Why Is Charlotte/Surrounding Area So Outrageously Overvalued and Expensive? (Mint Hill: for sale, lenders)
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I'll say it again for the gazillionth time: There is a GIANT difference beween buying a "house" and buying a "home". One can analyze the cost per sq. foot of building a house. Quite easy. In fact use $90-175 sqf and you are there. But like one poster just posted here"Heck I can buy TWO houses in CLT for the price of one in the north" Works for a "house".
The problem I have with this concept is: Isn't life a lot more than just that kind of example that was put forth? What OTHER aspects of life (if any) did you give up in order to participate in the " two for one" sale? Did you give up friends, neighbors, schooling, a culture, or any of the many other things that go into making a house your "home"?
One needs to be honest with themselves in order to answer the question.What percentage of New Yorkers for example can say I gave up all the rest for this bigger house with its' lower taxes in a city and culture that I needed to fall in love with? I'm sure the percentage is high from just reading this board. Ninty percent, seventy, less?
Spot on about the rating of schools in the most desired areas. In most places, the quality of schools dictates prices and thus values. Charlotte is probably one of the most desirable locales for northerners and the "half-backs" (people moving first to Florida from the north then moving "halfway back" ending up in the Charlotte area). Many of them aren't concerned with schools per se, but are conscious of the quality of neighborhoods that come with good school districts.
I think the most telling factor is the square footage cost. Take a look.
One of the most alarming things in my search was the lack of clear square footage details in the MLS. Some crazy deal the state made with the realty board? I found a house on Fox Hollow in Mint Hill that's listed as high as 3900 - 4500 sf, but my review of building permits and certificate of occupancy showed that it was only approved at 3750 sf. Go figure. I found several others. Caveat emptor, my friends. That changes the whole price per SF equation.
Also have a look at prior sales from 2006-20011. Interesting that many homes are priced above their prior sale price, though the trend lines aren't sufficiently steep to suggest an anomaly.
Things like over valued tax appraisals and so ever eager commission paid real estate salesmen share a great deal of the blame. Suckers were oversold before and people can make money if they can do it again.
Things like over valued tax appraisals and eager commission paid real estate salesmen share a great deal of the blame. Suckers were oversold before and people can make money if they can do it again.They want to take advantage of the vast herd of northerners (especially from ohio) who are coming here to get every good thing in life they can find ...The place they are coming from is all used up and they are ready to pay.
Really??! Did I just understand you to say that if people are deceived about the real estate that they buy...that it's okay? That it's okay if the system is set up to deceive them? Surely that's not what you're saying.
Perhaps you mean that as long as someone is willing to buy the hype, and no one holds a pistol to their heads, it's fair?
Every market is unique. This is not Florida, and even within Florida, Miami is not Gainesville.
You see what I mean?
Your stats may all be on target as far as nationwide stats. But this isn't Greenwich, or Bakersfield, or Dallas, or Des Moines.
"Value" is set (to a large degree) by location, yes . . . but even then, location is only a real estate "marker" for the individual buyer. If you are a seller, Value, as such, ends up being what any given buyer is willing to pay for a particular property at any given time. An offer enumerates what they, as buyers, consider the value of the home. What the seller may decide is the asking price may reflect many other factors than the actual VALUE of the property (if all elements were individually evaluated).
But in the end, whatever tipping point closes the deal, that is the market value at that particular time.
No one is twisting anyone's arm to live in South Charlotte. Or Lake Norman, for that matter.
So if you don't find what you feel is valued properly, then perhaps the markers you have set for yourself are either not a good match up for the area in which you are searching or they are not high enough on your priority list to make it work.
Finding a bargain property is not the same thing as finding a property that is within your budget. Nor is it the same thing as finding a distressed property in a great area. Nor is it the same thing as finding a foreclosed property. In those cases, the actual "value" of the property may much higher than the listing price, but if you aren't willing to go the extra mile to purchase the property (renovate or wait a long time dealing with a bank on a short sale, for ex). . . then it isn't going to meet your criteria. And if the location doesn't work for you, then you aren't going to be interested.
If a property is priced, per square foot, equal or close to what it would cost to construct today, and the location bumps the price higher, putting it out of your pre-established price range, then that is your issue, not the seller's.
That doesn't mean the properties are overpriced or "over valued."
It just means you don't want those properties at that price.
Would ya be one of those charmin' real estate agents then?
Would ya be one of those charmin' real estate agents then?
You must have been one of those people that got swayed by a charmin' real estate agent?
Sorry, but I can't understand how you can blame real estate agents for someone paying too much for a property. I have purchased my share of properties and no one held a gun to my head or in any way 'swayed' me. I did my own research and knew the market before I purchased. BTW - I am NOT a real estate agent.
Honestly I agree with the OP. Since I have been in Charlotte, I always felt that the market was overpriced, especially for what you get (a vinyl siding house shouldn't be as expensive as it is here) and specifically in certain areas (I swear people around here think South Charlotte is Beverly Hills). Some of the prices for a brick facade with vinyl siding are crazy. Someone mentioned earlier, that the areas with the best schools demand a premium, which is the case in most markets however in Charlotte it seems that they take it to a different level (the schools tend to be feast or famine around here so I'm guessing that factor in family city helps push up prices in certain areas). Hell I saw a few homes in Concord starting at $430,000 (I've got zero beef with Concord and I've heard some great things about the schools, but $430,000 to be that far out is a little much). There are some areas that aren't that bad with respect to price, amenities and schools (think Huntersville).
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