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.

Could This Summer's Heat Kill Out Lake Norman Striped Bass?

link to FOX News article

Charlotte home prices hit lowest levels in four years

Click to link to Charlotte Observer article "Charlotte home prices hit lowest levels in four years"

228 Freshwater in The Farms SOLD

This was a great deal on a foreclosure that I brought to a family relocating to Mooresville, NC. This home was built in 2004 by Zande builders, located in The Farms on 228 Freshwater was built as custom house and is one of only two waterfront lots that are in The Farms Community. The home with it's own private boat slip has 4637 square feet and I got it for $730,000 for my clients. This home had been on the market back at the peak in 2007 for $1,400,000. Was it ever worth $1.4, well no buyers thought so, but for $730k, it puts this at a price in the $150's per square foot. WOW. A waterfront lot, private boatslip, newer home, upscale development in the $150's per square. Not alot of those around, when you see them  act quickly.

 When the home inspector was out looking at the house for the buyer he turned to me and said "how do you find all these great houses at these prices". That's a pretty good compliment! He had seen another house I brought a buyer to the week before. If you are relocating to this area around Brawley School Road, please use a realtor that lives here and if this blog helps you gain local knowledge then please use me. I relocated in 2004 from Boston to The Point, have 3 kids at 3 different schools, play tennis and golf, I am on the ACC committee at The Point as well as PTO board at Woodlands Heights Elementary, so I have alot of local knowledge to help you make more informed choices.

Charlotte Housing Market May 2011

Thought I would make a quick observation about our local housing market Charlotte, NC. These are the numbers from CMLS system for total homes sold for the month of May over the last 4 years:

2011 - 1638 homes sold
2010 - 2150
2009 - 1668
2008 - 2445

So the market activity is down 24% from last year and even to slightly lower than May 2009 when the economy was just past the brink of collapse and the Dow Jones had just touched under 7000. With lower activity comes lower prices. If you are a seller needing to sell, be realistic. If you are a seller hanging on to a price thats unrealistic then you are helping someone else sell their house as your's gets used as a reference and makes another house price more appealing.

107 Squam Ct The Point SOLD

This waterfront home for sale in The Point Lake and Golf Club closed on Monday for $1,053,000. It was originally listed last June at $1,249,000. The home built by Arcadia builders in 2005 is 3874 square feet which converts to a price per square foot at $272. Tax Value is $1,024,260.

164 Polpis Rd in The Point sold

This waterfront home for sale in The Point on Polpis Rd closed yesterday for $1,310,000. The home sitting on just under an acre is 5666 square feet, putting the price per square foot at $231.

Nouriel Roubini recent comments on housing markets

According to my husband, the finance guy, Nouriel Roubini, chairman of Roubini Global Economics and a professor at New York University’s Stem School of Business, said last Wednesday during the SkyBridge Alternatives Conference (SALT Conference) in Las Vegas there's "huge slack" in the housing market still,  "This double dip in housing is just getting uglier,"

Home sales update for Mooresville and Charlotte

Quick update on homes closed so far this month vs last year during May 1- May 17 period

28117 - 14 vs 25 in 2010  down 44%

28115 & 28117 - 23 vs 39 in 2010 down 41%

all Charlotte CMLS - 672 vs 915 down 27%

159 Waterford Dr Mooresville Sold

This home off Isle of Pine Road in the Pine Isle subdivision just closed for $315,000. Square footage is 2,735 and the home comes with two deeded boatslips and has waterviews. The home was a foreclosure and owned by Community Trust Bank out of Ashland, KY. This home was originally built in 1992. It was a re-sale in 2002 for $324,000. Then again a resale in 2006 at $435,000, again in 2007 at 469,900. The home was for sale again in 2008 at $515,000 withdrawn at $499,000 foreclosed on and put on the market in March at $349,900. The home was under contract at $340,000 yet it was appraised at $315,000 and the bank moved the price and got rid of inventory at $315,000.

The Point I bring up here is twofold first the home obviously wasn't worth $515,000 back in 2008 and the seller perhaps could have avoided foreclosure by being realistic about the pricing. I have had many listing appoinments where the sellers are unrealistic with their pricing and they end up hiring the realtor who in many cases comes in with an agreeable unrealistic price and the house doesn't sell or the realtor kepps walking them down in price. I also have had appoinments where I will not take the listing because the seller is unrealistic and for me I don't want to risk my reputation. It's sad to see so many homes lost to banks when those same homes priced right could have sold. The second point I bring up is appaisals are coming in at realistic prices. If you are planning to put your house on the market think about a professional appraisal, it might not agree with what you think your house is worth but I've been agreeing with more appraisers, not homeowners lately.

On the other hand I currently have two foreclosures under contract that are awesome deals for my buyers. In fact, the home inspector I used after conducting a 6 hour inspection, said to me "wow, where do you find these homes" what a deal. That's what I do for my buyers we find the right house at the right price. I refuse for my buyers to overpay.

The Point Sales information

If you are looking for data on homes for sale or homes sold look no further than this blog. Scroll down and on the right hand side you will find the "search" bar, making this site more navigable to your needs. So, if you want thepoint sales data you found the right place. I have been blogging about real estate for three years and have been a resident of The Point for more than seven years.

Home Sales in The Point

Sales activity in The Point has slowed through May 4, 2011 versus the same time frame last year. On CMLS there have been 11 homes closed vs 18 homes last year.

According to a report on MSNBC by Clear Capital (click here for it) prices nationally have officially double dipped and are below the previous trough seen in 2009. The good news is Charlotte was the best performing major metro market with prices only down -1.4% quarter over quarter, although year over year prices slipped -5.1%. REO homes continue to weigh locally and nationally on prices and foreclosure properties are at an all time high. The pipeline of homes in the foreclosure process along with the number of homes that are 90+ days delinquent is 45 times the size of the current monthly foreclosure sales number, which is 34.5% of all sales. So it remains a buyers market for the forseeable future and I have found some great buys recently for my customers.

If you are selling your home; being realistic in your pricing is very important, if you price your home too high, odds are you will not get alot of showings and your home gets used to sell other properties because buyers see the value elsewhere. Listing agents with alot of listings might even use this tactic. When I am representing buyers I make them very aware of valuations and we stay away from homes priced unrealistically in today's market.

Here's a great home for sale in The Point on Great Point Drive

I don't think this one will last too long being a short sale and priced aggressively.........here are some details; One of a kind estate for family fun and entertaining. Tuscan themed home has it all. Massive gourmet kitchen, soaring entry & living room, stone fireplace, lake level with kitchen, theatre area, pool room & wine cellar. Roman style pool & spa, outdoor bar & seating areas, outdoor plasma TV, built in grill & brick pizza oven. Golf Course & Waterview and for the man that has everything.... a urinal in the downstairs bath.

 call me if you want to see it...MLS 2012369 listed by Keller Williams

click to view

138 Brick Kiln Way The Point SOLD

This 7487 square foot waterfront estate home in the Point Lake and Golf Club closed today for $2,050,000 putting it's price per square at $273. This home with a European  influence and it's own private dock includes an infinity pool and spa and it's own wine cellar.This home listed by the Francis team at Keller Williams had been on and off the market since 2006 and originally had listed it at $2,625,000. Michele Burton also in my Keller Williams office brought the buyer. It's latest list price was $2,250,000 representing a sale to list price of 91% and of the original price 78%.