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Thanks for response. I know the question is difficult to definitively answer - but appreciate you sharing your thoughts! I'm specifically wondering how much more downside there might be on 400k to 500k south charlotte homes in solid neighborhoods? Although some info I've received suggests pricing is bouncing near bottom, I suspect additional downside is likely even in the most desirable neighborhoods. Just interested in opinions of what % is likely.
Actually, I should have referenced 2007, altho prior to the 'bust' in late 2008, there were still plenty of people playing cheerleader w/ how stable the jobs and housing market were here. I won't take time to research it, but I did remember this one thread and was able to dig it up. Mikey and Jack were asking questions and predicting a meltdown back then.
I understand where you are coming from, Felt, w/ the whole "so what if folks move here without jobs" thang . . . but the facts are . . . our UE rate is being distorted b/c folks keep showing up here w/o jobs. They are five years too late and someone should be telling 'em that upfront.
Also, the cost of living here is not a bargain compared to most of the USA, unless a person is buying a home and the property tax rates are lower in this region than where they previously lived.
If a person feels better off moving to Charlotte why try to stop them?
Most people who move here without jobs don't care what the UE rate is because they feel like the rate is just as bad, if not worse, then where they currently live.
Last edited by Feltdesigner; 01-05-2012 at 06:21 AM..
If a person feels better off moving to Charlotte why try to stop them?
Most people who move here without jobs don't care what the UE rate is because they feel like the rate is just as bad, if not worse, then where they currently live.
Who CAN stop them? LOL
The median income in Charlotte is trending down. Social services needs are trending up.
That can't be a good thing when it comes to paying for those services (budget items need tax $$$).
Thanks for response. I know the question is difficult to definitively answer - but appreciate you sharing your thoughts! I'm specifically wondering how much more downside there might be on 400k to 500k south charlotte homes in solid neighborhoods? Although some info I've received suggests pricing is bouncing near bottom, I suspect additional downside is likely even in the most desirable neighborhoods. Just interested in opinions of what % is likely.
I'm pretty sure any RE person will tell you that the mature, established, and well respected neighborhoods will always fare the best in the long term. South Charlotte is most certainly the creme of the metro and you may even run into a situation where you have to bid up on a great property there... don't assume. Yes, more often then not it's a "move up" area when you're talking 500k. You won't find many FTH (typically making at or below the median income) looking to start out at that level - unless you're talking tons of help from the family (which btw I think happens quite a bit these days - Mom and Dad helping out with the downpayment).
This puts quite a bit of pressure on the 400 to 500k range, but there's a ton of inventory outside of South Charlotte that falls in that range - then consider that many of it is REO. I'd bet my money on a 500k house in South Charlotte holding value better then a similar property in "the sticks". But then there's the other side where much of it comes down to how much house the buyer wants. Beyond size of the house itself, you have to consider property size, finish, condition, and specific location re: on a busy road/next to commercial/etc. Comparing "similar" properties is always subjective.
So I go back to ani's original statement... too many variables to come up with a hard fast number.
I'm pretty sure any RE person will tell you that the mature, established, and well respected neighborhoods will always fare the best in the long term. South Charlotte is most certainly the creme of the metro and you may even run into a situation where you have to bid up on a great property there... don't assume. Yes, more often then not it's a "move up" area when you're talking 500k. You won't find many FTH (typically making at or below the median income) looking to start out at that level - unless you're talking tons of help from the family (which btw I think happens quite a bit these days - Mom and Dad helping out with the downpayment).
This puts quite a bit of pressure on the 400 to 500k range, but there's a ton of inventory outside of South Charlotte that falls in that range - then consider that many of it is REO. I'd bet my money on a 500k house in South Charlotte holding value better then a similar property in "the sticks". But then there's the other side where much of it comes down to how much house the buyer wants. Beyond size of the house itself, you have to consider property size, finish, condition, and specific location re: on a busy road/next to commercial/etc. Comparing "similar" properties is always subjective.
So I go back to ani's original statement... too many variables to come up with a hard fast number.
LOL. Yep. And I agree with you . . . I continue to watch the South Charlotte market carefully - especially the market inside Hwy. 51 . . . and I will have to agree - the market has held pretty darn well for homes in the $400-500K range. My particular home has dropped somewhat in "value" (based on my own comps) but until I test the market and put it up for sale - I won't really know the parameters. However, the appreciation on my home over a 6 year period, ending in 2008, was wonderful. So even if the actual selling price today would be less than what my home was appraised for in 2007 . . . it still proved to be a solid investment. I am waiting to see the figures for a house that sold near me - to see what effect that may have on the neighborhood. It appears that the 2009 comps as compared to those in 2010 are showing an increase over the low point - good news, indeed.
Taxes went up on my house, but I felt the tax appraisal was low, if anything. The homes around me simply have not lost much value. Of course, one factor may be that homeowners around me are continually upgrading their landscaping as well as their homes.
In short, I do not believe there is gonna be any more downward shift with homes in S. Charlotte, especially those inside 51. For one thing, folks want in this school district, and that isn't gonna change any time soon. I can't speak about the rest of S. Charlotte, including Ballantyne, as I just haven't been spending any time looking at those trends.
ETA: the other thing I haven't figured out yet is . . . when houses are priced the same in S. Charlotte and in Union County . . . are folks gonna choose Union County over South Charlotte? Now, that is a variable I haven't come up with an answer to yet.
Jack, I am with you. Neither cheerleader nor doomsayer. I agree with you about the economy. Right now it ain't so good in Charlotte. But my obervation is based upon seeing other economies than Charlotte. Most of these are worse than Charlotte's.
I also think that the old days of the 1980s when the economy was flying (and we all loved bankers) are gone for good.
The coming years will, I think, see growth but I believe that this will be slow and sure rather than a shooting star. Personally I do not expect a huge recovery either this year or for several years in the future.
I believe that the economy in Charlotte would be considered as healthy if we hadn't had such an influx of outsiders flocking to the area over the last decade. As we see companies like Seamens and other giants come to the area, we can't say that we aren't healthy. We do have lots of people on unemployment, but there is job growth, just not enough to put an additional 4 percent of those on unemployment back to work which would put us in the "healthy" range.
We are one of the fastest growing large cities in the U.S. If we were a city with very little growth and we had the same companies coming, we would be a very healthy place as far as local economy.
I agree with you about being happy with a slow growth economy. It is better than no growth. And, my friends and relatives in the U.K. tell me that things are just "starting" to get really bad there. Of course, when it is bad there, we are part of the domino affect.
^^^^Do you see Ani's post any other way then what was stated or inferred as you would like to put it? How could you dispute the obvious?
haha - shouldn't you be on a beach right about now?!
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