Glen Thompson - KBT Realty Group - Coastal NC Real Estate

08/12/2026

Council members in Carolina Beach voted Tuesday night on financing for a $12 million deal to buy nine properties along the town’s boardwalk. Details in the comments ⬇️

08/11/2026

08/10/2026

Pender’s 2026 revaluation raised average home values roughly 105% to 110%. Some residents reported far steeper jumps than that.

Then the values got frozen. Here is what actually happened, because a lot of people still have the notice sitting on the counter and no idea where they stand.

Pender reappraises every eight years. New Hanover and Brunswick do it every four. So eight years of growth in one of the fastest-growing counties in the state showed up in a single envelope instead of arriving in pieces.

Commissioners voted to stop using the 2026 numbers, citing concerns about how the assessment was done. The legislature followed with Senate Bill 889, signed June 19, requiring counties that reappraised effective January 1, 2026 to use their previous values for the tax year that began July 1. Onslow is on that list too.

Two things worth being precise about.

First, the law froze the value, not the rate. Commissioners still set the rate, so a bill can still move even with values held flat.

Second, this is a delay, not a cancellation. The 2026 values take effect for the tax year beginning July 1, 2027.

Which makes the appeal window the part that actually matters right now. Pender extended its window into the fall, and SB 889 stretches appeal rights into 2027. A value you never contested is the value you start paying on when this unfreezes.
Confirm your deadline with the county tax office before you assume it passed. An appeal you skip this year is a number you carry in 2027.

Glen Thompson | REALTOR® | Marine Corps Veteran | KBT Realty Group | Powered by PLACE | Brokered by Keller Williams Innovate | 910-601-1351 | [email protected]

08/07/2026

The Fed cutting rates in September does not mean your mortgage rate drops.

Most people have this backwards, and it costs them.

Here is what happened this morning. July payrolls came in at NEGATIVE 23,000 jobs. Economists were expecting a gain of about 83,000. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also revised May and June down by a combined 103,000.

Unemployment actually ticked down to 4.1%. But only because labor force participation fell to 61.4%, the lowest in over five years. Fewer people are being counted as looking for work.

Markets moved toward a September cut within minutes.

Now the part that matters:

The Fed sets the overnight rate. That is what banks charge each other for one night. Your 30-year mortgage is not priced off it.

Mortgage rates track the 10-year Treasury. Bond investors move on growth and inflation expectations, usually weeks before the Fed does anything. By the time the announcement comes, the move has already happened.

Freddie Mac had the 30-year at 6.69% this week, the highest since July 2025. Weak jobs data pushes yields down. So watch the bond market, not the press conference.

What this means if you own a home and have been putting off the decision:

If rates ease this fall, the buyers who sat out all summer come back first. Inventory is already building. Sellers who list into that early demand compete with fewer homes than the ones who wait for spring.

Serious question for the homeowners here — what is actually holding you back? The rate on your next house, or not knowing what this one is worth right now? I read every comment.

And if you have been waiting on rates to sell, send me the word FALL. I will send back a realistic price range for your home this fall. A range, not a single number, because your price depends on condition, timing, and what you are trying to accomplish.

No appointment. No pitch. Just the numbers.

Glen Thompson | REALTOR® | Marine Corps Veteran | KBT Realty Group | Powered by PLACE | Brokered by Keller Williams Innovate | 910-601-1351 | [email protected]

08/06/2026

Second piece of big PLACE news in a week.

Envoy Mortgage — PLACE's sister mortgage company — just announced it's acquiring the distributed retail assets of Mason-McDuffie Mortgage (MasonMac). Announced internally Monday, expected to close at the end of this month.

Roughly 100 loan officers joining Envoy, who funded about $1 billion over the last 12 months.

Envoy's loan officer count goes to roughly 240.

Combined annual run rate north of $3 billion in funded volume.

No layoffs expected. Several MasonMac brand names and teams stay intact.

Here's the part that actually matters to my clients: Envoy's funded loans per loan officer are up 40% year over year. In a 7% rate environment. That's a lender whose loan officers are closing more files per person than they were a year ago.

My team is a part of PLACE, so our buyers get access to that lending relationship directly. More capacity, deeper operational cohesion, and a lender/agent duo that will actually answer the phone and not forward you to a call center.

Coming right on the heels of the Radian news, it's a good week to be an agent on this platform.

Glen Thompson | REALTOR® | Marine Corps Veteran | KBT Realty Group | Powered by PLACE | Brokered by Keller Williams Innovate | 910-601-1351 | [email protected]

08/05/2026

You don’t always need a contractor before you list. Sometimes, all you need is a weekend.

Here are five things, and every one of them is free: declutter, let the light in, reset your curb view, depersonalize, and knock out the small fixes.

Little flaws make buyers wonder about big ones. None of this changes what your home appraises for — appraisers work from comparable sales, square footage, condition, and location. What it changes is how the place shows, and a home that shows well pulls more buyers through the door.

If a buyer can see it from the front door, fix it first. The first ten feet set the tone for everything they notice after.

Glen Thompson | REALTOR® | Marine Corps Veteran | KBT Realty Group | Powered by PLACE | Brokered by Keller Williams Innovate | 910-601-1351 | [email protected]

08/04/2026

PLACE just bought Radian's real estate services business, and signed an agreement to buy their title business on top of it. That second one should close in the fourth quarter.

So a brokerage, a property management company, a title insurance underwriter and a national title agency are all joining the company I work under. Radian is a publicly traded insurer that decided to go all-in on insurance, so they handed the real estate side to a company that does nothing but real estate.

Title and settlement are usually where a closing starts to wobble, and having both of those in house is powerful.

We hear some more awesome news on our all-partner call last Friday. PLACE transactions are up 22% over this time last year and agent production is up 15%, while the industry overall sits around 3% growth in closed transactions. We're still private and still pre-IPO, and that kind of growth is a big part of why I hung my license where I did.

The market underneath all of it is doing better than people think, too. Pending sales are up 260,000 nationally and single family inventory is up about half a percent from last year. Not a boom, just more people actually buying and selling than the headlines let on.

Very proud of my company and excited for the future!

Glen Thompson | REALTOR® | Marine Corps Veteran | KBT Realty Group | Powered by PLACE | Brokered by Keller Williams Innovate | 910-601-1351 | [email protected]

08/04/2026

If you’re moving here from another state, North Carolina is going to hand you a term you may have never seen before: the due diligence fee.

It’s a check written straight to the seller when you go under contract, and it is nonrefundable from day one. That sounds harsh until you understand what it buys — the right to walk away from that house for any reason at all, right up until the due diligence period ends. Inspection surprises, financing trouble, cold feet. Doesn’t matter.

Here’s what most buyers don’t realize: it isn’t lost money. If you close, it comes back to you as a credit at the closing table, same as your earnest money — it reduces the cash you bring, not the price you pay. And in a competitive situation, a stronger due diligence fee can sometimes beat a higher offer price.

A strong offer balances the two. The price gets a seller’s attention. The due diligence fee is what convinces them you’ll actually close.

Glen Thompson | REALTOR® | Marine Corps Veteran | KBT Realty Group | Powered by PLACE | Brokered by Keller Williams Innovate | 910-601-1351 |
[email protected]

08/03/2026

Investors keep circling coastal North Carolina, and it’s not a coincidence. Growth, rental demand from four directions, entry points where the numbers still work, and an economy that keeps diversifying.

The full case is in the slides.

Thinking about your first — or next — investment property? Tell me your budget and let's come up with a plan.

Glen Thompson | REALTOR® | Marine Corps Veteran | KBT Realty Group | Powered by PLACE | Brokered by Keller Williams Innovate | 910-601-1351 | [email protected]

08/02/2026

Do you know what your home equity is right now? For most families it’s their biggest asset — and most owners haven’t checked in years.

Let's break down three ways to put it to work, with real math on each: selling, a HELOC, and a cash-out refi.

Start with a free equity check. Quick, easy, and completely free — just reach out.

Glen Thompson | REALTOR® | Marine Corps Veteran | KBT Realty Group | Powered by PLACE | Brokered by Keller Williams Innovate | 910-601-1351 | [email protected]