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Spotlight: Montclaire & Montclaire South

Great neighborhoods are all around Montclarie and Montclaire South. Madison Park, Starmount, Barclay Downs, Colonial Village, Beverly Woods, Myers Park, Dilworth, Quail Hollow and more are all really close. SouthPark Mall, Park Road Shopping Center and Montford are just down the road, and the airport is really convenient. Originally developed in the 1960’s and 1970’s, the Montclaires have some of the most affordable housing in Charlotte today.

This area is really up and coming and with the Lynx Blue Line allowing you to travel around the city without a car, this area is becoming more attractive all the time. Archdale, Scaleybark and Tyvola stations are convenient for walking, or park n’ ride. The trains can get you uptown while you catch up on work, read a book, or listen to music making for a painless commute.

Montclaire South is roughly bordered by Old Pineville Road, I-77, Arrowood Road, and Woodlawn Road. Montclaire is roughly bordered by Tyvola Road, South Boulevard, Archdale Road, and Little Sugar Creek.

Together, these neighborhoods are close to all the amenities you need. Both are centrally located with two large parks. Ramblewood Park is a 93 acre park with soccer complex, basketball courts, playground, picnic facilities and walking trails. Archdale Park is 16 acres with a multi-purpose field, basketball court, picnic facilities, woods, and playground. Park Road Park and Marion Diehl parks are just outside of Montclaire and offer many more options for outdoor adventuring.

There is a homeowner’s association that helps organize the neighborhoods. Membership in the HOA is voluntary, but is a great way to get to know your neighbors and to stay on top of local news. With over 700 homes, The two Montclaires have tons of potential.

Growing families and young professionals all love Montclaire and Montclaire South. Homes here range from ranch, to split-level, to mid-century modern. Most homes have between 3 and 4 bedrooms and 2 to 3 bathrooms. Most are between 1,100 and 2,500 square feet. Homes have sold in a wide range from $125,000 to $385,000. There is even a completely remodeled home currently under contract for $416,500.

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

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The Queen City is Desirable, but is it Affordable?

This week, Trulia, released a report examining income of people in various professions in almost 100 major U.S. metropolitan areas to see if they are struggling to afford to buy a home in their community. Trulia is an online residential real estate site with listings and housing data. They examined income data for doctors, teachers, first responders, and restaurant workers for the study. According to their report, Charlotte is among the least-affordable markets in North Carolina for teachers.

The report shows that the average American worker makes $37,040 per year. The median home in the United States costs $254,900. This means the average worker would have to spend 42% of their income on a mortgage if they bought that median home. This is up 6% from two years ago.

Trulia defined affordability as a debt-to-income ratio of 31%. This means monthly housing payments would take up only 31% of monthly take-home pay. Percentages were figured assuming a 20% down payment and a 30-year fixed rate mortgage with an interest rate of 4.1%.

Teachers in the Charlotte metro area earn on average $45,683 per year. Trulia’s report shows that only 33% of teachers could afford the median priced home in Charlotte of $299,900. 29% of first responders can afford that same home with an average salary of $41,630. Restaurant workers in the region have an average salary of $20,322 which means only 7% of them can afford the median priced home. Doctors in the area average $208,000 per year and 96% of them can afford the same home.

Two-income households have an advantage in affordability, but if one partner loses a job or takes a leave for family or other reasons, they could be in a real financial bind.

The Charlotte area has been feeling an affordability pinch recently. With a shortage of homes on the market, prices have been going up steadily. In fact, a recent report from Re/Max shows that the median sales price of a home in Charlotte was up 10.1% just between February and March of this year.

There are still some great neighborhoods in Charlotte that fall below the median sales price which are great for single income households. There are also many neighborhoods that fall close to the median price that are great options for dual income households. With prices continuing to appreciate, it is also a great option to purchase a starter home and work your way up to a more expensive home after a few years. The city is also working on getting many more affordable housing units included as part of most new developments.

No matter where you are in your home buying journey, New Angle Realty can help you. Call us at (704) 525-4045 or visit our website to view listings here.

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New Neighborhood Businesses Coming to Dilworth

This week it was revealed that a few new businesses are coming to the space once inhabited by 131 Main and Cu Copper. These new businesses are going to be a great addition to Dilworth, and a welcome spot for locals to enjoy.

131 Main was closed in April of 2016 after a third fire in six years. The location at 1315 East Boulevard at Scott Avenue has sat vacant since that time.

The People’s Market anticipates that they will open late in summer. They plan to offer an all-in-one market, deli, bakery, and cafe. The plan is to offer prepared foods, catering, coffee, and a large selection of craft beer and wine. Additionally, expect more eclectic and unique items to draw in customers.

It appears that The People’s Market wants to poise itself to be in a similar market space as Common Market mixed with a bakery like Amelie’s French Bakery & Cafe. This means they will be open from breakfast through late night and will be available for take-away as well as in store service. Live music on the patio is a distinct possibility.

Next door to The People’s Market, a new cocktail bar will take over the place of the former Cu Copper. (Not to be confused with the upscale Indian restaurant Copper.) The bar will feature upscale craft cocktails using local and regional ingredients. The Queen & Glass will also offer small plates, tapas style, to complement the drink menu.

Cory Duran is the founder of both concepts which will have a “high-end industrial feel”. Hopefully his vision will be a boon to the neighborhood and will be a great gathering place. The location is great as it is walkable for many people.

If you are interested in a home in Dilworth, give us a call at (704) 525-4045. To view listings in Dilworth, visit our website here.

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Millennial Buying Habits Appear to be Changing

Are you attached to the home you currently own? If you are, you join 79% of homeowners in the Charlotte area. Bank of America conducted a survey of homeowners where they concluded that 79% of Charlotte residents could see themselves staying in their current homes for the rest of their lives. Homeowners here are proud of their homes and treasure the memories they have made. Traditional thinking has it that millennials are more interested in long-term renting than buying until they can find a forever home.

The survey helped Bank of America compile their second annual Homebuyer Insights Report. The national survey for the report looked at answers from 4,906 adults across the country. The bank focused on responses from 300 adults from 10 markets. The survey was conducted by GfK Public Communications and Social Science. The ten markets Bank of America focused on included Charlotte, Boston, Chicago, Dallas and Miami.

In the Charlotte area, 83% of homeowners believe home ownership has had a positive impact on their finances. 84% of homeowners are trying to make their homes more valuable by fixing up, adding on, updating, decorating and more.

Additional insights from the report include that millennials are much more interested in home buying than they have been before. Of millennials who have bought homes, 79% feel that home ownership has had a positive long-term impact on their finances.

It appears that the perception that millennials prefer long-term renting is incorrect. The study shows that they are buying homes or are interested in buying homes. They are realizing that buying a home can be more affordable than renting, and it does not have to mean that they have a harder time relocating. This means that the home they buy does not have to be a forever home, which is a shift from the previous year’s report when they said they might rent until they found a home they could live in forever.   

If millennials are more inclined to buy a home, it may make the housing market even tighter than it is currently. There could be more buyers vying for the small inventory in the Charlotte area. This could give the advantage in a bidding war to an older buyer with more buying power or equity to invest. We will definitely keep an eye on this trend.

If you are interested in a home in the Charlotte area, give us a call at (704) 525-4045. You can also set up a customized search for homes on our website here.

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Rental Market Update

Charlotte’s rents are on the rise, which is great news for landlords, but not such great news for tenants. According to Apartment List, the Charlotte area had the second highest rental rate jump in the state last year just behind Wilmington. The 5.1% increase from March 2016 brings the median rent for a 2 bedroom unit to $1,210. To put that in perspective, the state had a yearly increase of 4.2% and the nation as a whole only increased by 2.4%.

If you look at numbers produced by Zumper, median rent on a two bedroom unit was $1,270. Based on their figures, that is an 8.5% jump for the year and 3.3% up from the previous month. Zumper lists Charlotte in a tie for 25th most expensive metro area in the country.

This means that a tenant would need to make more money to keep their same quality of life as rents increase. According to Zillow, they would need to make an extra $384 annually. This 0.7% increase in median salary would allow a tenant to pay rent and still have the same amount of disposable income. Zillow pegs the median rental rate in Charlotte at $1,248. According to their predictions, rents will rise around $32 per month to $1,280 by this time next year.

If the Fed increases interest rates again, which is predicted to happen two more times this year, these additional costs could be passed along to tenants in the form of rate hikes as well. These figures also don’t take into account any other increases a tenant might have aside from rent so they could feel the squeeze from higher healthcare costs, higher grocery bills, or a host of other factors.

The Charlotte population is on the rise so there is plenty of interest in new rental units. In fact, Charlotte just topped the entire nation with the most rental units added in the first quarter of this year.  Charlotte added 9,347 units for a 5.9% increase. This topped the 100 largest metro areas in the country. These numbers, from MPF Research, are encouraging and are well above the 1.8% national average.

Zillow predicts that there could be a slow-down of rent appreciation in hot markets like New York and San Francisco. It will be a welcome change for those areas, and could signal a change countrywide. There has been a push in most major metropolitan areas to add more affordable housing options to ease the affordability crisis. Charlotte is no exception to that trend. Affordable units are part of many of the newly announced uptown projects.

If you are interested in an investment property so that you can add a passive income stream, call us at (704) 525-4045. If you are done renting and want to purchase a home of your own, call us at (704) 525-4045. To view listings on our website, click here.

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Discover Beverly Woods East

Between Beverly Woods and Mountainbrook lies stunning Beverly Woods East. This thriving Charlotte suburban neighborhood was originally built in the late 1960’s and 1970’s. Homes here have lots of character, beautiful yards, and many have been recently modernized and upgraded. Demand has been high here so you have to be quick if you want to get in.

Situated about a mile from SouthPark Mall, Beverly Woods East is in a great location. It is loosely bounded by Sharon Road, Quail Hollow Road, Carmel Road, Colony Road, and Sharon View Roads. A trip to Uptown Charlotte is less than half an hour as is Lake Wylie. There is world class shopping, grocery stores, churches, dining, parks, entertainment, fitness, and more all within walking distance or a quick car ride.

Demand for Beverly Woods East is also high due to school districting. Currently, residents attend Beverly Woods Elementary School, Carmel Middle School, and South Mecklenburg High School. There are also many private school options nearby, most notably Charlotte Country Day School, Charlotte Latin, St. Matthews Catholic, and United Faith Christian Academy.

Homes in Beverly Woods East have a variety of styles and building materials. These unique homes range between 1-story ranch, two story, and split level homes. Most have between 3 and 4 bedrooms and between 2 and 3 bathrooms. Square footage is typically around 2,500+. Many of the homes have been upgraded to include more open floor plans, gourmet kitchens, spa bathrooms, and more. There are still homes in original condition just waiting for your personalization as well. Expect to pay in the range of $325,000 to $625,000 for a home here.

Within the neighborhood sits Beverly Woods East Swim Club. This members only facility has a newly renovated large pool, shaded baby pool, watersports, clubhouse, and shelter house. For a yearly fee plus application fee, you can become a member and enjoy the pool all summer long. With no homeowner’s association, joining the swim club gives you the benefits of a newer neighborhood with amenities included by paying monthly dues.

If you are interested in a home in Beverly Woods East, give us a call at (704) 525-4045. You can also view homes on our website here.

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March Market Statistics

The Charlotte Regional Realtor Association published their monthly report today. For yet another month, inventory is down while home prices are up. Home sales are up from last year at the same time. There appears to be no end in sight for this current trend.

The downward slide in inventory continues with a drop of 20.3% to a 2.4 month supply. There were 9,212 homes on the market in March, down from 11,562 homes at this time last year. The 11,562 homes represented a 3.3 month supply.

There were 3,965 homes sold in March, up 11.5% from 3,557 homes in March 2016. In February of this year, there were 2,570 homes sold so the number of homes sold in March was up 54% from February. In 2016 this was only a 39% jump from February to March showing just how strong home sales this year have been compared to last year. Maybe it’s the amazing weather helping sales this year.

As is usually true about the law of supply and demand, when supply is low, prices go up. This has been true for the Charlotte area. Average sales prices were up 10.4% over last year to $271,351. The median sales price rose 11.6% to $220.950.   

Once homes hit the market, they are not staying there long. The average time from list to close is now 104 days. That is down 18 days from 2016, a decrease of 14.8%.

It appears that more homeowners are trying to take advantage of the spring season as new listings were up 6.2% from 5,648 last year to 5,999 this year. Pending sales also increased from 4,404 last year to 5,116 this year, a 16.2% jump.

Homes are selling for an average of 96.9% of list price. This is up from 95.6% of list price in March of last year. This follows the trend we are seeing of homes getting right around list price and in some cases multiple offers.

Home prices and sales could slow as the year progresses as the Fed has already indicated that they will be hiking interest rates two more times this year. This could make mortgages harder to obtain for first time buyers, and pricier for all other buyers. It remains to be seen how much, if any impact that has in Charlotte’s hot market.

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

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News Around SouthEnd

Amos’s South End/Gin Mill

Amos’s SouthEnd is undergoing a transformation. The music venue closed after a final show in early March, and is now undergoing a transformation to be the new location of the Gin Mill. Amos’s closed in part due to the mixed-use development across the street being built by Beacon Partners. The development is where patrons of Amos’s used to park their cars. Without the lease of the land for parking, it was harder for patrons to get to the venue. In addition, the venue was worried about noise complaints from the new residents.

The new Gin Mill will include a bar for libations, a stage for live music, and food. There will also be a 1,000 square foot rooftop patio and a game room. This will be a nice change for the Gin Mill as they currently do not serve food.

The plan calls for exposing the original brick and adding garage door/windows to harken back to when the building was a Studebaker dealership in the 1950’s. Expect this venue to be around town for quite some time. They have a 5 year lease with an option for another 10 years. The build out should take around 3 months so expect them to open sometime in the summer.

 

Palmer St.

Charlotte’s Gold District is about to have an arcade game bar. The Gold District is bounded roughly by Summit Avenue, the railroad tracks, Winnifred Street and Morehead Street. Palmer St. is in a warehouse at 412 W. Palmer Street, just up the way from Craft Tasting Room and Unknown Brewing. They plan to have 20 craft beers on tap, selected bottles and cans of beer, and food. They have over 30 classic video games and pinball machines. Expect them to open in the next 10 days. Palmer St. is at the start of what may be a trend of taking over the industrial Gold District. Some restaurants are already in the area so it is definitely an area we are watching.

 

If you are looking for a home in SouthEnd, give us a call at (704) 525-4045. You can also view homes in SouthEnd on our website here.

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Spotlight: Anklin Forrest

Anklin Forrest is a fantastic newer neighborhood in Waxhaw in Union County, North Carolina. These homes are all large with 2,790-4,299+ square feet. They have tons of included features and as there are a few new construction homes available, there is plenty of opportunity to customize and upgrade your dream home.

Anklin Forrest is located off Waxhaw-Marvin Road near Kensington Road and just minutes away from the South Carolina state line. Historic downtown Waxhaw is a short 8 minute drive away. There is easy access to Uptown Charlotte with a 26 mile trip, around 35 minutes without traffic. It would take you just a minute longer to get to the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.

Shopping choices abound along nearby Providence Road, Blakeney, Stonecrest, or 15 minutes away in Ballantyne. You will find grocery stores, fitness centers, churches, entertainment, parks, and everything you need close by, all while feeling the relaxation that comes from being out of the hustle and bustle of the city.

Builder Essex Homes offers a wide variety of thoughtfully designed homes in Anklin Forrest. Homes have 4 sides of brick some with stone or stucco accents. Homes have 2 or 3 car garages most loading from the side. The Williams Company and James Custom Builders also built many of the earlier homes in the neighborhood. Homes here have between 4 and 6 bedrooms and between 3 and 5 bathrooms. Most homes have wooded lots, hardwood floors on at least the main level and masters or guest suites on the main level. Homes also feature outdoor living spaces, grand open kitchens, plenty of storage, mud rooms, extensive moulding details, trey and coffered ceilings, and more. Some homes have full basements, media rooms, bonus rooms, screened porches, exercise rooms, game rooms and more.

Community amenities in Anklin Forrest include pool with kiddie splash area, pool house with covered picnic cabana and outdoor fireplace, Homeowner’s Association, nature trails, and dedicated green space. Streets are tree-lined with sidewalks perfect for an evening stroll.

Children in Anklin Forrest currently attend award winning Union County schools. Current zoning, which you should always confirm, is for Kensington Elementary, Cuthbertson Middle, and Cuthbertson High Schools.

In the last year, homes in Anklin Forrest sold for between $380,000 and $535,000.

If you are looking for the calm of the country, with a convenient drive to the city, Anklin Forrest could be just the place for you. This unique small neighborhood is waiting for you. If you would like to view a home in Anklin Forrest, give us a call at (704) 525-4045. You can also view homes on our website here.

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UNC Wins and HB2 Repealed

Only UNC winning the National title is bigger news than the repeal of HB2 in North Carolina right now. The Tar Heels won 71-65 over Gonzaga bringing home their seventh title last night. Fans across the state and across the country were celebrating this improbable win and counting it as redemption after coming up short last year.

Hopefully North Carolina will have the same kind of redemption after the repeal of HB2. Governor Roy Cooper signed legislation last week repealing the controversial law. The repeal will hopefully be the first step in repairing the damaged reputation we have gotten in the media. Many companies and sporting events have pulled out of the state over the bill, so hopefully the repeal will bring that business back.

Experts estimated that monetary losses due to HB2 were between $380 million and $750 million, but the total number is not yet known. It is easy to quantify the businesses that vocally decided not to relocate here and the ones that decided not to expand their business holdings here. What is harder to quantify is the number of businesses that decided quietly against North Carolina. There is a perception that the state is intolerant and that could stick around for a lot longer than the bill.

North Carolina’s economy is fueled by new jobs and many of those come from out-of-state relocations. Hopefully the repeal will show people that we are a great place where people are working together, across the aisle, to repair our damaged reputation and extend equal protections to all people.

Another benefit to the repeal is that North Carolina is once again eligible to host the NCAA Championships. These championships bring prestige and tourist dollars to the state each year. Cities like Durham and Cary are aggressively campaigning to be tournament locations for next years contest.

In addition, being an all inclusive state, one not tolerant of discrimination, is a great draw for millennials. Millennials have lots of buying power and earning potential so making our state attractive to them can only help us in the long run.

If the repeal of HB2 has gotten you excited about the real estate market in the Charlotte area, give us a call at (704) 525-4045. We would love to talk to you about it and help you find the home of your dreams. You can also view homes and create custom searches on our website here.