Construction..... (Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham: sales, real estate market, lease)

[forgivenbythecross]

Hi there. Our family currently lives in the sad state of Michigan. We are seriously starving over here. We are a small concrete construction business.

We are wondering how the construction of new homes and buildings are in NC. How is the real estate market going? If anyone has any input, we would really appreciate it. Are there new sub-divisions going up? How is the economy there.

Michigan is really rough. We need your help.....thanks ~

God bless,
forgiven

[MikeJaquish]

Real estate is great.
Influx of population continues.
If you have quality construction skills, decent service, and can sell work, you will do all right.
When you talk to a concrete guy about a job, it seems like the very first thing he says is, "All concrete cracks."

New subdivisions going up all over, at least in metropolitan areas. I'm in Cary, outside Raleigh. 50% of housing sales and inventory are new construction.
And we work year-round.

[leighbhe]

hi

I live in wake forest (north of raleigh) and I have a great friend who owns a concrete company (his father started it about 15 years ago) they do very well. His company specializes in basements, and foundations, sometimes does driveways but mainly the basement/foundation thing. There are many developments that are going up that start at 500k (one near me, the lots are starting at 300k and the houses are 800 plus). But there is tons of new construction, from smaller homes to huge ones.

I think this business is all about networking, finding resources, getting to know builders, etc. I don't know what the competition is like, but the number of builders is vast.

I also think it helps here because the weather is pretty temperate with not many months where they cannot do their work.

Leigh

[forgivenbythecross]

Thank you so much for this information. We are so very grateful. We actually specialize in trench foundations and block work.

Leighbhe........what is the concrete company name? We will need to contact them to get some prices too. We are finding that concrete prices are different everywhere we have looked. Some states, like Florida are charging $25.00 more per yard than Michigan.

We have 2 small children, and things here are so tough. My husband has been trying to get a job with someone doing construction since we are so slow, and there just isn't any work here.

I'm so glad to hear NC is doing well. My husband is a very hard worker, and so I'm hoping things will work out there.

The prices of the homes seem really high. Do most homes have basements? Is the cost of living really high? Gas here is about $2.35 per gal. How is it there?

[citydweller]

I have a general construction question and hoping someone might enlighten me. I live in a 20 year old condo and recently the owner moved out. The new tenants are smoking in the unit and the smoke is coming through the common wall into my unit. I am checking to see if there is a clause in the lease etc but my real question is in newer units can smoke come through the common wall(s)? Has construction changed over the years in this respect? I am considering of moving to another town in the near future and am wondering if this might be an on-going issue.

[Desdemona123]

Originally Posted by forgivenbythecross

Thank you so much for this information. We are so very grateful. We actually specialize in trench foundations and block work.

Leighbhe........what is the concrete company name? We will need to contact them to get some prices too. We are finding that concrete prices are different everywhere we have looked. Some states, like Florida are charging $25.00 more per yard than Michigan.

We have 2 small children, and things here are so tough. My husband has been trying to get a job with someone doing construction since we are so slow, and there just isn't any work here.

I'm so glad to hear NC is doing well. My husband is a very hard worker, and so I'm hoping things will work out there.

The prices of the homes seem really high. Do most homes have basements? Is the cost of living really high? Gas here is about $2.35 per gal. How is it there?

Most homes do not have basements....some do have walk-out or daylight basements. Most homes are over crawl spaces on on slabs. Gas here is 2.08 this evening....however the cost of living is not cheaper then in the North.

A good worker, especially one with extra skills and a good work record, can find work

[berryjuice4life]

we are paying 2.13 for gas as of today, and cost of living is definatley cheaper there than here in NJ....

[Jerseyman4]

Not knowing anything about Michigan except many Michiganers have moved to NC over the years and many have STAYED in NC! If you look at the Urban Crescent of the state, which runs from Gastonia to Durham along the I-85 corridor, there is growth taking place in all zones of development! If you are looking for industrial construction, the Triad (greensboro, winston-salem, high point) is your best bet. For housing construction, i would say it is a tie between the Charlotte and Triangle areas (triangle is raleigh-durham-chapel hill) but im slightly leaning towards the Triangle. Commericial buildings would be a toss up between all metro areas but probably the Triangle has slightly more going up in Research Triangle Park.

Gas prices are not very good in NC, it has the highest gas tax in the southeast at 29.9 cents a gallon.There has also been a push in the last year to bring ethanol gas at some fuel stations around the state but only brings the cost of gallon of gas down about 10-25 cents.

Although the gas tax high, you are getting what you paid for. NC has a comprenhensive state highway system that does not have county roads and few towns, do road maintienence and even then, are not too shabby. There are many four lane arterials, expressways and freeways in many areas of the state and two lane travel on primary and secondary roadways, provide fast and safe travel on its excellent engineered highways. A lot of construction is taking place on its highway system to increase capacity and prepare also for the future, many freeways in teh urban areas are looking to concrete!

NC is a great place to relocate and if you do your homework (ask questions, surf the net, etc) and take a visit to the Chamber of Commerce locations in some areas around the state, you should be able to find all of the answers you are looking for.

[cassy1]

We relocated from MI 13 months ago, and I do find most of the cost of living cheaper here. Our auto insurance dropped in half, of course NC has taxes on cars that MI does not have, but all in all still cheaper than MI. Meat and dairy are more expensive, but other groceries are cheaper. Gas is the same, up and down just like in MI. Utilities are cheaper here, although you will find that you have to run the air conditioner more than in MI (we ran steady from July - September). Houses are a better deal down here. Good luck!

[businessperson]

Forgiven,

I like your signature...me, too. Construction is big business in Charlotte. Things have slowed slightly but are predicted to pick up again this Spring. I'm in real estate and keep a close eye on those things. The commercial end of things is booming in South Charlotte/Ballantyne area.