South Charlotte Living

UPDATE 2/8/2010: Apparently I have severely offended someone by reblogging this fantastic article. It seems as thought the original author, Claude Cross, allowed Magnolia Tree to purchase some of this content. Since I did not see any reference telling the reader that this gentleman was the author and I only found the information on the Magnolia Tree, I gave proper recognition to Magnolia Tree as anyone else would. This morning, I received several threatening notes from Mr. Cross stating that he was the rightful owner and I was plagiarizing because I did not give him the credit. Well Mr. Cross. Since most of this content is yours I humbly apologize for being ignorant about it as there is no where else on the internet with your name attached to this information at the time of the post. I still think its fantastic information and I have received e-mails from readers stating as such.  Enjoy the article!

As I was browsing through the internet during my lunch break I came across this thread by Magnolia Tree… Now they are mostly a Home and Gardening Blog, but I was happy to have found that they wrote about my neck of the woods. I love living in South Charlotte mainly because of the lifestyle and the people. The traffic can be hectic on occasion, but you’ll find that anywhere if you stay put long enough.  I’ve been in every one of the communities they mention and know them all pretty well. I wrote about some of the communities mentioned in the past. Enjoy!

If location is king in real estate, then Waxhaw (in Union County) uses its prime location to its supreme advantage. The town runs right up to the edge of Mecklenburg County. This area is a big draw for people venturing out of the South Charlotte real estate market. Folks like to live here for three very good reasons; it’s location, excellent schools, and low, low taxes (just shy of half that which you would pay in Charlotte)! Here, you are more apt to find homes with 6,000 square feet, than to find homes with 2500 square feet. Most of the homes are relatively new, as are the schools. The area really expanded its growth upon the heels of South Charlotte and the Ballantyne Development. Once horse country, a drive down any of its old country roads would take you past some beautiful rolling pasture land, with barns as the backdrop for the horses that grazed there. A few farms are left, but most have succumbed to developers. Home to many estates.

 Here you’ll find one very large development, with three sections: Providence Downs, Providence Downs South and The Residences of Providence Downs South. Each street within the development is named after a Derby winner or a horse of note. Home prices range from $500, 000 to $3.5 Million (July 2009). The school set up is Marvin Elementary, Middle and High School. The community offers a clubhouse, pool, tennis and basketball courts, soccer fields, a putting green, fitness center, and walking trails. Many of these homes have their own pool…and a little of everything else! Very grand, indeed.

Another development close to the South Charlotte border is Toll Brothers’ Marvin Creek. Marvin Creek’s idea of a pool area, will leave you scratching your head. It is every child’s dream pool! Noted for its incredible amenities, Marvin Creek’s residents enjoy a 6,500 square foot clubhouse with a beach pool, lazy river, geyser park, tennis and multipurpose courts. The entrance to the community is equally impressive with a spray of fountains and guardhouse. Homes in this neighborhood typically range in price from $600,000-$900,000; with 4,000-6,000 heated square feet-give or take a few!

 

The Club at Longview is also tucked in right across the border. Rated #11 in NC by Golf Digest, this gated community opened in 2003. A Jack Nichlaus Signature course, sporting a 28,000 square foot clubhouse with multiple lounges, dining areas and terraces. Stunning. The 10,000 square foot activity center’s lower level is complete with massage and steam rooms, state of the art work out equipment, and fitness classes. If you need a place for the kids, there is a Youth Lodge upstairs. The pool facilities offer both adult and family resort-style pools, with a wading area and a hot tub. There are also four Har-Tu tennis courts. This is just one of a very few gated communities in the Charlotte real estate market. Prices range from $900,000 to $3.5 million.

The draw for all of these neighborhoods, is the convenient location to South Charlotte. Within a five mile range, you can be at one of many fine establishments. Every type of restaurant, boutique, national, local and chain store imaginable…all set amongst fountains, and nightly music, theatres, plenty of plenty! It is also very easy on the eye. Each shopping area has been beautifully developed with the use of pedestrian friendly venues. Going from shop to shop is no hardship here. The use of landscaping has softened the retail shops and the roadways. It’s all very, very nice.

 Some of our MOST popular neighborhoods on this ‘just over the border’ area of South Charlotte, would be the communities of Hunter Oaks and Somerset. They were the hottest neighborhoods going, when the roads opened up into Union County. They have continued to be top sellers in the Charlotte real estate market today. Both offer wonderful swim clubs, tennis courts and playgrounds. Buffed up by huge Oak and Magnolia trees, sidewalks a plenty and street lamps. The price ranges in here from $300,000 to $500, 000. The square footage range is between 2200 and 4500. The schools are yet another draw, with Rea View Elementary, Marvin Ridge Middle and High School. So, there you have it! If you are shopping for Charlotte NC real estate, don’t overlook it’s bordering counties!

Thank you again to Magnolia Tree Gardening (Claude Cross) for posting this information. As a resident of South Charlotte, I couldn’t agree with you more!

5 Months Positive Pending Home Sales

The National Association of Realtors released today the statistics for Pending Home Sales over the US.

I’m very pleased to say that over the past 5 months there have been gains! This has not happened since July 2003… Way before my time as a Realtor so this is pretty exciting news to me.

Now… contracts are being signed, but can the banks handle the workload to process them? This is MY biggest concern.  I believe Abagail Jennings, Relator and president of Lake Norman Realty, Inc., who sits on the board of directors of Blueharbor Bank has the right idea to get things moving again so our SALES index shows gains like the PENDING index does. Her position brought her in contact with the NC Commissioner of Banks, Joe Smith. She explained the length of time it’s taking banks to respond to offers on Short Sales, and he asked her to do soemthing about it.

So… She has come up with 3 points she wants passed in Legislation.

1. Require Banks to respond to offers within a specified timeline
2. Mandate automatic acceptance of offers within a certain percentage of the loan
3. Provide an incentive for banks to keep loans out of foreclosure

So in the meantime while all this is going on there is an on line complaint form for Buyers and Sellers who are frustrated when a bank doesn’t respond in a timely manor. After the complaint is filed on the NCCOB web site, and the complaint type “foreclosure” is selected, the banks have to reply in 7 days.

Read the whole story here.

Local Sellers Taking Less For Their Homes

 Posted:07/07/2009 6:55 AM (By Andrew Dunn, andrewdunn@charlotteobserver.com)

Amy Spurlock listed her Cornelius home for $220,000, what seemed to be the going rate in her neighborhood six months ago. Then the foreclosures started.

“Houses around here started getting foreclosed,” she said. “That lowers everybody.” She soon dropped her price about 14 percent – to $189,000.

As the Charlotte-area housing market continues to struggle, sellers increasingly have to drop their prices to make a sale. Last May, the average difference between the listing price and the selling price was about 6 percent. This May, it was about 11 percent.

Beginning last September, when the economy began its nose-dive, the numbers imply that sellers have started to shave asking prices in order to make a sale.

“That’s part of people coming to the reality of how much their house is really worth,” said real estate broker Jeff King, who works mostly in NoDa and Midwood in central Charlotte. “People are  used to the value going up every year. They’re having a hard time adjusting to the fact that it might be worth less this year.”

He said that while there’s always been some disconnect between what sellers thought their homes were worth and what buyers were willing to pay, the downturn has exacerbated it.

Area sales prices dropped 10 percent in April compared with April 2008, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index released last week. It marks the Charlotte region’s worst month for home sales prices since the downturn began, but the drop is still less severe than many of the 20 markets measured by the index.

For the first part of 2008, homeowners were still able to put homes on the market and sell them for close to the asking price. It wasn’t until September that the bottom dropped out, UNC Chapel Hill professor Roberto Quercia said. “Early last year was a different mindset,” he said. “People knew the market was softening up, but they didn’t know there was a crisis.”

In September, big economic news began putting people on edge. It put uncertainty over major banks, including Charlotte-based Bank of America and Wachovia, two of Charlotte’s largest employers.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were seized by the government, Bank of America snapped up Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection, AIG got an emergency loan and Wachovia was acquired by Wells Fargo.

Now, as Charlotte continues to struggle with layoffs and pay cuts, home sellers are becoming less optimistic.

Sellers of more expensive homes are coming off their asking prices as they find the market nearly saturated.

The number of homes selling for at least $1 million could satisfy demand for 10 years, said broker Lars Hedenborg. There are about 1,200 on the market, he said; it’s a good month if six or eight are sold.

“A lot of people hold onto the fact that Charlotte was a strong market two years ago,” Hedenborg said. “Charlotte was doing (better) than most of the country. It takes time to turn.”

Jim Sudderth’s Dilworth home has been on the market for a year. Originally listed at $2.1 million, it’s dropped about 5 percent, to $2 million. “It’s horrible,” he said. “There aren’t buyers.”

Some may decide to ride out the market. Spurlock, in Cornelius, said she won’t go any lower: “I’m not going to give the house away.”