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A Lake Norman Sunrise

Lake Norman Real Estate ~ Diane Aurit: Real Estate Agent in Mooresville, NC

Lake Norman Sunrise in the fall 2009

The weather has been perfect ever since the heavy rain and winds left our Lake Norman area late last week. This morning I looked out to see a beautiful sunrise so I decided to grab my camera and try to capture it for my blog readers.

Like many Lake Norman sunrises, the water was absolutely still creating a visual mirror image of everything in view. There was a mystical layer of fog hovering just above the surface. It was hard to believe that some miles away it was a typical Monday morning with the I-77 filling up with commuters. This is why so many of us love living on Lake Norman.

Lake Norman Sunrise

We write a lot about the gorgeous sunsets here on Lake Norman, and for good reason, they can be spectacular. I have a wonderful waterfront listing that faces due West. This is what my sellers get to enjoy every evening:

Lake Norman Sunset from 431 Big Indian Loop's shoreline

But, don't ever underestimate the beauty of a sunrise when considering a waterfront home. Whether a sunset or a sunrise, the beauty that surrounds life in Lake Norman never ceases to amaze those of us who are lucky enough to live here!

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Lake Norman Real Estate: What do recent sales in The Point tell us?

Lake Norman Real Estate ~ Diane Aurit: Real Estate Agent in Mooresville, NC

Waterfront Home at The Point on Lake Norman

The Point in Mooresville NC is arguably the most prestigious luxury community in all of Lake Norman and it is also the largest with 18 miles of beautiful Lake Norman's shoreline. So, when I see interesting changes in housing numbers in The Point I try to put them in context to see if they are in fact an indicator of a significant shift or trend.

Back on September 18, 2008 I wrote: The Point in Lake Norman: A Case Study #2. In this report I noted that we had 123 active listings which translated at the time to a whopping 41-month supply of inventory! Then, in: Lake Norman Real Estate: Affordable Housing at The Point...Wow! on July 25, 2009 I noted that we had 114 active listings and had sold on 19 homes since the beginning of the year or a 38-month supply of active listings.

Today, the number of active listings in The Point has dropped to 82 or 33% below a year ago September. In today's buyers' market this number alone is good news. But, it gets even more interesting when you look at the recent sales numbers. In this past October we had 9 closed sales in The Point which is a significant jump from any month for several years. This makes for a total of 36 sales year-to-date in 2009 in The Point. But, as of July 25, 2009 we only had 19 sales so we have almost doubled our sales for the year in The Point in the past 4 months. At 36 sales we have already surpassed the 2008 sales total for the year of 33. And, we have 7 pending sales and 5 conditional sales that will most likely close by the end of 2009 for a potential total annual sales of 48 almost half of which will have been in this winter 4th quarter. If we average 5 sales per month we would have dropped to about a 16-month supply of active listings. While still high, this number is less than half of the 41 months we had in September of 2008.

What does such a strong fourth quarter mean?

While it is still clearly a buyer's market in The Point, I think these numbers are significant enough to indicate a positive trend. Inventory is dropping and sales are increasing. While half of the inventory and sales are homes priced under $1million, there are FOUR homes priced well over $1million currently under contract and poised to close. It would seem that some of our luxury home buyers are jumping off of the fence, enticed by some great price reductions and perhaps a sense that now is a good time to buy.

One example of an incredible bargain is a waterfront lot foreclosure that closed this past week in The Point for $400,000. This lot sold for about half the market value. It has very good water and views and is about an acre of a flat to gently sloping lot...just what most home buyers and builders are seeking. At our peak this lot was probably worth over $1million.

Here are some interesting statistics related to homes at The Point:

Active Listings:

  • 82 today (months of supply = 9.8 if use the past 30 days or 16.5 if use last 3 months)
  • 114 in July of this year (months of supply = 38)
  • 123 in September of 2008 (months of supply = 41)
  • Peak of about 140

Pending Sales: 7

Conditional Sales: 5

Contingent Sales: 2

Solds:

  • Since October 1, 2009: 9 (25 % of this year's sales were in October!)
  • Past 3 month or since 8/11/09: 14
  • Same 3-month period in 2008: 7
  • Same 3-month period in 2007: 14
  • Year-to-date 2009: 36
  • All of 2008: 33
  • All of 2007: 76

Price ranges of homes currently on the market:

  • $500,000: 5
  • $600,000: 9
  • $700,000: 6
  • $800,000: 15
  • $900,000: 4

Contingent Sales:

  • $699,000
  • $2,199,000

Conditional Sales:

  • $749,000
  • $899,000
  • $1,495,000
  • $2,750,000
  • $3,950,000

Pending Sales:

  • $578,500
  • $695,000
  • $749,900
  • $779,500
  • $1,599,000

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Middle-Market Sector to Improve

11-20-09
Kathy Byrnes
Kathy  Byrnes: Real Estate Brokerage in Mooresville, NC

Check out this article from the REALTOR Magazine:

Executives from some of the largest brokerages in the country expect to see their sales grow 6-8 percent in 2010 and home prices to start heading up about 3 percent, REALTORS® heard in a state of the real estate industry discussion Saturday at the 2009 NAR Conference & Expo.

J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate, said expansion of the tax credit to include repeat buyers will help boost middle-market sales next year, although mortgage financing above the $417,000 non-jumbo conforming loan limit will remain a challenge. "The repeat tax credit will at least start a conversation about buying" among existing home owners, Scott said.

Congress recently extended temporary high-cost loan limits of $729,750 for 2010, but the lion's share of markets don't qualify for those so-called jumbo-conforming loans. As a result, repeat buyers face tougher underwriting challenges. "People applying for a $419,000 mortgage are not wealthy-they're two teachers," said Helen Hanna Casey, president of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, which operates in Pennsylvania, New York, and other states in that region.

The improvement in the middle market will help tighten inventories, helping to shore up prices, but the upper-end market will continue to under perform until companies start hiring again. That's when the industry will see more relocation business among transferees, a critical component of the upper-end market, said Scott.

Merle Whitehead, president and CEO of RealtyUSA said a key job of brokers next year is making sure their sales associates understand FHA, because federally-backed mortgages will remain the principal provider of mortgage financing for most borrowers. Too many sales associates still think of FHA as financing for people who can't qualify for conventional mortgages, but in fact FHA is the main source of mortgage capital today. "We have to change the thoughts and beliefs of our agents," he said.

-Robert Freedman, REALTOR® magazine

Mooresville, NC Homes for Sale!

11-20-09
Sara D'Amico
Sara D'Amico: Real Estate Agent in Huntersville, NC

If you're looking for a home in Mooresville, North Carolina, click FIND MOORESVILLE HOMES. If you see a property that interests you, please feel free to contact me for more information or to arrange a showing. I look forward to earning your business!

SARA D'AMICO

BROKER/REALTOR/ABR

SOUTHERN HOMES OF THE CAROLINAS

704-287-6488

SARAD@BUYANDSELLWITHSARA.COM

WWW.BUYANDSELLWITHSARA.COM

WHEN YOU SELL OR BUY...

How Effective Was Using The 10G Program? Outstanding!

11-17-09
Kathy Byrnes
Kathy  Byrnes: Real Estate Brokerage in Mooresville, NC

The stats are in and it tells a huge story. My last blog shared our story of the creation and the first drawing of RE/MAX at the Lakes 10G drawing. Now the real story is how effectively did it work for our Listing Clients. These are the time time frames from when we started the program this year and how it compared to the average days on market for all homes, then all our RE/MAX at the Lake Listings and then all the RE/MAX at the Lake listings that were 10G homes.Here are the Stats:

Average Days on the Market
Charlotte MLS

141 Days

Average Days on the Market
RE/MAX at the Lake Listings

132

Average Days on the Market
RE/MAX at the Lake
10G Listings

86

This powerful fact shows that listing a home with a RE/MAX at the Lake agent and agreeing to pay a modest $250 toward the pot can reap a much faster sale.