Standing on the top floor of "Sol Mate" in Corolla, there is a feeling as though you’re in some Hollywood movie celebrating all that’s best about life. It’s nighttime and the Outer Banks Parade of Homes evening reception sponsored by SAGA Construction gives a glorious backdrop to the experience of the evening. One Love Caribbean Steel Drum Band is playing some Beatle’s tune with a distinctly island beat. The swimming pool three floors below glows with a blue hue from LED lights; there is a cool breeze off the ocean and the steady susurration of the waves from the Atlantic Ocean rolling onto the beach is a soothing backdrop to the sounds of the people gathered at the home.

The Parade of Homes is as much about the wonder of the Outer Banks as it is about the innovation and quality of the houses. From one end of the tour to the other--South Nags Head at "Inside Out". The house is very attractive from the outside but it’s not the outside appearance that’s so remarkable about it. Everything is nice about the home--wonderful pool area with an inset bar that actually extends below the water line. The little details of quality construction are everywhere, good use of space . . . and then you come to the third floor and the world opens up before your eyes. Looking out from the living room, a 14’ wide accordion glass wall system is wide open and the most spectacular ocean vista I have ever seen from an Outer Banks home spreads before me. No words, no image or photograph could ever do justice to that scene--it almost seems to be the essence of the beauty of the Outer Banks.

That concept, that idea of using the natural beauty surrounding us, seemed to run throughout the designs in this year’s Parade. In Corolla, at "Chesapeake's Retreat" there is, on the rear deck, a spiral staircase leading to a captain’s walk. It is a vantage point that brings home at once the beauty of the area and the innovation of the homes. Actually, "Chesapeake’s Retreat" is a great example of one of the other features that stands out in the new Outer Banks homes. Because local ordinances tend to be strict about lot coverage, designers have become very innovative in the use of space--and this home really seemed to stand in that regard. Five bedrooms, den, living room, full deck--it seemed to have everything, yet it never felt cramped or cluttered.

This may be the best year in a while to buy. Both builders and brokers felt they were seeing more interest--and qualified interest--in Outer Banks properties than they have seen in a while. Of course, no one knows what that means in the long run, but it does seem to point to a change in real estate thinking.

~Courtesy of Kip Tabb