A Change Moving Forward

As I like to say, there is nothing as sure as change (except from a vending machine).  Everything changes, the weather, the economy, relationships, etc.  So it is with the knowledge that change is constant that I decided to open my own Agency.

Please welcome Church Street Realty!


Center City Realty was the only agency I have worked for, and met a lot of nice people and great clients.  I enjoyed working with the name that embodied my "primary market", downtown Charlotte, so the change for me was difficult, but I felt I needed to really narrow my focus to the 4.5 square miles that is downtown Charlotte.

I selected the name Church Street Realty to reflect one of the grand residental streets in the city.  Certainly there are other streets, and other areas of the downtown that I will be with, but none with the strength of Church Street.

My mission statement is simple, "To engage with people who seek to find an urban lifestyle that will allow them to spend less time commuting and more time with their friends."

Being downtown is being in the center of the city.  If you are a regular reader of this blog you know that I look for information and trends that affect the property values in the city, and even when things have looked bleak, this city did not experience the same depths of other cities.

We are emerging from the worst part of the recession and businesses are starting to hire, and there is evidence that property values have stopped dropping.  Now is the right time for me to do this journey. I look forward to sharing this journey with you. 

Is Florida Leading The Way Back?

Go here to read an incredible story about a significant change in the real estate market in Florida

"August median prices in Fort Myers are up 33 percent from 2010. Miami is up 24 percent, Punta Gorda 20 percent, Sarasota-Bradenton 10 percent, Daytona 9.3 percent and Lakeland-Winter Haven 8.8 percent. Compare those increases to the national average increase for median list prices from all 146 metros tracked by Realtor.com: .46 percent."

Wow, who saw that coming?

I am sure that we are all aware that Florida lead the decline with all the overbuilding of condo's and spec houses when the market was peaking in the mid 2005 - 2006 era, and that despite the lofty increases noted above, they are still selling for below pre-2005 pricing, but the direction is positive.

It is one more sign that buyers, or perhaps investors, are evaluating the market and snapping up value where it exists.  This trend, though not with the same percentage of increase, has come to Charlotte as well.  The media keeps reflecting on the ups and downs of the market and average price of Charlotte, but they look at the entire metro area.  My focus is on downtown.

Prices have stabilized to a large degree here.  There have been several instances of multiple bids on a property, forcing all respondents to submit a best and final offer to secure the property.  It is this type of activity that will allow prices to rise.

Kanvas, An Urban Nightspot

A friend of mine told me he was going to hear some live jazz last night at Kanvas.  I have known about Kanvas since it's opening about a year ago.  A blend of Art Gallery and Lounge, I could not find when it was open, and never took the time to find out.  That changed last night.

First, Kanvas is located in the Court 6 Condominium building located on the corner of East Sixth and Davidson Streets.  It's tall ceilings give the feeling of a much bigger space.  There is a well stocked bar, and soon will have a kitchen to prepare snacks.  Currently, they have an arrangement with Kalu, and a special menu.  Open Wednesday through Saturday from 6 pm to 2:30 am.

Live Jazz is featured every other Friday and the next live Jazz will be September 30th.

The music, art, and friends were great, but the best part is it is a 5 block walk from home!  It is venues like this that make urban living more attractive,and the more attractive that lifestyle becomes, the more it affects property values.

New Yorkers Move To Charlotte

While some of the numbers in an article in the New York Post seem a bit unbelieveable, the thrust of this article remains pretty accurate, go here to read the full article.

People in this article point to incredibly high property taxes, as well as car insurance, something that people seldom think about when talking about where they live.  In this instance, a persons car insurance has been cut from nearly $3,000 to $850 a year. 

As I repeatedly suggest, trends are something that happen slowely but consistantly.  Look at the Colorado River's trend started some millions of years ago along a plateau which has developed into the Grand Canyon.  The New York Post is responding to a trend that they can detect at their end that will benefit us.  And they are not the only location, other cities are experiencing the same trend.

The cost of living here remains extremely attractive and that will be the driving force that will fuel the continued growth of our region.  With these people come energy and excitement.  With these people will come new companies both big and small. 

Couple this with the planned structured growth of the five Transit Corridors and infill density.  Existing properties will increase in value with the increased density.

The future looks bright for Charlotte.

Downtown Rental vs Sale Ownership Trend

This economy is creating some interesting statistics.  Available condo units for sale in downtown Charlotte are lower than they have been in over 5 years, and available condo units for rent are higher than they have been, ever!  I have applied the information reported below from a national level and applied it to a local graph of downtown Charlotte activity.

Housing affordability continued to be near record highs in the second quarter, hovering near its highest level in the 20-plus years it has been recorded, according to the NAHB/WF Housing Opportunity Index.  'At a time when home ownership is within reach of more households than it has been for more than two decades and (interest) rates are at historically low levels, the sluggish economy and tight credit conditions confronting home buyers and builders remain significant obstacles to many potential home sales,' says Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders. 'That said, however, some housing markets across the country have stabilized and are beginning to show signs of a budding recovery.' Source: NAHB

The conversion of owner-occupied single-family homes into renter-occupied homes has played an important role in stabilizing housing markets that have been wracked by foreclosures, according to a report on rental housing. The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University report shows that 1.4 million single-family homes became occupied by tenants during the 2008-2009 period, up from 700,000 in the 2006-2007 period. 'That is a tremendous surge in rental housing supply,' JCHS research director Christopher Herbert said during a Washington presentation of the report’s findings.

The conversion from owner-occupied to renter-occupied data comes from the American Housing Survey that is published every two years. JCHS managing director Eric Belsky told National Mortgage News that he expects the next AHS report will show a continuing surge in conversions in 2010. Source: National Mortgage News

Romare Bearden Park Is Underway

I am not sure that I expected so many political personalities be on the agenda for this groundbreaking, but they were there in full force!  The festivities started with the All Angels Church Choir from St. Michael Episcopal performing 4 songs.  That was nice.

As the politicians began thanking all the people who made the park a possibility, my mind couldn't help but project to the completion of the park and how it will change Charlotte.  The arbor and trellis entrance from the corner of MLK, Jr. Blvd and South Church Street will be a short walk from the Levine Cultural Center and turn that bland intersection into one full of life and activity.  The particular topographics of the site drops around 30 feet from that point.

Charlotte, known for it's trees, will now bring hundreds more into this park and surrounding approaches.  The lot opposite from 230 South Tryon will be reconfigured for a 25 foot wide promenade leading from Tryon Street to the park, giving it the impression that it is much bigger. 

The park will force Poplar Street to terminate at West Third Street, eventually leading to both Poplar and Mint Streets to become a two way street.  Currently, they are sometimes one way, sometimes two way streets.  The intent of a one way street is to speed up traffic, a two way street has the opposite effect.

As the economy improves, adjacent parcels will cease to be just parking lots and instead continue to bring life into these approximately 25 acres of under utilized space.  Across from the park going towards the railroad is where the new Knights Stadium is currently planned to go.  This stadium will bring in somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 people about 100 times a year.  All that foot traffic will surely catch the eye of retailers and restaurants, and like spiders and their webs, those folk live off traffic.

The event ended with County Commissioner Jennifer Roberts operating a piece of construction equipment and knocking down the wall of one of the buildings being cleared for this park.  She did so well that she may have a future after politics in the construction business!

What all this means for downtown residential property values is that as land disappears to projects, all land becomes more valuable.  The rise may be slow, but it will be steady.

Clearing Up Terms About Distressed Properties

Foreclosure, Short Sale and REO, frequent terms in today's real estate market. Yet, as frequently as they are used, people often don't know what they really mean. I have found a site that has a good definition of the three, and to read the article go here.

But for the condensed version, let me try to summarize:

FORECLOSURE

Foreclosure is the legal and professional proceeding in which a lender, obtains a court ordered termination of a mortgagor's equitible right of redemption. As long as this equitable right exists, the lender cannot be sure that it can successfully repossess the property, thus the lender seeks to foreclose the equitable right of redemption.

The foreclosure process as applied to residential mortgage loans is a lender selling or repossessing a parcel after the owner has failed to comply with an agreement between the lender and borrower. When the process is complete, the lender can sell the property and keep the proceeds to pay off its mortgage and any legal costs.

SHORT SALE

A short sale is a sale of real estate in which the proceeds from the sale fall short of the balance owed on a loan secured by the property sold. In a short sale, lender agrees to discount a balance due to an economic or financial hardship. This negotiation is all done through communication with a bank’s loss mitigation or workout department.

The home owner/debtor sells the mortgaged property for less than the outstanding balance of the loan, and turns over the proceeds of the sale to the lender, sometimes (but not always) in full satisfaction of the debt. In such instances, the lender would have the right to approve or disapprove of a proposed sale. A deficiency balance will remain as a potential liability for the Mortgagor / Borrower.

REO (REAL ESTATE OWNED)

Real estate owned or REO is a class of property owned by a lender after an unsuccessful sale at a foreclosure sale As soon as the bank repossesses the property, it is listed on their books as REO – Real Estate Owned – and is categorized as an asset (non-performing).

After repossession and the property becomes classified as REO, the bank will go through the process of trying to sell the property on its own. It will remove some of the liens and other expenses on the home and try to resell it to the public. Generally speaking, bank REO properties are in poor shape in terms of repairs and maintenance, however, purchasers will often go after these properties as banks are not in the business of owning homes and so, in some cases, the low price can more than compensate for the condition of the property.

Another Call For Action

As if to endorse my previous post concerning taking action on our own and not waiting for someone else to "save" us, the CEO of Starbucks is calling for corporations to stop making campaign contributions to any of the elected officials of our country!  Go here to read the editorial in the Seattle Times last Friday.

It is refreshing to hear this coming from a CEO of a company that regularly contributes millions to gain some political influence.  It is not right and we all know it.

His call for action does two things, first, it cuts off the life blood of campaigning that seems to be all politicians care about, and second, it calls for hiring and investing, taking matters into our own hands and not waiting for someone else to make things better.

In this real estate market we are faced with similar decisions, or indecisions as the case may be.  We are sitting in a perfect time to invest in real estate.  Prices are incredibly low, interest rates are incredibly low, values abound. 

If you are thinking of purchasing real estate, or have a friend who is interested in purchasing real estate in downtown Charlotte, please call me today, 704-236-7119.

Take that first step.

Time To Reboot

I spent some time with a friend of mine, and a former Charlottean, over the weekend.  As we walked around the city, looking at its strength, a diverse population, good weather, new construction, continued growth, moderate taxes, etc.  My friend is an artist, and she "sees" things.  She said it must be amazing to be here now.

I thought a lot about what she said.  The times are difficult as a large part of my business has shifted from sales to rentals.  At times, things can seem overwhelming.  Her comments made me look back to what I have written in previous articles in this blog.  Many articles concern new industries moving to this region.  I have written about how a major complex, Fifth & Poplar, has seemingly turned the corner, and is now becoming a highly sought address.  I have written of how the increased demand for downtown living, a combination of rentals and sales, is higher than it has EVER been.

Major issues like the Democratic Convention, the potential of downtown baseball, two new parks coming into the city, the expansion of light rail, UNCC opening a downtown classroom building, Northeastern University putting a location in downtown, Wake Forest Masters program moving to downtown are all filling the public debate, and all will add to property values

There is much to be excited about.

So when we read of housing prices being down or up from month to month, how do we reconcile those seemingly different stories.  The data seems to have somehow gotten truncated or corrupt, it just doesn't seem to make sense.

The analogy here is that when our computers sometimes become crammed with remnants of programs, we need to "Reboot" the system to clear out the cobwebs.  The government is not going to fix our economy.  Multinational corporations are not going to fix our economy.  We are! 

We have all heard "Buy low, Sell high" well we are at the Low time.  Valuation on available property is hovering around the 2003 levels, very affordable.  Interest rates are at historic lows.  Over 80% of the available financially distressed properties in downtown Charlotte have sold this calendar year, only 14 remain listed in MLS.  Someone is getting the message.

We need to "Reboot" our thinking.  As sellers we need to determine which is most important, the amount of profit from the sale of property, or moving on with life.  As buyers we need to stop trying to figure where the bottom of the market is, and select a unit and a price that allows us to buy low.  We control those things!

Things are different, and may never be the same.  That does not mean that opportunities don't exist.

Reboot! 

Move Towards Urbanization

Here is part of an article from Inman News:

" The U.S. population is projected to grow by 150 million within the next 40 years and 'more compact, mixed-use development' is needed to handle the growth and changing demands, Patrick Phillips, CEO for the Urban Land Institute, told an audience at the National Association of Real Estate Editors annual conference this week. 'The design and development of urban areas will be radically different in the decades ahead,” he said. “We are seeing a push to make our cities more livable and sustainable.” One-person households are the fastest-growing type of household, he noted. Also, younger generations, in buyer preference surveys, are placing a higher value on the sense of community and are willing to swap extra space for convenience. An urban renaissance has been taking place with neighborhoods that are near urban centers becoming more desirable, Phillips said. Source: Inman News"

This trend bodes well for those who own property in the urban core.  As more development starts to infill existing property will also rise in value.