Charlotte Real Estate Market Report 2008 A Look Forward to 2009
January 23rd, 2009 Categories: Buy A Charlotte Home, Charlotte Homes for Sale, FAQs About Charlotte
We have a new President but the US economic news is, not surprisingly, still grim. The nation’s housing is in its 2nd year of pain, falling prices, increasing foreclosures, sub-prime and the Alt A fiasco still unwinding- and more recently, disturbing increase of unemployed workers. The new President and Congress are likely to pass a massive economic stimulus- historic in size, up to 1 Trillion Dollars designed to put Americans back to work.  These are momentous times in the US, what does this mean for Charlotte, NC? What does it mean
 to home buyers and sellers in Charlotte NC?Â
Last night cruising through some cable channels I came across the entertaining Jim (Bet the house on Wachovia) Cramer on the Chris Matthews show, and he breathlessly told Matthews that nationally home prices “had to fall another 20%.” Well No Jim- perhaps in 4 states prices need to fall by another 20%,
but in 66% of the 381 major US Markets, prices have a “Low” or “Minimal” chance of falling prices in the next 2 years, according to the just released US Market Index by PMI.
Trying to simplify the story into sound bites, Jim, like almost all the other national news outlets are screwing up the housing story. Why? Because there is no one “housing market” there are hundreds of markets in the US. PMI measures 381 MSA’s each quarter. First a look back at 2008, then I’ll jump in to the PMI Market Risk Report by PMI, the company who puts their money where their mouth is.
Charlotte Real Estate Market Report 2008
In the 15 County area covered by the Carolina Multiple Listing Service (CMLS) there were:
| Currently 14 Comments » |
Charlotte Schools- Notes and Updates 11/17/08
November 18th, 2008 Categories: Charlotte Schools and Education, FAQs About Charlotte
Charlote-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS)- The Basics, Links, Updates and More
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
—–
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
—–
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
———————————-
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
| Currently No Comments » |
The Big Question About Charlotte Real Estate: Where Would You Want To Live?
September 28th, 2008 Categories: Buy A Charlotte Home, FAQs About Charlotte
The First BIG Question Once You’ve Decided You Are Moving To Charlotte
Charlotte NC| a New Video FAQ by Terry McDonald
“What are the nice areas?†usually related to the very Big Question, “Where should we live?â€
I created this video for those who prefer to hear the answer… for the folks who like to read, the text is begins here and continues below.
The first thing to notice is that this is by definition completely subjective– whats nice to one person may not be “nice†to the next. So what is it you are looking for? continued below
Also- if you are coming to Charlotte for a job, where is your job located? In almost every case, if you are working north of Charlotte, for exampe in Huntersville or Mooresville, there really isn’t any reason to spend much time on South Charlotte– and vice versa, if your work is in south Charlotte- say Southpark or Ballantyne, there wouldn’t be a lot of reason to look north of town—there are good choices in both- with lone possible exception might be if you told me you had a big boat and wanted to live on Lake Norman.
If you work Uptown, or work from home, you can live just about anywhere.
What is most important? If its a short commute to Uptown, then perhaps its convenient in town living? The more affluent will prefer Myers Park, Eastover, Dilworth, Southpark… for more affordable options, others may like Belmont, Mt Island Lake, close in Huntersville, or the University area..
If its schools, I would recommend you do some school research- my site offers a good place to start, for both public, private and parochial, then we’ll search for homes in those school districts. School districting is somewhat complex, and varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but suffice to say,
all jurisdictions have good schools, average schools and below average schools, so good research is the right answer. I’d recommend you beware of anyone saying “XYZ†schools are “bad†or “great  the answer is typically much more complex than that.
The best place to check on public school performance? www.ncereportcards.org, a state funded site that pulls all the information- including size, class size detailed test results and more. Almost too much, I prefer the 2 page summary at the top of each in pdf form. Of course if schools are most important, that just gets you started. You’ll want to walk in and visit- public schools have “open door” policies, you can go at any time, but if you want to speak to a Principal or AP, it is best to make an appointment.
Are you looking for a home in a community with amenities? Good news, you’ll find these throughout the area,
generally more on the outter “rings†of Charlotte, but not always, as pools have been popular in the larger communities for a long time. Communities like Brookhaven, (on right) the Palisades, and Skyebrooke have great amenities– as do many others, and then there is the long list of country clubs as well.
If you are totally new to the area, I highly recommend communities with amenities, as these community gathering spots are wonderful to meet other people who most likely are like you– new to Charlotte. If you find a home in a community that doesn’t have the pool, check to see how close it is to the nearest YMCA’s- (these are NOT your northern YMCA!) which all have great outdoor pools with waterslides and are community centers in their own right.
The good news is there are many good community and neighborhood choices in Charlotte, and to help you find the right one for your family you can explore my website, research schools, watch my video, or the fastest way is to just give me a call, and I’ll try to help get you started… so you can begin to narrow down your home search.
I look forward to talking to you about the best real estate market in the US and I hope to see you in Charlotte.
—————————————–
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
Charlotte Photo Gallery- more than 2500 pictures, 45 galleries of different Charlotte neighborhoods
Where to Look for Luxury Homes in Charlotte- Video
Amazing Ryland Homes At The Palisades for Under $400k
| Currently No Comments » |
Charlotte Real Estate FAQ’s|Hows the Charlotte Real Estate Market? New video…
September 22nd, 2008 Categories: FAQs About Charlotte
I’m often asked “How’s the market in Charlotte?” It’s truly a Frequently Asked Question
Charlotte NC| and I’ve been working on a series of FAQ videos, and the first is below- the answer? Its a strong Buyers market in Charlotte… the text continues below the video, but give the video a look, and let me know what you think
Every day I am asked, “How is the real estate market in Charlotte? My answer hasn’t changed much in the last 18 months… It is a Buyers market, prices are stable, and our strong local economy keeps creating jobs, so demand remains relatively high. In 2007 as the national housing market reached crisis stage, and the financial sub-prime mess became a crisis, Charlotte real estate carried on, ignoring the national markets.
According to Standard and Poors’s Case Shiller report of the top 20 housing markets in the US, Charlotte home prices rose all 4 quarters of 2007, and in those 20 major markets, led the nation in appreciation for the year. And that has continued through the summer of 2008- though prices rose the first quarter, they’ve fallen ever so slightly the last few months– as in .2% over 2007, barely measurable.
Prices tell one story, sale
s another- Sales in 2008 are way off 2007- we are much slower, about 30 % slower thru the first 6 months of 2008. New Home Sales are worse, approaching 50% off last summer. The sales slow down began in the 3rd quarter of last year… it is a testament to the strength of the Charlotte market fundamentals that even after nearly 10 months of dramatically slower sales, prices have only given back a minute amount of the gain.
Once people hear this, their next question is Why, why haven’t prices fallen and whats to keep them from falling in the future? Excellent Question, I think there are 3 answers. To these questions…
First is that Charlotte remains very affordable– by that I mean, by any index, the average home price is affordable by a large Percentage of the population—if you’ve lived in almost any major city you’ve probably already noticed, but for those of you who like numbers… PMI the large private mortgage insurer rates cities on a 100 points scale, considering anything above 100 affordable. Charlotte’s 114 scale is the most affordable in the south- another firm. Radar Logic, a Wall Street darling, Calls Charlotte theâ€only objectively affordable city†in the major markets.
Another reason prices haven’t and won’t fall quickly is because home prices here never ran up exorbitantly in the first place. We’ve had steady appreciation in averaging 3-4% annually, so with no “hyper†balloon like appreciation, there is no balloon to pop.
Last, and most important is that our strong local economy is creating jobs at a much greater pace than the national economy– well paying jobs that stimulate increasing housing demand. In 2007, the three cities that appreciated in value- Charlotte, Portland And Seattle, all had strong local economies creating well paying jobs, much faster than the national average. .
That’s it in a nutshell- it’s a strong buyers market here, you’ll find a good selection of homes, prices are stable- and the economy creating jobs makes me believe that Charlotte has a bright future.
—————————————————————–
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
Charlotte Photo Gallery- more than 2500 pictures, 45 galleries of different Charlotte neighborhoods
Where to Look for Luxury Homes in Charlotte- Video
Amazing Ryland Homes At The Palisades for Under $400k
| Currently 1 Comment » |
Property Taxes in Charlotte NC| FAQs- Frequently Asked Questions on Charlotte Real Estate
September 13th, 2008 Categories: FAQs About Charlotte
Figuring Real Estate Taxes in Charlotte- not as easy as you might think…
Charlotte NCÂ In NC, you need to know your Tax Location, and two numbers, the Tax Rate and the Tax Value. The Tax Location is printed on your MLS sheet…no MLS sheet? You’ll have to find out for yourself- don’t worry I’ll explain later!
The Tax Value (TV) is printed on the listings. It is usually some percentage of the Listing or asking price. Tax Value should always be Lower than Asking price, if it isn’t, the property is distressed.
Once you have the Tax Value, you multiply by the Tax Rate, this is set by our local governments, Mecklenburg County and the city of Charlotte, and that is 1.29 per hundred of Assessed Value.
So, if the Asking price was $300,000, (3-4000 sf home) and the Tax Value (TV) was $200,000, and the Tax Location (also on the listing)was the City of Charlotte, then 1.29 x 2000= $2,580. There is no additional school tax, no Homestead exemption (except for those over 65 on limited incomes or disabled), this is your total real estate tax.
How To Figure Charlotte NC Property Taxes
Lets look at these numbers in detail.
Tax Value – This once was a “drive by” assesment by the taxing authority, now it is done by computer programs called CAMA (Computer Assisted Mass Appraisals) , and Mecklenburg County is finishing a reassesment begun in 2003. Reassessment happens every 5-8 years, so this value is typically a look backward at the homes value. That is why the List Price should always be More than the Tax value, assuming there is Appreciation and Not depreciation in a given neighborhood, make sense?
Tax Rates-
So, now that we’ve done the easy part (ha!) , keeping up with the more than 75 rates in the area is more complicated. Here are a few for Mecklenburg County– I’ll research others in the coming weeks.
These are the Tax Locations-County + City (if any)
you have the county, and then if you are in the Incorporated City, also City taxes. Many of the surrounding counties are quite a bit less than Mecklenburg, more on that in a future post. Rates below include county and city taxes, there are no “school taxes” and water and sewer is extra.
Un-incorporated Mecklenburg County $1.0175/hundred
City of Charlotte 1.2973
Cornelius 1.1137
Davidson 1.2037
Huntersville 1.1287
Matthews 1.1712
Mint Hill 1.1137
Pineville 1.1587
So, to sum up, you take a property’s TV and divide by 100, then multiply by the tax rate, and there you have it. A property with a TV of $100,000, in the City of Charlotte, pays taxes of 1,297 per year….likewise a property with a TV of $1Million, in the City of Charlotte, pays, $12, 973 taxes per year.
I hope this has helped, for the most complete discussion of rates, evaluations, appeals and the entire system, check this link from April 2008 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Need more details? Other Questions? Please don’t hesitate to give me a call at 704-351-1519.
———————————————-
Moving To Charlotte? Considering your first Charlotte Home?
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. We work with Buyers and Sellers every day. You can quickly compare area prices with the links below, or just give me, Terry, a call at 704-351-1519. I am a Charlotte broker specializing in relocations, 2nd homes–buying and selling real estate of all kinds- and will represent only you.
Related Links
Charlotte Home Search -Map & Community Based
Ryland Homes At The Palisades for Under $400k
Moving To Charlotte? Like a Good Introduction to the Area?
More FAQ’s About Charlotte Real Estate- How long to Close a home?
| Currently 1 Comment » |
Charlotte NC| How Long Does it Take To Close on a Home In Charlotte? RE FAQ’s
September 3rd, 2008 Categories: FAQs About Charlotte
Once the contract is negotiated, how long does it take to close on the home? How long until move in day?
30-45 day is most common, but why 30 days?
This is the amount of time it takes for the 1)lender to process a typical loan application (VA and FHA can be longer) for the Buyer 2) the time it takes to get through the buyer inspection and repair process and 3) if the home is a resale, the time needed for the sellers to move out, clean and get the home ready for the buyers.
It is important to note that the time to close is set at the offer stage, usually by the buyer but is a negotiable item. I know New Yorkers are used to 90 day closings, and a much more complicated process. It is a comparatively streamlined, and much less expensive to close on a home here. Lets look at these factors one at a time.
| Currently No Comments » |
Inflation Better than Expected- Rates Expected to Rise
May 14th, 2008 Categories: FAQs About Charlotte
Lock that Rate Today?
from RateLink, via Myers Park Mortgage
“Mortgage bond prices have taken a large hit and that is applying upward pressure on mortgage interest rates. Mortgage rates are moving upward as stocks move higher in value.
In the news this morning, consumer prices rose 0.2% while the core rate, which excludes the volatile food and energy costs rose 0.1%. Analysts were expecting CPI to rise 0.3% and 0.2% respectively. The lower than expected inflation data has traders hopeful overall price pressures will decline. Inflation is the erosion of the value of money received in the future (like interest payments on bonds) therefore when inflation is present investors demand a higher yield.”
Time to Lock That Rate? Sure looks that way.  tm
| Currently 2 Comments » |
