Category: Fort Mill/Indian Land

Lennar Corp. and CalAtlantic Group Inc. announced a merger agreement yesterday. This $9.3 billion valued deal would poise the combined company to be one of the country’s leaders. The merger will mean 240,000 homesites in 49 markets across 21 states will all be under one company. The deal has been approved by the boards of directors at both companies. The deal will put the combined company in the top 3 builders in 24 out of the top 30 markets in the country.

Lennar and CalAtlantic expect to execute the merger in the first quarter of 2018 with shareholder approval. The combined companies would have revenues of about $17 billion.

Both companies seem eager for the merger. They are predicting a strong market profitability for years to come. There is a solid homebuilding market with job and wage growth, consumer confidence, low inventory, and a production deficit. These factors make a merger a smart move as they can save on purchasing, land, labor, and overhead if they combine.

Lennar has 21 communities currently under construction ranging from Rock Hill, SC up to Mooresville, NC. Most of these communities have price ranges in the $200,000’s to the $500,000’s. They offer mainly single-family homes with a few multi-family projects.

CalAtlantic has 41 communities under construction in Charlotte and surrounding areas with 142 quick move-in homes. Most of these communities have price ranges in the $200,000’s to the $600,000’s. Most homes are single-family, but they do have a few townhome projects currently in the works.

Both builders have been in the Charlotte area for a long time and are well respected for building quality homes and neighborhoods. Many of these have amazing amenities, fantastic locations, and all of the upgrades that people want for the way we live today.

If you are interested in a home by Lennar or CalAtlantic, give us a call at (704) 525-4045. You can also view current listings on our website here.

Sales across the Charlotte region fell again in September. They dropped 3.9% from last year from 4,121 down to 3,960 sales. These numbers all come from the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association’s monthly report based on data from the Carolina Multiple Listing Services, Inc.

According to the report, inventory was also down. Last year at this time there were 12,297 homes for sale in the region and this year there are only 10,140. This is a 17.5% decline year over year. The region is left with only a 2.5 month supply of homes. A balanced market giving equal power to buyers and sellers in a transaction is generally considered to be a six month supply.

Home prices on the other hand, continue to rise. The average sales price was 6.3% higher at $271,606. Median sales price was up 9.2% to $225,000. This shows that the seller’s market that has been the trend is showing no signs of stopping.

Pending sales were up 16.4% to 4,137 up from 3,555. The strength of pending sales shows that we should have a stable market for a while to come.

New listings are up year over year. They are up 3.3% to 4,700 from 4,550. This shows seller’s confidence in the market continuing to be strong.

Homes are selling quicker than last year as well. The time on the market from list to close was 99 days last year and this year is down to 90 days. Loans still take about the same time to come through so this means that the days on the market until the sale were also down from 47 to 39 days.

The market shows all indications of remaining a strong seller’s market, even with sales in a slump. If you are interested in a home in the Charlotte area, give us a call at (704) 525-4045. You can also view current listings on our website here.

If you are interested in new construction in the Charlotte area but aren’t sure what you want in a home, the Parade of Homes is a great place to start. This showcase highlights model homes in communities all around the area in a wide variety of styles, home builders, and price points. The Parade of Homes is also a great way to learn your way around if you are new to town.

The Parade of Homes began last weekend, and continues this weekend and the next. Dates are October 13-15, and 20-22. Homes are open from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Sundays. The tour is free of charge and even has an app this year that will help you navigate. You can also check out http://www.paradecharlotte.com/ for the interactive website to plan your tour.

The Parade of Homes is like a huge open house. The best home builders in Charlotte and the surrounding area are all participants. They pull out all of the stops to show you everything they can do for you. Builders show fully furnished model homes and hope to get you to sign on the dotted line for a new home.

Some important things to remember about purchasing a new home. Just like purchasing an existing home, it is important to have your own Realtor represent you in the transaction. All of the sales staff for the builder work for the builder’s interests. You want to make sure you have someone to help guide you through what will probably be the single biggest investment in your life. A Realtor can help you through the process of choosing all of the options, upgrades, and finishes that will make your house a home, but will also make it appreciate and if necessary, get you the best price on resale.

Eighty homes will be a part of the tour this year highlighting 21 builders. Prices range from $240,000 up to $1.4 million. The show is organized by the Home Builders Association of Greater Charlotte. This year the homes are in Fort Mill, Rock Hill, Weddington, Huntersville, Concord, and in Charlotte as well. Builders represented this year are:

• Alan Simonini Homes
• Arthur Rutenberg Homes
• Bonterra Builders
• Century Communities
• Chelsea Building Group
• David Weekley Homes
• Epcon Communities
• Essex Homes
• Fielding Homes
• H & H Homes
• Knotts Builders
• Kolter Homes
• Mattamy Homes
• Meritage Homes
• Niblock Homes
• Saussy Burbank
• Shea Homes
• Smith Douglas Homes
• Taylor Morrison
• Terrata Homes
• Toll Brothers

If you are interested in a new home in the Charlotte area, go tour the Parade of Homes, then give us a call at (704) 525-4045 and we will be happy to help you navigate through the process of purchasing your new home. You can also view current listings on our website here.

The trend continues with no apparent end in sight. Once again, inventory is down in the Charlotte area while prices creep upwards. But the real story is that home sales took another hit in August. These numbers all come from the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association reporting on data from the Carolina Multiple Listing Service.

Inventory is down 18.6% compared to August of last year leaving just a 2.6 month supply. 10,153 homes were on the market for sale, while last year there were 12,477. Last month there were 10,174 for a decrease of 21 listings month over month.

Sales were down 3.8% for the same period. 4,297 homes sold in August as compared to 4,467 last year at this time. This number is up slightly over last month, just 1.2% higher than July.

Median sales price crept up to $230,000 while average sales price inched up to $273,549. This means median sales price is up 5% from this time last year but is down from last month’s $236,000. Average sales price is up 1% from last August, but is down from last month’s $280,696. These numbers can be affected by a few large sales so we will have to wait and see if this is a new trend where prices might be adjusting.

5,394 new listings hit the market in August which represents an increase of 6% over last year.

Industry analysts are predicting that the market will begin to balance over the next couple of years. They expect some relief to the inventory woes as the cooler months typically have a slowdown in the market. This seasonal slowdown should, weather permitting, allow builders to provide more inventory to the market.

The Charlotte area doesn’t seem to be cooling off anytime soon. There is still demand for listings and there is still positive job growth. This means it is still a great place to call home.

If you are interested in a home in the Charlotte area, give us a call at (704) 525-4045. You can view current listings on our website here.

The housing market in the Charlotte continues to be strong this summer. All indicators are that sales are strong, they are up 3.1% year over year which is a rise of 127 sales. However, total inventory is still down year over year down to a 2.6 month supply of homes.

The monthly report from the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association also shows that sales slowed between June and July. Sales are down 473 homes from one month to the next. This appears to follow a yearly trend. In 2016 there was a dip in sales of 785 homes between June and July.

The 2.6 months of inventory are down 25.7% from June of 2016 when there was a 3.5 month supply of homes. There were only 10,174 homes on the market at the time of the report as compared to 12,685 in July of 2016.

There are a few factors that are keeping a shortage of homes on the market. Sellers are not listing homes the same way. There is a trend of homeowners staying in homes longer, not trading up from a starter home, or just buying their forever home from the beginning. With a lack of supply in the market, it is hard for sellers to sell until they have secured their next home. This leads to a catch-22 where sellers won’t sell because they have nothing to buy.

Builders are not able to make up the gap fast enough to add supply to the market to keep up with buyer demand. There has been a labor shortage for builders so they are relying on a smaller pool of talent and that inevitably slows down building.

New listings are up 5.9% from 5,123 to 5,427. Pending sales are also on the rise from 4,068 to 4,724 representing a rise of 16.1% year over year. This is a strong sign that the market is going to continue on the current trajectory.

If you are interested in a home in the Charlotte area, give us a call at (704) 525-4045. You can also view current listings on our website here.

Trends show that people want to downsize after their children leave the nest. Builders have noticed this trend and they are responding in a big way. There are at least 6 communities specifically catering to active adults over age 55. Trilogy Lake Norman, Cypress, Tree Tops, Aldersgate, Cresswind Charlotte and Carolina Orchard have been built over the last few years. There are many other projects in the works as demand is soaring.

Most of the communities have found features specifically geared toward a soon to be aging population. These features include single-story homes, low to no maintenance exteriors taken care of by an HOA, and start prices around $200,000.

The thing that sets these communities apart are the amenities. They usually have large recreation centers with gyms, yoga rooms, spin classes, heated salt-water pools and more. Many of them have cooking classes, poker clubs, book clubs, boating clubs, and dinner outing clubs. There are even some communities that cater to the travel minded, organizing group trips to destinations all over the world.

The active adults that want to live in these places are still very much a part of the wider community. Many of them move to be closer to family, but to still be independent. There is really a sense of belonging within the projects.

Many of these 55 and older communities are marketed as if they are campuses of like minded people coming together. They focus on holistic wellness, resort style amenities, and social interaction. There are also many of the communities that provide full assisted living for residents who require a higher level of care.

If you are interested in one of the many communities for active adults in and around Charlotte, give us a call at (704) 525-4045. You can also view current listings on our website here.