Traveling Around Charlotte Not For The Faint of Heart

One thing newbies in Charlotte find exceptionally confusing about this city is just driving around it. There are lots of ways to get from one place to another but it seems like Charlotte just loops around. Take a drive on any of Charlotte’s major thoroughfares and you will find that you’ve driving on three, four and maybe even five different streets without ever once taken a turn. You could start on Idlewild Road then Rama Road find out you are on Sardis Road and before you know it Fairview which changes to Tyvola. There are other roads that abruptly change names without any rhyme or reason like Alexander Road and Rea Road. A lot of streets in Charlotte have similar names, which is also confusing. There are Providence Road, Providence Lane, Sardis Road and Sardis Lane. New drivers in Charlotte will find that these road cross each other just to make things more crazy. Looking for a specific address? Make sure you know whether its north, south, east or west or you will find yourself on the other side of Charlotte. There are actually same number addresses on North Tryon Street and South Tryon Street so you’d better know which direction you’re going in before you head out. Take a quick trip around Myers Park and you find yourself at an intersection in which Queens Road East, Queens Road West and Queens Road all intersect. And there isn’t just one street in Mecklenburg County that has these problems. Even Queens Road and Providence Road cross each other but if you want to continue on one road and not the other, you will have to make a turn to stay on the road you want, otherwise you’ll be on an entirely different one. Some streets are named for the town and the direction you’re going in. For example, Matthews Township Parkway is inside Matthews city limits but travel one way the road becomes Pineville-Matthews Road and Matthews-Mint Hill Road in the other. Not sure if you are still in Charlotte or that maybe you’ve crossed into one Mecklenburg County’s neighboring towns? Check the street signs. If you see a white crown on them, you are still in the Queen City. I-485 is a wonderful way to loop around Charlotte but take the inner loop when you need the outer loop and you’ll find yourself circling nearly the entire city. Most of the time if you are inner loop, you are closer to Charlotte, while the outer loop tends to bring you closer to the other cities in the area, like Matthews, Mint Hill, Huntersville, Concord and Pineville. However, this isn’t always the case either. Instead of driving Charlotte, you could ride the LYNX Blue Line, the 9.6 mile light rail. Park for free at any park and ride stations starting at I-485 and South Boulevard and ride to the end of the rail line, which is ImaginOn. Round trip tickets are inexpensive and children under 5 ride free. The Gold Rush, a trolley replica, is a fun and free way to tour Charlotte’s Center City weekdays from 7 am to 6 pm. Someday a streetcar may ride the tracks on Elizabeth Avenue but this project has yet to get the green light. Charlotte has also recently started the largest urban bike sharing program in the Southeast. There are 200 bikes located at 20 stations located near uptown Charlotte. Other unusual ways to motor around Charlotte is the pedicab, which is available Wednesdays to Saturdays after 7 pm or even horse drawn carriage rides in Center City. Tour Charlotte on a segway if you’re feeling a little more adventurous. One of the busiest airports in the world is the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, which is located in southwest Charlotte, close to I-485 and I-77. Want to take a train instead? Ride Amtrak’s Piedmont to Raleigh or take the Carolinian to Washington D.C. or New York. Still want to brave the mean streets of Charlotte and drive around the city but are still confused about which direction to go? Then the best traveling companion you’ll have is a GPS. Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Helen Adams Realty Cell: 704-519-7895 ddicecco@helenadamsrealty.com www.davedicecco.com

Board Of Education In Union County NC. Places Enrollment Cap On 3 Schools

I know a lot of families move because of school assignments. Last week the Union County Public School Board of Education voted on something I have never heard done before. In a 7-2 vote they voted to place an enrollment cap on three schools in Union County. What this means is that if your child is slated for one of these three schools and you move into that school district after November 13, 2013 your child will not be attending the school that is assigned to them because these schools have reached their enrollment cap. The schools affected by this and the new schools children will be bussed to are: Kensington Elementary School will now be reassigned to Waxhaw Elementary School. Students new to Marvin Ridge Middle School will now be reassigned to Parkwood Middle School and students new to Porter Ridge Middle School will now be reassigned to Piedmont Middle School. According to the Union County Public School website this enrollment cap will exist until such time as the Board of Education approves a student reassignment plan to alleviate the overcrowding in these schools. There is no timetable set for this to take place. In fact this decision caught parents and educators completely by surprise. Apparently the enrollment figures were higher than anticipated causing this issue to be addressed now versus in the summer months. Another twist to this which can have an effect on families moving into one of those school boundaries is if your child attend an elementary school and would be going to one of the middle schools the following year you are NOT grandfathered in. So if you move into the school boundaries for one of those schools after November 13, 2013 there is no guarantee your child will attend those schools the following year or year after until the Board of Education decides what to do with overcrowding at those schools.... Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Helen Adams Realty Cell: 704-519-7895 ddicecco@helenadamsrealty.com www.davedicecco.com

How Is The Housing Market Performing In Charlotte, NC. In October 2013?

There is a lot of talk about the housing market in Charlotte, NC. and whether it is improving or if the rise in interest rates has caused the market to slow down and prices to lower while inventory creeps back up . A monthly analysis versus the previous year and two years ago during the same month allows me to compare and see where the trends are and how they are impacting the housing market in Charlotte, NC. Here are the stats for October 2013: First, let's look at inventory of available homes buyers have to choose from in the Charlotte, NC. . In 2011 there were 7682 homes for sale in October. In 2012 there were 5536 homes for sale in October. Last month there were 3956 homes for sale. That is a decline of 49% in two years of available homes buyers have to choose from. Second, the average sale price of homes in the Charlotte, NC. for October 2011 was $205,902. In 2012 the average sale price was $208,853 and last month the average sale price was $229,521. That is an increase of 11% 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 11.2 months before being sold in October. In 2012 the number improved to 7.1 months and last month it improved to 3.9 months. That is a dramatic drop in inventory of over 65% 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. However; in comparison to last couple of months the trend is showing that the housing market has stabilized and some prices are remaining stable for the past few months with slight increases being seen. Generally this time of the year we start to see homes slowly decline a little bit as sellers are taking their homes off the market with the holiday's coming up. Yes there are fewer buyers now but it still is a gresat time to sell your home and buy a home. As a seller you have less competition with existing homes and buyers have less competiton when looking at a home and are not feeling as rushed to buy a home in fear that someone else may scoop it up first. The out look is looking good for both sellers and buyers as interest rates are still at hiostoric lows and affordability is high and sellers are takign advantage fo the limited inventory to get their homes sold. Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Helen Adams Realty Cell: 704-519-7895 ddicecco@helenadamsrealty.com www.davedicecco.com