Chapel Hill Real Estate Search

Not sure about you - but in our family we love fishing!  Jordan Lake, Cane Creek, so many great places for you to run away for an hour or two by yourself or in my case with my kids.I have a client that just moved to Lake Hogan Farms and I am looking forward to spending some time with them fishing over in Lake Hogan.One of the highlights of our ‘fishing year’ is the Carrboro fishing rodeo.  This year it is scheduled for June 4th, rain date is June 5th.  Strayhorn Lake off New Hope Road.  Bring your rod, although they always have a few on hand.  Worms will be provided! Can’t beat that.  Check out the article on Chapelboro.com for more info and details.Happy Fishing!

One thing has not changed during this downturn in our economy and local Triangle real estate market and that is the allure of Carrboro.  A former milltown that is now the home of one of the country’s great Farmer’s Markets, a world class deli (yep - I said deli, as in Neal’s Deli) and some of the best small, local and walkable neighborhood’s around.   Check out our world class Arts Center for performances, classes and great after-school programming.

If you are thinking of relocating to Carrboro or Chapel Hill - or if you think you might want to just sell your home here and move on, call me, Reg Morgan and let’s Walk Carrboro so you can really get the feel of our town.     I’m a local Carrboro realtor and I’ve been selling real estate here for over 20 years. 

In addition to keeping up with my blog - I hope you’ll follow the Walk Carrboro blog as well.

Carrboro real estate has always been of great value.  The mill houses in the center of town routinely fetch among the highest prices per square foot in all of North Carolina.  But recently there have been even more improvements to our great town. 

In addition to the new shops that are cropping up, the Farmer’s Market starting up soon and the increased parking near the Open Eye and Neal’s Deli (THANK GOD!), there is a great map from Walk Carrboro.  If you have not picked one up, call or email me and I’ll send you one, because it is the most fun brochure for a town that i have seen in a long time.  And ask my wife, I LOVE maps!  I love what Kirk Ross is doing over at the Carrboro Citizen - it has become a local must read with a great website and paper presence.

Carrboro High is having a great year too, both for academics and athletics.  So call Reg Morgan, your Carrboro realtor if you are thinking of buying or selling Carrboro real estate.  In these wild real estate times, you need an expert to help you navigate the market.  And I am the Carrboro real estate expert!

I sort of thought this would be a quiet weekend as we get ready for July 4th week and settle into the summer - but not a chance.  Even though the students are mostly gone for the summer and we can actually get a good parking space on Franklin Street, there is alot to do this weekend.

First off, swim meets all over town.  Take a look at the schedule for Chapel Hill swim teams and think about coming out to cheer on your favorite pool.   We love swimming at the Southern Village Club.  And when we’re done there tonight we can go up to the Village Green on Market Street — and listen to the NC Symphony!   Wow - playing selections from Strauss, Mendelssohn and Wagner, resident conductor William Henry Curry will lead a fabulous outdoor concert beginning at 7:30pm tonight. 

Then on Sunday, think about joining the jazz brunch at Weaver Street Market in Carrboro for a performance by the Magnolia Klezmer Band, 11am-1pm.

And you can always visit me at my open house on Gardner Circle this weekend, where I’ll be greeting home buyers and visitors from 2-4pm.  Call or email me, Reg Morgan if you need further information.

Today it is only 43 degrees, but when yesterday, I could really smell spring in the air.  The cherry blossom trees are in bloom now and the bradford pears are not far behind.  It really makes you want to be outside!  I want to pass on  great new resource to my readers - Walk Carrboro.  Included on this website are maps, directions and my favorite part – your perfect day!  They outline a great day in Carrboro.

You could live all your perfect days in Carrboro if you take a look at the wonderful options in Carrboro Real Estate.

Call Reg Morgan, your Carrboro realtor for more information on the variety of home buying and selling options in our great town.

As a Carrboro realtor who specializes in buying and selling homes, I’ve watched the plans for development very carefully.  And I guess I should not be surprised that plans to break ground for the 300 Main Street development downtown have been postponed till the Fall of 2009.   Spokesperson for the developers, Laura Van Sant tells us there is alot of interest in leasing and the hotel builders - Hampton Inn, are eager to get going.  Well, so am I!  I think this developement will be great for our town and I’m looking forward to having a hotel right here so that my relocation clients are able to stay right in Carrboro while they look at all their Chapel Hill/Carrboro real estate options.

If you have questions about Carrboro real estate, now is a good time to start tht discussion.  Call me, Reg Morgan,  your expert Carrboro realtor.

The new development on East Main Street got its official go ahead last night from the Carrboro Board of Aldermen.  Good thing too, since the developers of 300 East Main, led by Laura Van Sant have jumped through many hoops and don’t deserve to be held up any longer.

One criticism I genuinely don’t understand comes from the folks that say that area of town needs to be protected - we don’t want it to lose it’s Carrboro charm.  Have they walked around there lately?  Or driven through there??  What is charming about Surplus Sid’s or the KFC?   This development looks like a great addition to the town — architecturally and for our tax base!  

Demolition could start by the end of the year, with construction moving forward in 2009.  This Carrboro realtor says go, go, go!

Today I want to talk about a subject that is near and dear to our hearts!  Property Taxes!!!   I have been a member of the Orange County Board of Equalization and Review since 1993.  This is the appointed body that oversees the assessors numbers - our tax values.    The assessed value of your home and the market value are two very different numbers derived and used for different purposes. 

The Assessed Value:  The value of a property according to the tax rolls in ad valorem taxation.  May be higher or lower than market value, or based on an assessment ratio that is a percentage of market value. 

Market Value is a type of value, stated as an opinion, that presumes the transfer of a property (ie a right of ownership or a bundle of such rights) as of a certain date, under specific conditions set forth in the definition of the term identified by the appraiser as applicable in an appraisal.  

The assessed value will be established using market data.   The assessed value will be value from January 1, 2009 forward for the next four years and when applied to the tax rate will determine your taxes.  The tax rate will change annually thereby raising your taxes.   However, the tax rate drops after a revaluation.  In Chapel Hill from ‘04 to ‘05 the rate fell from 1.655 to 1.5484 and from ‘00 to ‘01 from 1.727 to 1.551.   In Carrboro the rates will be slightly higher (bummer) but the rates will also drop year to year in a revaluation year.   So your assessed value will go up but your tax rate will go down generating a modest, so to speak, increase in your taxes.  

Call me, Reg Morgan, your Chapel Hill realtor if you have questions on home values in your Chapel Hill neighborhood.

One of the best things about relocating to the Chapel Hill area is that you will never miss out on a good meal!  Our area is filled with great restaurants - last night my wife and I dined in Provence!  I mean, at Provence in Carrboro.

What a great place.  We had a delicious meal, starting with a salmon terrine and escargots in roguefort!  For my main course, I had the herb crusted rack of lamb - and it was spectacular, with grilled beets and onions and a potato gratin on the side.  My wife went with a special entree - a quartet of fish, including lemon sole meuniere,  sashimi grade tuna au poivre, salmon en papillotte with bernaise sauce and grilled tuna with a fabulous tapenade crust.

We regretfully skipped the desserts to get over to Southern Village and see Mamma Mia at the Lumina.

It was a wonderful evening in Carrboro and Chapel Hill.  Join us!   If you are thinking of relocating to the Triangle, contact Reg Morgan at Prudential Carolinas Realty.  With over 20 years of experience in buying and selling real estate, I will help guide you through your move.

There is a new and very exciting neighborhood under construction in Carrboro - Winmore.  Off Homestead Road and near Bolin Creek, homes are going up with the preservation of green space and good environmental stewardship foremost in the minds of builders and developers.

The mixed-use neighborhood will include town homes and single family homesites with prices ranging from the 300s to the 900s.  Amenities include a swimming pool, playground, trails and a restored farmhouse that is for community use.  Over 40% of Winmore’s 66 acre land parcel is dedicated to green space - it is a wonderful place to live.

Contact Reg Morgan for more information on Winmore - or on any other Chapel Hill - Carrboro neighborhoods.