Brawley School Road Rocks

This morning Brawley School Road officially opened and the widening has accomplished what many of us thought was imposssible......no traffic! I mean NO TRAFFIC, it was awesome and we are now free. I feel like driving up and down Brawley 'cause I can. I got my car washed, went to Dunkin Donuts and drove back to The Point. Something unheard of until today. So c'mon down buyers we have got some great deals on homes, get 'em while they last 'cause our market of buyers willing to relocate all the way down Brawley has now expanded. Thank You NC DOT and engineer John Cook, you did it.

This video is this morning's commute on Brawley School Road at 7:45 am......eat your heartout..... in the Ballantyne area, traffic in South Charlotte is awful. Now be careful not to speed.

Brawley School Road update

August 24, 2011. Southbound lanes on Brawley School Road are open and it feels good to have this new road.

Mooresville home sales data

Here's a comparison for the last 3 years of average prices per square foot for the town of Mooresville, NC. Click on the chart to view.

If you are thinking of buying or selling in the Mooresville area please let us help. I can be reached at 704-996-2744 or annielivingston@kw.com

Home sales data for The Point Lake and Golf Club Mooresville

Below are a couple charts (click to expand) with median sales prices and average prices per square foot in The Point. The charts compare rolling 12 month periods ending in July 2009, 2010 and 2011. As you can see in the first chart, median prices peaked in June 2007 at just over 1 million and currently is at $845k.

The lower chart breaks down prices per square foot at different price points. One note concerning this chart at the high end is more sales at over 2.5 million have taken place in the last couple years than in prior years and with the small number of comparisons it's easy for this number to skew and distort real price trends. At the lower end a high number of distressed property sales skewed this number to the downside.

Let me know if you would like a custom chart with sales/price trends for any town, neighborhood or subdivision around the Charlotte area.You can email me at annielivingston@kw.com or call me at 704-996-2744. Let me help you with your real estate needs.

Wells Fargo Lowers Conforming Loan Limits

From Diana Olick at CNBC

The deadline for ending temporarily higher loan limits at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA is October 1st, but they are effectively ended now. A Wells Fargo spokesman confirms, "August 15th was the deadline for applications and rate locks for FHA and conventional conforming loans with balances above the limits we expect will be in place after September 30th."

The loan limits were raised by Congress in 2008 temporarily from $417,000 to $729,000 in the highest priced markets in order to help bring much-needed liquidity to the mortgage market after the sub-prime meltdown that sent investors fleeing. There has been heavy lobbying by the Realtors, mortgage bankers and home builders to extend the limits, but so far to no avail.

Even though the rule goes into effect on October 1st, all loans have to be funded, sold and shipped to the GSE's by then. Refi volume has been so high lately that it can take 45 days to do a loan, so lenders have to cut off in time.  Read More....

Shiller-Might be a Buying Opportunity for Housing

Shiller-Might be a Buying Opportunity for Housing.

http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/1080645293001/shiller-might-be-a-buying-opportunity-for-housing

Si Senor Mexican restaurant

Had a chance to have some lunch today at the recently opened Si Senor mexican restaurant in the old Cartucci's building on the plaza on Williamson Road and Brawley School Road and I'll give them two thumbs up. Fresh chips, salsa, and pico de gallo for starters, I had a tasty chicken burrito with rice and pico for $4.75. My 12 year old son had ACP and said wow, this chicken is good. Friendly waitstaff and comfortable seating. Next time back I'll have to give the margarita's a try.

here's a link to their website and menu

Brawley School Road update and coordinated traffic lights

again from a friend:
The DOT will end up spending somewhere between $75 and $80 million on this road upgrade. Included in this is a state-of-the-art Traffic Control System. All traffic lights are connected by fiber optic cable and will talk to one another through a ‘Time of Day Controller.’ Through a Master Server and a series of Subservient Servers (too technical for me), all traffic lights have equipment that will continually monitor the flow of traffic and will automatically adjust the timing of the traffic lights to keep traffic moving at the quickest pace possible, particularly during peak traffic periods (out in the morning and in, late afternoon).


The DOT has requested that drivers be a little patient at the intersection of Brawley School Road, Canvas Back and Oak Tree. There is a significant population down each of these adjacent roads that also needs to access Brawley School Road. The lights are programmed to handle the traffic at this intersection based upon timing studies and need. The lights will not be the problem; the amount of traffic flow from each direction at any given time will determine the timing of the lights.


The contractor on the I-77 side of Brawley has until November of 2013 to complete the road and the new Exit 35 on I-77. They are significantly ahead of schedule at this time. It is anticipated that the new Exit 35 will eliminate a lot of the traffic currently exiting onto Williamson Road from Exit 33. This upgrade will also ease congestion at the Brawley School Road/Williamson Road intersection.

Brawley School Road update

got this report from a friend today:

I spoke with the DOT person responsible for the project this morning.  I was told Brawley School Road, the work on Williamson Road and the Brawley School Road/Williamson Road intersection back to Wendy’s will be complete and open on or around August 19th. The work on Morrison Plantation will take a little longer because it was added to the project late. 

Access to the school off Morrison will be available while that work gets finished.

Grass in the median is all we get unless the City of Mooresville or some other entity is willing to pay for some further landscaping.  There is no irrigation! The grass will be maintained by the DOT but not to lawn standards. The stone sections on the median at some intersections are for emergency vehicles only and will be marked as such.

The road will be cleaned up and thermo-plastic striping will be put down once the paving is complete. Traffic lights are being installed now. The DOT thanks you for your patience. It has been a difficult project particularly with the heavy traffic on Brawley that they needed to work around.  They sincerely hope the completion of this project will do a great deal to eliminate the congestion on Brawley and Williamson, particularly during peak usage!

Crews resume search for man who went missing in Lake Norman

click for WCNC article

Mortgage Rates Reach Record Lows

from Realtor Mag.....

Mortgage Rates Reach Record Lows


Daily Real Estate News
Friday, August 05, 2011

Mortgage rates dropped sharply this week, possibly improving the purchasing power of many home buyers. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, the most popular choice among buyers, averaged 4.39 percent this week, its lowest average for 2011, Freddie Mac reported in its weekly mortgage market survey. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage and the 5-year adjustable rate-mortgage also both reached new historical record lows.

139 Broad Sound waterfront home in The Point SOLD

This modern waterfront room with 4750 square feet closed for $1,150,000 or $242 per square foot. The home was listed at $1,299,000 and the tax value is $1,163,840.

The listing agents remarks on the listing sheet were:
Awesome Waterfront Home in The Point architecturally designed for water views. Gourmet Kitchen w/ 4 piece Crown, Viking Appliances & Sub-Zero Wine Fridge. Hardwoods throughout w/ 2nd Living on LL. billiards, Exercise Rm LL w/ 4th Garage Heated and Cooled! Approved for Pool w/ Boat Slip available 100 yards from home

163 Easton Dr The Point Lake and Golf Club SOLD

This is a great waterfront house in The Village that sold for $1,180,000 or $222 per square foot. These are the agent remarks on the listing sheet......Amazing $$ on this European inspired Home in 'The Village'.Nestled amoung the trees and flowers with BIG waterfront view and private pier.  Open floor plan with HUGE kitchen, Cherry Cabinets, 5 burner Decor Cooktop, Dacor Dbl Ovens, Built-in Sub-Zero Frig and Separage Freezer,2 dish washers, 2 beverage Coolers and Ice Maker.An entertainers dream. Too many features to mention.  Come and see!!
This home was listed at $1,375,000 and  it's tax value is $1,013,010

104 Maddaket Loop in The Point Lake and Golf Club SOLD

3900 square feet, built in 2003 by Kingswood Homes. The sales price includes a full equity golf membership at The Point Lake and Golf Club currently $42,500, and a boat slip which is $22,500. This home closed on Thursday for $650,000 or $167 per square foot. In 2004 this home sold for $728,500 and it re-sold in 2006 at $815,000. So it's current value at a 20% discount to a 2006 print is in-line with national and regional trends in pricing. Current tax value is $751,330. It was listed at $699,900. Doris Nash of Ivester Jackson represented both buyer and seller.

Mooresville Home sales

Sales of single family homes in Mooresville continue to be a bit softer than 2010. Year to date through August 4 2011 in the 28117 area code of Mooresville there have been 247 homes sold this year versus 292 homes last year. That's a decline of 15% and in line with national trends in real estate.