THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 5, 1996 TAG: 9605020147
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 27 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: REAL ESTATE
SOURCE: Chris Kidder
LENGTH: Long : 122 lines
The Outer Banks are barrier islands, a land form found around the world along low-lying coastlines. They are sandbars inching southwest, pushed by waves that have traveled across an ocean, shaped by prevailing winds, broken into pieces by cruel storms.
North of Oregon Inlet, the sandbar holding Nags Head and Kitty Hawk is not, geographically speaking, an island at all; it's an extension of the coastline of Virginia.
Although no public roads connect the beaches of the two states, they are currently one continuous land mass.
This has not always been so. In recorded history, more than a dozen inlets have opened and closed, separating some parts of the Outer Banks from its tenuous tether while cementing others together.
Oregon Inlet, opened in 1846, was the latest inlet to form along the Outer Banks.
The inlet makes Hatteras Island a true island, linked to the mainland on its north end by a single bridge and, to the south, by the state ferry system.
To the west, the Carolina coast drops away fast, until the Pamlico Sound becomes an inland sea some 30 miles across.
To the east, Africa is the next landfall.
Today, Oregon Inlet remains open - barely - because man has decided to battle nature for the right to determine this island's boundaries. There is little doubt that should the inlet close, another would open: Hatteras Island was meant to be an island.
And there is something about living on an island - whether it be for a two week vacation or the rest of your life - that is different from living anywhere else. Islanders take nature seriously.
Tides, winds, the color of a sunset, the smell of salt in the air all become significant indicators of things to come.
You view life with a new slant when you realize that one good blow can disconnect you from the rest of the world.
A few miles and a little water can make a world of difference.
If you buy property on Hatteras Island, you're buying into that different lifestyle; you're investing in a community shaped by its physical circumstances.
For all but the diehard isolationists, Hatteras Island has been the last frontier of the Outer Banks. While stoplights proliferated with mass merchandisers and brand-name motels north of Oregon Inlet, Hatteras remained an easy-going, mom-and-pop kind of place.
People came to Hatteras to fish or to get away from development that maximized prices while minimizing peace of mind.
They stayed in cottages where an open window to let in a sea breeze was more important that central air-conditioning.
They were willing to spend a week - or more - without a telephone or fax machine, without cable TV or first-run movies.
Some still do.
But Hatteras has changed as any island coveted by refugees from urban stress and sprawl must change. Beginning in the mid-1980s, the pace of development picked up; real estate prices climbed along with the square footage of the average beach cottage. Modern conveniences and luxuries became the rule rather than the exception.
By 1991, the island was booming. Upscale developments like Hatteras-by-the-Sea were coming on-line with swimming pools and other amenities that Hatteras Islanders once shunned. The recession and a succession of severe storms delivered a one-two punch to the local economy.
A water moratorium on the south end of the island and questions about the drinkability of well water on the north end slowed new construction to a near-standstill. Real estate prices fell as much as 30 percent.
The real estate market is looking better these days, says Tim Midgett, of Midgett Realty, Hatteras Village. ``We're still recovering but we've had a strong market the last couple years.''
Tom Hranicka, a real estate broker with Outer Beaches Realty, Avon, keeps tabs on local MLS sales. According to his calculations, 83 existing homes and 63 residential lots totaling nearly $15 million sold on Hatteras Island last year. Those figures were about even with 1994 but a substantial increase over 1993 when only 43 houses and 42 lots changed hands.
The Hatteras Island market has followed national real estate trends. It remains a buyers' market at this time, with the possible exception of oceanfront property. But there are a few factors at work that should continue to affect local availability and prices.
For one thing, says Midgett, today's buyers want ``instant gratification.'' People don't want to buy a lot, pay on it for a few years and then build as Hatteras buyers traditionally have done, he says. They want to come in and buy the whole package on the spot.
In light of Midgett's observation, it's not surprising that the Hatteras real estate market has a glut of lots. Hranicka estimates the island has a six-year inventory of unimproved property. It may be awhile before lot prices increase, he says, but it's a great time to buy.
Hranicka says there are far fewer existing homes for sale, meaning that prices - especially on and near the oceanfront - have stabilized and may be starting back up. ``We've purged the market of improved properties that were distressed or reduced in price,'' agrees Midgett.
Both agents believe recent and future improvements in Hatteras Island water supplies, electricity and roads will have a positive effect on real estate sales.
After the northern villages of Rodanthe, Salvo and Waves were hooked to the Dare County water system, interest in that area increased, says Midgett. Now that customers of the Cape Hatteras Water Association serving the southern end of the island have voted to turn their water woes over the Dare County, water will be less of a deterrent to development.
Although many people believe the unreliability of N.C. Route 12 hurt Hatteras Island, Hranicka says roads aren't a concern for his customers. If anything, he says, the knowledge that they're on the island by the good graces of nature adds to its appeal.
Even so, Hranicka believes the improved infrastructure positions Hatteras Island for a major building boom within the next 10 years.
Local investors are already gearing up: Midgett is developing a large tract of land near the Hatteras Village ferry docks including a major chain motel, shopping and an ocean-to-sound residential community. The shopping center anchored by Food Lion in Avon is expanding.
Hranicka explains that baby boomers will enter their peak ``second home'' buying years around 2000. ``Look at the demographics,'' he says. ``We're poised for growth.'' MEMO: Chris Kidder covers Outer Banks real estate for The Carolina Coast. Send
comments and questions to her at P.O. Box 10, Nags Head, N.C. 27959 or
e-mail to realkidd(AT)aol.com
by CNB