Charlotte Information - Living in North Carolina

Charlotte home builders are once again construction spec homes. With our area housing inventory at lows not seen for many years and still falling, builders are erecting inventory homes for walk-in buyers. It is an important step to meet customer demand and area builders cannot seem to get them up fast enough or in sufficient numbers in many areas on town.

My recent experiences with Bonterra Builders, Essex Homes, Ryan Homes, M/I Homes, Grandfather Homes, James Custom Homes and others shows that they are willing to build homes without a contract... something they either would not or could not do even a year and a half ago.

What has changed? One important point is the availability of construction financing which has changed the game for small builders especially. The ratio of homes for sale to buyers in the market has also changed to a more balanced level in most areas, and heavily towards the seller/builder in the hottest areas of town. Continued low financing rates, more lender participants in the market, and rising prices have also played their parts in this story.

Call me if you are considering a new-construction home purchase and we can discuss neighborhoods, builders, features, floor plans, pricing and other related topics. I am here to help!

The 2013 Profile of Buyers’ Home Feature Preferences, released by the National Association of REALTORS®, reveals interesting trends. The report looks at 33 home feature preferences based on what a representative sample of U.S. households that bought between 2010 and 2012 say they value. Just over 2,000 households participated. 

Among the findings: Households in the South, including buyers of Charlotte real estate, tend to want the biggest and newest homes, and they like wooded lots. Those in the Northeast are most likely to like hardwood floors. First-time buyers and single women are big buyers of older homes. Households with children and move-up buyers like larger homes.

The report also contains these tidbits on buyer preferences:

• Recent home buyers who want a walk-in closet but didn’t get one in their home say they’re willing to spend $1,350 for one.
• Buyers who wanted new kitchen appliances but didn’t get them say they’re willing to spend $1,840 for them.
• Those who wanted air conditioning are willing to spend $2,520.
• Among buyers 55 and older, 42 percent want a single-level home, compared to just 11 percent of buyers under age 35. Single women also tend to place importance on single-level homes.
• Single men want finished basements.
• Single men and married couples place importance on new kitchen appliances.
• Among all 33 home features in the survey, central air conditioning is the most important to the most buyers; 65 percent consider this very important.
• The next most important feature is a walk-in closet in the master bedroom; 39 percent considered this very important.
• Also important — buying a home that’s cable-, satellite TV-, or Internet-ready.
• Thirty-two percent of buyers say they’re willing to pay a median of $5,420 more for a residence that also has waterfront property, and 40 percent say they’re willing to pay a median of $5,020 more for a home that’s less than five years old.

Real estate tax valuations in Charlotte’s Eastover neighborhood could changed... again... after Pearson’s Appraisals Services found errors in assigned values of their land. The firm has turned over its recommendations for new values on 27 properties where the owners had appealed the county’s 2011 assessments.

But the initial review of properties under appeal suggests that values also will need to be adjusted on many other properties throughout Eastover. Pearson’s has conducted similar studies of appraisals in Myers Park and the Lake Norman area as part of its review of the county’s flawed 2011 revaluation. Problems in land values also were found in those areas, including one instance in which the county did not factor in one lot sale when setting values.

Those reviews have focused initially on parcels where the owner has appealed values to the state Property Tax Commission. But the firm later intends to look at other properties in the areas. In the meantime, Pearson’s also is doing a broader look at more than 1,300 neighborhoods throughout Mecklenburg County for signs of possible flaws in values. A third of the neighborhoods have been analyzed so far, with at least minor problems in 196 of the 416 areas, according to the report given to county commissioners.

Commissioners voted in late 2012 to have the firm do a broader study, which is expected to be complete in October. As part of its review, Pearson’s will make recommendations on whether a property’s value should be lowered, increased or stay the same.

North Carolina officials visited Mint Hill for a public hearing on a proposal that could extend Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities service to some neighborhoods in the eastern part of the county. The utility has asked the state to add the Goose Creek Watershed to the area receiving water from the Catawba River basin. The areas of Mecklenburg in the Goose Creek Watershed, part of the Yadkin River basin, area presently prohibited by law from receiving water from CMUD because of the presence of the endangered Carolina heelsplitter mussel.

Approval of the request would allow CMUD to serve Mint Hill neighborhoods such as Ashe Plantation, where residents have been trying to get city water service for several years. The community now is served by a private water company.

The N.C. Environmental Management Commission approved a certificate eleven years ago, allowing CMUD to transfer up to thirty-three million gallons of water each day from the Catawba River basin to the Yadkin basin. However, one condition of the certificate was excluding the Goose Creek Watershed, because state officials had not studied the possible impact of runoff on the Carolina heelsplitter. Since then, measures have been put in place to preserve the mussel.

In an effort to gauge how the recession may have impacted overall attitudes toward lifestyle at home, the nation's home builders want to learn what consumers' want in their new homes. In a large survey released this month by the National Association of Home Builders, researchers found that Energy-star rated appliances are most coveted, followed closely by energy efficiency in the laundry room.

What home buyers seem to want most is high-end amenities, even if it means living in a smaller home to get them, according to the survey. Of those polled, 62% favored high-quality products over space. They want a double sink in the kitchen and both a tub and stall shower in the bath. They prefer french doors to standard and garage storage systems. They also want technology, from wireless home security systems to whole-house electronic features that control entertainment and utilities.

The amenities, however, only go so far for today's cost-conscious consumer. An elevator ranks number one on the list of things home buyers do not want. They don't particularly like wine cooler refrigerators and give a big thumbs down to laminate countertops. While they do like some outdoor space, they don't necessarily want an outdoor kitchen.

Perhaps the most surprising finding of the NAHB survey is not what we want in our homes, but where we want our homes to be. Just 8% of those surveyed want to live in a city center, 36% prefer the outer suburbs, 30% the close-in suburbs and 27% still want the old-fashioned, rural American living. This counters recent assertions by those in the apartment sector that Americans are increasingly seeking a more urban lifestyle. Favored suburban and more rural choices in the Charlotte are include Matthews, Mint Hill, Waxhaw, Weddington, and Harrisburg.

The age of the McMansion may be over, as money spent on space is reallocated to energy efficiency and home technology. Builders today will look to do more with less space, and buyers who can now afford to be picky about amenities, certainly will be.

This annual event drew residents from neighborhoods in and around Ballantyne, including Ardrey, Ballantyne Country Club and Piper Glen, to meet with leaders and staff from the city, county, state and community organizations.

Should Ballantyne stay in Charlotte or secede? How can the area attract more arts or sports events? What’s the latest on talks about the airport or renovations to Bank of America stadium? Residents got to talk about those issues and more.

Among the leaders in attendance were Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Heath Morrison, state Sens. Bob Rucho and Jeff Tarte and Mayor Anthony Foxx.

In years past, elected officials and other leaders would take the microphone one after the other to talk about their agenda for the upcoming year. This year, tables were spread throughout The Lodge at Ballantyne so people could have more one-on-one conversations with leaders.

MetLife Inc., the insurance and financial services company, is considering leasing 250,000 square feet of space in Ballantyne Corporate Park. Part of a major expansion for the company, this move could bring around 1,000 new jobs to Charlotte, making it the biggest commitment of new jobs for the city since 2009. MetLife states that the New York-based insurer is reviewing its real estate footprint and is considering changing locations.

Siemens Energy announced it would create 825 jobs in 2010. In 2011, Connextions, a call center firm, said it would hire 800 agents and managers in Charlotte and add 400 workers to its existing Concord office. In 2012, the largest jobs announcements involved Chiquita Brands International and MSC Industrial Direct, both of which said they would create 400 jobs.

The space being considered by MetLife is in the ten-story Gragg Building, at the northwest corner of Ballantyne Commons Parkway and North Community House Road. Bissell Cos.developed Ballantyne Corporate Park. If consummated, this would be the latest coup for Bissell, which has continued to build large amounts of office space at its Ballantyne campus. Bissell wants to stay ahead of the competition and have the space to recruit new, large tenants.

New tenants and renewals the park has signed include: The Babcock & Wilcox Co., HVM, health care company Premier Inc., snack maker Lance Inc. and Mitsubishi Nuclear Energy. SPX Corp. also recently moved into its new 240,000-square-foot headquarters at the park, which it expects to create 180 jobs during the next five years.

More than 36 million Americans relocated in 2012 according to the U.S. Census Bureau, an increase from 2011's record low mover rate of 35.1 million. And while many of those stayed within the same county, plenty of them packed up and moved to a different state.

Data from Penske Truck Rental, a global transportation services provider, showed that a warmer climate was the biggest reason given in response to why people were moving. Check out the top ten cities Americans moved to in 2012:

1. Atlanta, GA
2. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
3. Phoenix, AZ
4. Orlando, FL
5. Chicago, IL
6. Houston, TX
7. Denver, CO
8. Seattle, WA
9. Charlotte, NC
10. Sarasota, FL

In additional to it's mild and warm climate, Charlotte likely is attractive to relocating families because of it's good schools, relatively low income and sales taxes, access to jobs for educated and skilled workers, and its affordable housing. On average, homes sell for around $162,000 in the Charlotte real estate market.

In December 2012, home builders broke ground on new homes at the fastest pace in more than four years. This news offers a solid ending to 2012 and a promising start to 2013 according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). With inventories of new homes are at low levels in the Charlotte real estate market, builders are moving to break ground on new construction ahead of the spring buying season to meet increasing demand..

Housing starts soared 12.1% in December, reaching a 954,000 annual rate and the fastest pace since June 2008. While construction of multi-family complexes are still strong, housing starts for single-family homes rose 8.1% during this period.

Permits for future home building, an indicator of future building, also rose slightly in December to its quickest pace since July 2008.

Four years removed from the financial crisis in which he made billions in profits for himself and his investors, hedge fund manager John Paulson is bullish on the U.S. economy and housing in particular... a significant reversal for the man whose bet against the mortgage-market was the subject of a book entitled "The Greatest Trade Ever."

Recently, Paulson said the housing market has shown strong recovery with prices up and the number of properties for sale at a decade low. Citing those factors, he asserts they will put pressure on builders to create new product, creating some of the "most positive change in housing since the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy."

For an individual considering entering the real estate market, he says his best piece of advice was to buy a home. "This is probably the best time in our lifetime to consider buying a house," he shares. The combination of low mortgage rates, tax deductability of mortage interest, and prices that have bottomed in most markets mean that "affordability has never been higher." He added that he was bullish on the stock market and on the U.S. energy sector, whose growth could buoy related industries and the overall economy.

John Paulson is a man whose opinion on these subjects should carry weight. His bet in the mid-2000's that subprime home loans would damage the housing market generated returns of nearly 600% for the year 2007. Paulson has been optimistic about the U.S. economy in recent years, even opening a fund dedicated to investments that would benefit from a financial recovery.