Mark Watson

North Carolina’s economy is expected to grow 1.7 percent in 2012 which is a stronger growth rate of 1.3 percent in 2011.

Here are nine of the state’s fifteen economic sectors that are expected to grow in 2012. The strongest sectors are professional services, with a projected real increase of 5.4 percent; finance, insurance and real estate, up 3.8 percent; wholesale trade, up 2.6 percent; information, with a 2.1 percent gain; and transportation, warehousing and utilities, up 2.1 percent.

North Carolian is expected to gain 38,000 net jobs in 2012, which is up from a projected gain of 22,500 in 2011. The sectors likely to gain the most jobs are hospitality and leisure services, government and education and health services.

What's up with the banks/lenders these days? Many of them are waiting up until the hour of closing to ask the seller for more documentation and then in some instances, denies the loan? What happened to providing loan commitment weeks before closing? I know the banks are back-logged with short sales and foreclosures. Can't they just hire some people to help expedite the over load of work they have to get things to move at a normal pace. Doing so would also help the unemployment rate.

Home sales are up in Charlotte NC. We've seen a trend since the firs of the year with more homes coming onto the market and more buyers buying them. Though the number of active listings still greatly out numbers the number of buyers, buyer confidence appears to be coming back. Jobs in Charlotte appear to be stable and new home construction in Charlotte is on a rise. Over the past three years, new home sales were scarce. Many local builder folded and many had to cut back on how well they outfitted the homes to bring prices low enough to attract buyers. With home prices across Charlotte being down about 20% since 2007, we are seeing a slow tick back up in home sales. Charlotte was one of the last cities to get hit when the housing bubble burst but is also one of the first to make a recovery. That's all due to our home values not being greatly over inflated. I predict we'll continue to see slow, steady growth and gain in equity over the next several years in Charlotte.

Who says we're in a recession? Who says that the real estate market is in a slump? There's a very good inventory of homes out there. It's been raining inventory for the last two years! We just need to get buyers to understand that home prices are at there best...so are interest rates. For anyone that can qualify to buy a home, this it it! Real estate has always been one of the best investments that can greatly improve ones financial portfolio. So, let's help those buyers who are on the fence or who think the bottom hasn't hit yet or have fear of first time home ownership, or whatever the hurdle may be. Let's help them clear those hurdles with ease and get the home inventory and buyer inventory balanced back out! We want to say "It's raining buyers"!

So far this year, I have $2.5 million of real estate under contract to close and $1.2 million of listing inventory. I attribute this to simply keeping my nose out of the media. The good news is that we're not hearing as much doom and gloom as we have been over the last couple of years. If we listen to the negativity the media throws at us, we tend to believe it and it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. I simply choose to not take part. My outlook on the real estate market is bright. I believe we are on the road to recovery. I believe this will be one of the best years I experience in my real estate career. I believe, therefore, it must be! We don't need the doom and gloom. So far, the numbers I've generated have proven this theory to be true. So, let's ALL choose to believe in a better and brighter tomorrow and leave the media behind!