In January, Realtors in the area said they saw the market growing slightly

They predicted that 2010 would be a year of continued improvement.

So, are the numbers supporting their predictions?

In June 2009, there were 1,520 homes for sale in the Oak Island, Southport, Caswell Beach, Bald Head Island, St. James and Boiling Spring Lakes area, according to information compiled by Mary Ann McCarthy, president of the Brunswick County Association of Realtors. That number was down to 1,346 for June of this year. The same number of properties (52) sold in those areas each June. But in 2009, there were only another 54 pending transactions, whereas in June 2010 there were 73 pending sales.

Unfortunately, area real estate professionals agree, it’s still foreclosures and short sales that are driving the market. Until those properties stop flooding the market, prices will not stabilize, Kim Skipper Anderson with Art Skipper Realty said. Jim Goodman, a broker with Intracoastal Realty, agrees.

“Stabilizing the market means stabilizing the inventory,” he said.

There is about a 14-to-16-month supply of homes on the market, when there really should be a six-to-seven-month supply, he said.

With more foreclosures on the horizon, Goodman said he believes the market will “slide along” like it is for another 18 months or so.

“It’s not that we’re going to go down. We’re just not going to go up. We’ve stopped declining — that makes me happy,” Goodman said.

McCarthy said she heard similarly somber messages at the National Association of Realtors mid-year legislative meeting in Washington, D.C., in May. There were estimates that another million foreclosures would be dumped on markets nationwide, and that it could take the real estate industry as long as four years to bounce back completely.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac properties are a good example. A lot on Brown Street in Southport was recently listed for just $39,000, McCarthy said.

Anderson said what is making properties move is realistic pricing.

“Prices have dropped to where people think they may have dropped to the bottom. It’s good for buyers, not really sellers,” she said. Goodman said Intracoastal had seen increased sales in the last eight months as people continue to modify their prices.

Lots in the wooded section of Oak Island are in the low-$50,000 range, though some are still in the $100,000 range, Anderson said. A typical wooded lot sold for $185,000 or more during the boom years, she said. Prices seem to be about what they were in 2003, before the market skyrocketed, both Goodman and McCarthy said.

According to McCarthy’s figures, the median price for a home sold went from $175,000 in April 2009 to $235,000 in June 2010. During the same time period, the average number of days a house was listed was 239 and 215, respectively.

“The feeding frenzy time is over,” Anderson said. “People were getting in bidding wars over property. A lot of the problem was lenders turning people into investors that really shouldn’t have been.”

Though lenders seem to have done an about-face as far as handing out money so easily, there are investors coming back to the area to buy. McCarthy said the areas doing well in this part of Brunswick County are the Oak Island beaches, St. James and Boiling Spring Lakes. As far as Boiling Spring Lakes is concerned, it’s just more affordable housing, she said.

But the other two areas’ numbers show that Brunswick County is still a retirement and resort destination. Her hunch is that after bad winter weather in feeder markets up north and in western North Carolina, potential buyers are looking at the coast as an affordable second-home option like they did in 2003.

Anderson agreed, saying investors were once again looking long-term instead of trying to flip properties quickly. Buyers can still buy a good-sized typical family home for $200,000, she said.

“All real estate, if purchased well, is always a good investment,” McCarthy said.

The market’s gradual growth has also benefited some area developments. With new developers at Cambridge Crossing, plans to finish and sell those units are moving forward again. The development, seen from Long Beach Road, has access to the amenities in South Harbour Village. Four buildings were torn down last year as Regions Bank looked for a buyer.

And at The Preserve, the condominium complex adjacent to Oak Island Bridge, units are also selling once again. Goodman said there are 11 units under contract. Though legal issues are pending, Goodman said James and Bridget Chirico are still the developers and that future plans include closing in the unfinished building. Amenities, including the pool and clubhouse, have been open, and units are available in three buildings, Goodman said.

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Ken KeeganReal Estate Broker(910) 523-0903 mobileEmail Mewww.KenKeegan.com