The 2009 outlook is gloomy but some regions show growth

Home prices around Charlotte fell last year, but not as much as you might think. On average, prices across the six-county area fell about 4 percent, shedding the modest gains of 2007. No one likes a loss, especially in the value of their home. And the outlook this year is lousy.

But there's hope. The average price of homes sold last year in more than three-fourths of the area was at or above prices from 2003 through 2005. That means most people who have been in their houses a few years are likely still sitting on gains.

Carolina Multiple Listing Services' sales from 2003 to 2008 show the following:

• Last year, 26 of 70 area ZIP codes, or more than one-third, posted their highest prices of the six-year period.
• Only seven ZIP codes posted declines for the period. In Charlotte, the University area's 28262 and northwest Mecklenburg's 28216, both pocked with foreclosures, had the biggest declines.
• The region's biggest gain in the six years came in 28206, which includes part of Charlotte's Arts District, or NoDa, and the fragile Lockwood neighborhood north of uptown.
• Last year, the top Mecklenburg ZIP code was 28204, which includes the new Metropolitan condos and the historic Elizabeth and Cherry communities.

"The market we had in 2006 and into 2007, that was not a normal market," said Donna Anderson, president of the Charlotte Regional Realtor Assoc. "We're finding that we're in a market correction."

Got questions? Visit SoldbyJerry.com or call me anytime at 704-804-3550 or 704-814-6206.

Jerry Fletcher - Broker, Allen Tate Realtors®