Our market is very strong again right now and continues to improve...

The Washington Post reports that "Areas hit hardest by the real estate bust are now seeing the highest gains."

Local REALTOR Tom Gale, of Team Gale at Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage, breaks down what this upswing in development and sales means for our area:

"In investment markets like Miami, it’s good to see that the banks are requiring significant downpayments.  When buyers have “skin in the game,” they’re less likely to walk away from their investment.  Combined with the more stringent credit requirements, I feel better about this strong housing market than the last hot market.

Although Wilmington’s peak home values haven’t been as high as Vegas or Miami, our lows weren’t as low either.  Our market is very strong again right now and continues to improve.  Area home price increases are more modest, but a higher percentage of our buyers are owner occupants, which bodes well for our future home values.  If someone is living in the home, they’re much more likely to do everything they can to pay their mortgage than someone that owns an investment property and can walk away from the property if they need to."