Brunswick County Blog

Southport: Home of the North Carolina Fourth of July Festival

     

Southport: July 4th, 2007 Southport proudly plays host to the North Carolina Fourth of July Festival each year. Click on the thumbnails below for larger images.

Selling Your House

Despite all your best plans to have your home ready to show, unexpected events occur. Go With the Flow and Show It Anyway. My home in New Jersey sold to a couple that looked at the home as we were preparing for a party for my sister’s birthday. The house was a pre-party disaster, and we were stuffing 40 chicken breasts, etc.

Thanks for listening and be good to your self!

Allyn Heck, Broker/Owner
Three Rivers Realty
Southport, NC

ThreeRiversRealtyNC.com

Grocery Shopping Reveals the New You

This time of year everyone seems to spend an awful lot of time grocery shopping. Lines are longer; patience is shorter.  My advice is that you need to know what to look for to make it interesting. I guarantee that once you read this, grocery shopping will never be the same for you again. I think that these behaviors tell us so much about ourselves and our neighbors.

What do the following behaviors say about. . .

The shopper who always returns his shopping cart (here, it's also called a buggy) to the designated space in the parking lot? Or the one who leaves it in a parking space for someone else to move -- or run into?

The person who shops with a list, crossing items off as she goes? Or the one who plans menus while in the grocery store and attempts to recall what's needed by mumbling aloud as she travels down each aisle?

The person who strolls through the store as if he had all the time in the world? Or the shopper who races through the store like he's a SWAT team member, or like he's on Supermarket Sweep?

   

The person who nonchalantly enters the 15-items-or-less line with a loaded cart? Or the shopper who pretends not to see the person with one gallon of ice cream standing in line behind him and his full cart?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Allyn
Allyn T. Heck
Three Rivers Realty
Southport, NC

ThreeRiversRealtyNC.com

Microtrends in Brunswick County, North Carolina

Microtrends, identified by author Mark Penn, are small forces behind the big changes. We see evidence of that trend every day in the impact on Brunswick County's economy, growth, and development. These changes in our area are directly attributed to coastal transplants who are 50-65 years old, known as "young retirees," moving here.

Analyzing the impact that this group has had on home design here is amazing. No focus group or statistical survey... just my observations as a realtor and marketer. Here are what buyers in this demographic look for in homes to purchase:

1. Master Bedroom on the first level. (Trigger: the potential of future health or mobility issues that would make a bedroom upstairs unacceptable.)

2. Kitchen open to the living area. (Trigger: the memory of Mom isolated in the kitchen while the guests, family, and fun are elsewhere.)

3. Room for a home office. (Trigger: more and more "retirees" are telecommuting in a new venture, working part-time, or consulting.)

4. Smaller lot size. (Trigger: conscious decisions to make more time for play and less time for yard work.)

5. Communities with extensive amenities packages -- including golf, tennis, yoga classes, marinas, fitness facilities, etc. -- have moved from a plus to a must. (Trigger: a growing emphasis on "me" time.)

6. A two-car garage is a given; three-car garages are becoming more common. (Trigger: Two-family homes with more than one car per person; new homeowners frequently bring a sports car, a pick-up truck, and a sedan.)

There’s more; let me know what you think, and I’ll include your observations in a future blog. Thanks so much for listening.

Until next time,
Allyn Heck
Three Rivers Realty
Southport, NC

ThreeRiversRealtyNC.com

Field Day!

 

Fifth Wednesday Field Trip: Southport's Waterfront Market

Southport's Waterfront Market unofficially kicked off the summer season in Brunswick County this morning.  I was able to leave the office and snap a few photographs of the first of what will be a weekly event all season long.  This open market features local produce growers and artisans and will be found on the Garrison House lawn each Wednesday from 8 AM to 1 PM.  When you come to visit Brunswick County, this is certainly something you won't want to miss!

Click on the thumbnails below to view larger photographs.

Until next time,

Allyn Heck
Three Rivers Realty
Southport, NC

ThreeRiversRealtyNC.com

Fishing Calendar for Brunswick County

JANUARY
Red Drum, Speckled Trout, Striped Bass, Sea Bass

FEBRUARY
Red Drum, Striped Bass, Sea Bass

MARCH
Bluefish, Atlantic Bonito

APRIL
Bonito, Red Drum, Bluefish, Speckled Trout, Cobia

MAY
King Mackerel, Spanish Mackerel, Bonito, Red Drum, Black Drum, Flounder, Speckled Trout, Cobia

JUNE
King Mackerel, Spanish Mackerel, Red Drum, Black Drum, Flounder, Dolphin, Sharks

JULY
Spanish Mackerel, Red Drum, Black Drum, Flounder, Tarpon, Barracuda, Dolphin, Sailfish

AUGUST
Barracuda, Spanish Mackerel, Red Drum, Flounder, Tarpon

SEPTEMBER
King Mackerel, Spanish Mackerel, Red Drum, Flounder, Speckled Trout, Gray Trout

OCTOBER
Red Drum, Speckled Trout, Gray Trout, King Mackerel, Flounder, Spot, Croaker, Sea Bass

NOVEMBER
King Mackerel, Red Drum, Speckled Trout, Gray Trout, Spot, Croaker, Sea Bass

DECEMBER
Speckled Trout, Red Drum, Gray Trout, Sea Bass

Source: www.CarolinaExplorer.com -- Carolina Explore Fishing Charters and Guide Service.

Regards,
Allyn Heck
Three Rivers Realty
Southport, NC

The July 4th Capital of North Carolina

Did you know that Southport is the official Fourth of July capital of North Carolina?..and we were up to that designation this past week. It was red-white and blue everywhere and on every one. Our new office space was positioned on the parade route and we made lots of new friends under our shady trees and on our rocking chair porch. Our office is festooned with flags and bunting everywhere. You can see a photo of the front of our office on the home page of our website.

We blew up and gave away 500 light-blue balloons and could have given out 10 times that amount. They were a huge hit with kids of all ages and we are already thinking about next year. It was a thrilling sight for me to see all of our balloons lining the parade route.

We know that this is "THE WEEK" when most of us try to remember that our favorite places for breakfast and dinner are packed and the roads are more traveled than usual. My friends with stores up-and-down Howe Street (the center of Southport) are doing a record business in the last few days after the parade. (Just a note: most retailers here close on July the Fourth.)  Our new neighbor, La Rosa' s Deli is packed, providing excellent, New York style Italian food (including bread from Brooklyn) to the culinary delight of both Northern and Southern patrons. Good food knows no geographic boundries.

Our project this week is to put a photo essay on our websites, www.ThreeRiversRealtyNC.com and AllynandPeterHeck.com so that you can "tour" the towns in our area. We are starting with Southport and Bald Head Island. Next on our schedule is St. James, Oak Island and Boiling Spring Lakes - the agents will be taking the pictures, so it is a fun project for everyone.

Until Next Time,

Allyn Heck
Three Rivers Realty
Southport, NC