The Farms Community

The Farms, a very nice family oriented community on Brawley peninsula currently has 25 homes listed for sale with prices ranging from $479,000 - $736,000. The community offers a country feel with clubhouse, swimming pool with a community swim team for your children, a playground and tennis courts.

Year to date three homes have closed at $500k, $505k and $558k

Waterfront Homes for sale on Brawley Peninsula

If you are looking to move to the Lake Norman area, a waterfront home is where your search should at least start with as these lots will hold their value better. Here is a look at the number of waterfront homes around Brawley peninsula or also know as Brawley School Rd that are active listings. If you are moving from another area such as I did from New England you will quickly learn that not all water is created equal and that there are alot of cove lots that don't have nice views that create big price differences, but again starting with waterfront will give you a good sense of values.

under $500,000 - 10 homes
$500,000-$750,000 - 28 homes
$750,001 - $1,250,00 - 29 homes
$1,250,001 - $2,000,000 - 20 homes
$2,000,001 and higher - 11 homes

Deal!! Buy this house! $465,000 in The Point

For the buyers out there who want to buy deal houses look no further. Every "deal" house we alert our readers to sells very quickly so don't delay. email me if you want to see this house but don't wait too long.

Real Estate sales thru February 2010 on Brawley School Road

So far in 2010 thru the end of February we saw 18 homes sold vs. 17 homes in 2009. At the top end the price was $1,400,000 for a home in The Point Lake and Golf Club. This only includes sold's thru the carolina MLS service and only homes serviced by Lake Norman Elementary School and Woodland Heights Elementary School. So mostly homes in and around Brawley School Road and Brawley Peninsula.

New Park coming west of I-77 Mooresville

A contract was awarded last night by the Mooresville Board of Commissioners to T.K Browne Construction to build a park called Cornelius Road Park, which is on the west side of I-77 and north of Exit 36. There will be 2 new baseball fields, 6 tennis courts, 2 trails and some open space that may be developed for soccer one day. Work on this will start in the spring. Sure would be nice if we were to get a park off Brawley School Road.

Competing with Puffery

While watching an interview with Harry Markopoulos on CNBC yesterday (the whistle blower in the Bernie Madoff case) his comments resonated with me. He was asked how did he first figure out Madoff was a scam, he replied and I'll paraphrase "my boss asked me to develop a product like his and it was impossible, it took me 4 hours to figure out his reported numbers were a lie and impossible to mathematically recreate so I learned he was a fraud and a liar I cannot compete if he has people believeing his lies."

In the real estate business I believe we have agents that may overstate the value of a house, get a listing and hope for the best, which usually means No Sale or very long times on the market with no activity or keep lowering the price and hopefully the customer will stay with the agent. This is just wasted precious time for the homeowners and wishful thinking. So to potential home sellers be aware of puffery by some agents. I'm not calling them liars but your home is worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it and a proper valuation is important as we continue to be in a "buyer's market" for the forseeable future. I'm in the process of recreating all the activity for the most active listings agents for the last few years in my area and to see the original ask price and it's eventual sale price, I wonder if there's a correlation to high listing activity and 1st asking price to eventual sale price being lower on average than agents with only a few listings. So be careful, it's hard competing with puffery and I want to tell you like it is, good, bad and honestly.

January New Home Sales at record lows........50 years WOW

Sales of new single-family homes fell 11.2% in January to a record low of 309,000. Sales of new single-family homes declined in Northeast (-35.1%), South (-9.5%) and West (-11.9%) but rose in the Midwest (+2.1%).  Could this be weather related and is snapback due for February's numbers.

Inventories of unsold homes rose to a 9.1-month supply, while the median duration to sell a new single-family home rose to 14.2 months . The median price of a new single-family home fell 2.4% from a year ago to $203,500. On a year-to-year basis, the median price of a new home has dropped each month from December 2007, with one exception in October 2009.

The Point Lake and Golf Club Inventory Activity

In the last 15 days we've seen a little flurry of listings in The Point community with six homes newly listed and the lowest priced at $980,000.

Case Schiller Index

Today's Case Schiller real estate index was reported this morning and average Charlotte prices moved down 3.8% year over year.

Pointless will rock the Hickory Tavern Mooresville again March 19th.

Hubby, Peter and his other mid-life crisis rock star friends will once again bring about 200 people to the Hickory Tavern in Mooresville on March 19th. Check out their facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pointless/151963493312#!

Brawley School Road and Brawley Peninsula Sales in 2010

So far in 2010 we've had 15 homes sold vs.14 homes sold in 2009 through February 17. I am specifically looking at homes sold in the school districts for Woodland Heights Elementary School as well as Lake Norman Elementary School. Feels like the market is picking up a little bit or perhaps we are seeing some sellers price their homes better for this market. The Point Lake and golf Club, (where I live) has had 4 homes sold vs. 3 last year.

Deals

This lot, just outside The Point boundries but enveloped by The Point and just around the corner from me was recently reduced from 599k to 429k. This is good water with almost 200 feet of shoreline with a small house on it now. At this price it's starting to get very interesting.........

National Housing Scene

Looks like a big supply/demand imbalance. There are 230,000 newly built empty housing units for sale. Then there's 3.29 million owner occupied's for sale. On top of that there are 3.5 million empty units for sale that have been taken off the market for unspecified reasons of which 1.7 are now bank owned (This is the shadow inventory via the foreclosure process). So there are 7 million units of supply out there out of a total of 112 million units and with apartment vacancy rates at 11%, rents declining and now with so many buyers upside down (21.4% according to Zillow) and strategic defaults gaining in popularity (see WSJ article) it's tough to build a case for an inflationary housing market in the near term. Then again there's always prayer and hope.

2009 The Point Home Sales Statistics

We saw a total of 41 homes in The Point sold for all of 2009. Let's break down the pricing into 3 categories to see how the prices stack up (or down).

Homes sold Under 1 million:

21 homes sold for an average selling price per square foot of $160. Median square foot price was $162. Carving this into 3 categories of Distress sales which include short sales and/or foreclosures; New homes; and then resales we see the following trend;

Distress- 8 homes sold at an average of $149 per sq ft
New homes - 5 homes sold for an average of $158 per sq ft
Resale homes - 8 homes at an average of $175 per sq ft.

It's obvious that the Distressed sellers continue to put pressure on prices and that trend so far into 2010 is continuing. For the Buyers there are some great deals out there....take advantage of it!

on another note only 2 of these homes were sold above the Iredell county appraised value and the average selling price was 8% lower than the County's appraised value!! Hey, maybe it's time to apply for tax abatements!

The least expensive home sold was a tie between 2 homes in Sconset Village at $500,000. The size of these homes ranged from the smallest at 3,295 sq feet to the largest at 6,231 sq ft. The lowest selling price per sq ft was $130 and the highest was $207. That "backyard oasis" makes a difference in this category.

There were no waterfront homes sold under 1 million.


Homes Sold from 1 - 2 Million

14 Homes were sold in this price range and actually only 3 homes were sold at over 1.5 million and the other 11 at under 1.5 million. The average selling price per sq ft was $236. Markedly down from the glory days of 2006-2007 and Interest Only mortgages.

The breakdown: New vs Resale
New homes - 7 sold at average of $241 per square foot
Resale - 7 homes at average of $231 per sq foot

The breakdown; Water vs interior
Water - 10 homes at an average of $240 per sq ft
Interior - 4 homes at an average of $226 per sq

Waterfront ranged from a low of $187 per sq to a high of $285 per sq.

How "good" your waterfront lot really is made a difference in the selling price last year. Location, location, location.

Homes 2 million and up

4 homes in this category. one home sold at just slightly above 2 mil and the other 3 at over 3 million. The average selling price was $400 per sq ft. When these homes, which are all waterfront are added to the under 2 million waterfront it skews the averages a bit to the upside and these 3 million plus homes tend to be on lots that are the best in The Point so they belong in their own category. The most expensive home was at $512 per sq ft. There is waterfront and then there is WATERFRONT. In total The Point has had only a total of 8 homes ever sold north of 3 mil, with 2 of those over 4 million.

SOLD by yours truly in THE POINT

Sold - Full Asking Price and sold for more than the Tax Value ; this beautiful home has a great view of the lake and sunsets, well maintained and cared for home.................... This home was listed by me and 1 of only 3 homes under 1 million in more than a year that sold for more than the Iredell County's appraised value!!!!! It's a truly beautiful home with an incredible "backyard oasis". Welcome to the new owners, you got a beauty.

Carolina Ribs on the Run

Just recently went to Randy Rodecki's new restaurant Carolina Ribs on The Run, next door to Family Video on Brawley School Road, and I must say......WOW.....those ribs are awesome, and my boys loved them as well. So much in fact we went 2 days in a row to feast. If you haven't had a chance to check them out I urge you to do so. Great job Randy!

http://www.carolinaribsontherun.com/

Quotes during Housing Bubble

"The notion of a bubble bursting and the whole price level coming down seems to me as far as a national nationwide phenomenon, is really quite unlikely,"
Alan Greenspan, Federal reserve Chairman, 2003

"The idea that we're going to see a collapse in the housing market seems to me improbable"
John Snow Treasury secretary, 2005

"It's impossible for prices to go down this year"
Gary Watts, Orange County, Association of Realtors, 2006

"If you own your own home free and clear, people will often refer to you as a fool. All that money sitting there, doing nothing."
Anthony Hseieh, CEO, Lending Tree, 2006

"At this juncture, the impact on the broader economy and financial markets of the problems in the subprime market seems likely to be contained."
Ben bernanke, Federal Reserve Chairman,

"Housing activity will remain healthy for some time to come."
David Lereah, NAR's Chief Economist, 2005

"Housing is still the best investment, without question."
Stan Sieron, President, Illinois Assoc. of Realtors, 2006

"The national media is reporting a housing bubble. Don't believe it."
Dale Akins, Market Edge, 2006

"We got a big problem"
George W. Bush, 2008

Shoals Saloon Bar and Grill

Hope you've had a chance to try the new Shoals next to Bloom. Highly recommend the asian styled Calamari as an appetizer, very yummy. Great burgers, Prime filet and great layout. Keith W, great job, I know this will be very succesful.

http://shoalssaloon.com/

Beautiful Custom Home, elegant entry and dining area, with a warm heart for the whole family! $689,000 5 Beds 4 1/2 baths, exquisite upper master with fireplace sitting area and coffee bar. Cul-de-sac; level yard with room for a pool; design available for you to view. Come visit this home today.

Home Resales Jump 10.1%
Home resales leaped up 10.1% in October, rising far more than expected as a fat tax credit offset fears about joblessness. WSJ.



Setting a Realistic Price on Your Home

Remember prices may not always reflect reality. Consider the sales that are around you, what is selling = what the market is willing to bear. In the end, the value of a home is the price a buyer is willing to pay. It's chance, circumstance and psychology as much as location, square footage and design that ultimately determine the price someone will pay.



Are the Holidays a Good Time to List Your Home?

Well in my opinion it is if you are a serious, committed seller. The reverse of this is that buyers out in the marketplace during this time are usually very serious - why else would they drag their families out during this busy season to look at homes??? Consider this - the inventory is low, your home looks beautiful and inviting, and did I mention the tax incentive for both First time and Second homeowners!!! Something to think about before you opt out of putting the for sale sign up!