Real Estate and Related Topics

100 Jobs Here, 100 Jobs There, 45 Jobs Here....Sound Like A Recovery To You?

Well Not quite, but hey you gotta start somewhere, Right? These are recent job announcements made in the Triangle recently and while not huge numbers they represent positive news from companies in Technology, Drug Manufacturing and Data Processing.

SAS announced it would hire 100 new employees in Cary for it's SAS Analytic Lab for State and Local Government. The lab has been designed to provide data analysis for state and local government groups that must deal with budget shortfalls in 2011 and beyond.

HTC Corp maker of the smart phone the Droid will hire 45 people for it's new location in Durham. This quote from Ron Louks,Chief Strategy Officer for HTC sums up why so many high tech companies choose the Triangle "Durham is a perfect place to open our new R&D office because we are able to tap into this deep pool of technical talent that complements HTC's leading-edge R&D efforts going on around the world."

Novartis, the Swiss drug maker will add a development lab at it's Holly Springs flu vaccine plant. they will hire approximately 100 people whose  jobs will pay an average of $106,000.

White Christmas in Clayton,North Carolina, What Are The Chances?

Pretty slim as a matter of fact. The records for Raleigh show practically not a single significant snowfall on Christmas in the Triangle.Now you can get technical about this one as it did not start snowing until late on Christmas Day and we were all in bed.

However we awoke St. Steven's Day to six inches of the white stuff and a forced day of rest and movie watching....until the power went out, what started as a dream day quickly turned to a nightmare. Never fear though within two hours the power was restored and the heat was back on.

So we had a great time in the snow, and best of all the temperature for New Years Day is going to be 60 degrees.... see ya!

Good Old Fashioned Office Tour And An Agent Who Knows What Her Clients Want!

This is a testimony for good old fashioned Real Estate Basics that should never be left out of marketing a property. My listing at 1016 Portico Place is a great home on a large lot, that is priced at market and shows beautifully. I always put my homes on our office tour/caravan and try and get as many agents to go as possible. This home I wanted them to see as it had some unique features. One of the agents who came that day was Jackie, who is the most experienced agent in our office. She loved the house and thought her clients might like it. She arranged a showing and while they did like the house they went with a larger, older home.

That was back in the Summer and we had about five more showings and one offer that fell through, which really demoralized my clients. As the Holidays approached they asked about taking it off the market as they had family coming to stay. I fully understand the stress of keeping a house in showing condition even without the added burden of company and while I would recommend leaving a house on the market over the holidays for that one buyer that may be in town, when young children are in the house, they need a break.

Fast Forward to last Monday, I'm pulling out of the parking lot of our office, when Jackie comes running over to my car and asks can she show my listing at Portico Place  to some new clients as the offer her folks had on another house had fallen through. I called my clients and asked if we could show it, of course being four days before Christmas and guests installed it was going to be a team effort to get it ready.

Well, it worked because Jackie's clients loved it and made an offer that evening which we countered and they accepted at about nine Monday night.

This house sold in December because Jackie saw it on tour in July and she knew her clients would like it, they had not seen one picture of it as it had been withdrawn from the MLS for the Holidays.

Moving To North Carolina From New York?... You Are Not Alone!

It turns out New York is the state that had the most visits to the Triangle Multiple Listing Service, after North Carolina obviously. In October (the last month we have figures for) there were 2500 visits from people in New York looking at homes in the Triangle. The Triangle is made up of Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and the surrounding towns and counties. Towns like Clayton, Cary, Apex are all considered part of the Triangle.

Next on the list was Virginia with 2000, New Jersey had 1,700 visits. I suspect the weather might have something to do with the New Yorkers and The Jersey lookers, that and the fact that a number of companies are relocating or opening plants in North Carolina. Why are you Moving to North Carolina from New York or New Jersey?

Next on the list was Florida with 1571 visits and there could be a number of reasons for this. The first is weather related aka hurricanes. People are willing to put up with four seasons as long as their house stays standing. Foreclosures, possibly people got stuck in what was once a hot area at the height of the housing boom and want out. Military bases are closing in Florida and those service men and women are being relocated to North Carolina.

California, Pennsylvania and Maryland are next and again with California, there are multiple companies in Silicon Valley that have either moved to Research Triangle Park or have operations here. When folks move to North Carolina from California, they are typically amazed at how good the house prices are and the superior quality of construction.

Georgia, Massachusetts, Illinois and South Carolinaround out the top dozen states with the most people looking at homes in North Carolina. So if you are Moving To North Carolina From New York, you will find lots of people with NY on their hats, you will also find a lot of North Carolinian who will show you around.

I am not from North Carolina (Ireland& Philly) but I got here as fast as I could and I would be happy to show you some houses, we can talk about The Eagles!!

Our old dog Shelby, looks like she knew this would be a Kodak Moment!

This is one of my favorite pictures of our old dog Shelby, she loved to be outside but it was just a little too snowy and chilly for her this day. She passed away 18 months ago and we miss her a lot. My son Rory absolutely adored her and her him. When he was a baby she would sit at his high chair waiting for peas and broccoli to fall (when he used to eat peas and broccoli) when no one was looking, she would lick his spoon. He used to use her as a pillow and she would lay there while watched TV or read a book. Rory 's teacher called this week to let us know that he became upset at lunch and said he missed his dog, we had a plaster mold of her paw print so we gave it to him and he put that under his bed.

Her boyfriend Cody Brown lived next door and they grew up together, he was a little older, but she bossed him around. She liked nothing better than to rampage through his yard. Her life was us....and chasing tennis balls which she would do until she hyper-ventilated, as she got older, two throws would do it. The grass in the background is gone as is every plant, herb, bush, flower, ornament, trampoline, swing set, hose....because of Carley, our new lab.

This post is written as a submission to the ActiveRain 'Kodak Moments' contest. I have the chance to win the KODAK EASYSHARE M580 Digital Camera

To participate in the ActiveRain contest, visit the blog post announcing the contest from Kodak and ActiveRain. 

Why Do Raleigh Police Officers Love To Live In Clayton NC?

This question came up at my closing last Friday, my  buyer client, a Raleigh Police Officer is in the same class as the Raleigh Police Officer who was the buyer at my last closing. What are the chances, well pretty good according to the attorney in Clayton. Turns out he has done maybe fifty settlements for Raleigh Police Officers over the last few years.

There are any number of great reasons to live in Clayton, affordable housing, great schools, great subdivisions with amenities, like golf, swimming etc. Clayton is in Johnston County a largely rural county so there are financing options like the 100% USDA loan. Clayton is thirty minutes to Raleigh (less with blue lights)! Clayton is two hours to Carolina Beach. There are lots of sporting options from soccer to baseball, tennis to lacrosse.

The schools in Johnston County are on a traditional calender, unlike Wake which has some schools on a traditional and others on year round, plus in Wake County your kids may not end up in the school nearest your house! The schools are really good, Business Week Magazine named 27527 zip code in the top ten in the country for having the best schools with the most affordable housing.

Land, yep land is cheaper, so if you want some privacy, maybe a wooded lot, somewhere for the dogs to run or the kids to be outside for hours, building a tree house lets say, you can find that in Clayton and Johnston County and it won't cost you an arm and a leg.

The main reason though, is that they don't like to run into people at Wal-Mart that they arrested the night before!!

Skylines Cafe in Clayton Has Some Fun Events Coming Up, Perfect Break From Holiday Stress! First up, how about some gift ideas, buy $100 in gift certificates and get an extra $20 gift certificate ( you can keep that one).

This Friday and most Fridays at Skylines Cafe in Clayton there is a wine tasting from 6-7:30. Great night out or half a night, taste some awesome wines priced between $9 and $20. If you stay for dinner they work out a deal on the wine. They will have beers to taste also.

Like to shop and drink, well now you can, because on Saturday Tina Bolick will be holding a sale of unique handmade items from 12-3. You can purchase, hand painted wine glasses, bottle toppers, wine charms, handmade pens, aprons and jewelry. These items are all made by local artists and definitely better than anything you will find at ....you know where.

Skylines Cafe in Clayton is located at 8878 US  70 BUS HWY W Suite 100 in the Southern Village Shopping Center. (919) 550-7619

Four and a Half Bathrooms Outta Be Enough, You Think?

Four and a half bathrooms is what's going in this incredible home in Portofino, Clayton. The house is a custom built home being built by Johnny Adams Inc. It is approximately 3700 square feet and it will be somebodies dream home.



It sits on a beautiful wide lot surrounded by pine trees on Vercelli Drive and is just down from the Estate Section of Portofino. The home has four bedrooms, two up and two down. Spacious Master Suite, Deck, Screened Porch, Huge Kitchen, an endless list of the most desirable features in a modern home you are likely to find anywhere. If you would like to take a walk thru I would be happy to show you the home. It is scheduled to be finished in January/February but the are making great progress with it.

This post is from The Housing Guru, John This is a must read for anyone who thinks that housing prices are ever coming back to the days of the boom. Not happening gang, now here in North Carolina we did not see a massive jump in pricing but again real estate is local and there are some condo owners in Downtown Raleigh who won't enjoy reading this. There are folks all over the Triangle who bought between '05' and '08' and they are not going to be selling anytime soon.

Town Of Clayton NC Gets A New Dog Park.....Woof!

The Town of Clayton in North Carolina purchased some land recently and plan on turning it into an off leash  dog park. The work has begun on the site which is located on Glen Laurel Road and will be across from the new East Clayton Community Park. The approximately three acre site will have parking, fencing, and equipment for the little pooch's to run around to their hearts content.

Anyone who knows Clayton, NC will not be surprised at this as they are a very progressive forward looking town who have weathered the economic downturn reasonably well and have attracted a number of new business's, coupled with the fact that they have controlled growth in the past making it a great town to live in.

The Off Leash Park is scheduled to be finished in the spring. I will keep you posted.