Charlotte, NC. Area 4th Of July Events 2013

The fourth of July is always a great time of the year. Between barbeques, picnics, travel and get together with family and friends. But if you are looking for something to do this 4th of July in Charlotte, NC. and the surrounding areas; I have compiled a list of events going on for you as well as links to the websites for them: The grand daddy of all events for the 4th of July will be the Novant Health July 4th Spectacular show. This event attracts large crowds and is considered one of the top fireworks shows in the country. The city of Charlotte spends over $50,000 a year for the show and it can be seen from neighboring towns as well. It all begins with family filled activities that usually begin around 6 p.m. and end at 9:00p.m. The fireworks begin at 9:30p.m. and generally last 20 minutes. Admission is always free and they have various activities for the kids and of course vendors on hand as well as live music. The event is held at memorial stadium in uptown. The other spot that seems to be attracting some attention in the past few years is the US National White Water Center. They do a two day event starting on the third of July and running through the fourth of July. They offer free live music and a fireworks show each night. If you have not visited the white water center you are missing on one of the Charlotte areas greatest places to visit. A link to their site is: http://usnwc.org/4th-of-july-festival/ The town of Matthews will hold their own fourth of July events starting at around 5:30 at town hall/public library. They do a people's parade that goes about a mile through the heart of downtown. It is great for the kids since you can decorate your bikes in red white and blue and be part of the parade. It ends up at stumptown park where there will be live music by Too Much Sylvia and activities for the kids as well as giveaways and food vendors. The whole event ends around nine so you can get to a place and maybe be lucky enough to catch some fireworks or watch them on TV. Matthews does not do any fireworks on the fourth of July. The link http://matthewsnc.gov/ForResidents/UpcomingEvents/tabid/68/vw/3/itemid/355/d/20130704/Default.aspx The town of Huntersville hosts the event on Birkdale Village during the day from 10 a.m. to 1p.m. The vent is great for the family and kids. There is bike decorating, face painting and other fun activities for the whole family. Admission is always free and a good time is had by all who attend. http://huntersville.org/Departments/ParksRecreation/Events/4thofJuly.aspx The town of Indian Trail will be holding their annual fourth of July parade that day with other activities as well. The ceremony begins at 9:30 a.m. with a flag raising ceremony and a watermelon eating contest. Followed by one of the largest parades in the Charlotte area at 11:30a.m. http://www.indiantrail.org/home.php?cat=169 The town of Waxhaw is one of the only towns I know that does an all-day event for the fourth of July. Starting with a parade in the morning at 10a.m., After the parade there is a break before the fun begins again with beachfest that starts at 4:30 and runs until 8:30p.m. After that stay around and watch the fireworks show...A great day that is fin filled with lots to do. In between enjoy all the small shops and stores waxhaw has to offer. http://www.waxhaw.com/ There may be other towns locally doing some type of events. Over the years I try to find the different ones hosting events and this seems to cover most of Charlotte and the surrounding areas. I hope everyone has a safe and happy Fourth of July.... Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Coldwell Banker United Cell:704-519-7895 ddicecco@cbunited.com www.davedicecco.com

Home Mortgage Rates Are Rising...Should I Rent or Buy?

As you listen to the news or surf the internet no doubt you have heard that interest rates are rising. In fact they have finally climbed back over 4%. Yes, I did say 4%. Potential home buyers are getting nervous tht the increae in rates will hinder them from buying a home. The truth is that interest rates were to low and had to eventually climb back up as the federal government startign stepping back form backing the mortgage loans and private insurers are now doing it. The reason is the government stepped in to help spur the housing market and drag us kicking and screamig out of the housing recession. It took a lot longer than anyone thought but it finally has started to work. Now with prices increasing gradually and the market stabilizing it is time for them to step away and let private investors back in. The problem is they want a larger return on thei investmetn than the government does. Thus the increase in interest rates. But just becuase rates have increased over 4% should you not buy a home? Three and half years ago I purchased a home at 5% interest rate and nver thought I see a rate in the four's when I got that. But just becuase rates ahve increased slightly does not mean you should not be looking to buy a home. I read a few articles that talked about this and did soem research in the Charlotte, NC. market to see what I could find out on buy versus rent. The average rent for a three bedroom apartmetn in Charlotte is $1086.00 a month. The average rent for a three bedroom house is $1450.00 a month. Depedning on the area and neighborhood you are looking in that price could be signifcantly higher. Factor i that you can buy a $150,000 to $250,000 house for the same payment that a rent would cost you on an apartmetn or a house. Would you rather own and gain equity and other beneftis to owning a hoime or rent and let someone else make money off of you? Even with interest rates over 4% it still is better to buy than rent. In fact a few economists said thsat with average home prices in the top 20 cities and average rents in the same cities that the inerest rate would have to hit almost 10% for it not to be worth owning a home....That is a signifcant increase in rates that I do not think we will see. I beleive the time is right to own a home. The question is not whether you should buy; but do you want to buy a home. A lot of peopl for a variety of reasons do not want to own a home right now. That is fine. But if you are on the fence now is the time to pull the trigger. Prices have been steadily increasing over the past few months, inventory levels are at all time lows, and interest rates are rising. If you were waiting to see the bottom. We were there a few months ago and now are climbing out. Evidence suggests that we will be only going up form here as well... Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Coldwell banker United Cell:704-519-7895 ddicecco@cbunited.com www.davedicecco.com

Charlotte, NC. Housing Market Trends May 2013

There is a lot of talk about the housing market in Charlotte, NC. and whether it is improving or if this is a smoke screen. Being one of the largest metro areas in the United States and one of the fastest growing this trend plays a vital impact on home sellers and home buyers alike. So I decided to do a monthly analysis versus the previous year and two years ago during the same month and see where the trends are and how they are impacting the housing market in Charlotte, NC. here are the stats for May 2013: First, let's look at inventory of available homes buyers have to choose from in the Charlotte, NC. region. In 2011 there were 25085 homes for sale in May. In 2012 there were 20443 homes for sale in April. Last month there were 16032 homes for sale. That is a decline of 38% in two years of available homes buyers have to choose from. Second, the average sale price of homes in the Charlotte, NC. region for May 2011 was $206,227. In 2012 the average sale price was $202,419 and last month the average sale price was $212055. That is an increase of 2.8% in the average sale price in the Charlotte, NC. market. Third, let’s look at days in inventory. How long are houses sitting on the market? In 2011 the average home sat on the market for 13.4 months before being sold. In 2012 the number improved to 10.6 months and last month it improved to 6.5 months. That is a dramatic drop in inventory of over 48.5% in two years. What the trends are showing is that the housing market is out of the recession and available homes for sale have decreased to the lowest levels we have seen in over 5 years coupled with prices slowly creeping back up and more buyers out there than homes available and you have signs of a robust market in Charlotte, NC. If all three factors were trending equally it could be the market fixing itself. But the fact that inventory has declined 25% less than average days on market means we are getting more buyers out there than homes right now and it is starting to cause prices to go up. This is a good thing for the housing industry and the economy. Coupled with the fact, home prices are not skyrocketing to adjust for decrease of inventory and interest rates continue to be at all time lows is keeping a stable growth in the Charlotte, NC. market. However; in comparison to last months trends the numbers seem to be reflecting that the housing market has stabilized and some prices are starting to come down. Generally this time of the year we start to see home prices slowly decline a little bit as sellers are little more motivated to sell when school is out and want to take advantage of moving the kids during the summer. In fact I have noticed it on homes I have shown that if they did not get an offer with in the first 30 to 45 days they are starting to reduce the price to compensate for the market. A lot of home owners were trying to capture a little extra in terms of price but now are starting to bring their prices down to where they should have been and correcting themselves in this market. Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Coldwell Banker United Cell: 704-519-7895 ddicecco@cbunited.com www.davedicecco.com