If you are a regular reader of my Lake Norman Real Estate blog, you will know that I provide three different types of sales analysis:
IMPORTANT FINDINGS
2nd Quarter 2009 Lake Norman Home Sales By Price Range
*All statistics are from the Charlotte Regional Multiple Listing Service
This report is probably the most useful for both home buyers and sellers. This is because it enables you to focus on your own price range and size up the competition, the strengths and weaknesses and trends that might help position you best for your future purchase or sale.
For example, let's say you are planning to buy a home in the $600,000 - $1 million price range. While that price range in general is very weak, the homes priced in the $700,000s and the $900,000s have over twice as many months of inventory than the other price ranges. Knowing these are particularly weak, you might look for greater discounts when making your offer. When there are 64 homes on the market in the $900,000s and on average only one sells per month, you can imagine these sellers must be getting pretty anxious.
On the flip side, if you are a seller in this same price range and are on the fence about pricing your home in the low $700,000s or the high $600,000s, clearly you should price your home in the $600,000s where you have a much larger pool of buyers and the least amount of competition (months of supply, not number of homes).
This past quarter, 67.3% of all of the Lake Norman home sales were under $500,000. Only 12.5% of our Lake Norman home sales were $700,000 or higher yet that same price range represents 31.4% of our active listings. As has been the case for several years, our higher end homes sales are extremely slow.
So, pick a price range and take a look at the number of sales, the number of active listings, the average days on the market and the months of supply. This report provides you with the data to focus on your price niche.
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"From nostalgic patriotic parades to community festivals with firework displays to myriad planned and spontaneous raft- up (boat) parties on Lake Norman, there truly is something for everyone here in the greater Lake Norman area this 4th of July. Get out of your home, save gas and have a great time!" I wrote this exactly one year ago and it is still just as true this year. So, here is the run down on Lake Norman's 4th of July festivities 2009:
Saturday, June 27th at 11:00am the Annual Iredell County Independence Day Parade will be held once again on a 3-mile route from the Iredell County Fair Grounds ending at the Troutman Elementary School. (Highway 21).
If you want to experience a slice of true small-town Americana, this is a must attend parade. The streets are lined with flags, yellow ribbons and folks of all ages, many with signs honoring our military past and present.
The parade itself has over one hundred entries including floats with United States Veterans from all of our wars, local clubs and civic organizations, beauty queens and just about any thing you can imagine including at least one John Deere Tractor.
Also on Saturday, June 27th, for the younger crowd, Vinnies Raw Oyster Bar is holding their popular annual bikini contest.
Friday, July 3rd from 5:00pm - 10:00m is the Third Annual Summer Celebration at Lowe's YMCA in Mooresville. This free event will feature children's games, inflatables, rock climbing and velcrowalls, a jousting arena, balloon artists, face painting, a veteran's ceremony and a performance by the Lake Norman Orchestra. The evening will end with a spectacular fireworks show. There will also be 100 food vendors, local arts and crafts and businesses in an effort to support the Chamber of Commerce's "Buy Local" campaign. A free shuttle bus will run from Peninsula Baptist Church on Brawley School road to the YMCA. Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets and lawn chairs. For more information: Summer Celebration at the YMCA website.
The Town of Huntersville will be hosting their 7th Annual Fourth of July Celebration on Saturday, July 4th from 10:00am - 1:00pm at Birkdale Village. Activities will include bike decorating, face painting, a down bounce, children's art provided by the Children's Arts Project, a parade, a water fight between fire stations, music, food and "a whole lot of fun!!!"
The Town of Davidson will hold their annual Fourth of July Celebration on Saturday, July 4th from 4:30 - 8p.m. Festivities include their annual small-town parade. All are invited to "patriotically dress their bicycles, wagons, pets and strollers and participate by meeting at Davidson Town Hall at 4:30pm". Music and games for all ages will be set up on the Village Green and a children amusement are will be available for a $5 admission. Live entertainment will be provided by Rough Draft. There will be no fireworks this year.
Looking for something a little bit racy? How about the Independence Day Blastoff at East Lincoln Speedway in Stanley NC. Gates open at 5:00 and races start at 7:30pm. 704.263.5347
Fireworks displays are officially planned for Queens Landing on Lake Norman but trust me, if you are out on the lake, you will see many private fireworks displays! If you want to party, The Sandbar is always a lot of fun. Need directions? Also be sure to check out LKNfun.com where you will find a great list of celebrations at our many restaurants and bars.
Going to Uptown Charlotte? On July 4th at 9:30pm there will be a spectacular fireworks display at the Memorial Stadium. "Red White and Boom!" will offer "wholesome family fun" Admission is free and the fireworks show can also be viewed from a variety of locations around the city.
Finally, if you want to have your own, legal, fireworks display, in past years they have set up a stand where they sell fireworks at the corner of Williamson Rd. and Brawley School Rd.
Have fun and be safe!
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Lake Norman has come to life in the past month; the water is warm, school is out and the boats, jet skis and water sports of all kinds are going on throughout the lake!
I am now having a continual flow of out-of-state buyers, especially from the Midwest and Northeast, coming to see our waterfront homes for sale. Of course, the million dollar question is: Is this a good time to buy a waterfront home?
During the past two years, the overall Lake Norman real estate market has slowed significantly. The only price ranges that have good activity are those that meet the conforming loan limits of $417,000. Our mid to high-end luxury home price ranges have slowed to a crawl which includes almost all of our waterfront homes.
Before our downturn in mid-2007 waterfront homes were increasing in value at a far greater rate than the rest of our homes. So, it would stand to reason that this niche would also have the greatest vulnerability to loose value. At our peak, the average waterfront home sold for about $300 per square foot. Today, the average waterfront homes are selling at about $206 per square feet. Here is a chart breaking the numbers down by our Multiple Listing Services areas:
Overview: We currently have 587 waterfront homes for sale and have sold 28 since January 1, 2009. If we were to keep up this trend, it would take 56 months for us to sell all of our waterfront homes. If we are generous and assume that about 23 homes will close in the next month based upon the number of pending sales as of today, we would currently have 26 months of supply. This compares to 18.5 months of supply for all of our Lake Norman real estate market. But, as you can see above, these numbers vary greatly by the area.
The average sales price when compared to the average final listing price was about 90%. In other words, the average listing price was 10% higher than their sales price.
Area 13/1: This is the area North of Highway 150 on up to Statesville. With only one pending sale, this area has not picked up in sales and still has 58 months of inventory. The average sales price is $694,666 and the average dollars per square foot is $191. This area does not have as many luxury homes and was just experiencing their building boom when the market slowed. Builders have been hit particularly hard in this area because of the number of spec homes they had just built.
Area 13/2: This is South Iredell County/Mooresville from Highway 150 down to Langtree Rd at the new Exit 32. Included in 13/2 would be the luxury community of The Point. With 9 pending sales, right now we can estimate that we have about 22.5 months of supply. The average sales price is $1,004,757 and the average dollars per square foot is $211.
Area 13/3: This is Mecklenburg County including Davidson, Cornelius and Huntersville. Included in this area would be the luxury community The Peninsula. With 11 pending sales we can estimate that we have about a 12-month supply of waterfront homes. The average sales price is $833,363 and the average dollars per square foot is $215.
Area 13/4: This is Lincoln County including the unincorporated town of Denver. Included in 13/4 would be the Crescent community of Sail View and several smaller luxury home communities. With 4 pending sales, we can estimate that we currently have a 24-month supply of waterfront homes for sale. The average sales price is $784,050 and the average dollars per square foot is $184 which is the lowest of the 5 areas.
Area 13/5: This is Catawba County including Sherrills Ford and Terrell. Included in 13/5 would be the Crescent community of Northview Harbour. With 2 pending sales, we can estimate that we currently have a 50-month supply of waterfront homes for sale. The average sales price is $505,448 which is the lowest of the entire Lake Norman area. However, the average dollars per square foot is $204.6.
If there is one trend I can see, it is that the older communities are fairing better than the newer communities that still have new construction and/or are a bit more remote rather than being in the heart of Mooresville or Cornelius. This may be because our builders have been the first to be hit hard with foreclosures. Will there be a next wave of foreclosures before our market stabilizes? It would certainly make sense. Until jumbo loans are more available and affordable I still see our waterfront home market struggling. So, to answer my million dollar question: Is it a good time to buy a Lake Norman waterfront home? It depends. It depends on the location, the motiviation of the sellers and the season. Right now we are in our peak season for home sales, but once fall hits, I expect to see a significant slowdown that will last at least through winter 2010. Of course, this is only my opinion:)
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Lake Norman Real Estate: Why is it so hard to buy a home right now?
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Lake Norman Real Estate's May 2009 Sales Analysis
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Friday Hot Sheet: June 12, 2009
I must admit I have been exceptionally busy these past several months which had increased my curiosity about our current home sales numbers. Above is a chart with today's "Hot Sheet" numbers from the Charlotte Regional Multiple Listing Service for single family homes in all of Lake Norman (Area 13). These numbers represent a snapshot of the past two weeks activity. As always, I have included the prior 6 months so that you can put these numbers into perspective.
Here are some highlights:
New listings crept back up just a bit. Unfortunately, for our market to turn the corner we need the active listings to drop back to a 6-8 months supply.
The significant jump in homes that came back on the market due to cancelled contracts does not surprise me considering the multitude of difficulties we are experiencing related to loans and appraisals. While sales are up, the number of canceled contracts out number these sales by 40%!
Wow, look at the number of price changes! Prices continue to drop as sellers increase their understanding of the market and as we see an increase in foreclosures, bank-owned properties and short sales.
Pending sales are those that are past all inspections and loan contingencies and are simply waiting to close. We have had a 32% increase in pending sales when compared to a month ago. This would indicate that closed sales should be higher in the next few weeks than the same time last month.
Unfortunately, the number of contingent and conditional sales dropped 24% versus last month. These would be new sales that are still going through the inspection and loan processes. These are our best numbers for forecasting the number of closed sales for next month. It could be possible that our sales actually will peak this month and then start to drop.
Once again, I can't stress enough the importance of the number of months of homes for sale is when trying to determine our "bottom". If we assume we will have about 90 closed sales in June, with a current inventory of 1609 active listings we still have 18 months of supply of homes for sale. We are heading in the right direction but are not out of the woods yet!
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Lake Norman Real Estate: Why is it so hard to buy a home right now?
Lake Norman Real Estate: The Big Picture
Lake Norman Real Estate's May 2009 Sales Analysis
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Lake Norman Home Buyers, Stop Searching for Homes
It has been a while since I have written any news related to our greater Lake Norman developments because, quite frankly, most of the exciting projects I have written about have been stalled for the past year due to the national economic downturn.
However, some large and small developments are moving forward. Here is an update on these:
Four Points Sheraton: Construction is expected to begin very soon at Exit 28. The Four Points Sheraton is expected to have about 2,200 square feet of meeting space.
Langtree at the Lake: While delayed for about a year, Langtree at the Lake developer Rich Howard says he plans to start construction in the coming months. Also, the Missouri based John Q Hammonds recently announced a 12-story 300 room Embassy Suites will break ground later this summer or early fall and is expected to be completed by early 2011. It will have a 75,000 square feet conference center which is something our Lake Norman area has needed for quite some time! Langtree at the Lake.
Augustalee: Once called the Village at lake Norman, the Augustalee is a $515 million mixed-use development at I-77 and Westmoreland Rd (at a new Exit 27) which will include The Grand Hotel, a 250 room, 10-story building featuring ballrooms, conference facilities, a full service restaurant as well as a boutique hotel with 100 rooms and retail on the first floor.
Cornelius One: This three-story mixed-use project located at 18615 West Catawba in Cornelius will include a restaurant and retail on the first floor and offices on the second and third floors. Developer Kenny Habul is awaiting rezoning approval.
The Widening of West Catawba Blvd: While those of us are watching the progress of the widening of Brawley School Road which is slated for completion in 2011, the widening of West Catawba Blvd will be completed in the next 60 days! Simonini's The Preserve at Robbins Park that I have written about previously is also making progress. Once completed, Catawba Blvd will be fully landscaped and according to Commissioner Dave Gilroy, will be "simply gorgeous"!
New Exit 32: Our new Exit 32 is expected to open this summer!
Courtyard by Marriott and a Holiday Inn Express: Both of these hotels in Statesville are due to open this month!
TownPlace Suites by Marriot: Located off of Exit 33 in Mooresville, this hotel is scheduled to open in October of this year.
Larkin: I first wrote about this massive multi-use development project just south of Statesville about two years when it was ramping up to high gear. There was great excitement and property around Exit 45 was scooped up by potential investors and developers. The site has been annexed by the City of Statesville and and some of the plans have already been approved by the Statesville City Council. According to the Statesville Record and Landmark, since then "nothing of any substance has been done with the site." "I honestly believe that Larkin will happen" said City Manager Rob Hites. "But it's really hard to say right now when it will happen."
Equestrian Subdivision in Mooresville: NASCAR race car driver Jeremy Mayfield's former home located at 3245 Jackson Rd in Mooresville was purchased by Ron LeGrand who has teamed up with Sill Creek Team and developer Urchel Hill to launch a 73-home equestrian subdivision on 135 acres. While the land is currently empty, developers have already put in the road and other community amenities and are optimistic about its future.
The Club at Westport: I recently wrote a separate blog post about the opening of the Club at Westport and the new residential plans for the rest of the development in Denver on the west side of Lake Norman.
Lake Norman's new community sailing and rowing is open!: After years of work, the North Carolina Community Sailing and Rowing Center is now open. Located at Huntersville's Blythe Landing Park, this facility is truly for anyone interested in learning to sail or row, from Senior citizens to the disabled to our youth. A non-profit organization and its volunteers operate the center in partnership with the Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation.
It is interesting to look back several years and read news articles and my old blog posts focused on building moratoriums and smart growth plans. Our national recession has actually provided our fast-growing Lake Norman communities the time to take a deep breath and prepare for the future growth that is sure to return once our economy has stabilized.
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Specializing in residential real estate since 1991. Mooresville and Lake Norman; Relocation specialist; great diversity of clients and experience; passionate about offering the best service to all!
Welcome! I am so glad you stopped by to see what is happening in our wonderful Lake Norman area.
You will probably find that I write quite enthusiastically about Lake Norman and about life here. That is because I am writing through the eyes of someone who discovered, fell in love with and just up and moved to Mooresville Lake Norman in 2005 for no other reason than my husband and I decided it was the ultimate place in the country to live.
If you know the old adage "There is no substitute for experience," I have found that this definitely applies to all of my real estate services. My extensive marketing background, years in real estate that have encompassed a diversity of locations, economic markets, price ranges, types of housing, cultures, ethnicitys, ages and personalities of clients comprise the foundation upon which I build all of my customized real estate services.
But, honestly, and I know this sounds corny, but there is only one thing that truly motivates me: I care. I care about every one of the clients I choose to work with and I do my absolute best to represent them, support them and educate them; designing their real estate experience to best suit their needs and meet their goals.
Just the Facts
08/28/07
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