Tiff and I have gotten excited over our home search, looking at this house to the right (among others) along Highway 24 (not in Emerald Isle).

But, we've decided to temper ourselves a bit and wait until the winter for two reasons.

First, since we are both self-employed, it is important to save a 20% downpayment to get the best rates on a stated income loan. We have enough to probably get a loan now, but we'd expect to pay a higher rate. Also, with the higher downpayment, we can move our price range higher as well, which might even include some of the lower end homes on the island.

Second, housing demand in this area is much higher in the summer months (as it is many places), which means demand for loans is also higher, and the increased average loan rates have gone up significantly over the past few weeks, just as they did last summer. Despite not being sure if these rates are going to stay high all winter, we'll still take our chances that we won't see significantly higher rates then, and they could be much lower.

We've been very thrifty since Tiff and I have been together, and we're hoping that thrift will pay off soon with a new home. We'd absolutely love to stay in Emerald Isle, but the home prices here are premium as you might imagine in a beach town. If we wait six months, we believe a poor seller's market combined with greater down payment from us might give us a chance to find a good home here in EI.

My wife and I have been passively looking to buy a home in our area of the Crystal Coast for about six months now. We're in no hurry, trying to find a really good value in just the right spot. Naturally, we'd love to stay in Emerald Isle, but as you might guess, home prices here in this beautiful location are at a premium, even in this poor sellers market.

The land here is the key often times, as you are paying for the shifting sand that supports your structure. Take this home for example:

Almost $300,000 for a very run down mobile home. This lot is on the West end of town, down Coast Guard Rd.

For stick-built houses, you're going to pay even more.

$460,000 for a moderate-sized 1400 square foot house is pretty normal in this area for homes with little or (usually) no water view.

Of course, if money is no object, there are always the luxury palaces available to buy in the $2 million to $5 million range, like this one coming in at $3.5 million:

Visit Bluewater GMAC to search real estate listings for Emerald Isle and the surrounding areas.