Category: The Angle

According to a recently filed rezoning petition, Charlotte homebuilder Saussy Burbank is looking into developing a new infill townhome project. The site is located at 3620 Park Road and would contain up to 19 townhomes on 2.2 acres. This infill development joins many others around Charlotte. If you can’t wait for Saussy Burbank’s new project, why not explore nearby Madison Park.

Madison Park is a well connected neighborhood. The Lynx Blue Line runs up and down the west side of Madison Park. Park Road on the east side contains many options for shopping, dining, and nightlife. Parks and greenway access are close by as well. Even with all of the connectivity, Madison Park maintains a quiet feel and is great for families of all types.

Park Road Shopping Center is right around the corner for grocery shopping, dining, fitness, and more. Montford Drive is also right in the same area for nightlife of all sorts including a bowling alley with trendy restaurant inside. If you can’t find what you need in nearby Park Road Shopping Center, you can head down the way a little bit to SouthPark Mall. There you will find world class dining, shopping, and outdoor entertainment.

Originally built in the 1950’s, many of the homes in Madison Park retain a timeless charm. Most original homes range in size from around 1,000 to 2,500 square feet. Many homes have been updated, remodeled, or added on to so some are now much larger than their original footprint. Styles range from traditional brick ranches, to mid-century modern, to Cape Cod to split level. Many homes have original hardwood floors, and unique architectural features.

There is a homeowners association in Madison Park that helps keep the overall feel of the neighborhood consistent and helps to retain property values. Dues are small and help cover 4 annual events, a spring egg hunt, community fall festival, trunk-or-treat, and holiday social.

Tree lined streets in Madison Park have bike lanes and sidewalks. Residents are seen outdoors taking advantage of mature landscaping, chats with friendly neighbors, kids playing, or just out for a stroll. All of these features have made Madison Park a hot neighborhood lately. An average of 9.6 homes per month have sold here over the past year at an average price of $308,098.

If you are interested in a home in Madison Park, give us a call at (704) 525-4045 and we will schedule a tour. You can also view homes in Madison Park on our website here.

This week, Charlotte City Council had their monthly zoning meeting. They meet every month on the third Monday. There are a few upcoming projects on the docket and it sounds like some of the upcoming projects are stirring mixed feelings in the community. Here are some of the projects under consideration.

The project getting the most backlash from neighbors is a 24 duplex townhome development on a 6.3 acre site on Sharon Lane between Providence Road and Heathmoor Lane. This rezoning request by Alan Simonini Homes and Saratoga Asset Management has neighbors worried about density, character and concern that it might set a precedent for subsequent development.

The expected 24 units would start at 3,400 square feet and $1 million. Both city staff and the zoning committee recommend approval for the petition. With some council members absent for the vote, the petition was deferred to City Council’s business meeting. More than 1,200 neighbors have signed a petition against the project and residents have packed the council chamber for hearings. Neighbors want to preserve their historic neighborhood and they are worried that this development will be a catalyst for negative change.

Another subdivision providing much contention in City Council is a 20 townhome project on 4.1 acres on Old Providence Road near Old Providence Lane. CW Development heads the project and residents seem fine with most of the proposal. However, a city ordinance requires connection to both Old Providence Road and Old Providence Lane. This would require cutting down some old growth trees that could act as a buffer between communities. A sidewalk would be required on the connecting streets as well.

Residents do not want the private road to exit onto Old Providence Lane as they are concerned about traffic cutting through causing safety and traffic problems. This has been an issue for many zoning petitions and the hope of residents and developers is a change to the ordinance. This project will come before City Council in a future meeting so we will see if they set precedent by changing the ordinance.

Also on the docket this month was a proposal by Barringer & Smith Properties and Alan Simonini Homes to build 16 townhomes in South End. The site is .7 acres on West Tremont Avenue between South Tryon and Hawkins Streets. The development is easily walkable from the Lynx East/West Boulevard Station and would be great for commuters. Neighboring businesses were concerned about new residents complaining about noise as the development is in a traditionally industrial area. Many businesses have been pushed out of South End after similar complaints. City Council approved the zoning request so the development will go forward.  

If you are interested in purchasing a new construction townhome, call us at (704) 525-4045. You can also view townhome listings on our website here.

Home Flipping

RealtyTrac released a report earlier this month showing the hottest zip codes for flipping homes in the Charlotte area. They defined flipping as one property sold twice within a 12 month period. There was no surprise that 28205 was the hottest zipcode as it includes Belmont, Plaza Midwood, NoDa, Country Club Heights, Plaza-Shamrock, and Echo Hills. These neighborhoods have lots of unique homes, lots of history, and are popular with young families, millennials, older couples looking to downsize and more.

There were many other zip codes popular with flippers including:

• 28205 – 138 flips
• 28215 – 83
• 28269 – 82
• 28216 – 78
• 28214 – 73
• 28208 – 65
• 28025 – 64
• 28277 – 64
• 28210 – 60
• 29027 – 55

What is surprising however, is that the zip codes with the highest gross flipping profits were not the ones on the list with most flips. There are four zip codes where gross flipping profits surpassed $100,000. Gross flipping profits are calculated by taking the difference between the two sales prices of the home within the 12 month period. These gross numbers do not necessarily reflect profit made on the sale of the home as you have to take into account carrying costs of the property such as mortgage, taxes, insurance and utilities. Also not included in this number is any costs associated with remodeling or upgrading the home between sales. Fees for the sale of the home such as staging and Realtor fees are also not included in the gross calculation.

The zip codes with the highest gross profits are:

• 28204 – $154,500 – Cherry and Elizabeth neighborhoods
• 28203 – $137,500 – Dilworth, Wilmore, Brookhill
• 28209 – $131,000 – Myers Park, Barclay Downs, Colonial Village, Madison Park
• 28211 – $107,750 – Cotswold, Barclay Downs, Foxcroft, Myers Park

Listings

According to Zillow, the best time to list a home in the Charlotte area is between May first and May fifteenth. They looked at trends for the past 8 years to narrow down the date range. Homes listed between these dates sold for an average of 12 days faster and for an average of 1.1% more money or $1,700. Their conclusion was that homebuyers that started looking for homes in the early spring may be anxious if they haven’t found their dream home months later, especially as we have a lack of supply in Charlotte right now. These anxious buyers may be more willing to pay a premium to close the deal before the summer starts.

Interest Rates

Meanwhile, the fed just raised interest rates and has hinted at two more rate hikes this year. While buyers may not feel much due to this interest rate hike of just one-quarter percentage point, if there are two additional hikes this year, buyers may start feeling the pinch, especially if they have ARMs (adjustable rate mortgages) or HELOCs (home equity lines of credit).

Homeowners with HELOCs should start feeling the increase in the next three weeks or so. ARMs will typically only see an increase in rate once per year, but they could potentially see all three increases at once.

30 year mortgage rates have climbed up over 4.5% over last year’s high of 3.6% (per USA Today). These rates are on the rise so now may be the best time to lock in a low rate.
If you are interested buying or investing in a home in the Charlotte area, give us a call at (704) 525-4045. You can also view listings on our website here.