Best Cities in North Carolina

The real estate website http://www.movoto.com/ recently ranked the Town of Mooresville as the 11th best city in the State of North Carolina. Click on the link to read all about it.

Victorian styled home for sale in The Point at 206 Dedham Loop Mooresville NC

A truly stunning Victorian home built in 2003 with all of the current trends. Enjoy beautiful Lake Norman weather from your rocking chair on the lovely brick front porch.

As you step into this home you'll be greeted with loads of natural light, beautiful wide wood flooring, a formal study to your left and dining room to your right. The kitchen with beautiful granite countertops, Stainless steel appliances has a large breakfast area overlooking its private acre of land with seasonal water views.

The master bedroom with hardwood flooring, a clawfoot tub has an extra large his/her closet. The finished third story can be a teen suite, media, recreation or hobbyist room. There’s plenty of parking with a circular driveway and a 3 car garage.

The home located in Chatham Village in The Point, is a wonderful family neighborhood with a large green space/open field for the kids to enjoy.  

Offered at $625,000 through Annie Livingston, Ivester-Jackson Distinctive Properties 704-996-2744

 

view a tour of this home by clicking here

http://tours.tourfactory.com/tours/tour.asp?t=1041736&idx=1

Real Estate pendings jump back up in the Lake Norman area

Recovering faster than it did following the 2011 debate over government funding, the Lake Norman real estate market jumped the past two weeks to 92 luxury homes over 500k under contract, a level that the area usually only sees during the spring cycle. With many homeowners deciding to avoid the activity during the holidays, inventory simultaneously dropped from 511 luxury homes listed, to levels in the 480′s. For owners willing to put up with showing activity during the next 60 days, competition from other listed homes should drop slightly, allowing the still solid contractual activity to aide savvy homeowners who ride out what is perceived to be the “slower” season. There will be quiet periods for sure, but lower rates continue to drive activity.

The range below 1m down to 500k has had Davidson and Cornelius jumping all year, with last 60 days in Cornelius showing almost double the luxury transactions of the same period last year. River Run is also well ahead, while The Point is doing solidly above 1m. The west shore area of Denver and Terrell has had a solid second half in that range as well, with 13 homes closing in the last 60 days in the 500-999k range there.

Another surprise is the recent increase in waterfront lot activity in the under 500k range. Pending lots had dropped to single digits in September, but have now rallied to 16 under contract lake wide, all below 500k in asking price.

written by Reed Jackson, Ivester-Jackson Distinctive Properties Nov 5, 2013 full article at http://www.ivesterjackson.com/2013/11/govt-shutdown-over-pendings-jump-back-up/

The Magic of Painted Brick

Here is a fantastic example of a great, yet fairly inexpensive painted brick application on a home on Lake Norman in The Peninsula, in Cornelius, NC. We’d sold the home in 2011 in its original condition, and the new owners decided it was time to list and try to sell it this spring. They called Jayne Coffing at Ivester Jackson for advice, and after we toured the house and saw some of the light, clean, and casual interior updates they’d made, we advised them to consider a painted brick application with some shudders to give the house the same exterior ”pop” from the curb.
Over the past 12 years since the home had been built, the surrounding streetscape had blossomed with several new architecturally updated custom luxury homes in both coastal and old world styles, leaving this home as the only red brick on the waterfront side of the street. Our sense was that with the home setting at the very end of the cul-de-sac, a clean neutral update to the brick with some contrasting or tone on tone shudders, might allow it to “pop” with it’s own inviting charm. Below are before and after pictures, and the home is currently under contract after receiving multiple offers.

 

- See more at: http://www.ivesterjackson.com/2013/06/the-magic-of-painted-brick/#sthash.Newl5NMX.dpuf

by Reed Jackson

Summer Continues To Show Strength

The North Charlotte/Lake Norman Region powered on into mid-June, with 121 luxury homes over 500k under contract around Lake Norman, and 130 in the 250-400k range in Huntersville. Tightening inventory, particularly in the range below 1 million is resulting in single digit price appreciation in many of the areas around the lake. The Point, which started slowly in 2013, has seen conditions improve with 18 homes now under contract. The west shore area has also seen belated improvement, with 9 luxury homes under contract. Davidson and Cornelius continue to steamroll along, particularly in the 500 to 1.5m range, where prices are up around 8 percent from last year. - See more at: http://www.ivesterjackson.com/2013/06/summer-continues-to-show-strength/#sthash.BLzlm0QN.dpuf

Pendings Trend Upward At The Point After Slower 1st Quarter After lagging the south end of the lake the 1st quarter in sold transactions (7 closed sales vs 17 last year, while the south end improved), pending activity at The Point rallied in March to post 13 homes under contract following a 90 day period in which just 7 closed. The largest improvement occurred in the 500-999k range, with 8 homes attracting contracts after only 3 closed the first quarter. The 2 million dollar ultra lux range also showed signs of life, with 2 closed sales and a pending deal in the past 90 days, after not seeing much action for much of 2012. The community is in the midst of improvements being made by the Trump organization, as well as the addition of a recent membership initiation promotion which has temporarily reduced the main initiation fee through September while the ongoing updates are being completed. A move that has likely had a positive impact on prospective buyers this spring.

 

The improvement in pending deals comes at a time in which inventory levels had jumped up the 1st quarter to 66 active listings from the high 40's over the winter, and should help form the basis for some solid spring momentum to chip away at those slightly higher inventory levels (the 1m to 2m ranged jumped from 13 to 25 actives, but has remained a very productive range over the period of the ownership change). The improved momentum, combined with the membership promotion and the completion of capital improvements to the grounds and clubhouse should begin to impact inventory levels in a downward direction by May/June, particularly in the lower price ranges, where spring showings are now running ahead of last year's pace.   

 

Price Range     Actives     Pendings    Shows/house  Sold Last 60 Days   Sold 60 Days '12

 

500k-999k         24           8 >               4/month              1                  10

1m-2m             25           4                  3/month              2                  6

2m plus           10           1                  1/3 weeks            1                  0

 

See these Point area homes and others at www.IvesterJackson.com.                                        

 

Donald Trump talks up Lake Norman golf course

From Saturdays Charlotte Observer, Donald Trump talks about Trump National Golf Club Charlotte, formerly know as the Point Lake and Golf Club and that's it's going to be the best course in the state.

read on....

Looking to buy or sell in The Point? Call Annie with Ivester Jackson, specializing in The Point and other Brawley School Road and Lake Norman neighborhoods.

Trump International Realty Charlotte

The latest edition of The Mooresville Weekly has an article about Trump opening a real estate office here in The Point. I look forward to the competition. If you are looking to learn more about The Point, and other Lake Norman neighborhoods, this is the best website out there for local information.

Highlights of the article include:

"Trump International Realty, a brokerage firm specializing in luxury residential sales and rentals, has offices in New York, Chicago and Las Vegas. The firm has made no secret about wanting to open more offices this year. Enter Mooresville"

"Last year, The Trump Organization bought the luxury golf course at The Point Lake and Golf Club in Mooresville for $3 million and rebranded it as Trump National Golf Club Charlotte"

Click for the full article

106 Harwick Court, Mooresville, NC 28117 (MLS # 2126930)

Picture perfect home in The Point at Trump National Golf Club Charlotte, light and airy, neutral colors throughout, move in condition. 2nd floor bonus room is a perfect place to retreat; lovely level lot on cul d sac, in a great family neigborhood. Outdoor entertaining area with fire pit, mature trees and beautiful landscaping. This home shows like new! Boat slip in Pier Z is included.

View Listing

132 Wellfleet Ln, Mooresville, NC 28117

Spectacular Augusta home on hole #4 at The Trump National Golf Club Charlotte; beautiful natural stone entry way; home is inviting with tons of natural light, large entertaining kitchen with stone fireplace in keeping room; walkout to covered patio and enjoy the golf course view; gleaming h/wd flrs; attention to detail makes this home a must see! Call me for an appointment to view at 704-996-2744. MLS #: 2131012

Click here for the vitual tour

Ivester Jackson Cranks up Spring Community Involvement

Ivester Jackson Distinctive Properties has ramped up additional community involvement initiatives in the Lake Norman area this spring. The company recently served as a key sponsor for annual ICE Gala, which benefits the many fine programs at the Ada Jenkins center in Davidson that support local people of the Lake Norman area. Ada Jenkins provides a food bank which receives 17,000 visits annually, provides free or low cost medical and dental benefits to local families, and also tutors children with its after school Learnworks program, that serves nearly 100 local kids and has a waiting list of 230. The company also supported Hope at The Point this year, serving as a key sponsor for the event which benefits the Levine Children’s Hospital amongst others.

The company will also serve as a sponsor for this year’s 5th annual Davidson BUZZKILL Foundation charity 3 on 3 youth basketball tournament that has raised over 100,000 dollars for families in Africa.

This week, IJ partner Reed Jackson was named the Co-Chair of the Curry Classic charity golf tournament in June at River Run CC. The tournament is in its 3rd year and is hosted by former Charlotte Hornet Dell Curry, and his sons Stephen and Seth, who played collegiately at Davidson and Duke. The event benefits the Ada Jenkins Center in Davidson.

The Point prices per square foot update

The Point home sales priced per square foot.

“Today in America” Spotlights Mooresville

The producers of “Today in America with Terry Bradshaw” are featuring the Town of Mooresville in current segments focusing on topics, trends and issues related to “America’s Best Places to Live, Work and Play.” The five minute segment highlights the quality of life of our community, diversified employment center, prestigious schools and vast recreational activities

http://www.ci.mooresville.nc.us/portal/node/880

NBC Charlotte’s Tony Burbank turned to Ivester Jackson’s Market Overview

NBC Charlotte’s Tony Burbank turned to Ivester Jackson’s Market Overview blog and Twitter feed to form the basis of his recent report on the positive market trends in Lake Norman luxury real estate. To see the full report and video, click here;

http://www.wcnc.com/news/real-estate/Luxury-home-sales-on-the-rise-across-Charlotte-experts-say-185906862.html

2012 Finishing Strong In Most Areas, Prices Begin Recovery

Low Rates, Pricing Bottoms, Spur Increase in Lake Area Luxury Unit Home Sales For 2012   As has been the case for most of 2012, luxury home sales surged on through early November, with a total of 383 luxury homes sold year to date, versus 299 at this time last year in the Lake Norman/Davidson area. As we forecast in August, high summer Internet and home showing activity materialized into actual transactions throughout the fall with most areas and pricing segments running well ahead of last year in terms of units sold. As of this writing, the area luxury pending index stands at 74 luxury homes under contract, a solid number heading into the holiday season and year end.  Several areas and price ranges reported excellent results so far, with the surprise of the year being the robust activity on the west shore of Lake Norman in the under 1 million dollar waterfront segment, where 35 properties have sold so far this year. Cornelius has paced the east side of Lake Norman, particularly in the 500k-999k range, where 73 homes have sold compared with 54 last year, an increase of 35%. Activity in those segments also spurred an improvement in pricing in some areas like The Peninsula, where the under 1 million range saw an uptick in average sold per foot pricing from 163.00 per square foot in 2011, to 172/sf thus far in 2012. Segments in Mooresville, The Point, Davidson, and some areas on the north shores of Lake Norman also showed upticks in unit sales, as well as modest improvement in pricing.      Ultra Luxury Segment-What may come as a slight surprise, given the recent headline stealing 4.5 and 7.5 million dollar transactions on the lake, is the fact that the range above 2 million in list price, has underperformed relative to both the lower ranges, and last year, when 16 deals closed versus the 9 lake wide so far in 2012. The high end deals of recent months will likely help appraisal values given they were done at solid per foot prices, but there remains a pretty competitive level of inventory relative to the number of actual sales. The range is such a small subset of the market that a handful of deals can change the dynamic, from lagging to robust, yet it still seems there's more work to do in terms of inventory reduction in this range (there are 34 homes lake wide on the market over 2 million).   Inventory-Inventory levels have continued to show improvement in most areas, and 2 of the 3 price ranges we track in the luxury space. At the height of the recession, there were close to 900 luxury homes on the market, today, there are 433, including 34 over 2 million, and 11 over 3 million. Distressed inventory has also remained manageable, with 29 homes on the market, or less than 6% of total listed luxury inventory (and just 1 in River Run, 2 in The Point, and 3 in The Peninsula over 500,000). Slim distressed pickings in the high demand communities.  Banks have continued to unwind distressed properties at a pace that the markets have been able to manage the past year and a half, and while Notices of Default did trend up slightly for a period this year, it so far has not translated into another spike in actual distressed homes hitting the market.    Of the new metrics we've introduced, our smart phone inquiry tracking has shown a decrease in total drive by traffic of 35% since mid-September, something we view as typical for the season, given showings begin to decline this time of year as well. One encouraging factor coming from our smart phone tracking, is the 36% makeup of out of state inquiries at a time of the year that we anticipated this proportion would drop. At the height of the summer, out of state drive by inquiries were running at 50% of total, so while we've had a drop, its indicative of a remaining high level of interest overall.

Million Dollar Range Swings Back Up at The Point

Million Dollar Range Swings Back Up at The Point While sold results at The Point appear to be headed towards a positive increase relative to 2011, the pace has been a bit more sporadic than elsewhere, particularly in some ranges.   The community was trending ahead of 2011 results in strong fashion through June, and activity in the million dollar to 2 million dollar range has remained active and ahead of last year (including the home to the left sold by IJ's Annie Livingston). Activity in the under 1 million, and upper range above 2 million, has been more unpredictable, with the community recording its first 2 million dollar plus deal of the year last month, while sold results in the 500k to 999k range sputtered a bit the last 60 days. There has been a recent uptick, with 5 pendings in that range, as well as the continued strong showing in the million dollar mid-ranges, where 5 more homes are pending. A second 2 million dollar plus home is also pending. Given the Trump ownership change occurred in May, and several of the improvements are unfinished, its a little too early to observe any trend or impact upon the residential market at The Point, of the golf course changing hands. It remains a flagship community at Lake Norman that will be interesting to watch as the dynamic of new ownership plays out. Inventory remains very healthy and in fact declined a bit, from 47 units listed over 500k, to 43, with the upper ranges declining, while the lower range increased.    Price Range     Actives     Pendings    Shows/house  Sold Last 60 Days   Sold 60 Days''11 500k-999k         24           5                 3/month              2                   6 1m-2m             13           5                  2/month              2                   2 2m plus            6             1                  1/month             1                   0 See these Point area homes and others at www.IvesterJackson.com.

Solid Fall Continues around Lake Norman

Conditions in both the Lake Norman area and in historic Davidson continue to reflect an active fall buying season. In many areas and price ranges, showings are running ahead of last year, in some cases doubling September’s activity of last year.

The Point has rebounded to show 11 homes pending, The Peninsula has 12, and overall, there are 75 luxury homes over 500,000 in value that are under contract in the area. A very solid number for this time of the year.

As the positive news radiates, some homeowners are coming on the market with listings at a time of the year when activity traditionally takes a downturn. Cornelius has seen a 10% increase in inventory in the 500-999k range, but also has 20 homes pending in that range with 66 now active.

Ivester Jackson brokers continue to generate action, with Lori Ivester Jackson closing a 1.5m house in Cornelius, putting another 2m house pending with her buyers. Doris Nash and Julie Pfeffer both had multiple closings in The Point and River Run, Annie Livingston posted a million dollar pending transaction in The Point,  Julie Lopez and Sherry Hickman also sold 500k homes in Davidson, while Melinda Meade White closed a 600 and 900 k home in The Peninsula, the latter with IJ’s Jan Sipe on the listing side. Brokers Lisa Turley, Christy Chaffee, and Clarke Crawford also recorded pending and sold transactions the past 6 weeks.

Visit us at http://www.ivesterjackson.com or call Annie at 704-996-2744

Hot Properties Sept. 2012

Hot Properties Sept. 2012

In Cornelius A custom-built home at 19500 Weaver’s Circle in Patrick’s Purchase has sold for $1.49 million. The 8,712 square foot home was listed at $1.65 by Lori Jackson of Ivester Jackson Distinctive Properties. It has a tax value of $1.67 million. The waterfront home on .69 acres features a gourmet kitchen with a lower level full bar and wine cellar. Reed Jackson of Ivester Jackson Distinctive Properties represented the buyers.

to continue reading this article from the newspaper Business Today click here





Cornelius: This 8,712 sq. ft. home has sold for $1.49 million

How Things You Read and Hear Can Hurt Your Effort To Sell Your Home

There are many sources of information today that can influence the sale of your home, from online sources like Zillow and Trulia, to getting the opinions of your friends, its important to weigh these in proportion to the advice you’re getting from your broker. While Zillow, Trulia, and other online sources have some great content, its important to remember that it many times is not market specific to what may be happening here at Lake Norman. Your friends can also be sources of opinions, its just important to put those in perspective as just one of a handful of comments you’ll hear while your home is for sale. Here are some of the more common mistakes people can make when evaluating your home.
1. “My friends tell me that they’d rather pick what updates go into a home they buy, so I’m going to wait and let a buyer do their own”. Sure, anyone if given a chance to pick their own tastes, will say they want to do that, particularly if you’re having a conversation with a friend about why you don’t want to update. Friends, unless they are unusually blunt, are many times going to agree with you, many have not actually gone through serious remodel projects themselves, and typically are not thinking from the standpoint of someone moving from out of state, which is currently 50% of our local traffic. What we saw in a recent study of all the homes sold in River Run the past 12 months, was that homes with partial updates garnered roughly a 20-40.00 per square foot premium over homes with no updates, while homes with maximum updates brought up to 60.00 per square foot more. On a 3000 square foot home, that’s anywhere from 60,000 to as much as 180,000 in resale price, more than enough to justify updates. What’s more, the updates alone raised the odds the house would sell to begin with. Many buyers do not want to deal with the unknowns and hassle of doing their own updates, particularly if they are moving from out of town, and given a choice between doing their own and accepting something close, they will many times choose the latter.

2. “I’ve read that people from the Northeast, Asia, and Europe are buying real estate as an investment, why isn’t my home being advertised in those areas?”. Its true that given the unpredictable nature of the stock market and the attractiveness of home prices, that real estate is once again becoming popular with overseas investors. The facts are that many of these people are attracted to high profile areas like California, Florida, Manhattan, and Las Vegas. Not only are these recognizable areas, but they are also those which have sustained some of the largest price devaluations in recent years. Investors are attracted to places with 50 and 60% reductions in value, particularly those which are widely recognized. Our firm periodically advertises in unique channels which tap into these pools, but when we do so, we are typically touting the entire Lake Norman region as opposed to an individual house. The odds of one individual house selling from that type of ad are extremely long, as most shrewd investors, even if they do have interest in the area, will then proceed to shop homes as values within the context of others in that area. Finally, with all of the channels available for people to shop online, even international shoppers and those from other areas of the country have little problem finding properties on sites like Realtor.com, The DuPont Registry, etc. both of which get a fair amount of international traffic.

3. “The Zillow Zestimate Says The House I’m Selling Or Buying Is Worth More or Less”. There are lots of great new tools online to help you understand information about homes. However, as you climb up the food chain with custom features and various types of golf course or lakefront views on Lake Norman, its almost impossible for a computer program to have any idea what the inside of the home looks like, its trims or updates in critical areas like the kitchen or master bath, etc. “Zestimates”, are probably a decent indicator in tract communities where lot size and builder updates were comparable from house to house, but when you start moving up into custom homes and those with a wide variety of expensive features and upgrades, the most accurate indicator of price, far and away, is the value of the closest and most recent sold comparable homes, and at times that can be a very challenging thing to pin down. One of just many reasons you need a realtor who’s been in every home in close proximity to your price range.

4. “Realtor Fees Are High For Just Marketing The Home, I’m Going To Try By Owner Or A Discounter Firm”. One of the great misconceptions about the fees involved in selling your home, is that of associating the cost to “market” your home, with what you are actually paying for, which goes well beyond that part of the process. At our firm, getting the house maximum exposure is just one small part of what comes with our fee. Many of our clients are selling expensive homes, and strategy of pricing, understanding when market momentum is or isn’t in your favor, as well as the negotiating of the deal, can many times impact one of our clients by 50,000 to well over 100,000 dollars in the eventual negotiated price of the home. This winter we had a client who saw an agent down the street in The Peninsula dramatically reduce and sell a home in the 500k range to a list of 510 and sale of 470k. It was January, and our leading indicators told us that due to the lower inventory this spring, an increase in early showing traffic, and improving economic picture, that our clients with a similar home had a chance to do better than the one down the street. We advised that they hold their ground, not reduce to under 500, and in March we sold the home with multiple offers at 520,000, a more than 50,000 dollar premium to the home down the street. Our clients had asked should they reduce, and while it would have been easy for us to say yes, we advised against it and made our clients a huge amount of money. That 50,000 went well beyond a couple percentage points of commission on the broker fees, it represented almost 10 percent of the value of the house. How your broker prices a home, how they negotiate the deal, and how the handle the inspections and appraisal on a luxury home, can impact the ultimate sales price by amounts of money that double or triple the commission fee, something to think about in evaluating selling your home.

Lake Norman Home Sales Continues to Outpace 2011

As Ivester Jackson predicted last month in our newsletter, home sales in the Lake Norman and Davidson areas took a quick breather during the back to school period and picked back up this week. The combination of out of town traffic for the DNC, and news of improving conditions continue to create solid activity, with showings the past 30 days trending higher than last year at this time.

The area’s pending luxury home index stands at 78 luxury homes under contract at Lake Norman and Davidson, compared to 65 during this week in 2011. The distressed index remains low at 30 homes of 474 on the market, comparable to 31 last year. The occasional distressed luxury property has popped on the market, there just being absorbed very rapidly if they are in decent condition or in high demand areas. The ultra lux range over 1 million has cooled a little bit on the contractual side, but heavy showing activity this week will likely pop that number back up from just 11 homes under contract.