Charlotte Homes for Sale
Nina Hollander
(704)779-0813

Foreclosure filings in Mecklenburg County, where Charlotte is located, had a steep decline in November versus the same time frame in 2010–35% fewer filings! November filings were also somewhat lower than October 2011.  The number of homes seized by financial institutions also dropped significantly from 404 to 249 year-to-year.

This great news extends to the entire Charlotte metro area, as foreclosure filings for Mecklenburg and and neighboring counties of Gaston, Cabarrus, Anson, Union in North Carolina and York County in South Carolina also dropped to 1,104 from 1,312 as compared with one year earlier–a 16% drop!

In many parts of the country, foreclosure shadow inventory levels are decreasing–boding well for home prices in the coming year.

Shadow Inventory Levels

For more detailed information about foreclosures in the Charlotte metro area visit RealtyTrac. For more information about foreclosure homes for sale visit GreatHomesInCharlotte.com.

Charlotte continues to make the news (see our post of May 17th). Most recently we saw the following good news:

• Charlotte was ranked 10th for economic growth in the past 50 years according to the US Burea of Economic Analysis! And our “next door” neighbor, South Carolina, ranked 11th! For a complete report on economic growth rankings.
• Kiplinger.com named Charlotte among the 10 best cities for college graduates preparing to enter the work force.

If you’ve been thinking about moving to Charlotte contact Carolinas Realty Partners–we can help smooth the transition as well as help you find your dream home!

Charlotte has been in the news a lot in recent weeks! Here’s just a sample of just some of the news putting Charlotte into the spotlight as a great place to live:

• Forbes Magazine included Charlotte in its list of best places to retire, based on its favorable housing and living costs, temperate climate, traffic, and access to excellent medical care.
• Charlotte was ranked #4 among the 100 largest US metropolitan areas in the small-business vitality index. This ranking of Charlotte as a city offering the best climate for small business creation and development,  is up from #31 just one year ago.
• A recent study by the Business Journals showed America’s 100 largest metropolitan markets wield more economic clout than any other nation in the workd and that the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill area ranked #25 with a GMP of over $110 billion.
• Charlotte area is home to nine corportations on Fortune Magazine’s annual list of the top 500 US companies. These companies include: Bank of America, Duke Energy Corp. Lowe’s Cos, Inc., Nucor Corp., Family Dollar Stores, Goodrich Corp., SPX Corp., Wells Fargo.  
• Charlotte added 5,100 jobs during 2010, placing the region in the top 50 best performing metro areas in the US.
• Charlotte is one of three North Carolina cities recently named among the top 50 “most socially networked” cities in the US, according to Men’s Health Magazine.
• Statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor show that salaries in the Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord region rank the seventh highest in the South with an average annual pay of $43,890.
• Charlotte’s population (731,424) grew 35.2% since the 2000 Census based on data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Mecklenburg County, where Charlotte is located, grew 32.2%  (919,628) during this time period. North Carolina (9.5 million) state population grew by 18.5% since 2000.
• Charlotte has been selected as the host city for the 2012 Democratic National Convention, beating out Cleveland, St Louis, and Minneapolis. It’s expected that this will bring huge visibility to Charlotte, along with new jobs, visitor spending, and business investment.
• Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte has been named one of the 50 Best Children’s Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report for its pediatric nephrology program. Levine Children’s is the only hospital in the Charlotte area, and one of only 76 hospitals nationwide, to be recognized in the 2011-12 rankings. Read more: Levine Children’s Hospital honored | Charlotte Business Journal
• Kiplinger.com has named Charlotte among the 10 best cities for college graduates planning to enter the workforce!

If you’ve been thinking about moving to Charlotte contact Carolinas Realty Partners–we can help smooth the transition as well as help you find your dream home!

Welcome to the most current Housing Trends eNewsletter from Carolinas Realty Partners. This eNewsletter is specially designed to provide you with national and local housing information that you may find useful whether you’re in the market for a home, thinking about selling your home, or just interested in homeowner issues in general.

Please click on this link to view the Housing Trends FEBRUARY-2011 Newsletter, which contains the latest information from the National Association of REALTORS®, the U.S. Census Bureau, Realtor.org reports and other sources.

Housing Trends eNewsletter is also filled with local Charlotte area real estate sales and price activity, as well as  national real estate sales and price activity as provided by Multiple Listing Services and the National Association of Realtors (NAR), U.S. Census Bureau key market indicators, housing market video reports, blogs, real estate glossary, maps, mortgage rates and calculators, consumer articles, community reports that map shopping, schools, recreation and more.

If you are interested in determining the value of your home, click the “Home Evaluator” link for a free evaluation report from Carolinas Realty Partners.
Sound decisions can only be made with accurate and reliable information, and Carolinas Realty Partners in the Charlotte/Fort Mill metro areas are happy to be a trusted resource for you. Call on us at any time for help with buying a home, selling a home, relocation to the Charlotte area.

Forbes has named Charlotte, North Carolina as the 11th best city out of the country’s 25 largest cities for retail shopping! Forbes’ study actually ranked Charlotte ahead of New York City and Los Angeles! Go Charlotte!

Having now lived in Charlotte for 13 years after living in shopping “meccas” like New York City, Paris, London I can attest to how much shopping has improved in the Charlotte metro area. Unlike in the “old” days, you don’t need to leave Charlotte any longer to get a healty dose of retail therapy!

Forbes’ ranking focused on ease, options, and affordability of shopping. Charlotte has 6,225 retail outlets, 21 shopping centers and I’ve been telling relocating clients to Charlotte there’s hardly anything they can’t find locally these days.  Here’s a link to the entire Forbes Study for the best shopping cities.

If you are thinking of moving to the Charlotte and Fort Mill metro areas, contact Carolinas Realty Partners. We’ll be delighted to send you a comprehensive Newcomer’s Package on the area.

• CNBC news recently ranked North Carolina as most improved among America’s Top States for Business and 4th best in ranking. This is a move up from 9th in rank in 2009. In 2008 and 2007, North Carolina ranked 6th and 5th, respectively. These great ranking is on top of the ranking given it by Site Selection Magazine as the state with the top business climate for the last eight out of nine years. CEO Magazine also ranked North Carolina as the second-best state for business this year.
• North Carolina ranks #3 for hospitality job growth according to figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, having added some 26,600 jobs in the hospitality industry since 2005.  The leisure and hospitality industries include restaurants, bars, hotels, motels, theatres, museums, and professional sports teams.
• Business Facilities Magazine recently ranked Charlotte #5 among large metro area for economic growth potential, as well as #5 among the most-wired cities. North Carolina was ranked #4 for economic growth potential, #5 in work-force training, and #6 in business climate.
• North Carolina ranks #14 among the states in the number of solar jobs with an estimated 1,033 workers employed in the state’s solar industry. Projections are that solar industry jobs in North Carolina will increase some 37% in 2011.
• Premier, Inc., the Charlotte-based health-care alliance was ranked as the 4th best place to work in health care by Modern Healthcare Magazine–up five rankings since last year. It was also ranked #2 among large companies with 1,000+ employees.
• Charlotte was just ranked as the 16th-best major U.S. market in which to search for a job in November by the JuJu.com Job Search Difficulty Index. This was a good improvement over Charlotte’s 21st place position in October. Helping Charlotte’s job numbers are recent announcements from Foundation Financial Group that they will add 30 jobs in their University City Mortgage sales center by end of the first quarter 2011; as well as Shaw Power Group’s announcement with Toshiba Corp. that they will add 225 jobs to the 1,100 already in Charlotte.
• Charlotte ranked #55 in “brainpower” by Portfolio.com in a survey of residents in the 200 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. North Carolina did well with Durham and Raleigh also ranking high.

This kind of news keeps us bullish on Charlotte and North Carolina… and can’t help but help our housing recovery in the months to come. For more information about Charlotte and Fort Mill real estate values contact Carolinas Realty Partners.

Lots of new jobs coming to the Charlotte and Fort Mill metro areas! More employment opportunities mean better home prices for Charlotte real estate.

• Supermetal Structures, Inc, a Canadian company based in Saint-Romouald, Quebec will bring its first U.S. manufacturing facility to York County along with 125 jobs. The company will spend some  $6.6 million to begin production in the former Worthington Steel facility off Interstate 77 near the town of Catawba.
• Japanese insurer, Sompo, is moving its New York operations to Charlotte, bringing 46 jobs to the area as part of its joint venture with  with Royal & SunAlliance USA in 2003.
• Mortgage lender, Foundation Financial Group, says it will hire 50 workers in Charlotte by year end as part of a company-wide expansion.  The new positions include entry-level and high-wage jobs in sales, telemarketing, management and licensed loan officers.Swiss energy giant ABB Group plans a $90 million cable manufacturing plant in Huntersville that will have about 100 employees. Construction of the Huntersville plant is slated to start soon, with the facility expected to open in 2012. The average annual wage for the new jobs will be $64,008.
• Printing-technology company DNP (Dai Nippon Printing) IMS America Corp. plans to invest $24.8 million to expand its operations in Concord during the next three years, creating 37 jobs in addition to the 97 currently there.  The average annual wage for the jobs will be $46,757, excluding benefits versus the Cabarrus County average of$32,396.
• ISIS Fund Services USA Inc. has selected Charlotte for its first U.S. office. ISIS, an international hedge fund administrator based in Bermuda, plans to open a full-service office in Ballantyne to serve domestic and offshore hedge funds. The Charlotte operation will spearhead a U.S. expansion. ISIS is the second hedge fund administrator to open a Charlotte office this year. In June, Citco Hedge Fund Services announced it would open a major operation here, with plans to hire 250 employees over the next five years. Those jobs will pay on average of more than $78,000 plus bebefits.
• LendingTree.com, headquartered in Charlotte’s Ballantyne area, is expanding its Charlotte workforce by an additional 40 positions with plans to increase new hires in the near term by a total of 75 new positions.

If you’d like more information about any of these companies’ plans to expand in the Charlotte metro market, contact Carolinas Realty Partners.

Discovery Place KIDS-Huntersville opens to the public today, October 23, 2010. The 23,000 square foot Museum — the only children’s museum in the greater Charlotte region — will offer interactive, learning-based play opportunities for children younger than 8. The Museum officially opens to the public on  at 9:00 a.m., preceded by a ribbon cutting ceremony at 8:45 a.m. This weekend, the museum will be open from 9am till 5pm and is offering a special, half-price admission fee of $4.00 during the opening weekend. Discovery Place KIDS is located at 105 Gilead Road in Huntersville.

Discovery Place, Inc. is a private 501©(3) not-for-profit education organization dedicated to inspiring exploration of the natural and social world through extraordinary exhibits and educational programs that inform, challenge and engage audiences of all ages.

Some of the current featured shows at Discovery Place include:

• Sub Zero: Join our resident physicist at the “The Stage” to chill out and explore a world below freezing. With materials so cold they can only be touched with cryogenic gloves.
• A World Apart: Learn about the tropical rainforest ecosystem and the species that call it home during “A World Apart”.
• What’s Glowing On?  Discover the science behind luminescent and incandescent light. By the time the show is over, you’ll be an expert on all that shines.
• Under the Sea: Splash into the sea and explore marvelous marine life in IMAX Under the Sea.
• The Ultimate Wave Tahiti: Join nine-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater as he mixes surfing and science off the shores of Tahiti.

Discovery Place is located in Charlotte’s Uptown at: 301 N Tryon Street.

Want more information on things to do in Charlotte, North Carolina? Contact Carolinas Realty Partners!

The Wall Street Journal published an article a few days ago giving 10 great reasons to buy a home now. Here’s a recap of some of the top 10 reasons it makes sense to buy a home now and not to give in to the “doom and gloom” scenario painted by Time Magazine’s recent article about rethinking home ownership.

• We are in a buyer’s market and there are good deals to be had, especially as prices have dropped some 30%, on average, since their peak. Don’t try to time the market to buy… it’s impossible to predict the total bottom and if you are buying for the long term, it won’t really matter.
• Mortgage rates are at historic lows–under 4.5% currently. When interest rates were 6.3% two years ago, we thought they were great. But keep in mind that the current 2% differential cuts your mortgage payment by about 20%. When/if rates go up you’ll be happy you lock in these historically low rates. And don’t forget if rates go even lower, you can always refinance.
• You’ll get “more” home for your money these days and a better selection. Sooner or later, the glut of homes on the market will start clearing and you’ll end up paying more.

Ask Carolinas Realty Partners how we can help you find and finance a great home in charlotte. While the Charlotte market has not declined as much as many other metro areas around the country, there are good deals to be had if you have the right Realtor helping you search.

Carolinas Realty Partners are pleased to offer our special Real Estate CyberTips E-Newsletter, which in very concise form, provides you with monthly Cyber tips and tricks along with our pointers to Internet places of special interest to real estate owners, investors and related professionals. 

Please click here to access your copy of the August Issue of  “Real Estate CyberTips.”

 This month’s issue includes the following tips:

• SEE YOUR FACE IN 20 YEARS!
• ELEVATOR MUSIC WHILE YOU WAIT!
• GREAT STUFF IF YOU’RE MOVING!
• TRAVEL THE ENTIRE KNOWN UNIVERSE! 

We hope you enjoy the August edition of  “Real Estate CyberTips”.