So we heard last month that the nationwide slowdown in housing has
finally caught up with Charlotte in the form of fewer sales in June,
with prices (thankfully) and year to date numbers still holding strong.
Over the next 2 weeks I’ll be posting about various South Charlotte Zip
Codes to see how they are faring. This week I’m looking at South West
Charlotte, zip code 28278, one of the fastest growing zip’s in
Charlotte, and a couple of popular new home communities. All of the
numbers are taken from the Charlotte MLS, and are believed to be
reliable but not guaranteed. Builders do not list every home, therefore
every sale is not listed either, and 28278 is all about the new home
market. Still the numbers tell a story.

  2006 2007 Inc/Dec %

So healthy gains in units sold in 2007 (25% in July, 15% 3 mo
average) are somewhat offset by lower prices in 2007. This reflects the
substantial discounts being offered by new home builders- in particular
the national new home builders- over 2006 prices.
Berewick and the Palisades followed suit.
At Berewick reported sales were 50% higher than in 2006, with average
cost per square foot falling from 94 to 89.00/sf, a 5% drop.
At the Palisades, reported sales were 50% higher as well, with average
square foot costs falling form $244/sf in 2006 to $221/sf in 2007, a 9%
drop.
The drop in average square foot prices for the entire zip is a
reflection of the new home market which dominated 28278 which is
suffering sharper declines then the re-sale market.
So what conclusions should a buyer make if they like SW Charlotte? Well
SW Charlotte is a beautiful area of Charlotte and extremely convenient
to Uptown- the increased number of sales are proof of that, but what
would the wise buyer do?
1. Buy inventory only, and at a discount. Inventory are homes that are
ready now or will be ready within 90 days. Most builders will deal on
these, and in this market they would be foolish not to. Insist your
buyer agent (hopefully us!) make them an offer for 5-7% less than they
are asking. If there is no inventory, don’t buy there.
2. Buy in the lower to middle of the price ranges, avoiding the top
unless the prices are too good to pass up!
That’s all for now!