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Interest rates are one of the most important factors in the housing market.  That is why you often see a big deal on the news when the Federal Reserve or Fed cuts interest rates.  As mystical as everyone makes it, the Fed cutting rates is rather simple.  The rate the Fed cuts is the federal funds rate.  It is essentially more complicated, but basically the Fed acts on the market to force this rate to lower.  The federal funds rate is the rate banks can charge each other on overnight loans.  Banks are required to have a certain amount of cash reserves at the end of everyday.  Thus the need for them to loan each other money.  Some have excess some have shortfalls, the overnight loans balance these out.  

     By lowering the rate the Fed can indirectly…

As one will always tries to stay on top of my local Outer Banks Real Estate market, it is important to pay attention to what is happening nationally.  This week a majoy announcement was made on the national scale.  It is the bailout of government sponsored entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  The bailout of both these institutions had been rumored for some time.  The continued decline of US housing prices and the increase in foreclosures made this a more imminent problem.

     The big questions now are what exactly the bailout will end up costing taxpayers.  Estimates have ranged from 5 to 100 billion.  The hope is the bailout will ensure some stability in national and world markets.  The move lent some strength to the US dollar but now services like…

This summer we saw the beginning effects of rising energy prices throughout the US.  Here on the Outer Banks it was no exception.  In early summer as gas prices began to climb to the $4 a gallon and above offshore drilling began to make the news.   Much postering was made back and forth by canidates for and against offshore drilling.  It seems  the effect of tourism dollars often are not factored into the expense of offshore drililng.

A minor oil spill could cost the Outer Banks hundreds of millions of dollars a year in lost tourism revenue.  Depending on the severity of the oil spill, cleanup could take years.  I for one am not ready to risk, guaranteed tourism money for a few pennies savings on gas.  I have to believe this is the case for most coastal…

As someone who follows the local Outer Banks real estate market,  I have noticed a steady decline in the value of homes. With the price of real estate falling to the same prices seen in 2004 and a meteoric rise in crude oil many are beginning to worry about the state of the US economy.  Many home owners are seeing the value of their homes tumble in certain markets.  Besides the loss in their home value, many Americans are forced to deal with fuel costs taking a larger portion of their budget. 

The price of crude oil has been constantly in the news.  It is near impossible to turn on any news program without hearing about the record price of oil.  Since oil is now hitting consumers in their wallets, the blame machine has gone into full gear.  You have both…

Before I moved to the Outer Banks, I like most people would constantly get caught up in running from one thing to the next.  When you live that way It is amazing how much can pass you by.  You never realize how unimportant many things are.  So many of the things we think are of utmost importance are merely distractions.  Since I moved to the Outer Banks I try to remind myself of the importance of everyday. 

     Now when I wake up every morning, as my dogs and I are getting ready for our morning walk I take a minute and just smell the air.  It is amazing what you smell when you take a minute to do nothing but smell.  This simple step puts my entire day in perspective.  Since I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to wake up, I have to take… Read Full Post

Working in vacation rental management I take notice that many more companies are now embracing increased use of the Internet.   This is a great thing.  Every year a larger percent of the population is using the  internet  to book their vacation.  This trend is not going to slow or stop.  It will continue to rise.  This forces many vacation property managers into uncomfortable waters.

     The Internet is now becoming the most important way you can advertise your vacation rental company.  Unfortunately, for many property management companies they have no idea how to go about effectively marketing themselves on the Internet.  This creates a large gap between small and large companies.  Many of the larger companies are fortunate to be able to absorb the…

This post is to show anyone can have their website on the first page of Google if they apply a little effort.  I started my Outer Banks website, The Real Outer Banks, just over 8 months ago.  When I started it I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  I created the initial pages using a 5th grade book.  I made my first hyperlink and was so proud.  After creating a couple pages I realized i wanted people to read what I wrote and visit my site.

     It was the desire for visitors that lead me to SEO or search engine optimization.  When people search the internet the majority of the time its through a search engine.  If your website does not show on the search engines results, no one is ever going to be able to find your site.  Actually if your not on…

Every year the media reports that direness of the Outer Banks vacation season.  The articles always convey the same general message,  this year vacationers are going to wait until the last minute to reserve their Outer Banks homes and find the best possible deals.  This invariably leads to many people waiting until the last minute and then finding there is not nearly the choice of homes they thought would be available.  This year is no different. 

     Each year the headlines are different explaining why people are not reserving and that they are waiting around for a deal.  It is often the case of the local media outlets providing misinformation to possible vacationers.  As you can imagine this year's headlines all use the issue of rising gas prices. …