Congratulations, Raleigh! You have beat Atlanta, Chicago, New York City, Washington and many other cities in the Most Wired Cities list published by Forbes’ Magazine.   Moving to the number 1 position was quite a jump from last year’s 15th spot.   Special thanks to our city planners, private business owners and developers who have installed wireless connections in downtown Raleigh and the Greater Raleigh Area. 

Raleigh Rankings Include:

Raleigh Housing Ranks First

Raleigh Ranks in Best Colleges List

Raleigh’s Charter Schools

Raleigh Ranks Tops Jobs Growth

If you are interested in hearing more about relocating to the Greater Raleigh Area, including Cary, Apex, Holly Springs, Wake Forest, Garner and Clayton, please feel free to call me at (919) 235.007.  My Raleigh Real Estate Team is here to help you.

Linda

Many people are hearing the word “short sale” and sometimes it can be confusing as to what that word really means.   I thought I would share with you my perspective as Certified Distressed Property Expert here in the Greater Raleigh, North Carolina area.

If you, or anyone you know, has any further questions or if you would like a private, confidential analysis of your current real estate situation, please call me at (919) 235.0007.  I am here to help you.

Linda

Every week my team provides a weekly report to all of our current sellers.  The report covers where we market their home, how many showings they have received, what the feedback is from their real estate home showings, etc.   We also include a report on what their local competition is from a buyer’s perspective here in the Greater Raleigh Area Real Estate Market.  I thought you might have a question on this too so I thought I would share.

Linda,

The location of the houses you sent and used in my weekly home competition report concerns me. I am actually familiar with this subdivision off of Rock Quarry Road. Yes, the houses are similar, but the area is not.

Bob

Hi Bob,

I understand your analysis of different locations as well as your concern. However, please note that my search comes direct from MLS and it pulls only your MLS area which is about a 5 mile radius. It also pulls your price bracket. The way this search was created for you is Read the rest of this entry

I received this bathroom remodeling question from a client and thought you might be wondering the same thing.

Dear Linda,

I’m not ready to move anytime soon but when I do, you will be the listing agent so I figure I better ask your opinion now. We are remodeling our master bath. We’ve put down tile floors, a marble shower, new vanities, new mirrors, new light fixtures…..but we took out the garden tub we never use and don’t want to replace it. We were thinking a window bench that lifted up for storage or something like that. Is that going to kill our resale? Read the rest of this entry

I had a gentleman who lives in another state contact me on my Raleigh Real Estate website about listing his 92 year old mother’s home. He said she had gotten ill over Christmas and could no longer live alone. He needed to find a senior continuing care facility in the Greater Raleigh area for her to move too because all of the family lived too far away to take care of her long distance. The long term care facilites were very expensive and he needed to know what the house was worth. I met with his mom, who was the sweetest thing in the world and didn’t look 92. I hope to be so lucky. I gave him a price and he was pleased then he tried to take the hardest step and here was our dialog:

Hi Linda,

I have talked to my mother and she is so indecisive I am not sure how to push her forward at this point. She doesn’t feel that she knows where to go and doesn’t know how to go about making the decision. She feels that she needs to make a decision on where to go before going forward. I try to provide help but she is very hard to deal with. She needs to be gone from that house!

Bill   Read the rest of this entry

Over the past two years I have met with many Raleigh area home sellers who wanted to sell and buy a new home. However, the declining Raleigh real estate market wasn’t going to allow them to net enough money from the sale to be able to purchase a new home. The Government  has now stepped up and is helping Raleigh area move up buyers by giving them a $6,500 tax credit if they buy before April 30, 2010.  

How Will A Raleigh Homeowner Benefit?

The $6,500 tax credit will really help many sellers offset any depreciation they may have experienced in the Raleigh Real Estate market and will give them the extra funds they need to buy a new home. When selling a home you have to deduct the mortgage pay off, property taxes, real estate commissions, revenue stamps and other miscellaneous charges for selling a home. The remainder after everything is paid is the net proceeds. Or better described the check the seller gets at closing to spend on their new house. The Government is giving them an additional $6,500 tax credit to help home sellers in Raleigh buy new homes. This is pretty exciting especially when you consider mortgage interest rates are still around 5% for a 30 years fixed rate mortgage. The low interest rates and the tax credit will help many homeowners get into better houses than they ever dreamed.

Raleigh Mortgage Lending Guidelines Have Changed

Today in order to buy a home most lenders require a minimum of 5% down. We can usually negotiated to get the mortgage closing cost paid by the seller but, when the Raleigh housing market hasn’t appreciated over the past several years it makes it really hard to sell and be able to net enough money from the sale for the down payment on a new home. The $6,500 tax credit will put many home buyers in the market now that could only sit and wait before. Here are some details:

Who is Eligible   Read the rest of this entry

Looking for a golf course community in the Greater Raleigh Area without a high price tag? Be sure to check out Hedingham Golf and Athletic Club in Raleigh, North Carolina.  Our Raleigh Real Estate Team has sold over 200 homes in this golf community  and it is one you will want to be sure to check out!

Hedingham Raleigh NC Subdivision Video

Learn More about Hedingham Subdivision

Visit the Hedingham neighborhood profile page to learn more about Hedingham Subdivision.

Homes for Sale in Hedingham Subdivision Raleigh NC

Below are a few of the most recent homes for sale in Hedingham. Visit the Hedingham Home Search Page to view all homes and townhomes for sale.

Just before Thanksgiving I met with 11 of the Top Real Estate Agents in the greater Raleigh area. We are all members of the Triangle Area Luxury Home Marketing Group. This group represents several real estate offices throughout the Wake County area. We meet once a month to tour each others homes for sale that are priced $750,000 and up. I have been a member of the group since it began in Raleigh back in 2004 and we always share what we are seeing in the market place.  

What is Happening With Luxury Homes Here in Raleigh?

This past meeting I asked everyone what percent they believe real estate values have fallen in the Raleigh, Cary, Apex and Triangle area. We all agreed prices have dropped 15% to 20% in the upper end and at least 10% drop in other price ranges. This is so much better than other areas of our country but, still very painful to folks who need to sell now. 28% of American home owners are under water and that number is expected to be in the 45% by the end of 2010.

If you know of anyone who needs to sell and finds themselves in this negative situation have them call me or visit my web site to learn about some of the solutions available. Several years ago we all believed Raleigh homeowners would be mostly bullet proof when it came to declining real estate values.   Now we know different. Ouch it really hurts!

Linda Craft’s Raleigh Real Estate office is a bustle of activity today as she and her team pass out a truckload of Apple and Pumpkin Thanksgiving Pies to their past clients.   Linda and the team wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and a safe holiday weekend.

First time homebuyers are busy looking for great houses under $300,000 in our Raleigh Real Estate Market.  Here are a few homes that have just come on the market or have had recent price changes:

For more properties in the Greater Raleigh Area feel free to check out my raleigh real estate website where you can create your own search.