Charlotte foreclosures- short sales and other distressed property sales are making a bigger and bigger part of our market.  May Sales through the Carolina MLS were up 33%- what % were distressed? I'm working to find that out... but my closings for June, a record by number and volume, half by volume were distressed sales. 

See the new pages at

Charlotte foreclosures

Bank Owned- Short Sales at Lake Wylie and Lake Norman

Foreclosure and Short Sale FAQ's

Charlotte Real Estate

Homes for Sale in Union County NC: Weddington, Waxhaw and Marvin, 4th Quarter 2009

Relax in Waxhaw NC

The most popular "move to" county in nearby Charlotte NC is Union county, and these close-in suburbs  Weddington, Waxhaw and Marvin- also Matthews in Union county,  are communities of special interest to folks relocating to the greater Charlotte area. Union County is known for its bucolic setting and comfortable lifestyle, the area is served by qualioty Union County schools and the well regarded schools at Weddington (Weddington Elementary, Weddington Middle, and Weddington High School) and the campus at Marvin Ridge, with Marvin Ridge Middle School and Marvin Ridge High School, and is a comfortable commute to south Charlotte, the airport, and Uptown Charlotte.

Waxhaw and Marvin families love the new stores at Blakeney (Super Target, Best Buy, Pet Smart to name just a few, complete list) , Weddington families love the new Target and shops at Weddington and Waxhaw-Indian Trail Road.  If you want more pictures and community information follow these links, Waxhaw Homes and Communities or Weddington Homes and Communities

Homes Sold- 10/1/2009  to 12/31/2009- Zip Codes 28173, 28104

233 Homes Sold in these  Union County suburbs in the 4th quarter, 2009, ranging from just under $100,ooo to 2.5M. The median home price was $336,555 and the median net cost per square foot was $104.

Homes for Sale Under 350,000 accounted for 58% of the market in 2009, and they had an average cost per square foot of $90.

Homes For Sale under $500,000 accounted for 79% of the market, with an average cost per square foot of $96.

Compared to 2008, There was an  7.9% uptick in homes sales over a slow 2008, and a 11% drop in prices compared  to 4th quarter 2009- just a bit higher than the area average.

Popular Communities in Matthews, Marvin,  Waxhaw and Weddington- Median Cost Per Square Foot (average home, average condition)

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Weddington- Waxhaw -Matthews Home Search

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Like to know more numbers on your community? Just let us know- we prepare custom research for clients routinely. And if you like these charts, just sign up on right and get new charts weekly!

Prices reflect the seasonal low point for the year, see below

These 4th quarter price decrease is well within the seasonal margins- demand slows to a crawl from just before Thanksgiving to about now.

Lets look at Median Prices (falling through the quarter) and the Market Action Index- (current sales versus current listings, 30 is neutral, below 30 is a  Buyers Market*)

See the rest of the story at Waxhaw Homes

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Moving to Charlotte?    Many of our talented Group live in, work and love Waxhaw. Come on down to Union County, NC. Call Terry McDonald at 704-351-1519

Charlotte|Bank of America, Bechtler and Jobs- 3 Big Stories

I'll drink to the end of 2009. I think most of us will, still, it was far from all gloom, and 2010 looks considerably brighter.

2nd Tallest in Charlotte- Duke Tower

WE could argue on the order, but I think these are the biggest 3 stories in 2009, really coming together in the last 45 days.

Bank of America hires its new CEO from within, Brian Moynihan, who is NOT a New York guy and has promised to keep Bank of America in Charlotte.

The Bank will focus on its balance sheet- doing the things they do well, better. In a city that prides itself on its "Can Do" independent spirit, it was welcome news that BOA was able to repay it's TARP loan early and with interest in December.

Finance is one of the kingpins of Charlotte business, so it was good to see Wells Fargo settle in, make a huge contribution to our non-profit sector, and get  stronger as the year progressed. I look forward to getting to know them better. However, the headline this year is still that Bank of America, one of the giants,  re-committed to Charlotte. That will reverberate through the years.

Now if  BOA can get their short-sale procedures in line and out of last place when it comes to us Realtors... I'll be real happy.

North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue likes Charlotte.

This is big news. She is here all the time. I'd been noticing that- I never saw the prior Governor in Charlotte (though I am sure he came) when the Charlotte Business Journal recapped the year in an excellent article out Friday

For the rest of the story, vist Charlotte Homes and Real Estate

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Relocating to Charlotte? We'll help you get here.

Terry McDonald ... Smart buyers and quality Buyer Agents make great deals happen in Charlotte. Call me at 704-351-1519, and I'll get you started.

#CharlotteMustSees

... so if you were visiting Charlotte for a few days to a week, what would you want to see and do?

Firebird welcomes Bechtler Museum visitors

Terry's Top Ten List of Charlotte "Must See's"

on Twitter#CharlotteMUSTSee

So you are coming to Charlotte, coming to see if moving here makes sense...  What should you do while you are here?  Where should you stay?

I started with my ideas and perspectives,  then I asked the twitter-verse for help and got some new ideas

Starting with the last question first, I'd stay in Uptown Charlotte, or the Southpark area. These two spots are centrally located, full of life, and easy jumping off points to the rest of the area. There is a wide selection of hotel and restaurants in each area, from the 5 star Ritz-Carlton across from Epicenter, to 3 Marriot's Uptown, an Omni and Hilton, or in Southpark, 4 Marriot's ... If golf is your thing, try the Ballantyne hotel. (formerly Ballantyne Resort)

So, this is my list, I'll make notes for families with children, and I've polled some of my younger friends for the 20 something crowd.  Here is what I'd be sure and see, no particualr order but as my schedule permitted, and outdoor events are dependent on weather.

NODA- North Davidson (NODA) Gallery Crawls the 1st and 3rd Friday evenings, art and music home in the Arts District. Visit Amelies French Bakery for a sweet, coffee or more, 28th Street late nights or afternoon coffee. Relax in their oh so comfortable European living room.

Museum of the New South- this explains the South and Charlotte's place as a modern city in the South. My first few

Charlotte "Lynx" a comfortable ride uptown, $1.25

years in Charlotte I heard constant references to the "New South" never really understanding its meaning- I guess I

Read on Charlotte Things To Do

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Terry McDonald

704-351-1519

The McDonald Group, Wilkinson and Associates, Broker
Relocation, Distressed Properties, First Homes,  Luxury Homes

Top Team 2006, Top 10 2007, Top Agent 2008
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/terrymcdonald57
http://www.TerryMcDonaldRealEstate.com
http://www.CharlotteCommunitiesOnline.com
Follow me on Twitter @TerryMcDonaldRE

Considering a luxury home in Charlotte?

Looking for one site to help understand the whole market? Neighborhood information, community and home searches,from Myers Park to Lake Norman, Davidson to Lake Wylie, Southpark and more... the most extnesive, more information on one page, including market info, I've got the post for you, Charlotte Luxury Homes

Terry McDonald

704-351-1519

The McDonald Team, Wilkinson and Associates, Broker
Relocation, Distressed Properties, First Homes,  Luxury Homes

Top Team 2006, Top 10 2007, Top Agent 2008

Charlotte's #1 Video on You Tube- Introduction to Charlotte

I'm a real estate broker in Charlotte NC, and have made my living online for 5 years. Not counting referrals, better than 90% of my business has come from online sources. I've been involved in all the major waves- Pay Per Click, Blogging, Video, and now Social Media. 2009 saw my entrance into Twitter in a big way. Reflecting on 2009  I realized my life is completely different than most brokers, because of the tools and technology I rely on. I use these every day, and even though I am an "elder" techie, it is hard to remember how we did some things before the digital age. This might be a little late but thankfully real estate kep me busy the week btween Christmas and New Years.

Tech and Tools A Digital Realtor Can't Live Without

1. Google's Picassa and other Great Tools-Picassa is still the best photo-management and sharing software in the PC world, there is so much to love here. I take thousands of photos a year and Picassa's batch editing of photos, the "I'm Feeling Lucky" mode, perfects 10 to 100 pictures at a time; this feature alone is worth the program. But it downsizes pictures en masse, and lets you create collages, turn them into video or embeddable slide shows, one button Upload to Flickr and with a couple of clicks, geo-tagging, print and buy your photos locally. The latest versions include simple video movie makers. All Free, Tutorials are on You Tube.

Other Google: I-Google, Google Docs   This suite of online software rivals MS Office, and duplicates their main programs, allowing you to run your office in the ether of the Internet. There is very simple document sharing, it keeps my team together, and offers widget-friendly options and docs I love. I-Google lets me have my own daily newspaper, see more about that in RSS.

2. RSS- Real Simple Syndication, stay in touch with the world. RSS lets you pick and choos your sites of interest, and then have those sites deliver their stories to  you every time they write a new one. So hoe do you not suffer from information overload? You use RSS and a Reader, and if like me, I use I-Google to manage  all the info.   Using my Google Reader and I- Google, I've created a newspaper of my own, with Real Estate News from MSNBC, the WSJ, and Inman,  with news headlines from CNN and the New York Times, Sports from ESPN, plus a few RSS mash ups on environmental stories, politics, humor , weather-- it is my own newspaper. How long doe it take to create one? You'll create your first in under 10 minutes. Then, like so many things on the web, you can make it better with time.

It is simply impossible to keep up with all the changes in technology and the world without RSS.  If there is one takeaway, make RSS your friend.

3. WordPress is the blogging platform I live on outside of AR.  Wordpress is an easy to use, open-source, SEO friendly blogging platform that has taken over the beginner and intermediate blogs because of its flexibility and adaptability. I've converted all my old websites to Wordpress blogs, I love the support and  you don't have to know a stitch of HTML  or CSS to "drive" it, though it helps if you do.  That too is the beauty of Wordpress, it allows you to learn as you go.

Your blog is your office and anchor in the digital world. If you don't  have one, now is the time. You can start today with a free one from wordpress.org, but you'll want your own domain

4. Firefox and it's Add-Ons I love that it is open source and there are so many add-ons from SEO tools like Rank Checker, password managment like Robo Form to Google, Delicious and Stumble Upon. Too bad our backwards MLS only works with IE... they say it will in the next version.

5. The I-Phone- A terrific handheld computer, it has unlocked the mobile phone industry. Kudos for that.  It is a decent phone made worse by ATT network, but it makes up for its limitations as a powerful computer that's let me leave my laptop at home on most days.  3G is fast, and the Safari web browser is almost the same as a laptop. It multi-tasks, you can be online and take calls, work the address book, etc. I take my laptop only for extended absences, or specific work projects. Real estate apps pop up daily, but so far the best and easiest is Smarter Agent. Warning, all house apps are limited by local MLS and how well they share their data. Daily the big "I" is all I need. Smarter Agent is my favorite for finding quick prices of nearby homes for sale.  But can anyone say Verizon? And Apple really should have avoided a fight with Google too.

6. Pandora- If like me music is a major source of creativity, then Pandora is a business tool. But is is just plain fun too! You create your own personal radio stations. The music is streamed live when ever you turn it on. You tell it what you like by creating radio stations compsed fof your favorites, Pandora plays what you told it you liked- then, it feeds you music Pandora thinks you'd like, based on your tastes and preferences. It is called  The Music Genome Project by Pandora. They've broken it down in their software like Amazon has done for books. People who like the S and T, probably also like X, Y and Z.  If you hear a new song, give it a Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down, and you hear more of it or less. Your stations get better and better, hearing long lost tunes from your past. I haven't it taken it mobile yet, but here is to 2010, there is an app for that. Create as many stations as you have moods. The cost? Free. Amazing, and so few ad's you'll barely notice.   Music is still a source for my creativity and concentration.

7. Video- TheFlip HD Pocket Video Camera. Video Has become easier every day. I am taking wonderful HD video with the Flip, an easy to use camera, with easier to use software. There are tons of cameras that offer a better production value, however none have a shorter learning curve, none have the ability to post directly to You Tube like Flip. This is definitely a "Good Enough" camera for us non-video professionals.

8. Canon digital Elph camera. The venerable digital Elp. I have owned about 5 of of these pocket-sized cameras. My family gets the older versions, as they have steadily improved, added video, and provide "Good Enough" quality for every day needs. Their compact size means they are ALWAYS with me easily fitting into a shirt pocket. They do NOT replace the SLR, but, they make up for it by always being nearby, seldom do you miss a shot.  The SD memeory card is not tonly the most affordable, it is becoming the standard, and large cards are cheaper all the time.

However, my love affair with the Elph may be dwindling. I expect my next phone's camera's to capture the "Good Enough" category.  I take a lot of photos with my 1st generation IPhone now- and for the web, in most cases they are good enough.

9. Skype- I Skype with my son and daughter-in-law regularly in Guam. Skype is the fulfillment of those many Phone-video ads we saw in the 1960's, 70's and 80's- except  it is more computer and less phone. Two wireless connections, two computers with cameras and you are in business, again the software has litle to no learning curve, and away you go. It is good to see our grand daughter up close. it is good to see their smiles. WE do this about once per week, and it makes staying in touch that much easier. They got a new computer and new video so now their images are crystal clear. This is The way to communicate with friends and loved ones over seas, cross country, even a few cities over. No I don't yet use Skype in my real estate business

10 Twitter- Twitter allows me to reach more people every day, across the country, around the world. I'm still a newbieon Twitter, but Twitter offers the ability of instant communications to thousands, and as it becomes more a part of the general digital landscape, it will play a bigger role still. Today I can drive more traffic to my website or a blog post with a handful of "Tweets" than Google sends. I 've gotten my first clients from Twitter this year. Follow me @TerryMcDonaldRE, or for pure Charlotte Real Estate @LiveInCharlotte

What Tech will make the list in 2010? I love the cpabilities of Facebook pages and the social community capabiliteis of Posterous. I'm watching Google and their growing portfolio of RealEstate capabilities, and in 2010 we'll see more and more on our handheld computers (smart phones and tablets)... I'm especially looking forward to Tablets, the "Cross-over" of the laptop and handlheld devices.

So- what tech tool did I miss, what can't you live with out?

Terry

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South Charlotte Homes Townhomes and Condos For Under $350K: Dilworth, Wilmore and SouthEnd

There are 157 properties for sale under $350K in zip code 28203- Dilworth, Southend and Wilmore, 130 are condominiums or townhomes, 27 are single family homes. The average sales price is $233,141, but lets break that down a bit more. The area most know as Dilworth-Charlotte's first negihborhood, and a quick train or bike ride to Uptown, includes complexes like 1315 East, Latta Pavilion, Dilworth Walk, Ordemore, or as real estate brokers know it , Area 5-1.

There are 29 of these Area 5 Dilworth Condos for Sale Under $350K, zip code 28203, or Area 5-1.

The average Asking Price- List price of a condo here is $252,201, the median price is a 2 bedroom 1 bath condo at Latta Pavilion for 245,000, about 1050 square feet. There have been 18 sales here since June 1, the median sales price is $242,500. The closeness between Median List, and Median Sold price is a reflection of the strong Buyers market, and December Sellers are always motivated. The Rest of the South Charlotte Real Estate story

Huntersville, North Carolina, a community on lower Lake Norman, a popular Charlotte suburb, and a Money Magazine Top Places to Live winner, remains a popular destination for folks moving to the Charlotte NC area. 15 miles north of Charlotte, Huntersville is an easy commute to Uptown, North Charlotte and the Charlotte Douglas airport. Nestled in at the foot of Lake Norman, the former farming community sits at the cross roads of I-77 and  Rt 73- a quick trip  to Concord and Concord Mills Mall, or, just a few exits down to Northlake Mall.

But no discussion would be complete without menitoning Birkdale Village, a mixed use shopping andliving community that is a major local hub.

Depending on where you live in Huntersville, a trip to the airport shouldn't take more than 30 minutes most of the time.

Huntersville Real Estate: Affordable Homes For Sale

There are 61 Huntersville Homes for sale for under $175,000, and more than $100,000- Search Huntersville Real Estate There are 184 Huntersville homes for sale for under $250,000, but more than $175,000 Search Huntersville Homes

The rest of the story of Huntersville Real Estate

So, where are Charlotte Real Estate Prices?

There are many measures- There is Case-Shiller, the gold standard for Wall street investors, it measures unique pairs of houses. There is Altos research, which covers all the properties sold from tax records, and then there is the Multiple Listing Service- which measures all the sales of Realtors in a given area. Here is a good look at all three numbers, and help answer the question, Where are Charlotte Home prices heading... Charlotte Real Estate Market 2009

Terry McDonald

704-351-1519 The McDonald Team, Wilkinson and Associates, Broker Relocation, Distressed Properties, First Homes, Luxury Homes

Top Team 2006, Top 10 2007, Top Agent 2008

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/terrymcdonald57 http://www.TerryMcDonaldRealEstate.com http://www.CharlotteCommunitiesOnline.com

Follow me on Twitter @TerryMcDonaldRE

Charlotte's #1 Video on You Tube- Introduction to Charlotte