THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 23, 1995 TAG: 9509210303
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: About the Outer Banks
SOURCE: Chris Kidder
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
It's been called the greening of the Outer Banks and, indeed, it is: Golfing has become a seaside attraction. And, now, with hundreds of acres already devoted to golf, comes even more acreage devoted to people devoted to a round of 18.
Here's a rundown of Outer Banks golf course communities. For a close-up look at the courses, see John Harper's story in the Sunday Break section this weekend.
Sea Scape, Kitty Hawk: The Sea Scape Golf Course is a public course opened in the mid-1960s. Sea Scape property owners have not been serious golfers, says one developer involved in the community for the last 20 years. Buyers have been attracted by the open, green space the golf course location affords, he says.
Located on high ground with some acreage rooted in the southeastern edge of Kitty Hawk Woods, Sea Scape properties are resales. Nearly half of the golf course lots are unimproved. The average lot is 15,000 square feet and sells for about $50,000. Houses start around $125,000.
Because the development has been sold out by the developer, any area MLS Realtor can show or sell Sea Scape lots and homes.
Southern Shores: Only a small percentage of Southern Shores homes front the long Duck Woods course that winds through the northern end of Kitty Hawk Woods. The 2,600-acre community was begun in 1947; the golf course opened after the Sea Scape course in the 1960s.
Southern Shores was the first planned community on the Outer Banks. It was incorporated in 1979 so that residents could be ``masters of their own destiny,'' says the town's long-time mayor, Kern Pitts.
Property owners pay the lowest assessed town tax on the Banks and, through the Southern Shores Civic Association, enjoy private beach accesses, parks and two soundside marinas.
About 40 percent of the community's houses are vacation rental properties. Most rentals are on the oceanside not on the golf course.
According to David Watson, Southern Shores Realty, golf course properties currently on the market are resales. Golf course lots begin around $50,000 and homes start at $175,000. As with Sea Scape, any MLS Realtor can show or sell these lots and homes.
The Village at Nags Head: After Duck Woods and Sea Scape opened, it was nearly 20 years before Outer Banks golfers had the challenge of a new course. Nags Head Golf Links opened in the mid-1980s as part of a multifaceted resort community.
The Village has 20 neighborhoods on the books: four new neighborhoods are situated on the semi-private golf course; resales along the course are available in several others.
New developer homesites run from $45,000 in ``Water's Edge,'' a soundside neighborhood with an Old Nags Head architectural theme, to $160,000 in ``Saw Grass, where some of the half-acre lots afford expansive views of water and play at three holes.
Membership in the golf club - and in the community's pool and tennis club - is optional. Other services, including a summer shuttle and full-time activity director, add to the vacation appeal of this development. Nearly half of the community's homes are in rental programs.
For more information about the Village at Nags Head, call 919-441-8533.
The Currituck Club, Corolla: The soundside Rees Jones golf course is slated to open in spring 1996, says Mickey Hayes, president of the community's developer, Kitty Hawk Land Co. The course will be the first - and possibly the only - golf course on the Currituck Outer Banks.
Hayes hopes the first of 430 single-family homes will be under construction before year-end. Issues concerning water supply for the community are still under negotiation with the county. Sales reservations have already been taken for more than 300 homesites.
The county has also approved plans for an additional 70 patio homes, in cluster-style neighborhoods with condominium ownership, and 100 multifamily units. Pre-sale prices today range from $70,000 to $300,000, up from $65,000 to $225,000 in 1994.
Golf course membership is optional. For more information about The Currituck Club, call 800-465-3972 or 919-261-5261.
Barnett's Creek, Grandy: This subdivision will be the first bonafide golf course community on the Currituck mainland if plans proceed. The development is platted to surround a second, 18-hole course at Goose Creek.
The new course is slated to open in 1997. For more information about homesites, call Tarheel Realty, 919-453-2188. MEMO: Send comments and questions to Chris Kidder at P.O. Box 10, Nags Head,
N.C. 27959. by CNB