Will Hurricane Florence rock the real estate market?

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WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The outlook is looking positive for home buyers and sells around the Cape Fear, even after Hurricane Florence.

Real estate agents say the housing market is already starting to pick back up with new houses being built and others coming for sale.

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Carter Rice was trying to sell his Wilmington home and then Hurricane Florence arrived. Te storm caused extensive damage, so Rice quickly hired contractors to begin repairs.

“Fortunately we had insurance, so we are proceeding as quickly as we can,” Rice said. “We’re getting the interior damage and the roof damage corrected and we actually think the property is going to be in better condition after the storm than it was before.”

Some homeowners, like Rice, are working on rebuilding and repairing their homes. A situation that could make potential buyers skeptical, but Realtor Ashley Garner says many have confirmed they are still interested in moving here.

Garner reassures buyers that any home under contract would be properly assessed before it’s sold.

“If the house is under contract, in the case that the buyer is going to obtain a mortgage to buy the house with, in that case, almost all the time, the lender for the buyer will require an inspector or an appraiser to go back out and re-inspect the house before they will allow the closing to occur,” Garner said.

Cape Fear Realtors says historically, major storms have an obvious short-term impact on the housing market, but little to no long-term impact. Garner says events like Florence can actually result in a boom in the market and expects 2019 to possibly be even better than 2018.