I was talking to a realtor last week on the condition of the market in Charlotte, and she confessed that it has slowed down quite a bit from spring time. She explained that the the housing bubble elsewhere in the country has finally affected Charlotte in that folks can't sell their homes to come here. In other words, someone in New Jersey who is itching to get south is having to sit on their unsold house and can't make the move until it happens.
In Charlotte, homes have never really sold for those inflated prices around the rest of the country. There's been a slow and steady increase in home values that work with the national average. We also enjoy moderate property taxes in comparison to other areas. That gives those looking to purchase a home here good buying power. You get a heap for your money. I recommend using the Charlotte area MLS site, Carolina Home, versus Realtor.com as the listings are more accurate and give you better photos.
If you want to do a bit of research and find out what your house or the homes in the neighborhood have sold for within the last 5 years, check out websites such as Zillow and Domania. I used these tools successfully when buying in New Jersey as I was able to get vital information that helped me devise an offer. All you do is plug in an address and the info is all there at your fingertips.
When I was living in Morganville, NJ, for a year in one of those terrible cookie-cutter neighborhoods where the houses sat 12 feet away from each other. The house I lived in could be bought here in Charlotte for $125,000, and I won't tell you what unspeakable sum of money I bought the very same house for there (with $10,000 property taxes!). I purchased the home from someone that was selling it themselves and not using a realtor. So, I was left without an intermediary to the offer haggling for me. I had to do it myself. I went to Domania and looked at the recent comps in the neighborhood, but then I was also able to see that the seller had purchased the house two years before and that he was attempting to get over $100,000 more in that short time period! With this information in hand, I was able to tell him, "Look, I know you paid $X for this house just two years ago, and the comps say $Y. I'm ready to walk away if I can't get this house for this offer." He looked aghast and a bit sheepish when I told him EXACTLY what he paid for the home, and we were able to come to a reasonable number--well, at least what was reasonable in New Jersey!
The internet is an amazing source of information when it comes to home buying and selling, and not when it comes to purchase price either. Want to know how many registered sex offenders live within a certain mile radius from your home--or worse, perhaps right next door to the house you are buying? Check out The National Sex Offender Registry site and plug in your address. You may be duly delighted or horrified by what you find out. North Carolina has it's very own site, NC Find Offender, that does the same thing. And many of the local counties have their own version of this as well. Just do a google search for "cabarrus county nc" and "registered sex offender."
Need to know if you're buying or living near an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) superfund site? Check out their site to determine if you're going to be living near a toxic dump. Scorecard is a site that takes it even further, and can help you determine things like agricultural and water issues.
If schools are a concern for you, there's a number of interesting tools such as Great Schools that give you general data about every school in the country. In North Carolina, students have to pass the ABC standardized test. The scores have gone up this year, check out how yours did here. There's plenty of info if you go directly to the counties themselves to research what is happening in the local schools, too.
Property taxes are another issue for home buyers to consider. You should be thrilled if you're coming from the northeast. My property taxes were $10k per year, and now they are $2,200 for three acres of land! For tax numbers, check out these sites and do the math:
Monday
Use the Internet to Research Your House or Neighborhood
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