Charlotte Real Estate|Monday Updates August 18
August 18th, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News
More Bad Sales Figures For Housing
Even as prices hold steady or decline marginally (a few areas Not so marginally) the number of sales has dropped severely- in Mecklenburg County, about 40%, the 8 “inner-county areas, 37%. These figures are from Market Opportunity Research Enterprises (M.O.R.E.) and 2nd quarter figures are being reported in the Charlotte Observer and Busisiness Journal .
They report overall re-sales are down 36% and new home sales are off 40% in the 2nd quarter. Mecklenburg median prices had no change compared with 2007, but many other outlying counties were not so lucky- Iredell County for one, which saw a 13% decline in prices compared to the 2nd quarter of 2007. It is notiale that many of the higher priced properties on Lake Norman were some of the few that experienced some of that “bubble” type appreciation- appreciating far faster than the city of Charlotte- now declining far faster.
We need to get these issues fixed– I read recently that the devastation is so vast that the US government is going to have to bail out either the a) mortgage companies or b) the homeowners. R or D in the fall election, any guess who would bail out who?
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1,710 New Hotel rooms, 11 hotels, including a 5 star Ritz-Carlton in Uptown, are under construction and will be delivered before the end of 2009 reports the Business Journal last week… Thats a lot of hotels, some of which are in preparation for the opening of the NASCAR Hall Of Fame.
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Well now must be the time to buy a House in Charlotte- Suze Orman even thinks so. This in response to an out of the country buyer who told me he shouldn’t buy unless it was 40% off… when I asked Why, he told me that’s what “Suze Orman says”…Thanks Linda ( at the Palisades) , the rest is unfortunately behind a “subscription-paid” link at the Star Ledger:
Now Could Be a Great Time to Buy a Home
By Suze Orman
The following appeared in the Sunday, July 20, 2008 edition of The New Jersey Star Ledger.
Even though every nook and cranny of the housing market is draped in doom and gloom, it may be a good time for potential buyers to take a contrarian look.
I’m not minimizing the risks in the housing market, because they’re very real in many locations. Nor am I predicting any sort of miraculous turnaround in the next six months, since I doubt we’ll see that happen. But I’m still a believer in the long-term viability of housing as a solid investment if you buy at the right price. This has me thinking the current shakeout is in fact creating an interesting sweet spot for first-time home buyers to at least start checking out the market. ###
Thank you Suze for confirming what we’ve been saying in Charlotte for a long time- it is a GREAT time for careful buying of real estate in quality markets- like Charlotte. I had 2 first time buyers buy listings of mine last month, maybe they are listening.
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In the Week ending August 16h, there were 396 Home Closings-Solds, 402 additional Pendings in the 15 county area covered by the Carolina MLS. Homes sales fell 23%, prices were off 7%, compared to per sq ft costs a year ago, median prices fell nearly 10%.
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It is a strong buyers market here in the greater Charlotte area. Thinking about moving to Lake Wylie? Lake Norman? Or Charlotte? You can quickly compare area prices with the links below, or just give me, Terry, a call at 704-351-1519. I am a Buyer’s Agent specializing in relocations and 2nd homes–and will represent only you.
Related Links
Charlotte Home Search -Map & Community Based
June 2008 Home Sales Report
A Waterfront Beauty at Reflection Pointe
Moving To Charlotte? Like a Good Introduction to the Area?
As you’ve said, the problem in a government bailout is who do we bail out? I personally find it very hard to believe that the people giving the bad loans didn’t know that they were bad loans. They may not have been acting illegally but more probably unethically.