Eileen Covington (The Charlotte Home Team)

Charlotte, NC: The overall Charlotte real estate market peaked sometime in mid 2007 and then almost dropped dead. I don;t know what happened in July 2007 to make it happened but I almost think I can pinpoint the day. Builders, investors and especially house "flippers" who came into the market after that date, came in behind the "eight ball" so to speak... and lost their shirts. Some really good and ven great builders went out of business. Up until then we were percolating along just like the rest of the country and getting just a little too exuberant and hyper inflated. Then Boom! The bottom fell out and the rest is history.

This home is a "short sale" in a gated community in low tax Union county with great schools. On the market in 2009 for $1,750,000, it is now on the market for $1,100,000.

So people always ask me now, "How much less can you buy a million dollar home for now then at the peak". The answer is about 30%. The Charlotte real estate market is down about 30% across the board and the upscale market is following suit. And unit sales are down about the same amount.

This almost "new" home came on the market in 2009 for $1,595,000. In low tax Union County with great schools, this home is on the market now for $1,025,000.

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So what does that look like in real numbers? A house that was on the market for $1,800,000 in 2007 will sell now for about $1,200,000. The 1,000,000 home is now going for about $700,000. And here's the bottom line: The sellers know that now and are pricing to sell. Unit sales in this upper end market are running at about 20% to 30% off the peak but do not seem to be falling lower. People who do not need to sell have taken their homes off the market and there are fewer foreclosures and short sales in this price range...typically about 12.5% of sales.

This Stunning home in a great school district with a pool and close to everything listed in 2009 for $1,759,000 and is now on the market for $1,375,000

Yes there are still buyers for these homes. For some people with good job and/or good resources the world is on sale!

Charlotte, NC: While researching the Charlotte market recently I came up with some interesting data about luxury homes in the Charlotte area. Luxury is defined for our purposes here as over $750,000 and goes up to a high of $8,000,000. As I write this 2.5% of our active listings are in the luxury home price range. In the last 6 months these sales have accounted for 5% of the sales in the entire MLS!

Where are these sales located? After all, location, location and location are the most important features of a real estate transaction and no where is this more true than in the Charlotte luxury home market. So doing some quick calculations I discovered that 43% of these upscale Charlotte area sales took place in close in Charlotte neighborhoods like Myers Park and Eastover, Southpark and surrounding areas in a pie shaped area going south out of the city. Another 30% were lake properties either on or near lake Norman or Lake Wylie. Most surprising was that only 16% were located in the fringe suburbs of Union County in the towns of Marvin, Waxhaw and Weddington where most of the new construction took place. The rest were scattered sites in far reaching or less populated area with a few small pockets like Davidson and Concord on the northside.

The Charlotte area median home price is hovering around $155,000 which is where is was in January of 2005. The peak median price hit $172,000 where it stayed for a few months in February to May 2008 before it started to crash under the weight of the bursting real estate bubble. The median has been further brought down by foreclosures draining the values. Although there are foreclosures all over the Charlotte area most of them are concentrated in a the areas that appealed to the "sub prime" markets during the hyper inflated mid 2000's. Of the 282 luxury home sales in the Charlotte region in the last 6 months 12.4% were either foreclosures or short sales. Only 3.8% of the active luxury listings are currently distressed properties.

If you would like to see my video showing how Charlotte is laid out and how it grows please contact me at:

ehc@kw.com and I will be happy to send you the link. Meanwhile, if you wish to search for homes for sales in Charlotte, any home listed by any real estate company, please visit my website listed below.

This is information I gleaned from MLS and I believe it to be accurate but not guaranteed.

Mint Hill, NC: Many times people moving to the Charlotte area do not want to live in an urban environment perferring instead to buy a home in one of the small towns that surround the city of Charotte. Mint Hill is just that sort of place. Incorporated March 11, 1971 with a population of 2,284, the town has enjoyed a steady growth to its current population of approximately 22,000 people.

The town was established when the Mint Hill community was first settled in 1750 and today enjoys a tremendous community spirit and pride. Within the town are many churches and excellent schools, recreational facilities, parks including private and public golf courses and country clubs.

Mint Hill is primarily a residential community with large lot zoning and few tract subdivisions. Prices range from

first time buyer homes below $100,000 to Mint Hill luxury homes, to full brick ranch homes for sale . $ 370,000

There are condos and some town homes but mostly it is a singe family homes on nice sized lots. You can search for homes for sale in Mint Hill here, save your searches, see maps and interior photos.

The business district has shown intensified development in recent years with approximately 285 businesses and professional services available including a soon to be brand new mall. There is a Farmer's Market, Mint Hill Madness Days, Movies on The Lawn, and a host of other community events that make Mint Hil a charming quaint smal town with a lot to offer. To find out more you can go to the Mint Hill website where you will find answers to FAQ.

TO SEARCH FOR A HOMES FOR SALE IN THE CHARLOTTE REGION INCLUDING FORECLOSURES AND SHORT SALES GO TO:

WWW.COVINGTON.ALLCHARLOTTEHOMESNOW.COM

Charlotte, NC: Looking for HOMES FOR SALE IN BALLANTYNE is really searching more in an area rather than a particular neighborhood in south Charlotte, North Carolina. Anchored by the Ballantyne Country Club and Ballantyne Village shopping center real estate for sale in Ballantyne will run the gamut from first time buyers along the Lancaster Highway to the west, to the very high end luxury homes in the BALLANTYNE COUNTRY CLUB.

Even in the highly desirable and well heeled Ballantyne area one is able to find FORECLOSURES AND SHORT SALES IN BALLANTYNE giving you, the buyer, an opportunity to get into an area you may have been priced out of a few short years ago. As the economic recovery takes hold, and it will, this area will see a return to value faster than most parts of the region giving the smart buyer a chance to ride the housing recovery back up.

The people who know about these things are expecting the Charltote real estate market to return to 2006(bubble peak) prices some time in about 5 to 7 years. So, if you are planning to buy a house to live in, start a family, get started on building wealth, you can not find a better opportunity that can be found in Ballanytne area homes for sale.

Ballantyne includes a country club community and neighborhoods with houses that range from starter homes to estates that sell for millions of dollars. It also has restaurants, shopping facilities, and corporate offices.

The I-485 Outerbelt runs right through the development and sees one of the highest traffic counts in North Carolina right around this section. Since the area is less than 10 years old almost all of the shops, schools and amenities are newer, clean, and up to the minute.

In February 2010, The Charlotte Housing Authority and a developer wanted to include a low-income public housing project just south of Ballantyne Country Club at Johnston Road and Providence Road West. The community went up in arms and fought the proposal which was dropped after heavy oppostion. HO

Charlotte, NC: There is a general rule of thumb that says that when you are moving into a new city and you don’t know where to buy a home, you should find the most prestigious street in town and follow it out until you can afford a home, and buy there. You won’t go wrong. In Charlotte that would be Providence Road also known as Hwy 16 which runs south out of Charlotte to the village of Waxhaw, NC.

The Arboretum area is one of the places you might find along your journey, located at the junction of Providence Road, and Hwy 51, about 10 miles south of Charlotte. This area of Charlotte contains mixed-use shopping, higher end upscale apartment communities, office complexes and medical parks… and beautiful residential single family neighborhoods such as Providence Plantation,

Hembstead,

Beverly Crest,

and the golf course communities of Raintree

Piper Glen .

Prices range from townhomes and condos in the $130′s to over $300,000 to single family homes from $150′s to over $2 million.

First developed in 1989, the shopping center is home to Charlotte’s first Wal-Mart store, a Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Rite-Aid drug store, Bed, Bath & Beyond, a Harris Teeter grocery store and a host of nice restaurants, cafes and eclectic boutiques. This may be the perfect place for you.