rate can eliminate some homes from your consideration. Even if home prices continue to drop it would take a 10% drop in price to balance a 1% rise in interest rate when it comes to your house payment. If you want to own a home, don't wait. No better time will ever come along!

Wondering if it is time to sell your Chapel Hill, Durham or Raleigh home? Should you wait until the market "rebounds"? Consider this...predictions of housing's return to 2006 or 2007 prices in the Triangle are for early 2013. Do you have that long to wait? If not, consider this as well...interest rates will now begin to rise as the federal government is no longer buying mortgage backed securities and banks will begin to lend once again. Even a 1% rise in interest rates will take some buyers out of your home's price range. Fewer buyers equals fewer opportunities to sell. The only way to compensate for a rise in interest rates as a seller is to lower your asking price. It is absolutely imperative that you be priced not just competitively but COMPELLINGLY in order to attract the most qualified buyers. Besides, if you personally are considering moving up in Chapel Hill or Durham or out of North Carolina altogether, a quick sale of your home today may put you in a position to be the buyer reaping the benefits of a challenged market!

I have over 60,000 hours of Real Life NC Real Estate Experience and hundreds of happy clients who will be happy to talk to you. Give me a call and let's discuss your options and opportunities. My clients leverage my years of experience to ensure their own successful outcomes!