Monday Morning Coffee: Team USA, Falling Rates, D.R. Horton Deals, Meet Ben O'Toole & Our Week Serving Families in Alabama

Happy Monday morning to you and your family! My name is Buddy Blake, and I've been a real estate agent here in the Wilmington NC real estate market for a long time now. If you're reading this, it means that somewhere over the last couple of decades you registered, signed in, or inquired on one of my websites. I hope you had a great Fourth of July weekend celebrating America's 250th anniversary. I can still remember the bicentennial quarters as a kid, and my own kids have no idea what those even are — but that milestone was genuinely special. I've now seen two of these big anniversaries in my lifetime, and I'm pretty certain I won't see the 300th. So today I want to catch you up on a few things happening this week, share what's shifting in the market, introduce you to a new member of our team, and let you know why you won't hear from me for a little while starting next week.

Rooting for Team USA Tonight

First things first — I hope everybody is rooting on Team USA tonight at 8 p.m. I'll be honest, I'm not a huge soccer guy, except when my own kids are playing, and then I become a superfan overnight. But there's something about watching our national team compete that pulls the whole country together.

My family isn't really a "sports family." I grew up around athletics and it's in my blood, but my wife and daughters aren't typically glued to a screen for a game. Tonight is different — we're all sitting down together as a family to cheer. Go USA!

What's Really Happening in the Wilmington Market

The market is picking back up, and I want you to hear that directly from someone who's been living and breathing this data for decades. Interest rates spiked above 7% earlier this year largely because of overseas tension involving Iran — a geopolitical shock that rattled bond markets and pushed mortgage rates higher than most economists expected for this point in the cycle.

The good news? Rates have started sliding back down. We're seeing rates in the low-to-mid 6% range again, down from north of 7%. Back in April, before the overseas situation flared up, we briefly touched the high 5% range — and there's a real possibility we work our way back toward those numbers as the year progresses.

Here's the nuance most headlines miss: Wilmington-area home values haven't crashed, but they've largely flatlined over roughly the last three years after the explosive run-up we saw during the pandemic-era boom. That plateau could last a few more years before we see rapid appreciation return. If you want to see exactly where your neighborhood stands, run a search through our property search tool or browse listings by area using our Wilmington area MLS listings.

Overseas Tension, Interest Rates, and the Rise of AI

Two forces are reshaping how we operate as agents and how you should think about buying or selling right now. The first is the situation overseas in Iran, which has affected global markets more than almost anyone anticipated coming into the year. Bond yields moved, mortgage-backed securities reacted, and suddenly rates that were drifting toward the 5% range shot back above 7% for a stretch.

The second force is artificial intelligence, and it's shifting nearly everything about how real estate teams like ours communicate with clients. I'll get into exactly how we're using AI responsibly a little further down, but understand this: the world is moving toward AI-assisted communication whether we like it or not, and the agents and teams who adapt intelligently — without losing the human touch — are going to serve their clients far better than those who ignore it.

If you want to dig deeper into how the industry itself is evolving — including how new agents are trained and mentored in this changing landscape — take a look at our detailed piece on why real estate companies need to mandate team-based onboarding. It ties directly into why we've built systems like the one I'm about to introduce you to.

Sellers: The True Cost of Waiting

If you're a seller sitting on the fence, here's my direct advice: don't wait. We built a Cost of Waiting Report specifically for property owners, and it will show you, in black and white, why selling now — even if you get less than you might have gotten three years ago at the absolute peak — is still the right move for most people.

You are not going to see 2021-level pricing frenzy again anytime soon, and chasing that number is a fool's errand. But if you've owned your home for more than five or six years, you have almost certainly crushed it on appreciation. That's not hype — that's simply what the data shows across most Wilmington-area neighborhoods over the past decade.

I'm seeing this play out constantly with clients in their 60s, 70s, and 80s who are selling to move closer to grandkids or family in another state. They're not trying to time the market — they're making the right lifestyle decision and letting the equity they've built work for them. If that's you, take that equity and put it into something that serves your next chapter: another property, the S&P, or simply a more comfortable retirement.

Curious what your home is actually worth in today's market? Start with our home sale net proceeds calculator to see real numbers, not guesses. And if you're thinking through the bigger picture of why representation matters at this stage of life, our article on why I now work exclusively with sellers explains exactly how that focus puts more money in your pocket.

Buyers: Waiting Can Cost You Too

If you're a buyer telling yourself, "I'll just wait until rates come down," I want you to run our new Cost of Waiting Report before you make that decision. It's a tool we built in-house, and it works on any property, anywhere in the United States, not just here in southeastern North Carolina.

Here's why this matters: even in a flatlined market, homes are still appreciating somewhere around 3-4% annually in most segments. If you wait two, three, or four years hoping for the "perfect" rate, that home you're eyeing today keeps climbing in price while you sit on the sidelines renting. You end up further behind the eight ball than when you started — even if rates do eventually drop.

Run your own numbers using our affordability calculator and our mortgage calculator to see exactly where you stand today. And if you're new to the process entirely, our guide to buying a home in Wilmington, NC walks you through every step, from pre-approval to closing day.

One more thing buyers need to hear: be careful where you're clicking online. Signing an agreement on a national portal without understanding what you're agreeing to can cost you real benefits. I laid this all out in detail in What Zillow and Realtor.com Aren't Telling You — And How It Could Cost Heroes Their Benefits. If you're active military, a veteran, teacher, healthcare worker, or first responder, that article alone could save you thousands.

D.R. Horton's Aggressive New Construction Deals

National home builders are unloading inventory with some genuinely eye-catching incentives right now. To be transparent, our team's true favorites have always been the local, regional builders who know this soil, this climate, and this community better than anyone flying in from out of state.

That said, I'd be doing you a disservice if I didn't point out what's happening with the largest national builder in our area: D.R. Horton currently has over 100 completed and near-complete homes sitting ready to go across our region. And the deals are hard to ignore — we're talking rates as low as 3.99%, up to $20,000 toward closing costs, and in some cases fully upgraded kitchens and finishes thrown in.

It's gotten to the point where even agents inside our own office are personally buying these as rental investments. The logic is simple: lock in a historically low rate today, let the neighborhood finish building out over the next two or three years, and watch the value climb as the community matures — particularly in some of the higher-growth corridors around our area.

Explore what's currently available through our new construction homes guide, or browse our own curated inventory of featured homes. And if you'd rather see everything on the market in one place, our full property search lets you filter by builder, price, and neighborhood in seconds.

Meet Ben O'Toole, Our New AI Teammate

I want to formally introduce you to Ben O'Toole. Ben is the newest member of our team, and Ben is an AI assistant we've deployed to reach out to folks in our database that, frankly, we haven't talked to in far too long.

Here's the honest situation: we've been blessed with an incredible online presence built over more than two decades of marketing — radio, billboards, digital campaigns, referrals, you name it. That's resulted in a database of roughly 50,000 people. Some of you registered five years ago and still want property updates. Others registered two years ago, already found a home, and have zero interest in hearing from us again — and that's completely fine.

The problem is we simply cannot personally call 50,000 people to find out which category you fall into. That's where Ben comes in. He may call or text you, but most often he'll give you a phone call, introduce himself honestly right up front, and have a full, natural conversation. At any point you can say "transfer me to Buddy" or "transfer me to Erin" (my wife), and you'll be connected immediately.

What we're really trying to learn from these conversations is simple: (A) do you want continued information from us, (B) have you already moved and no longer need updates, (C) would you rather be removed from our database entirely, or (D) what feedback do you have on Ben himself? I've gotten wonderful feedback overall, with a small handful of understandably skeptical responses — which I get. We're not spam-dialing strangers; we're following up with people who genuinely inquired about property at some point.

This is part of a much larger shift happening across the industry, and honestly, across nearly every service business. Whether we like it or not, AI-assisted communication is becoming the only realistic way to serve the sheer volume of people who've crossed paths with a team like ours over 28 years. If you're curious how we manage all those inquiries and connect the right buyers to the right listings, our property tracker account tools are built for exactly that kind of ongoing relationship, and you're always welcome to reach us directly through our contact page if you'd rather skip Ben altogether.

As with anything we publish or automate online, we take content and communication integrity seriously — you can review our full DMCA notice if you ever have questions about how we handle content or intellectual property across our platforms.

Why We're Unplugging for a Week at Hope Hills Camp

Last but certainly not least, I want you to know that my wife, our daughters, and I are headed to our annual trip to a place called Nauvoo, Alabama — home of Hope Hills Camp. It's in the middle of nowhere with little to no cell service, and one building on the entire property has spotty internet late at night after all the campers are down for bed.

I'll be gone starting next Saturday the 11th through the following Sunday — a full week off the grid, back to work the Monday or Tuesday after, depending on how tired I am. We go every year to serve families, completely free of charge to them, where one member of the family — a parent or a child — has a disability.

We take care of these families, love on them, and give the parents a genuine chance to breathe while their loved ones experience the time of their life at camp. I won't sugarcoat it — it's hard. It's uncomfortable. It pulls you way outside your comfort zone. My wife actually signed us up originally, and once you're in it, you realize you're doing exactly what you were meant to do: love on other people who need it.

Our girls have grown up in this environment, and I see the fruit of it constantly — at school, at church, in everyday life. When they encounter someone with a disability, instead of the natural instinct to shy away because you don't know what to do, they lean in. That's what a week at camp does to a family. You become the outsider for once, surrounded by families who live this reality every single day, and it changes how you see the whole world.

Is it grueling? Absolutely — it's hot in Alabama in July, we're up from 8 a.m. and don't stop until we crash sweaty into bed, bunking with a room full of other men serving alongside me. But it's one of the most meaningful weeks of our year, every single year, without exception.

If you're a client of mine reading this, don't panic — I'll still be checking email most nights around 10 or 11 p.m. after the day winds down, and I've got key team members watching my back with access to my inbox in case anything urgent comes up. But if you'd like to support this camp financially, or if this is something you and your own family might want to experience someday, I encourage you to look into Hope Hills Camp directly. We already pay our own way every year specifically so that the families we serve can attend at no cost — we're never asking anyone to cover that for us, but additional donations always help more families get a spot.

This kind of grounded, service-first mindset is honestly what fuels how our whole team operates back here in Wilmington too. It's the same spirit behind stories like A Carolina Beach Weekend: Faith, Family, Riko's Pizza, and the Real Estate Life, and it's why we made such a point of honoring those who've sacrificed so much in our piece on Happy Memorial Day from Carolina Beach. Faith, family, and community always come before the transaction.

Exploring Wilmington Neighborhoods While You Wait to Hear From Us

While I'm off the grid next week, I don't want you sitting idle if you're actively searching. This is a great window to do your own homework. Spend some time browsing our full breakdown of Wilmington Neighborhoods to get a feel for which pockets of the region actually fit your lifestyle, budget, and commute.

Whether you're drawn to established communities closer to downtown or newer developments further out toward the county lines, our broader guide to Wilmington NC neighborhoods and communities breaks down schools, amenities, and typical price points so you're not walking in blind.

If open houses fit your schedule better than a private showing, check our updated open house calendar and stop by a few this weekend. There's no substitute for physically walking a neighborhood, listening to how quiet or busy the streets are, and getting a feel for whether it's home.

And if you're relocating from out of state entirely and need the bigger-picture roadmap — schools, cost of living, job market, healthcare — our full relocation services page is designed specifically for families making that leap.

What You Should Do Right Now

Here's my honest, unfiltered advice as we close out today: if you're a seller who has owned your home for five-plus years, run your numbers now, not next year. Values have flatlined, and there's no guarantee — or realistic expectation — of another 2021-style spike anytime soon.

If you're a buyer waiting on rates to magically drop to perfect numbers, run the Cost of Waiting Report on the specific home you're eyeing and see the real math for yourself. Rates in the low-to-mid 6% range aren't the enemy they were made out to be a year ago, especially with builder incentives like D.R. Horton's stacking on top.

If Ben O'Toole calls or texts you in the coming weeks, pick up, be honest with him, and tell him exactly what you need. It genuinely helps us serve you — and everyone else in our 50,000-person community — the right way.

And if this update moved you in any way, take a minute to look into Hope Hills Camp. Whether it's a financial gift or getting your own family involved down the road, it's one of the most rewarding weeks you'll ever spend.

Thank you so much for sticking with me through this longer-than-usual Monday Morning Coffee. I'm thankful to live in America, thankful for a family that's not always thrilled about sports but shows up anyway, and thankful you're still here in our database after all these years, no matter how you originally found us. You can catch our regular updates and community moments over on our YouTube channel or follow along on Facebook while I'm away. I'll be back the following Monday or Tuesday — probably about ten pounds lighter — and I can't wait to catch you up on everything then.

Assisted by