Lets start by saying at this time there are no definitive scientific tests to determine if some home has Chinese drywall.

BUT

What the field inspectors are noticing is a rotten egg smell (sulfuric acid). Also the other thing people are noticing is all the corrosion (a blackening) of metal items like bathroom fixtures, electric socket copper wires, and copper pipes. Also frequent failures of heating and cooling systems too.

Detection Tricks!

One industry event reported this trick for detection, if you have central air. Hang a silver piece of jewlery in front of a vent, and wait a few days to see if any corrosion has taken place. Also placing copper pennies on the drywall in the attic, and see if it turns black. When you are up there…

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Can you guess it. I bet you could. Of course it will be close to center city, but not in the four wards. It is by a major hospital, has the word park in its name. It is zip code 28207. Okay you guessed it...

 

Myers Park

 

This is based on data from www.esri.com and their properitery method based on calculating affluence. Some stats about the area are:

2009 average home value - $702,154

2009 average disposable income - $117,694

2009 average net worth - $1,415,583

2009 per capita income - $79,527

2009 median income - $114,185

2009 average income - $167,700

Number of households - 3,678

Number of total population - 7,846

Here are some of the homes in Charlotte's Luxury homes! Enjoy!

 

 

 

Keith is…

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On the average sales price of a home also dipped 6%. The price dropped from $209,245 in August to $196,760. The closings went from 2,221 to 1,945.

The good news is after a hard winter, I predict we will bounce back in the Spring of 2010.

Sorry to say, but I think we all expected the month of September to be lower than the previous month. Kids going to school and all. But 12% is a pretty big number for Charlotte. Also YOY we dropped 13%.

 

What say you?

 

Keith is a Realtor with Wilkinson & Associates in the South Charlotte area. He is a member of the National, North Carolina, and Charlotte Association of Realtors. He has formed a team with over 45 years of Charlotte knowledge, that covers the North and South and surrounding areas of Charlotte! I…

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It is amazing how far FHA Loans have come for such a big organization. FHA now has a 35% market share of conventional loans from what used to be a 5% market share, a little under two years ago. Check out the Realtor.TV link or hopefully REW website allows this video to show (embedded code).

I saw this interesting piece on Realtor.TV. She talks alot about new legislation around how FHA loans were not very friendly to Condos. This Condominiums page allows users to search for FHA-approved condominium projects by name and location.

Keith is a Realtor with Wilkinson & Associates in the South…

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I just saw an article on Yahoo and Charlotte Business Journal saying sales are down in Elizabeth (which is an area of Charlotte, most in zip 28204).

The article went on to say that Forbes.com says the Elizabeth area of Charlotte is among 25 U.S. neighborhoods experiencing the fastest drop in home prices.  Also that year over year, there has been a 37% drop of price, with the median sales price at $272,000.  The criteria Forbes.com looked at was the top 25 cities in America, an area within the city limits, had at least 10 sales with prices above $150,000.

Hmmmm!  10 sales you say.  I guess they did not get there data from CMLS.  According to our new "Sales history data", which you can get on my website, there has only been 1 sale this year.  Two if you…

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The number of homes that have sold above $750,000, or those considered High-end for Charlotte, have plummeted according to the National Associations of Realtors, and according to my own analysis. 

From the first quarter of 2009 there were only 75 properties sold, in all 10 areas of Charlotte. Compare this to the first quarter of 2007 where 245 sold.  This is a 69% drop.  Even 2008 compared to 2009, was a 54% decline.

Bottom line is lets face it.  The financial industry has shrunk, here in Charlotte, and that is going to effect all the Custom builders and high end resales.  Places like Providence Downs South which is literally a stones throw from my home, is going to be suffering for sometime, with over 61 homes on the market, and many of them in…

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The average home size is shrinking according to third quarter 2008 statistics, from the U.S. Census Bureau.  The second quarter had an average home size of 2629 sq. ft. vs. 2438 for the third quarter.  That is a whopping 7.3% decrease in three months, say good bye to McMansions eventually. 

There are other statistics to back up this fact.  Fewer luxury items are being consumed.  For instance 62% of new homes had fireplaces in them in 1991, now only 51% have them in 2007. 

I know personally we have a high ceiling or Great Room in our home and we have looked into the cost of making the upstairs a bonus/6th bedroom.  Not to save on heating or AC costs, really just to find a place for all the kids toys!  Also Granite is on the decline.

What I find real…

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FOR ALL AGENTS WORKING ON FORECLOSURES OR SHORT SALES
 
If you are working with a buyer who is going to purchase a foreclosure or a short sale, remember to read every addendum.  I just ran into one the other day that said that the seller (the bank) can unconditionally require the buyer to pay any and all taxes, water or utilities.  ** This means your buyer may be responsible for paying any back taxes with regard to this house.  This is another reason we advise that if your client is thinking of purchasing a foreclosed property, you should encourage the buyer to do a title search BEFORE you submit an offer!!!  This will tell you of any back taxes, encumbrances on the property that could affect the purchase of the property.

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