Nestled between the Town of Kitty Hawk and the Town of Duck, is the Town of Southern Shores. Prior to being incorporated as a municipally in 1979, Southern Shores was a piece of the Kitty Hawk community until it was founded as a resort in 1946. According to the Town of Southern Shores CAMA Land Use Plan Update, “The Town of Southern Shores is a quiet seaside residential community comprised primarily of small low density neighborhoods consisting of single family homes primarily on large lots (i.e., at least 20,000 sq ft) interspersed with recreational facilities (e.g., marinas, tennis facilities, athletic fields, and parks), beach accesses, walkways and open spaces. These neighborhoods are served by picturesque local roads (rather than wide through streets) along the beach, in the dunes or in the sound-side maritime forest. The scale and architecture of new development and re-development is compatible with existing homes.”
The Outer Banks Rallies for Sea Turtles
The cold winters eve came quickly the first week of January and caught many off guard as it had been in the high 70’s the week before with warm waters and flip flops in the sand. The tides turned quickly and brought in extremely cold water temperatures which while we can predict and forecast marine life cannot and in turn got caught in the cold.
Bonner Bridge Construction Underway
The Outer Banks is one of the most unique and desired beach locations for visitors from all over the United States and the world. These visitors flock to the Outer Banks for many different reasons such as surfing, recreational or sport fishing, windsurfing, kiteboarding, family reunions, and weddings. The southern portion of the Outer Banks is Hatteras Island, which includes the villages Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco, and Hatteras. In order to cross over onto Hatteras Island, from the north, visitors must cross the Bonner Bridge. The Pamlico sound and Atlantic Ocean join under the two and a half mile bridge that connects Bodie Island and Pea Island. The Bonner Bridge, which was built in 1963, is the only highway connection from mainland North Carolina and Hatteras Island.
The 4th Annual Seafood Festival
It’s always great when seafood is involved!
The 4th Annual Seafood Fest is this weekend, October 17th, at the new and improved Outer Banks Event Site at milepost 16 in Nags Head. Not only with there be local seafood prepared in many different ways by local restaurants to enjoy but there will also be live music, local artisans, cooking demos, educational booths, marine life exhibits, boats, and non-profit vendors. They recently announced they will be having the Outer Bank’s Captains from Wicked Tuna to meet and give their autographs. The Captains scheduled to appear are Capt. Britt Shackelford of the Doghouse, Capt. Greg Mayer of Fishin’ Frenzy, Capt. Charlie Griffin of Reels of Fortune and Capt. Tami Gray of the Reel Deal. Captains Griffin & Gray will also be doing activities with Outer Banks Catch in their tent throughout the day. There will be something for everyone to enjoy!
Dowdy Park, Coming Soon!
Do you remember Dowdy’s Amusement Park? I do, and what a great place it was for all, young and old. Those rides, the arcade games, plus the popcorn and cotton candy. I can still see it now. Ah yes, those were the days when we enjoyed just being out with the family and looking at the roller coaster even if you did not ride. It was a sad day when it closed, back in the early 2000’s, after being a fond part of Nags Head for so many years.
The Mid-Currituck Bridge: Will It Happen?
Anyone who has ever lived or visited the Outer Banks has heard about the Mid-Currituck Bridge. Opinions vary depending on whom you talk with at the time. Some swear that the bridge will be built and still others claim that it is never going to happen. The truth is actually somewhere in the middle. Let’s take a second to separate the facts from opinions.
To Drill or Not to Drill On The Outer Banks
The big talk on the Outer Banks right now is all about #NotTheAnswer or #NotTheAnswerNC or #KilltheDrill. I have been a member of the Surfrider Foundation for over 15 years now and remain active with our local Outer Banks Chapter (http://outerbanks.surfrider.org; and check out their Facebook page). They are making a lot of noise and making national news by saying no to offshore drilling off the coast of NC. They started a “Clean Beaches = Healthy Businesses” campaign a few years back but since there wasn’t a real risk of offshore drilling being a reality, it didn’t gain too much momentum or press. However, that has significantly changed over the past couple months since Obama agreed to open up federal waters for leasing of off shore plots to oil & gas companies to drill.
Outer Banks Real Estate Market Snapshot
As we approach the 2015 spring selling season here on the Outer Banks, it’s the perfect time to take a look at the overall health of the real estate market. Where have we been and where may we be going? Since the single-family homes make up 65% to 75% of our annual unit sales and 75% to 85% of our annual dollar sales volume, this article will only be referencing single-family homes from Carova to Ocracoke, including Colington and Roanoke Islands. All data is taken from the MLS of the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS.