Union County Real Estate Talk

Charlotte NC Homeowners Will Receive New Property Values in January 2011

Property values and property taxes.  These terms will dominate the news in Charlotte NC during the first half of 2011.   

Why? 

Because Charlotte and the rest of Mecklenburg County are undergoing the first property revaluation process since 2003.  By the end of June 2011, every Charlotte NC homeowner will know how much value Mecklenburg County assigns to his property and how much property tax he will pay in 2011.

Revaluation and establishing property taxes is a two-step process. 

The first part of the process establishes a current value for every property in Mecklenburg County.  This is revaluation, an exercise that has been ongoing during 2010.  Mecklenburg County has a team of appraisers who have been been reviewing neighborhoods and grading their quality.  They created a schedule of values to determine the cost per square foot for every building type in the county.  The appraisers than began comparing the schedule of values with actual recent sales prices in every neighborhood.  Declining sales prices over 2010 means that the appraisers have continued to revise their numbers until December.

In late January or early February, every Charlotte NC homeowner will receive a notice of the value of his property as of January 2011.  This won’t be a tax bill.  A homeowner’s 2011 taxes won’t be known until the local governments set the tax rates in June. Setting the tax rates is the second step of the process.

Will Charlotte NC taxes go up or down in 2011?

It depends.  Many homes are still valued above 2003 valuations.  The Mecklenburg County appraisers estimate that overall county valuations in 2010 are up 9% over 2003 values.  A Charlotte NC homeowner whose new valuation is greater than 9% of his 2003 value will probably see his taxes go up.  A homeowner whose value stayed the same or decreased will probably pay less in property taxes.

Learn more about the revaluation process from the Mecklenburg County Revaluation website and by watching the video below.

Want to know more about property taxes and living in Charlotte NC?  Request a free Charlotte NC relocation package.

Copyright 2010.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Realtors.  *Charlotte NC Homeowners Will Receive New Property Values in 2011*

Revaluation—Will Your Charlotte Area Property Taxes Go Up or Down?

Property taxes.  Going up or going down?  Anyone who owns real estate in the Charlotte area or who is considering a Charlotte NC relocation should be interested in the revaluation process.

Why?

North Carolina requires counties to reappraise all real estate at least once every eight years to determine the current market value.  Mecklenburg County is in the process of completing the revaluation process for the first time since 2003. Notices of the new assessed values will go out in January 2011.  Union County just announced that it will reappraise all properties within its borders in 2012.  Its last revaluation was in 2008.

The outcome of the revaluation process will be very different in these two counties.  Revaluation is supposed to bring property values back into proportion so that each property owner pays an equitable share of the taxes based on the value of his property.  Assessed values in Mecklenburg County are out of balance because of the lengthy time period since the last revaluation.  Owners of homes older than eight years have been paying relatively less in taxes than those who purchased brand new homes during the period.  When completed new homes were given values consistent with their completion date.  Owners of the newest homes have been paying proportionately more in property taxes than those whose assessed values are based on the 2003 market values.

The problem in Union County NC is that the last reassessment took place in 2008 based on 2007 market values.  Real estate market values peaked in 2007 and began to decline thereafter.  Union County property owners feel that their taxes are too high because today’s market values are generally below the assessed values from 2008.  A 2012 revaluation should address those inequities.

Will individual property taxes go up or down when revaluation is complete?  It depends.

A property’s annual taxes are determined by multiplying the assessed value by the tax rate set by the county each year.  The county commissioners adopt a budget and then set the tax rate to fund the budget.  After revaluation, they try to set a tax rate that is “revenue neutral”.  Revenue neutral means that the total assessed values of county property times the tax rate will bring in the same revenues as the pre-revaluation tax rate. 

In Union County, the Tax Administrator estimates that the 2012 reassessment, if conducted today, would result in a 10% decline in the tax base.  The tax rate would have to rise by approximately 7 cents to offset the decreased revenues.

When revaluation is complete in Mecklenburg County, most assessed values will go up but the tax rate is likely to decline to create a revenue neutral tax year.  In Union County, the assessed values will likely go down but the tax rate may have to rise to be revenue neutral.

Will property taxes be going up or going down?  Unfortunately, the impact of revaluation on individual property owners remains to be seen.

Learn more about property taxes in Union County.

Want to know more about real estate and living in Charlotte and its small towns?  Visit www.CarolinaSmallTownLiving.com.

Copyright 2010.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Realtors.  *Revaluation—Will Your Charlotte Area Property Taxes Go Up or Down*

Charlotte NC Real Estate Market Report—Second Quarter 2010

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the Carolina Multiple Listing Service publish a quarterly economic and market watch report for the Charlotte NC metropolitan area.  The just-published report for the second quarter of 2010 focuses on the impact of the federal tax credit program for first-time and repeat homebuyers and what the end of this stimulus program means for the local and national real estate market in the coming months.

The table below shows housing market statistics for Mecklenburg County where Charlotte is located. First quarter data of 2010 are compared with second quarter data of 2010.

Source:  National Association of Realtors, Carolina Multiple Listing Service

The effect of the tax credit stimulus shows clearly in the table.  The number of homes sold increased by approximately 59% in the second quarter.  Prices increased 6% over the first quarter showing that the tax credit achieved its goal of stabilizing home prices.  The number of homes on the market remained steady while the average days on the market decreased slightly.

Economic Forecast for the Housing Market

The NAR report includes a forecast of the national housing market over the next six months.  The Charlotte NC real estate market will most likely follow the national trends outlined in the report.

• Existing Home Sales.   Likely a downward trend.  Existing sales will be weak in the short term after the tax credit.
• New Home Sales.  Likely an upward trend.  Buyers of new homes are less influenced by the tax credit.
• Housing Starts.  Likely an upward trend.  New home inventory remains at very low levels.
• Housing Affordability.   Likely steady.   Housing affordability is at healthy levels and will remain at historic highs.
• Mortgage rates.  Likely an upward trend.  Mortgage rates are at historic lows, which is mostly likely a short-term trend.

Get more information about pricing, affordability and foreclosures in the Charlotte NC real estate market.

Charlotte NC Real Estate Market Report—First Quarter 2010

Want to know more about real estate and living in Charlotte NC and its small towns?  Visit www.CarolinaSmallTownLiving.com.

Copyright 2010.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Realtors.  *Charlotte NC Real Estate Market Report—Second Quarter 2010*

Charlotte NC Real Estate Market Report—First Quarter 2010

All real estate is local.  What’s happening to the market in your neighborhood and its immediate surroundings is the best indicator of your property’s value.  Sometimes, however, it’s helpful to step back and get an overview of the regional market because regional trends can predict the future for your real estate investment.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) publishes market reports for major metropolitan areas every quarter.  This post summarizes some of the NAR findings for the Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord area.  You can read the entire report by clicking here.

Pricing in Today’s Market

The median home price in Charlotte NC is $171,400.  The US median price is $166,733.  The table below shows what has happened to prices and home equity in the Charlotte and US markets since 2001.

Source:  National Association of Realtors

What it means to you.

• Prices are still down from a year ago but the rate of decline is improving.
• If you purchased early in the real estate boom, you are more likely to have some equity in your property.
• The Charlotte market is in better shape than the U.S. market as a whole.

New Construction

5,120 building permits were issued for one-unit building in the Charlotte market during the twelve months between March 2009 and March 2010.  The long-term average for twelve months of  building permit activity is 14,899 permits.  This indicates that the current level of new construction is 65.6% below the long term average.  Single-family building permits were off 11.4% year-over-year ending in March 2010.

What it means to you.

• The supply of new homes to the market is limited compared to Charlotte’s historical averages. 
• If you are in the market for a new home, your choices may be limited compared to the recent past.
• There may be more of a market for your resale home than in the past when there were many choices in new construction.

Affordability

Two tables below show statistics for the ratio of monthly mortgage payment to income and median home price to income in Charlotte and the U.S.

Source:  National Association of Realtors

Source:  National Association of Realtors

What it means to you.

• Both indicators of housing affordability are strong historically and better than the U.S. averages.
• Housing affordability improved in the first quarter of 2010.
• Charlotte remains an attractive relocation market because of its affordable housing compared to many other parts of the country.

Foreclosures

The table below shows the foreclosure rate for prime mortgages in Charlotte and the U.S. plus rates for prime mortgages that are 90-days delinquent but not yet in foreclosure.

Source:  National Association of Realtors

What it means to you.

• The foreclosure rate is low in Charlotte compared to the country as a whole but the rate is rising.
• The rate of delinquent mortgages has climbed faster than the national average suggesting a bulge of foreclosures in the future.
• Increasing foreclosures are likely to exert a downward pressure on prices.

Want to know more about real estate and living in Charlotte NC and its small towns?  Visit www.CarolinaSmallTownLiving.com.

Copyright 2010.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Realtors.  *Charlotte NC Real Estate Market Report—First Quarter 2010*

Charlotte NC One of Country’s Healthiest Housing Markets

Builder Magazine just released its list of the top 20 healthiest housing markets in the country for 2010.  Charlotte NC ranked #3 on this list.  Six other Carolinas housing markets were also in the top 20 list.  The Raleigh-Cary market was just ahead of Charlotte at #2.

Builder Magazine created a Builder Market Health Index which used household formations, resale values and job and income growth to rank the top 100 housing markets (determined by number of permits pulled in 2009) by health.  The magazine cautions that the top twenty markets are healthier than the others but still aren’t the same as during the housing boom.  A truly healthy market score is a rating of 50 or more.  Only the top two markets scored 50 or above.   Charlotte’s score was 48.

Why did Charlotte NC rank so high on the healthy housing market list?   Charlotte, like other cities in the Carolinas, benefits from a mild climate and comfortable way of life, affordable housing and growing employment prospects—things that newcomers from other parts of the country value and have always valued.  Other factors in Charlotte’s ranking were the relatively stable housing prices over the last three years, income levels that rose in 2009, and a continuing high household formation rate relative to the rest of the country.

Considering a move to Charlotte NC?  Click here to request a free Charlotte NC relocation package.

Copyright 2010.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Realtors.  *Charlotte NC One of Country’s Healthiest Housing Markets*

For the past ten years, Charlotte NC homeowners have been very lucky to live in an area with a "Goldilocks" economy and real estate market.  I define a "Goldilocks" real estate market as one that is healthy, thriving and neither too hot nor too cold.  Home appreciation never hit the highs of areas like South Florida or California nor has the Charlotte market crashed to the current lows of those marketplaces.  The Charlotte NC real estate market has always been "just right."

Now, however, Charlotte may begin to feel some of the same pressures as other parts of the country as the city grapples with job losses in the financial sector.  The downward pressure on home prices may mean more homeowners will owe more on their homes than the properties are worth on the current market.  Some of these homeowners may face foreclosure.  Foreclosure is an ugly option and a losing proposition for homeowners and mortgage companies alike.

A short sale may be a way that a homeowner can avoid foreclosure.  A short sale is a sale in which a buyer and a seller agree on a price that is not enough to cover the mortgage payoff.  The mortgage lender must agree to take less than is owed on the property.  It sounds simple but in reality it is complex and time-consuming for all involved.  But a short sale can be done and it can become a win-win situation for all involved:  the buyer who gets a good deal on a home, the seller who avoids the negative credit issues from a foreclosure, the mortgage lender who saves time and money, and the neighborhood that benefits from not having the stigma and negative impact of a foreclosure property.

I will discuss some of the things to know about accomplishing a short sale on your property in future posts.

Visit www.CarolinaSmallTownLiving.com to learn more about buying and selling real estate in Charlotte NC and area small towns.

Copyright 2009.  Carol Fox.  All rights reserved.  "Will Short Sales Increase As Charlotte NC's "Goldilocks" Market Fades?"

Buyers' market or sellers' market in the small towns to the south of Charlotte NC? 

The media would lead you to believe that sellers don't have a prayer in this real estate market.  As I was reviewing the 2008 real estate market in Matthews NC, Mint Hill NC and the small towns of Union County NC recently, I took a look at absorption rate in each area.  I found some surprises in the numbers.  You may be surprised too.

First, some background.  What is absorption rate and how do you define a buyers'  market and a  sellers' market?  Absorption rate is a way to calculate how much inventory of homes is selling each month and how many months supply exists in the current market.  Number of sales in the last six months divided by 6 months equals sales per month.  Dividing sales per month into current active listings tells you how many months supply is available in a town, a neighborhood or a price range.

Buyers' market or sellers' market?  The generally accepted definition of a buyers' market is more than seven months of supply.  A balanced market has from five to seven months of inventory and a sellers' market has less than five months of inventory.

Who were the winners and losers in this analysis?  The buyers or the sellers?  It depends.  The buyers definitely have an advantage over the sellers but in some towns and in some price ranges, the outlook for sellers is not so dire.

Here is a summary of some of the results.  Each town's absorption rate is listed below the summary where you can click to get a detailed report of 2008 real estate activity.

Towns with a balanced market during the last six months:

• Matthews NC   6 month supply
• Mint Hill NC      7 month supply
• Stallings NC      6 month supply
• Indian Trail NC  7 month supply

Best price range for sellers during the last six months:

• $100,000 to $300,000 in Matthews NC   4 month supply
• $100,000 to $300,000 in Mint Hill NC      4 month supply
• $100,000 to $300,000 in Stallings NC       5 month supply
• under $200,000 in Lake Park NC             2 month supply

Worst price range for sellers during the last six months:

• over $500,000 in Weddington NC    22 month supply
• over $500,000 in Waxhaw NC          24 month supply
• $300,000 to $500,000 in Marvin NC  21 month supply

Learn more about the 2008 real estate market in Charlotte NC area small towns:

Matthews NC  (6 month supply)

Mint Hill NC  (7 month supply)

Indian Trail NC  (7.8 month supply)

Stallings NC  (6.3 month supply)

Weddington NC   (18.8 month supply)

Waxhaw NC   (10.2 month supply)

Wesley Chapel NC   (14.7 month supply)

Marvin NC   (17.7 month supply)

Monroe NC   (12.4 month supply)

Lake Park NC   (9.2 month supply)

Want to know more about buying or selling real estate in Charlotte NC area small towns?

Visit www.CarolinaSmallTownLiving.com.

About the author:  Carol Fox of Allen Tate Realtors is a veteran agent who has been selling real estate in the Charlotte NC area for over twenty years.

Copyright 2009. Carol Fox.  All rights reserved.  "Buyers' Market or Sellers' Market in Charlotte NC Small Towns?"