Brandon Farmer

Charlotte Real Estate Market Update for October 2009

There has been a wave of first time home buyers trying to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit. It seems that most of the activity was in the $250,000 and under price range. The first time home buyers have slowed significantly as most of the anxious buyers have already entered into a contract in hopes of closing the house by November 30th. This will be harder for buyers who are trying to obtain a FHA loan because the underwriting process is more stringent.

The last couple weeks we have been noticing more buyers starting to dabble in the higher price ranges (600's and below). Hopefully this is an indicator that home prices are starting to near the bottom at the higher price ranges. I blogged a couple weeks ago about how I feel that we have already hit a bottom in houses priced at $250,000 and below.

Investors are starting to reenter the market. They are being picky about where they invest but are out there looking for good deals...especially short sales and REO's.

It sounds like the tax credit is going to be renewed. The last I heard they wanted to offer a tax credit equal to 10% of the purchase price, up to $7,290, for first time home buyers. I have also heard that the government was going to offer an incentive for home owners who have lived in their current house for 5 or more years. If these home owners decided to buy new construction they were going to receive a $6,500 incentive.

More to come once the Senate as ironed out all of the details.

BF

The Chimneys at Marvin is still being developed and is really starting to feel like a subdivision. Visit the subdivision at 2604 Creek Manor Dr., Waxhaw, NC 28173. The subdivision has two different sections, The Estates and The Reserve. The houses that are being sold in The Chimneys at Marvin are ranging from the low to mid 300,000's to the high 400,000's. The subdivision also feels very safe at night because the sidewalks and trails are lined with street lights.

Click here to see the current houses available in The Chimneys at Marvin.

This Pulte Homes neighborhood does offer a lot of cool amenities with a Home Owners Association fee of $100/month. The fee is collected twice a year. The Chimneys at Marvin amenities include a fitness center, tennis courts, basketball and volleyball.

The Marvin area is becoming a popular destination for people who work in the city but want to live in a more rural atmosphere. The area is close enough to the city that you can still make the commute but the immediate area also has everything that a home owner would need. As for shopping, the residents of The Chimneys at Marvin will usually go to Ballantyne Village, Stonecrest Shopping Center or Weddington Corners.

The Chimneys at Marvin children will attend the Sandy Ridge Elementary School, Marvin Ridge Middle and Marvin Ridge High School.

Ask Brandon about The Chimneys at Marvin

Allen Tate Southpark Office

As you may have noticed the old Allen Tate Southpark office has been removed and the land flattened. The plans for the lot are not completely set but we are hearing that there will be a hotel built. The Allen Tate Company has been in the new corporate building for about 8 years. The building is located at 6700 Fairview Road, is part of Phillip's Place and is noticeable by large size and its' green roof. The second floor of the building houses over 100 agents and assistants and the third floor is devoted to Allen Tate Corporate. This is where you will find the relocation, accounting and marketing departments. Also the third floor includes Allen Tate's office.

The first floor of our office is filled with boutique shops and Cafe Monte French Bakery and Bistro. The fourth floor of the office has been sold as condominiums.

There is also a lot of new construction being built directly behind our office. There is a large condo building being built and there will be several condos available for rent and an assisted living facility.

Contact Brandon Farmer for more information.

New Construction in Union County North Carolina

During the housing boom, Union County was the 5th fastest growing county in the country. The area couldn't be built fast enough. They were building a lot of new construction in the $400,000 and up price ranges. Several of the builders have pulled out since then but there is still a lot of new neighborhoods and a lot of great opportunities for buyers that want a large house within 30 - 45 minutes of downtown Charlotte. The area is very attractive to buyers because of the lower unincorporated tax rate (0.6650 in Union County as compared to the 1.0175 in Mecklenburg County).

The area has built several new outside strip malls throughout the northern part of Union County. If you take Providence Road and go south to I-485 you will see that they are also widening the road to become a four lane highway. Go just a little farther and you will begin to see the new strip malls and what use to be farm land being developed.

You can find new construction in several different subdivisions. Lawson is popular because of the amount of families that are living in the subdivision. They have great amenities that include a club house, pool, recreation area, tennis court and walking trails. Ryan, Pulte, Shea Homes, St. Lawrence and Orleans Homebuilders are still building in the subdivision.

Brookhaven is very popular and is being built by John Weiland. He has a great reputation for building a well built home and is easy to work with if you want to do some custom upgrades. The subdivision also has great amenities and clubs that the owners can join. The subdivision offers sport clubs that you can join and it has become a good way for people to meet their neighbors.

Hollister is a new community being built by Shea Homes. The subdivision currently has around 50 home owners and there will be 250 houses once the subdivision is completed.

Lake Forest is offering new construction by Orleans Homebuilders.

Cureton III has 2 houses on the market but M/I Builders have decided to put their project on hold...probably until the high end market starts to sell. They are currently holding about 30 lots and they have every intention of building on these lots...it is just a matter of time. One of the houses that they have for sale is the model. It has all of the upgrades that they offer and is listed for $398,860. This really is a great value for this house considering that the house across the street sold in the high 600's.

In Anklin Forrest you can find full brick houses around the $400,000 range being built by James Custom Homes and The Williams Company. The houses have great curb appeal and the subdivision has a lot of mature trees left on the lots. The inside of these houses have the craftsman feel that many buyers are attracted to.

Let me know if you have any specific questions regarding new construction in Union County.

Stone Orchard ~ Detached houses but still condominiums

I just put a house under contract in the Stone Orchard subdivision. This subdivision is located in the Sedgefield area right off of Marsh Road in Charlotte, NC. The community has a little over 60 detached houses but all of them are considered condominiums. The HOA dues for this house are $220/month and this covers master insurance premium, real property taxes on the common areas, exterior building maintenance, exterior yard and landscaping maintenance, trash removal, water, sewer, pool maintenance and pest extermination. HOA dues will be different for different condos. The more square feet in the house the more the HOA dues. This is the largest floorplan in the subdivision so some of the other houses in the neighborhood will have lower dues.

Stone Orchard had an assessment about 3 years ago to pay for re-roofing all of the "houses" in the subdivision. There is going to be a new assessment starting in January of 2010. The assessment will add an additional $115/month to the HOA dues and will be used to replace the driveways, repair/rebuild the fences and to put new gutters on all of the units.

William Douglas Management is managing the subdivision...their number is 704-347-8900

This house has 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms and a deep one car garage. The kitchen has been remodeled with new cabinets and granite counter-tops. The condo also has a private fenced patio and is located in a cul-de-sac. The neighborhood pool is located just across the street. The pool opens on Memorial Day and closes on Labor Day.

The main level of this house is tiled and there are hardwoods upstairs in all but one room.

This condo is located in the Myers Park High School district and this is an important factor when it comes to reselling the property.

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