More thoughts on the state of N.C. real estate

Smells like desperation

I came across an article yesterday touting six luxury beach front homes for sale across the U.S. One was on Topsail Island, N.C..

By chance last week I was on Topsail Island, in North Carolina as a guest of my good friends Ingun and Kenny Van Neste. I didn’t see the property mentioned above but I saw many more with asking prices over a million and apparently no takers as far as I could tell. From the many for sale signs dominating the landscape things looked a little competitive to me.

Topsail Island is a nice place. Not too big, with a number of very nice, newer beachfront homes. The folks are friendly and the town of Surf City has a nice surf town feel. However, signs of the housing downturn can not be overlooked.
On one street with newer homes I saw nearly every house with a for sale sign in front. What is to be made of this? Too much speculation is my guess. Owners and builders look as if they are bailing out. Only problem is they all seem to be doing it at the same time.
Is this a sign of things to come for other areas of the country? Sadly, my guess is yes. Topsail Island can be looked at as a microcosm for the rest of the market, and not just in the U.S. Watch areas of France and Spain follow similar paths very soon.
Vern