Welcome Charlotte First Home Buyers!

Search for homes below, or click the Charlotte Stimulus icon for details on how you can get a $500 gift card Lowes, Ikea, Crate and Barrel or Pottery Barn, when buying your first home

To Get Your Charlotte Home Search Started, from the map below,

pick a Yellow House in the area you might be interested in, open it (click) and you’ll find community information, pictures and home search links inside. Each open in a new window so you may need to turn your pop-up blocker off. Don’t know Where to Start yet? Try the links below the map by price, this will show you how the areas compare price wise.
More Information on Mortgagesand for more information on the process try our First Time Home Buyer Guide

View Charlotte in a larger map
View Larger Map
The Charlotte Map Based Search. The green picnic tables are major parks, The Charlotte airport is to the west in brown, golf guys are golf courses (there are more, send in your link), school houses are Colleges/University’s. So give our beta map a test drive and explore Charlotte! We will be adding more and more Charlotte features to the map.

Next , Simple Charlotte First Home searches by Price

If you are just getting started, and don’t know where to look, try my Charlotte NC video, a well received Introduction to the Queen City, #1 on You Tube, a fact-filled 4 minute tour. Then you might want to move on to my About Charlotte page- all about the ares, communities that make up Charlotte. It goes right after the “Big Question” of where we might want to live, it is the starting spot for relocation links. Or you may just want to pick a yellow house below and see whats inside.We also offer Customized Home searches- we can search for waterfront homes, golf course homes, searches by home price, and school zones- and they will be delivered to your Inbox. Just email me your criteria, and we’ll set the auto search.

The Charlotte Map Based Search. The green picnic tables are major parks, jets are airports, golf guys are golf courses (there are more, send in your link), school houses are Colleges/University’s. So give it a test drive, go ahead and explore Charlotte! We will be adding more and more Charlotte features to the map.

As you look at homes, you may review the summaries and compare areas; if you are here for the first time and you request listing details, after one, the system requests an email to send you password. No worries, you get logins and no one will bother you here. Nada. It is safe.

The links in the table are captured directly from the map above. We are working on more advanced map mashups as we speak. Each link’s to a specific search, photo album, and community information from CCOnline. The first line is for a total wide area search and you can search any listing type from this window.

The map and features are growing! Do you have a Community Link you’d like to see on our map? E-mail it to me please with a note on why you think it should be here. We’ll be adding layers including New homes, major employers etc. We will also be adding Home Searches as time permits and interest develops in new areas. We will also be populating the map with photos as my new I-phone has GIS build right into the pictures- very cool.
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Moving to the Charlotte Area? South Charlotte, Huntersville, Waxhaw Perhaps? Your first Charlotte home?

I am a Charlotte real estate broker specializing in relocations, 2nd homes and first time home buyers–buying and selling real estate of all kinds- and will represent only you. We work with Buyers and Sellers every day from Ballantyne to Lake Norman -and Fort Mill SC too. My team and I know the homes, the communities, and the new home builders. We know what’s hot, what’s not, and where the deals are. I think as you read my posts you’ll see that we understand home buyer needs, from a first time home owner to a luxury home purchaser. We are working to make your relocation to the Charlotte area easier, less stressful and help you “buy smart.”

If it’s between the hours of 8 AM to 8 PM, EDT, please don’ t hesitate to call me direct at 704-351-1519. Terry

Related Links

Safe to Buy A Home In Charlotte? You Bet Says Case-Shiller and Radar Logic

Recession, No Recession, Charlotte Moves Forward

Fix Housing First-a Housing Stimulus plan of the NAHB

Housing Stimulus by The NAR Proposal for the 2009 housing stimulus by the National Assocation of Realtors

Fort Mill- First Time Home Buyer Report (maps included!)

Charlotte NC Homes Best Value Under 500K

NC Lake Best Waterfront in Charlotte Under $2M

Charlotte Cost Of Living- “Objectively Affordable”

Moving To Charlotte? Like a Good Introduction to the Area?

Charlotte Cost Of Living- “Objectively Affordable”

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Quick Search Charlotte Real Estate

Need more information about the area? Try this Charlotte Homes for Sale - Introduction to Charlotte Video

Charlotte Home searches by Price, from high to low, map them with link in lower left corner of search page.

Charlotte Homes For Sale Under $200,000

Charlotte Homes For Sale under $300,000, but more than $200,000

Charlotte Homes For Sale Under $500,000, but more than $300,000

Charlotte Homes For Sale Under $1,000,000 but more than $500,000

Charlotte Homes For Sale Under $2,000,000, but more than $1,000,000

Charlotte Homes for Sale More than $2,000,000

Search Charlotte Homes, Charlotte Condos and townhouses, and use the photo links  and Community Information to round out your view if you like. You may
ppen more than one window and compare home prices side by side, or neighborhoods and homes simultaneously.

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Moving to the Charlotte Area? South Charlotte, Huntersville, Waxhaw Perhaps? Your first Charlotte home?

I am a Charlotte real estate broker specializing in relocations, 2nd homes and first time home buyers–buying and selling real estate of all kinds- and will represent only you. We work with Buyers and Sellers every day from Ballantyne to Lake Norman -and Fort Mill SC too. My team and I know the homes, the communities, and the new home builders. We know what’s hot, what’s not, and where the deals are. I think as you read my posts you’ll see that we understand home buyer needs, from a first time home owner to a luxury home purchaser. We are working to make your relocation to the Charlotte area easier, less stressful and help you “buy smart.”

If it’s between the hours of 8 AM to 8 PM, EDT, please don’ t hesitate to call me direct at 704-351-1519. Terry

Related Links

Safe to Buy A Home In Charlotte? You Bet Says Case-Shiller and Radar Logic

Recession, No Recession, Charlotte Moves Forward

Fix Housing First-a Housing Stimulus plan of the NAHB

Housing Stimulus by The NAR Proposal for the 2009 housing stimulus by the National Assocation of Realtors

Fort Mill- First Time Home Buyer Report (maps included!)

Charlotte NC Homes Best Value Under 500K

NC Lake Best Waterfront in Charlotte Under $2M

Charlotte Cost Of Living- “Objectively Affordable”

Moving To Charlotte? Like a Good Introduction to the Area?

Charlotte Cost Of Living- “Objectively Affordable”

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Closest to town, working our way out

Myers Park Luxury Homes

traditional luxury living close to Charlotte, Queens Blvd, Heritage, tall hardwoods, very close to hospitals and Uptown Charlotte

Myers Park Homes for Sale

more Myers Park pictures

More Charlotte Luxury Homes info

Southpark Luxury Homes

the heart of south Charlotte… Is Southpark our 2nd downtown? Many say so, the 4th largest business district in the state, the # 1 high-end shopping center, if you like Manhattan, you would like Southpark. Summer concerts in the park, the best restaurants, and more.

more Southpark Charlotte pictures Charlotte Luxury Homes info

Waxhaw Luxury Homes and Weddington

estate homes with land, equestrian estates and landed gated communities in nearby (lower tax) Union County

More Weddington- Waxhaw Pictures Charlotte Luxury Homes info

Lake Norman Luxury Homes

Where the biggest boats play! 30-45 minutes from Charlotte and the airport, NC’s largest freshwater lake

More Lake Norman Pictures More Charlotte Luxury Homes info

Lake Wylie Luxury Homes

Convenient, close by Charlotte, beautiful sunsets, to the airport from 20 minutes!

More Lake Wylie Southwest Charlotte Pictures More Charlotte Luxury Homes info

Luxury Estate Living at the Sanctuary-

15 minutes to the airport, 20-25 minutes to Uptown, Privacy-large acre estates from 3 to 10 acres,  elegance in a natural setting . Some Waterfront on Lake Wylie available to build on. Charlotte’s finet custom builders build here.

more Pictures from The Sanctuary

The Club at Longview- Luxury Custom Homes

Charlotte’s premier country club, a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf course, close in Union County, gated, and convenient  Rea Rd access. Less than 30 minutes to Charlotte- Douglas Airport.

more pictures from Longview

I work with luxury home buyers every day. I have have helped sports figures, senior executives, and physicians find the homes and communities that were just right for them and their family.I have a strong record, in 2008 I sold the largest foreclosure sale in Charlotte, and the 2nd largest sale on Lake Wylie.

June of 2010 was a record month for my group. We helped 4 luxury home buyers buy or sell their Charlotte homes… not to mention a host of other wonderful Charlotte home buyers.

I practice no personal dual agency, so, Charlotte’s my market, and I’ll work exclusively for you.

Charlotte, NC| After a week on Wall Street that will only want to be forgotten, the unofficial announcement of New York Federal Reserve President Tim Geithner to be the next Treasury Secretary sent stocks soaring in late trading on Friday, picking up steam the moment it was announced, and sending the DOW up 500 points in the last 2 hours of trading.

Then on Saturday, President-elect Obama vowed to take swift action to address the need of the nation and add 2.5 million jobs in 2 years, ending the speculation on whether he’d go “big” or go slowly. He’s going big, and apparently he is going fast as work has already begun on the plan.

It is unclear whether the Friday stock rally was pure applause for Geithner, a well regarded professional that has been in the Treasury Department his entire career and been intimately involved in working through the mess with Secretary Paulson, or just happy to know who is coming, reducing uncertainty.

This is what the markets need right now, leadership and a voice of confidence… not to magically turn things around with a few words, but stop the slide into ever worsening pessimism and business decisions. Stocks rally Monday? Lets hope so.

XXXXX

This blog is mostly about local real estate news, why so much focus on the national story? Simple really-

our underlying values in Charlotte real estate are sound, and the local economy, though slowed by this recession is still creating jobs in Charlotte -

we will in all liklihood add jobs in 2008, after last weeks announcement that nationally we are down 1.2M jobs for the year, and the NC jobless rate is up to 7%– the national story is a weight dragging down our economy, our home buyers and sellers see their stock portfolios reduced… and story after story of home prices plunging around the country doesn’t make folks want to start something new like a new house…

Until the US economy is turned around- or at least appears to be turning, Charlotte real estate will be slow. IMHO Charlotte will be on the leading edge of that recovery, and there is a lot of pent up demand and money on the sitting on the sidelines.

XXXXX

This week AREVA – a European nuclear service company announced expanison of their US operations that will lead to the doubling of their Charlotte operations (Currently 545 employees)

over the next 5 years in anticipation of renewed nuclear development in the US.

An on Bio-Tech, filed under smart government- reported in the Charlotte Business Journal this week

North Carolina’s biotechnology industry, boosted by more than $1 billion in state investments,

is growing at a much faster clip than biotech sectors in other states, according to a study by the N.C. Biotechnology Center.

According to a 133-page report produced by the Battelle Memorial Institute’s Technology Partnership Practice, North Carolina’s net job growth in the biosciences sector from 2001 to 2006 was 18.5 percent — three times the rate nationwide. That growth rate is also five times the overall growth rate for North Carolina’s private sector during the same period.

So- growing 3X’s faster than the national rate, as measured by net job growth (a sound measure) – it far surpassed the 5% job growth in California, and Massachusets 2% job growth for the 5 year perio 2001-2006. Still smaller in size than those states, NC is closing the gap!

Take THAT Beacon Hill– 27th most competitive state!

XXXXX

Precision Framing Systems of Illinois has signed a 226,000 square foot lease in southwest Charlotte moving their plant and headquarters. Precision Systems, a subsidiary of Masco Corp- an 11billion dollar construction supplier, makes manufactured trusses- a staple in the housing and construction market. This is another firm betting on Charlotte’s swift recovery…

XXXXX

Big changes come out of crisis and disaster–what changes will this, “the greatest economic disaster since the great depression” cause here in Charlotte?

Clearly the financial industry just ended an epoch,and a new regime started this past fall. I think real estate, already undergoing change before this economic mess, I think that change will accelerate, and this time will be noted as the end of Big Brokers- real estate offices around the city are closing. More power is moving to the Agents, consumer and to the buyer.

Consumers are buiying smaller homes, is the decades old trend towards larger and bigger boxes over?

What else? Will the stopped contstruction sites be revived, or sit partially developed- and for how long? Where is the next wave of development coming? Is it bio-tech? alternative energy? Will we see a bigger push and funds for mass transit in the next 4-8 years? All good questions… change is once again coming to Charlotte.

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Moving to Charlotte?  Your first Charlotte home?

Have a home buying or home selling questions? I am a Charlotte real estate broker specializing in relocations, 2nd homes–buying and selling real estate of all kinds- and will represent only you.  We work with Buyers and Sellers every day in Myers Park, Southpark, Matthews and Huntersville, Lake Norman, Waxhaw and Lake Wylie too. My team and I know the homes, the communities, and the new home builders. We know what’s hot, what’s not and where the deals are.  I think as you read my posts you’ll see that we understand home buyer needs, from a first time home owner to a luxury home purchaser.

If you still haven’t figured out where you might want to live in Charlotte, you may compare area Charlotte home prices and communities,  from our MLS based home search below. If you havenb’t already, try my  my fact-filled and well received Introduction to Charlotte NC Video (over 9000 You Tube views) and don’t miss the FAQ videos-answering the Big Question- Where to live in Charlote, or where to look for a luxury home in Charlotte? (in the right column just under the Introduction to Charlotte Video Screen)

If it’s between the hours of 8 AM to 8 PM, EDT, please don’ t hesitate to call me direct at 704-351-1519. Terry

Related Links

Charlotte Homes For Sale- Map & Community Based, over 20,000 properties for sale!

Townhome Charlotte, NC To Live or To Invest, 4b 3.5ba 159k in University area

Charlotte NC Homes Best Value  Under 500K

NC Lake Best Waterfront in Charlotte Under $2M

Charlotte North Carolina Real Estate- More Good Years Ahead

Charlotte, NC     The North Carolina State Police are cracking down on speeders-  The N.C. Highway Patrol has launched Operation Slow Down, a statewide crackdown on speeding. Just what I needed. Their enforcement effort will continue through the Thanksgiving weekend. It began Monday.

So slow as you go! How slow, what’s “safe?”10 Mph over? Not Sure that is “Ticket-Safe.” Through the Thanksgiving weekend, no more than 9 over FOR SURE, and even that may not be safe- we’ll have to see. Maybe 5 over is the only “safe” route.

And if you get a ticket for a moving violation outside of the Charlotte are… what do you do? Pay it? No, NO,  NO!  Hire a local attorney- you will get several letters typcially, offering to handlethis for you, for a fee ranging from 175 to $300, plus actual court costs and fine. If you have young drivers, or other tickets, this is almost always better- becasue they are Aways successful in getting it reduced or not a moving violation at all. In southwestern Virgina my son got a 17 over speeding ticket- a local attorney got it reduced to faulty equipment.

Also- if you don’t have other tickets they may get you  PFJ, no, it is not a sandwich, no points either, its name is  “Prayer for Judgment”,  a warning-probation like judgement, that if you stay ticket free (and others on your insurance policy do as well) then points won’t count against you.

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Charlotte’s Light Rail- The Lynx- Steady ridership even as fares increase and gas  prices come down

It’s been one year since Lynx opened for business, and business is good! It projected first year ridership at 9640 trips per month- a figure critics called everything from “wishful thinking” to “absurd”, that goal was pulverized along with the criticism “no one will ride the trains.” Ahem, the Lynx met its 9600 daily trip goal in 2 months, was up to 12,000 trips per day before gas spiked up, and set a record in October at 16, 470 daily trips, or over 90% of its projected traffic for 2025.

Fares increased in October from $1.30 to $1.50, and it didn’t deter ridership. One rider explained to the Observer- she would pay $100/month to park, and only $45 for a monthly pass, and she gets to read a book per week on her way to and from work.   There is now an urgency to fund two new lines, one to Moorsville and the other to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The funding request is already in to Washington, for seeing a more friendly attitude towards mass transit perhaps?

The biggest train challenge today? Just have to get there early enough to find parking. CATS is working on adding parking spaces, and already the train stations are destinations for many cross-county CATS busses, with bus ridership up 13%overall, and 37% on the Express or Rapid Bus Transit routes into the city.

The most immediate challenge is a decline in sales tax revenue casued by the slowing economy. CATS is searching for the best solutions as I write.

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Moving to Charlotte?  Your first Charlotte home?

Have a home buying or home selling questions? I am a Charlotte real estate broker specializing in relocations, 2nd homes–buying and selling real estate of all kinds- and will represent only you.  We work with Buyers and Sellers every day in Myers Park, Southpark, Matthews and Huntersville, Lake Norman, Waxhaw and Lake Wylie too. My team and I know the homes, the communities, and the new home builders. We know what’s hot, what’s not and where the deals are.  I think as you read my posts you’ll see that we understand home buyer needs, from a first time home owner to a luxury home purchaser.

If you still haven’t figured out where you might want to live in Charlotte, you may compare area Charlotte home prices and communities,  from our MLS based home search below. If you haven’t already, try my  my fact-filled and well received Introduction to Charlotte NC Video (over 9000 You Tube views) and don’t miss the FAQ videos-answering the Big Question- Where to live in Charlote, or where to look for a luxury home in Charlotte? (in the right column just under the Introduction to Charlotte Video Screen)

If it’s between the hours of 8 AM to 8 PM, EDT, please don’ t hesitate to call me direct at 704-351-1519. Terry

Related Links

Charlotte Homes For Sale- Map & Community Based, over 20,000 properties for sale!

Townhome Charlotte, NC To Live or To Invest, 4b 3.5ba 159k in University area

Charlotte NC Homes Best Value  Under 500K

NC Lake Best Waterfront in Charlotte Under $2M

Charlotte North Carolina Real Estate- More Good Years Ahead

Charlotte NC   CMS is THE major school system in the Charlotte area, and the one unified school system in Mecklenburg County. Either the first or 2nd largest in the state every year with over 120,000 students,  CMS hired Superintendent Peter Gorman two years ago, and he has made widespread progress in a variety of areas.  I argue our best schools are as good as any in the nation- indeed our top 10% of graduation seniors score higher on SATs that the top 10% in the state, and top 10% in the nation.  Still the schools system is very large and those numbers hide persistent problems in under achieving schools and Gorman has aggressively moved to put experienced leadership in these schools. Time will tell how this works, I applaud the effort of bringing a high-quality education to all of our children.  You will find more detailed information in  the  Charlotte Schools category on the left.

There are two great links for school research I recommend frequently, the state sponsored www.ncreportcards.org, for excellent detailed information about any school in the state, try their Summary,  and Great Schools, a user friendly school rating and community website.  Please note, that if you find a school, or few schools you feel comfortable with, we can create custom home searches within those school boundaries. As always, I recommend a school visit when you come to Charlotte.

Please note, that the CMS website offers detailed information about Public and magnet schools, Charter Schools can be found here. Try this link to our Education page for other Charlotte Area School information- public  and private.

a few updates…

New School Boundaries- The Charlotte Observer reports: The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board has approved a series of new boundaries, paving the way for six new schools to open next August and another new school the following year.The new schools are in the north, west and southwest parts of Mecklenburg County.

The boundary lines can be seen at the CMS Web site

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Facebook Entries lead to teacher firings and discipline. Just a thought here for teachers, students, employees, do not, repeat DO NOT, put stupid pictures and comments of you online without privacy settings to keep it to your friends. Also-if you depend on a “classified security” clearance, of any kind, DO NOT use Facebook or My Space under any circumstances. Employers ARE looking. The Observer Reports

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As a walker myself, and someone who walked to school every day of elementary school and middle school,  and father of 4 (newly) adult active children, this is a Good Local Government at its best. Its not by the schools, but “for the schools”, more specifically for the kids… thank you Mary Newsom for highlighting this effort in this post which I borrow from…

Healthy kids = walking kids

The Mecklenberg County Health Department created a job for a “safe routes to schools coordinator.” The idea is that helping and encouraging more kids to walk to school can fight the growing problem of childhood obesity.

Yeah! Coordinator  Dick Winters is working with Cotswold, Highland Creek and Beverly Woods elementary schools — and getting advice from Davidson, where a huge effort to get kids walking to school is having growing success — to help them find parent volunteers and organize periodic “Walk To School Day” events. International Walk to School day was Oct. 8. Obviously, he hopes to expand to other schools.

We all know the physical health consequences of obesity; but there may not be anything more damaging to a child’s self image in our culture today than obesity.

Keep them active, keep them walking,

health bodys = first step towards healthy minds

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Moving to Charlotte?  Your first Charlotte home?

Have a home buying or home selling questions? I am a Charlotte real estate broker specializing in relocations, 2nd homes–buying and selling real estate of all kinds- and will represent only you.  We work with Buyers and Sellers every day in Myers Park, Southpark, Matthews and Huntersville, Lake Norman, Waxhaw and Lake Wylie too. My team and I know the homes, the communities, and the new home builders. We know what’s hot, what’s not and where the deals are.  I think as you read my posts you’ll see that we understand home buyer needs, from a first time home owner to a luxury home purchaser.

If you still haven’t figured out where you might want to live in Charlotte, you may compare area Charlotte home prices and communities,  from our MLS based home search below. If you haven’t already, try my  my fact-filled and well received Introduction to Charlotte NC Video (over 9000 You Tube views) and don’t miss the FAQ videos-answering the Big Question- Where to live in Charlote, or where to look for a luxury home in Charlotte? (in the right column just under the Introduction to Charlotte Video Screen)

If it’s between the hours of 8 AM to 8 PM, EDT, please don’ t hesitate to call me direct at 704-351-1519. Terry

Related Links

Charlotte Homes For Sale- Map & Community Based, over 20,000 properties for sale!

Townhome Charlotte, NC To Live or To Invest, 4b 3.5ba 159k in University area

Charlotte NC Homes Best Value  Under 500K

NC Lake Best Waterfront in Charlotte Under $2M

Charlotte North Carolina Real Estate- More Good Years Ahead

Lake Wylie, NC   Details are what set homes apart- and in custom luxury homes at this level, the details should be impressive… and they are. Check out the details in the pictures below at 3524 Ashwood Park in Belmont, the gated community is Reflection Pointe, in an up and coming area west of Charlotte, the most convenient waterfront to Charlotte’s Douglas International Airport.

Some of the details include: a large family home on the water, facing southwest with fantastic water views and access from over 100 of shoreline, great water views from all bedrooms, 12′ ceilings on the first floor, master on the main, a chef’s kitchen, covered boat storage, downstairs guest suite with full kitchen, extraordinary light fixtures, travertine upstairs and downstairs, exercise/theater room, huge storage area, dock, lift and covered boat area made with synthetic decking,  large 2nd story bonus room and a view from just about every room.

The size, included items, waterfront location in a gated community should add up to a total in the mid $2M’s.   Have a look for yourself, and you be the judge.

   

This is a one of a kind home less than 30 minutes to the Charlotte Airport… easy in and easy out. Quality custom building costs $200/sf plus land in Charlotte. Developed waterfront lots like this one typically sell at 5-600K at Lake Wylie. It is ready in December.

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Moving to Charlotte?  Your first Charlotte home?

Have a home buying or home selling questions? I am a Charlotte real estate broker specializing in relocations, 2nd homes–buying and selling real estate of all kinds- and will represent only you.  We work with Buyers and Sellers every day in Myers Park, Southpark, Matthews and Huntersville, Lake Norman, Waxhaw and Lake Wylie too. My team and I know the homes, the communities, and the new home builders. We know what’s hot, what’s not and where the deals are.  I think as you read my posts you’ll see that we understand home buyer needs, from a first time home owner to a luxury home purchaser.

If you still haven’t figured out where you might want to live in Charlotte, you may compare area Charlotte home prices and communities,  from our MLS based home search below. If you haven’t already, try my  my fact-filled and well received Introduction to Charlotte NC Video (over 9000 You Tube views) and don’t miss the FAQ videos-answering the Big Question- Where to live in Charlote, or where to look for a luxury home in Charlotte? (in the right column just under the Introduction to Charlotte Video Screen)

If it’s between the hours of 8 AM to 8 PM, EDT, please don’ t hesitate to call me direct at 704-351-1519. Terry

Related Links (check the categories on left for more)

Charlotte Homes For Sale- Map & Community Based, over 20,000 properties for sale!

Charlotte NC Homes Best Value  Under 500K

New Luxury Homes Over $1M- The Sanctuary Leads after 3 quarters

Charlotte North Carolina Real Estate- More Good Years Ahead

Charlotte NC    The last few national recessions Charlotte business didn’t participate… and just from the last few weeks …

1) Indian Motor Cycle is reborn, with its first Bikes being delivered in December.

2) Greenheck adds 102 manufacturing jobs in Kings Mountain

3) UNCC breaks ground on its downtown campus, housing its MBA program, Urban Design Studio and a handful of other programs

4) Florida Developer JDR Communities of Jacksonville, is building a 320 unit gated apartment project in Southwest Charlotte, in the Steel Creeke area. Why Charlotte? Its economy and growing population.

5) Both Novant and CMC have aquired land for expansion and are pondering their Uptown possibilities

6) An auto supplier- thats right auto supplier/light manufacturer Pfaff is expanding their facilities out near the Airport.
7) ESPN has landed the ($2B +) 15 year SEC contract and will manage it out of its Ballantyne offices– once they begin to ramp up in 2009, they will be a major employer in Ballantyne
The airport expansion is also going a full speed.

9) Ikea is coming out of the ground in the University area- a spring opening is planned.

A few links from our excellent Chamber of Commerce will help you investigate Charlotte further:

Charlotte Recent Relocations and Expansions

Charlotte Demographics and Economic Profile

Foreign Firms in Charlotte

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Moving to Charlotte?  Your first Charlotte home?

Have a home buying or home selling questions? I am a Charlotte real estate broker specializing in relocations, 2nd homes–buying and selling real estate of all kinds- and will represent only you.  We work with Buyers and Sellers every day in Myers Park, Southpark, Matthews and Huntersville, Lake Norman, Waxhaw and Lake Wylie too. My team and I know the homes, the communities, and the new home builders. We know what’s hot, what’s not and where the deals are.  I think as you read my posts you’ll see that we understand home buyer needs, from a first time home owner to a luxury home purchaser.

If you still haven’t figured out where you might want to live in Charlotte, you may compare area Charlotte home prices and communities,  from our MLS based home search below. If you haven’t already, try my  my fact-filled and well received Introduction to Charlotte NC Video (over 9000 You Tube views) and don’t miss the FAQ videos-answering the Big Question- Where to live in Charlote, or where to look for a luxury home in Charlotte? (in the right column just under the Introduction to Charlotte Video Screen)

If it’s between the hours of 8 AM to 8 PM, EDT, please don’ t hesitate to call me direct at 704-351-1519. Terry

Related Links (check the categories on left for more)

Charlotte Homes For Sale- Map & Community Based, over 20,000 properties for sale!

Charlotte NC Homes Best Value  Under 500K

New Luxury Homes Over $1M- The Sanctuary Leads after 3 quarters

Charlotte North Carolina Real Estate- More Good Years Ahead

You’ll feel Like Celebrating!

Why? In the downturn as we approach the end of the year, Charlotte New Home Builders are paying us more, and we are passing on those increases to our Buyers.

Here’s how it works. A typical builder in more normal times paid us a 2.5% Buyer Agent Commission- adequate to be sure. Now almost all builders are paying 3%, many 4% and 5%, and some are paying 3% plus a cash bonus. Since November of 2007, we have rebated the bonus portion, now we are adding that portion above our 2.5%. As Buyer Agents, we represent the interests of the buyer and can not reconcile a larger commission-because times are slow at the subdivision. Let’s look at some examples:

A $300,000 home with a 3% commission, and $2000 bonus. Your Buyer Rebate? 1/2% of $300K, plus 2000 = $3500.

A $400,000 home with a 4% Commission equals a 1.5% Rebate to the Buyer or $6000. A 5% Commission? $10,000 Rebate. The larger the home the bigger the numbers.

Now lets look at some actual new Home Inventory from 2 builders, one regional and one national that is already selling at a discount, often below Replacement Cost- home prices are from $76/sf, and all are under $120/sf, and also pay the Buyer Rebate through TMRE.

Now these offers change all the time, so this is not an offer… you’ll want to confirm any offer with your TMRE Buyer Agent prior to purchase– but the deals are real, and could help with all those expenses after you move in. Unfortunately you may Not use these rebates to help with closing or other settlement charges, NC law prohibits that, and all Rebates Must appear on the HUD 1 at closing.

Each week, I’ll post what we get from local and national builders, passing every deal on to our Buyers. Are you looking at new homes this weekend? If yes, you’ll want to give me a call, and we’ll get you an Agent. If you are already out looking, they’ll ask if you have a Buyer Agent, or representation, and you simply say “Yes, the McDonald Team.” There is always a 1/2% Rebate, and often more on Inventory Homes in Charlotte!

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It is a strong buyers market here in the greater Charlotte area, Lake Wylie, Lake Norman, the whole area for new homes and re-sales.

Moving to Charlotte?

Have Questions? I am a Charlotte broker specializing in relocations, 2nd homes–buying and selling real estate of all kinds- and will represent only you. We work with Buyers and Sellers every day. You can quickly compare area prices with the map-based Charlotte home search below. Another good place to start is my fact-filled and well received Introduction to Charlotte Video (nearly 8000 You Tube views, 22 reviews) and don’t miss the FAQ videos in the right column (just under the Introduction to Charlotte Video Screen)

If it’s between the hours of 8 AM to 8 PM, EDT, please don’ t hesitate to call me direct at 704-351-1519. Terry

Related Links

Charlotte Real Estate Home Search- Map & Community Based

Where to Look for Luxury Homes in Charlotte- Video

Hows the Charlotte Market?- Video

Charlotte Real Estate- More Good Years Ahead

Charlotte NC This is the most comprehensive report I’ve written on Charlotte appreciation and depreciation. I start with the Charlotte area wide residential SOLDs and compare them to 14 zip codes and 2 general areas mostly to the south of Charlotte and to the North, including more distant locations like the West Lake Norman area and Rock Hill. You will see- averages do not tell the whole story! Not even half…

Like all statistics, there are lots of “lies” in averages, (you remember the joke, there are “lies, damned lies and Statistics?) so the details by Charlotte area zip code- in our case 13 North Carolina zip codes, one South Carolina zip code, and 2 general areas, prove our point. Within our market area there are clear winners and losers, and a few areas that have come through unscathed. Once again, it proves the that median home price increase and decreases tell you almost nothing, as I compare the MLS reported Median to the actual median cost per square foot sold- a measure that adjusts for changing home sizes. I used 2 general area searches where zip codes didn’t reflect the market I was most interested in. These stats don’t include Condos, a subject for another post.

Because I wasn’t able to do the entire area, there are many areas of Charlotte that are missing- if you are considering a purchase in any of these areas not shown, call me, and I’ll do the research for your specific area. Terry

A Few Conclusions…

Charlotte Home Sales

Charlotte Solds in 2008 are off area-wide 40% of 2006 numbers, 32% off 2007, reflecting the slow down that hit the nation in 2006 didn’t really arrive hear until last year, with only a few Zip exceptions. Fully 1/3 fell over 50%, with one zip code- Dilworth, falling nearly 60% in number of home sales. (Despite this decrease home prices rose in Dilworth for the 3 year period!)

The least drop in home sales came in two zip codes, Rock Hill SC and its North Carolina neighbor 28278 in southwest Charlotte, falling 19 and 24% respectively.

Charlotte Home Prices

They are literally and figuratively all over the map, with the highest 3 year appreciation of over + 17% in a zip code (28226) to a -18% over 3 years in zip code 28278. The average Sold Cost Per Square Foot city-wide was -1.81– see averages DO hide a lot! Also, check out hte differences between the Median Price (the number the MLS reports) and the Sold CPSF, and look at the wide variance. For example Union County, the MLS would report that the Median home prices went up 10% over 3 years- but the actual Sold CPSF went down marginally. Another great one was Dilworth where Median prices are up 44%, Sold CPSF? Just a 2 % rise, why so vast a difference? This reflects the dominance of sellers of smaller pre-renovation homes in 2006, and todays preponderances of sales of larger renovated homes–but the average Sold CPSF only rose 2.05%

Days-On-Market- the least reliable MLS stat still shows that with one or two exception, homes are taking between 50% and 100% longer to sell in 2008 than in 2006. Days On market- click to see why DOM is the least Reliable Stat?

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It is a strong buyers market here in the greater Charlotte area, Lake Wylie, Lake Norman, the whole area for new homes and re-sales.

Moving to Charlotte?

Have Questions? I am a Charlotte broker specializing in relocations, 2nd homes–buying and selling real estate of all kinds- and will represent only you. We work with Buyers and Sellers every day. You can quickly compare area prices with the map-based Charlotte home search below. Another good place to start is my fact-filled and well received Introduction to Charlotte Video (nearly 8000 You Tube views, 22 reviews) and don’t miss the FAQ videos in the right column (just under the Introduction to Charlotte Video Screen)

If it’s between the hours of 8 AM to 8 PM, EDT, please don’ t hesitate to call me direct at 704-351-1519. Terry

Related Links

Where to Look for Luxury Homes in Charlotte- Video

Hows the Charlotte Market- Video

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Charlotte Homes For Sale      About Charlotte NC     Charlotte Luxury Homes For Sale 

Charlotte Buyer Agents work only for you. 704-351-1519