Lake Norman Real Estate ~ Diane Aurit

Thanks to such great success last year, once again Mooresville is holding The Second Annual Historic Mooresville Tour of Homes on Oct 17-19. Sponsored by the Mooresville Historic Preservation Commission and DEJ Realty, this event was created last year as a way to promote Historic Downtown Mooresville. Proceeds of the event benefit the Mooresville Historic Preservation and The Mooresville Museum which is in the process of restoring their new home in Downtown Mooresville.

VIP Reception

This year the VIP Reception is being held in the spectacular J.A. Stewart house located on 832 North Main Street on Friday evening, October 17th from 6-9pm. Soiree Restaurant (located in Historic Downtown Mooresville) and Say Cheese at the Grapevine will be catering the evening reception. Tickets are limited and may be purchased for $40 at the locations on their website: Historic Mooresville Tour of Homes.

The Home Tours

All of the homes on the tour are located in downtown Mooresville. The tour hours are:

• Saturday, October 18th: 10am - 6pm
• Sunday, October 19th: 1pm - 5pm

Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 on the day of the event. Parking and ticket information is also on their website: Historic Mooresville Tour of Homes.

The Homes on Tour:

1. 334 West Center Avenue: The Ernest Henry Miller House (1898)
2. 318 West Center Avenue: The W.M. Lentz House (1884)
3. 351 West Center Avenue: The Zebulon Turlington House (1906)
4. 832 North Main Street: The J.A. Stewart House (1896)
5. 329 South Academy Street: The Annie Rankin Carr House (1902)
6. 335 South Academy Street: The Mary Howard Rankin Turlington House (1902)
7. 354 South Academy Street: The C.L. Emiston House (1920's)
8. 318 West Wilson Avenue: The Davidson House (Turn-of-the-Century)
9. 419 Harris Street: Mooreville Mill Village (1917)
10. 328 Messick Street: Mooresville Mill Village (Early 1920's)

This group of homes will provide an opportunity for historic home enthusiasts to see everything from small Mill homes to the grand estate on Main Street. Visitors can start and stop at any home on the tour. The tours are given in groups led by an experienced docent (I did this last year and it was great fun!) so that you learn about the special characteristics of each home as well as some fun history.

If you have been visiting this Lake Norman Real Estate Blogsite for very long you know I love our Historic Downtown Mooresville and I truly hope this opportunity to see so many wonderful historic homes will encourage more of our Lake Norman home owners to venture east a bit and learn more about our historic part of town!

RELATED ARTICLES

Lake Norman Real Estate: Our Schizophrenic Communities

Does Lake Norman Have Affordable Housing?

Mooresville on Money Magazine's Best Places to Live!

LAKE NORMAN RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE HOT SHEET

September 26, 2008

My sixth bi-monthly Lake Norman market at a glance

Above is a chart with our Friday's "hot sheet" numbers from the Charlotte Multiple Listing Services for all single family homes in Lake Norman (area 13). For comparison, I have provided numbers from two weeks ago and earlier this year. Here are some highlights:

• Our pending and number of closed sales were both down to all time lows. Pending home sales dropped by -18% compared to two weeks ago and closed sales dropped -12%.

• New listings were down to an all time low. Inventory is continuing to inch downward which is a positive sign!

• The number of Lake Norman listings coming back-on-the-market dropped significantly after a spike two weeks ago. It is good to see this number drop back to about the same levels as August and the lowest so far since I started doing these reports. While our home sales have gone down, it looks like those that are selling are "sticking". Perhaps our current Lake Norman home buyers are more qualified, having less difficulty getting financing and more committed to purchasing the homes.

• The number of price changes also dropped to a new low. Are sellers reaching a point where they can't or won't drop their prices any further? I actually saw a builder RAISE the listing price of one of their estates in The Point. According to the listing agent, the builder decided to put the home price back to where it was and wait out the market rather than take a loss/break even.

• Pending home sales dropped -18% as I stated above. This may be an indication that we are not going to get our usual September/October bump up in sales before the holiday slowdown.

• Solds (Lake Norman home sales contracts that closed in the past two weeks) dropped -12%. This summer we have been seeing an average of about -50% in sales versus the same periods in 2007. Clearly, the Lake Norman real estate market is a buyers' market!

• Contingent and Conditional Sales dropped to another all time low; down 20% from the last Hot Sheet. These numbers are Lake Norman home sales just put under contract which would seem to indicated that our overall Lake Norman real estate market is still be trending downward.

The good news is that the inventory of Lake Norman active listings is dropping. Most pundits conclude that until the inventory of homes for sale drops back down to a 8-10 month supply on hand, we will continue to be in a buyers market. Considering the incredible national financial crisis playing out today in Washington DC, I am encouraged by the drop in the number of homes that went back on the market.

Despite it all, homes that are priced properly and are in excellent condition or a great "buy" are selling. Personally, I showed 3 sets of out-of-state buyers homes this week. Short term we will continue to struggle but there is no doubt that there are many buyers looking forward to moving to Lake Norman in the future.

Have a great weekend!

For home buyers 55+ years old looking for a retirement home in a small Lake Norman housing community, The Villages at Isle of Pines just may be exactly what you are looking for, especially if you want new construction and are not ready to compromise on the size and sense of privacy and independence!

The Villages at Isle of Pines is a new construction, age qualified (55+) community nestled in the heart of Lake Norman's Brawley School Peninsula. They offer 7 single family home floor plans on 24 2/3-acre home sites that range in size from 1517 to 2694 square feet and offer 3 or 4 bedrooms and 2-3 car garages.

Features of these homes include:

• Open floor plans
• Low Maintenance Designs
• 2 and 3 car garages
• Cathedral or Tray Ceilings
• Floored Attic Storage
• Cable and Telephone Ready
• Separate Laundry Area
• Natural Gas Heat and Hot Water
• RV and Boat Storage options available

Homeowners at the Villages of Isle of Pines own their own home and land yet the outside yard maintenance is provided by the Homeowners Association. You can lock up and go any time without worrying about your garden.

At the same time, you are close to public boat access for Lake Norman and all of the Lake Norman recreational activities from sailing to fishing, golf (Memberships available at The Point Lake and Golf Club), Mooresville's wonderful shopping and restaurants, health care and services and you are located about 35 miles from downtown Charlotte.

There are three homes currently available from $343,500 to $393,990 as well as a number of lots if you wish to build your own home.

If you are going to be new to the Mooresville Lake Norman area, I highly recommend that you visit the beautiful, new Mooresville South Iredell Senior Center which offers an amazing array of sports, recreation and social activities as well as senior services and counseling.

With approximately 100 home sites, the new Orleans development Chesapeake Pointe located down Isle of Pines in Mooresville is one of Lake Norman's larger new construction home sites on the east side of the lake. The completed roads wander through the forest of trees from Isle of Pines to the North Shore waterfront subdivision. The up to 1 acre home sites are literally carved out of the trees. It's hard to tell since it is brand new just how many trees will remain once completed but I'm hoping it will retain it's private, woodsy feel.

Chesapeake Pointeis currently offering 9 different models ranging in size from 2799 square feet to 3727 square feet. The floor-plans offer 3-6 bedrooms and 2.5 - 3.5 bathrooms and are priced in the low $400,000's although I must admit the starting price in our MLS is $547,225!

9' ceilings, large master-suites with over-sized closets and 2-car attached garages are standard but customization features include grand morning rooms, gourmet kitchens and Velux skylights.

Aside from several completed model homes, the home on the left and the two below are some of the few currently under construction. As you can see there is gentle sloping to the lots as is the case with most of their home sites.

Community amenities which have yet to be built include a pool, clubhouse and playground. While Isle of Pines has some busy times of day when you will have more cars going by, Chesapeake Pointe is set off in it's own world of winding roads so I expect the neighborhoods to be tranquil and conducive for walking and cycling.

For a buyer looking to build their own home or at least be able to choose from many different options, who wants the good Lake Norman Schools and/or to live close to the lake itself without paying waterfront prices, Chesapeake Pointe is one new option!

RELATED ARTICLES

Lake Norman Real Estate: The Exciting New Westport Village Blends the Best of Old and New

Lake Norman Real Estate: Discover Fern Hill Road, Part 2

Lake Norman Real Estate: Discover Fern Hill Road, Part 1

The Silent Majority of Lake Norman Real Estate Part 1

The Harbour at The Pointe; A Popular Lake Norman Subdivision

The Farms, A Crescent Community with a Country Feel

Lake Normans waterfront communites: North Shore and Pine Isle

Relocating to Lake Norman: Subdivision or No Subdivision

This weekend, September 26th and 27th, is Lake Norman's much anticipated Denver Days Fall Festival which will be packed with fun and entertainment for the entire family!

A fundraiser for the community of Denver in Lincoln County, the Denver Days non-profit organization was created to raise awareness of the south western Lincoln County communities of Lake Norman, raise funds for the local high school booster club and to put donations aside for the future with the goal of developing a community park in Denver where many events such as Denver Days can be held.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, September 24th and Thursday, the event will hold a pre-festival series of events from 5pm to 10 pm geared especially for families and children:

Wednesday Sept. 24th:

• 5-9pm Student Fun Night: All rides are one low price!
• Gospel and Inspirational Music Night

Thursday Sept. 25th:

• 12 noon - 2pm: Special Festival Fun Day for Lincoln County Exceptional Students
• 5 - 9pm: Student Fun Night: All rides are one low price again!
• Classic Car Cruise-in fundraiser for the BRAKES Foundation (Be Responsible and Keep Everyone Safe).
• Nightfall drive-in music

The main event opens on Friday, September 26th at 4pm.

Friday Sept 26th:

• 4pm - 11pm: Festival rides, Local music and entertainment
• Confederate Railroad

Saturday Sept. 27th:

• 10:00am - 11:00pm Festival rides, Local music and entertainment
• Poker Run Parade of Bikes (Motorcycles, that is!)
• The Fantastic Shakers
• Marshall Tucker Band

The over 250 booths and food vendors will be offering everything from funnel cakes, fried turkey legs, hamburgers to teriyaki and even a beer garden! Learn about community clubs, companies, charities and even the local hospital who will all be there giving out information. Or shop for hand-crafted items like jewelry, carved wood, candles and clothes.

The Denver Days Festival is located at Highway 16 and Triangle Circle on about 80 acres. For directions and more detailed information go to: Denver Days Fall Festival.

LEARN MORE ABOUT LIFE IN LAKE NORMAN

New Lake Norman Skateboard Shop in Downtown Mooresville

Lake Norman has Gone to the Dogs...and Cats!

Historic Downtown Mooresville: Mangan Martial Arts Academy

Learn About Lake Norman from THE Expert: Gus Gustafson

Historic Downtown Mooresville: New Shops, Art Galleries and Restaurants