North Carolina
5 Biggest Myths of Buying a Home in North Carolina in 2025 — Dispelled by Experts
Based on the most recent data from Redfin, U.S. housing prices were up 5.4% year over year in November. But, if you are looking to move to North Carolina or if you already live there and are thinking of buying a home in 2025, you will find the market a little better than the overall prices around the country.
According to Redfin, North Carolina home prices were up just 2.6% over November 2023, with a median price of $374,100.
Try Out: 25 Places To Buy a Home If You Want It To Gain Value
Learn More: 3 Best Florida Cities To Buy Property in the Next 5 Years, According To Real Estate Agents
Experts dispelled five common misconceptions about buying a home in North Carolina heading into 2025.
Myth No. 1: The Housing Market Will Slow Due to Hurricane Helene
The number of homes sold in November was down 2.2% year over year, and a common misconception is that the will continue to slow due to the damage to homes from Hurricane Helene.
What’s the Reality?
“The North Carolina housing market experienced a slight slowdown in the last quarter of 2024,” said Polly Leadbetter, the license partner of Engel & Völkers Foothills Lake James. “This was due to higher mortgage rates, the elections and Hurricane Helene.”
As interest rates continue to drop, experts expect the housing market in most of the state to return to healthy inventory and transaction levels.
“At this point,” Leadbetter added, “only specific areas of Western North Carolina have homes that are still significantly damaged.”
Also See: Renting Vs. Owning a Home — Which Will Be Cheaper in 2025?
Myth No. 2: Housing Prices Will Shoot Up
Another common myth is that housing prices are expected to increase in North Carolina with expected interest rate announcements and increased competition.
What’s the Reality?
Nathan Richardson, a real estate expert and founder of CashForHome, said, “It goes without saying that we have noticed an upward price in the housing market in some cities like Raleigh, Charlotte and Asheville. However, other areas in North Carolina still have a reasonable price guide for the buyers.”
Just because rates are expected to drop doesn’t mean that all housing prices will increase in the state. Real estate dynamics can be fairly complex, and there are no certainties when it comes to prices over an entire state.
Myth No. 3: Homebuyers Aren’t Required To Pay Any Fees
According to Leadbetter, a common misconception about buying a home in North Carolina is that homebuyers believe they’re not required to pay any fees at the time their offers are accepted.
What’s the Reality?
Leadbetter pointed out that two fees are due in North Carolina as soon as an offer is accepted. The first fee is a due diligence fee, which is similar to an option fee. It’s paid directly to the seller for the time spent conducting inspections, securing a loan, etc. This fee is nonrefundable because the buyer pays the seller to take the property listing off the market and not for the results of the inspections.
The second fee is the earnest money deposit, which is held in a trust account until closing and is refundable if the buyer cancels before the end of the due diligence period.
“Both fees are credited to the purchase price if the sale is completed,” Leadbetter said.
Myth No. 4: The Seller Is Responsible for Making Certain Repairs
Leadbetter noted another misconception in the North Carolina market, which is that the seller is responsible for repairing damages found during a home inspection.
What’s the Reality?
In North Carolina, homes are sold “as is.”
Leadbetter clarified: “While many sellers are willing to negotiate repairs, they’re not obligated to address damage or issues found during a home inspection.”
This is why it’s crucial that you have a home inspection conducted by an expert who can identify issues that aren’t easily noticed. If you don’t bring up the issues during negotiations, you may get stuck with expensive repairs when you take ownership of the property.
Myth No. 5: Property Closings Are Done By a Title Company
A common myth about buying a home in North Carolina is that a title company does property closings. However, the process is a bit different in the state compared to others.
What’s the Reality?
Unlike many other states, property closings in North Carolina are done by an attorney, not a title company.
Leadbetter added, “An attorney is hired by the buyer and they will research the title on the property as well as obtain title insurance, coordinate loan documents, and prepare all other documents that are needed to purchase the property.”
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 5 Biggest Myths of Buying a Home in North Carolina in 2025 — Dispelled by Experts
North Carolina
Life-threatening injuries reported after shooting on I-73 South near Wendover Avenue, Greensboro police say
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — One person was left with life-threatening injuries in an overnight shooting Sunday, according to the Greensboro Police Department.
At 12:52 a.m., officers responded to a man down call at Interstate 73 South just before the Wendover Avenue exit and found one shooting victim with life-threatening injuries. They were taken to a local hospital.
I-73 South at Wendover Avenue was closed following the shooting. As of 10:22 a.m. Sunday, the road is still closed.
No suspect information was available.
The investigation is ongoing.
North Carolina
Seth Trimble returns to lead No. 12 North Carolina past Ohio State 71-70
ATLANTA (AP) — Henri Veesaar scored the winning basket on a dunk with 7.2 seconds remaining off a pass from a stumbling Seth Trimble, and No. 12 North Carolina held off Ohio State 71-70 on Saturday.
Trimble, playing his first game since breaking his left forearm in a Nov. 9 training mishap, wanted to shoot but tripped as he spun into the lane. As the senior guard was falling, he dished the ball to Veesaar, who slipped past his defender for the emphatic slam.
Ohio State had two chances to pull off the upset.
John Mobley Jr. missed a 3-point try, only to have Devin Royal grab the offensive rebound under the basket. He went back up ahead of the horn, but Caleb Wilson blocked the shot to preserve the win for the Tar Heels.
Trimble, who played with a wrap covering much of his left arm, and Veesaar both finished with 17 points. Wilson led North Carolina (11-1) with 20.
Trimble also did a stellar defensive job on Ohio State star Bruce Thornton, who was held to 16 points on 7-of-16 shooting. He came into the game hitting 60.2% from the field.
Royal led the Buckeyes (8-3) with 18 points.
Mobley put Ohio State ahead on a 3-pointer with 48.7 seconds to go, also drawing a foul that made it a four-point play for a 70-67 lead.
Trimble hit a drive in the lane to cut the margin, and Jarin Stevenson made a steal as Ohio State tried to get the ball into the frontcourt to set up the winning basket.
It was the second game of the CBS Sports Classic at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Kentucky defeated No. 22 St. John’s 78-66 in the opener.
Up next
Ohio State hosts Grambling State on Tuesday.
North Carolina is back in Chapel Hill to face East Carolina on Monday.
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North Carolina
It’s official, North Carolina professors will have to publicly post syllabi
The UNC System has officially adopted a policy to force all state university professors to publicly post their syllabi.
System President Peter Hans approved the policy measure Friday evening, which didn’t require a vote from the UNC Board of Governors. The new regulation was posted on the System’s website without a public announcement and while all campuses are on winter break.
The decision puts North Carolina in league with other Southern states like Florida, Georgia, and Texas; two of which legislatively mandate syllabi to be public records.
The UNC System’s new syllabi policy not only requires the documents to be public records, but universities must also create a “readily searchable online platform” to display them.
All syllabi must include learning outcomes, a grading scale, and all course materials students are required to buy. Professors must also include a statement saying their courses engage in “diverse scholarly perspectives” and that accompanying readings are not endorsements. They are, however, allowed to leave out when a class is scheduled and what building it will be held in.
This policy goes into effect on Jan. 15, but universities aren’t required to publicly post syllabi or offer the online platform until fall 2026.
Hans had already announced his decision to make syllabi public records a week in advance through an op-ed in the News & Observer. He said the move would provide greater transparency for students and the general public, as well as clear up any confusion among the 16-university System.
Before now, a spokesperson told WUNC that the syllabus regulations were a “campus level issue” that fell outside of its open records policy. That campus autonomy assessment began to shift after conservative groups started making syllabi requests – and universities reached opposing decisions on how to fulfill them.
Lynn Hey (left); Liz Schlemmer (right)
Earlier this year, UNC-Chapel Hill sided with faculty, deciding that course materials belong to them and are protected by intellectual property rights. UNC Greensboro, however, made faculty turn in all of their syllabi to fulfill any records requests.
“Having a consistent rule on syllabi transparency, instead of 16 campuses coming up with different rules, helps ensure that everyone is on the same page and similarly committed heading into each new semester,” Hans said in the op-ed.
Still, faculty members from across the UNC System tried to convince Hans to change his mind before his decision was finalized.
About a dozen attempted to deliver a petition to his office days after the op-ed. More than 2,800 faculty, staff, students, and other campus community members signed the document – demanding Hans protect academic freedom.
One of those signatories is Michael Palm, the president of UNC-Chapel Hill’s AAUP Chapter. He spoke to WUNC shortly before the petition drop-off.
“Transparency, accountability accessibility – these are important aspects of a public university system, but that’s not what this is about,” Palm said. “This is about capitulating to pressure at the state level and at the federal level to scrutinize faculty and intimidate faculty who are teaching unpopular subjects right now.”
A public records request from The Oversight Project put UNC-Chapel Hill at the epicenter of the syllabi public records debate in North Carolina this summer.
The organization, which is a spin-off of the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, requested course materials from 74 UNC-Chapel Hill classes. This included syllabi, lecture slides, and presentation materials that contained words like diversity, equity, and inclusion; LGBTQ+; and systems of oppression.
Mike Howell, The Oversight Project’s president, told WUNC in September that his goal is to ultimately get DEI teachings or what he calls “garbage out of colleges and universities.”
“One of the ends will be the public can scrutinize whether their taxpayer dollars are going toward promulgating hard-left, Marxists, racist teachings at public universities,” Howell said. “I think there’s a lot of people in North Carolina and across the country that would take issue to that.”
Faculty say pressure from outside forces is why they petitioned Hans to protect their rights to choose how and when to disseminate syllabi.
“There are people who do not have good intentions or do not have productive or scholarly or educational desires when looking at syllabi,” said Ajamu Dillahunt-Holloway, a history professor at NC State. “They’re more interested in attacking faculty and more so attacking ideas that maybe they have not fully engaged with themselves.”
In his op-ed, Hans said the UNC System will do everything it can to “safeguard faculty and staff who may be subject to threats or intimidation simply for doing their jobs.”
Hans has yet to share details about what those measures will look like, and turned down a request from WUNC for an interview to explain what safety measures the UNC System may enact.
WUNC partners with Open Campus and NC Local on higher education coverage.
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