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Not trying to insult or step on toes. Sorry if you guys took it that way. Just sharing my reaction to some of the posts I read here. I do know personally that a lot of the people who bought those homes were not speculators, just people who wanted a nice home in a good community. Unfortunately, there were those who were attracted a lot of attention and negative press for the neighborhood, as well as the area with their shady business doings. The tanking economy did not help either.
However, it is what it is. The homes are there. Those who bought for nefarious purposes are paying the price, and are gone, or soon will be. What is left is a neighborhood in which the inhabitants who bought for the right reasons are trying dilligently to improve, and save.
There has been a market for luxury homes in the Charlotte area in the past, and, there will continue to be in the future. There are a certain group of people who will always want to live that way. Maybe they won't fly off the shelves at such a clip as they did during "the madness", but our community is all the better when we have a wide selection for all income levels.
So, In response to the OP, I do not feel the luxury market in Union County is dead. Maybe a bit comatose, but I feel it will rebound. As I said before, the area has a lot to offer, and there is a large amount of wealth still in the Charlotte area. ( I've heard this from professional connections who work in the financial industry, and especially those with wealthy clientele.)
My sympathies to those who have faced foreclosure, can't sell a home, or whatever difficulties these troubled times have brought them. There have been a lot of families who are struggling, we can't deny that. But let's remember, people from all over read the Charlotte forum, and are still interested in Charlotte and UC. Lets tell the good with the bad.
Little did this poster know back this past summer. I wonder if they would feel the same today given the current market and figures just released on foreclosures.
Little did this poster know back this past summer. I wonder if they would feel the same today given the current market and figures just released on foreclosures.
Reality can be a tough teacher for sure. A corollary to that is that experience is expensive.
Looking back to the original post, I laugh, as the only answer is Duh! I knew then the rate of growth was incredible and unsustainable, but I too, was in denial, I made a nice living off what people in places like Longview spilled, but didnt bother to pick up. Now I actually have to work for a living because the Longview fatcats got fired and their houses foreclosed, their cars repo'd.
Wow. I do not remember writing my posts at all, lol. But obviously, I was very certain about how I saw the future for this market. Sadly, the situation may even be worse than I had assessed it to be nine months ago.
Hmmmm....okay, first thing I need to do is bite my tongue....OUCH, okay, done that.
"Spoon feeding sunshine?" RU kidding me? Mikey, where are you getting your facts and figures? Just curious.....
Yes, the market is certainly a hell of a lot worse that it was a year ago, but it's still better than most. In fact, Charlotte, et al, is one of the few sources of sunshine in the country. The only way to keep it from falling into the same doom-and-gloom catagory as the rest of the country is to encourage people to buy here, and keep values rising - and YES, values are rising. Your half empty approach hurts everyone, including yourself.
Yes, there are some pretty bad parts of town to buy a house right now, but there are also some great places to buy. Do some research....
It's funny, people interpret data differently, and normally from an un-informed perspective. For example, someone might read a headline that says "building permits at a 10 year low".....and think that's bad. Well guess what, that's great news. Less supply, more demand = rising values.
Another thing....I see posts about the "luxery market", and talk about 750k. 750k can get you 5000 sq ft with all the bells and whistles in Charlotte and UC, whereas in some places 750k might get you a 2000 sf ranch.
And taxes.....pleeeease. COmpare our taxes to some of the other markets and count your blessings.
Schools, great. Climate, great. Beaches, mountains, food, sports, cleanliness, people (most)....etc, etc, etc.
Our glass is not full, by any means......and certainly not as full as it has been. But it's not empty either. But let's fill it back up. So...to answer your question, YES, we are doing EVERYONE justice by feeding sunshine.....buyers, sellers and owners. Mikey, do you fall into any of these catagories......?
Come on folks.....the only way to stop a potential downward spiral is to educate people about are great city, and encourage them to come here. Consider yourself blessed to be living in one of the strongest real estate markets in the country.....trust me, it could be a lot worse.
This was a post by someone in 2008. Mikeykid, it looks like this poster was disagreeing with you on how the market wasn't that bad in Union County. Glad I didn't listen to this poster and went out to buy a house back then to keep the "values rising"
MMOORE: Love that last line you bolded. Things could be a lot worse, the writer said. Too bad he didn't have the foresight to realize that this was a GIVEN - and things were certain to get just as bad as in other markets across this country.
Wow, I look back at this thread from two years ago, and it was one of the few that I and Ani/MikeyKid didn't get beat up which was a rarity....(god forbid you say something negative back then about our RE market). If I remember correctly back in early '08, the sunshiners and realtors slowed down the posts bigtime of how charlotte was "immune" to the downturn, and how it was a "blip" and would come back better and sooner than the rest of the country......(guys, remember those sayings...? )
The sad part is, the conditions are nowhere near being any better for things to turn around.....
It was this thread that really got me interested in this forum and caused me to join. I remembering reading Ani, Mikeykid, and your posts and thinking to myself how right you guys were with what you were saying about the housing market. I thought you all would appreciate this thread because for the most part you all were correct
The upper end market is not dying, it's just slow right now. Union COunty is one of the fastest growing counties in the country, and for good reason. If everyone thinks the Charlotte RE market is bad, be thankful you don't live in Miami, or Pheonix, or San Diego, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.
We're fine.....just be patient. Our numbers are holding steady, albeit we have a ton of inventory on the market. But that's the same with any business....supply vs. demand. The demand remains, but the supply is plentiful. Get rid of the supply, and prices will clime. The mortgage industry is taking action and having some great results.....it's time the builders use a little common sense, work together and thin the heard of existing homes - for everyones benefit.
Wow, I look back at this thread from two years ago, and it was one of the few that I and Ani/MikeyKid didn't get beat up which was a rarity....(god forbid you say something negative back then about our RE market). If I remember correctly back in early '08, the sunshiners and realtors slowed down the posts bigtime of how charlotte was "immune" to the downturn, and how it was a "blip" and would come back better and sooner than the rest of the country......(guys, remember those sayings...? )
The sad part is, the conditions are nowhere near being any better for things to turn around.....
Honestly, we were usually pummeled soundly when we tried to get folks to take a hard look at what was coming down w/ the re-set of interest rates on mortgages, and the troubling banking issues . . . I had spent a LOT of time researching all these things and it really didn't matter to me what anyone said - I knew I had the trend figured out.
I wish I could say I felt 2010 was gonna be a turn-around year, but I don't. Until we get more jobs in this region, we are gonna continue to suffer here. It's a great area to live in and we have a terrific workforce that covers many sectors of the economy. We just need jobs!
And not a damn thing any of us can do about the national issues that will continue to affect our prosperity (and job situations). Those are issues that will impact all of us well into the next decade.
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