After roughly four years of wallowing in the doldrums, the Charlotte-area housing market is showing new signs of life, local agents and experts say.

Sellers are starting to get multiple offers again. Buyers are losing their top picks. Some condo projects that sat empty during the recession are selling out.

No one suggests the heyday will return anytime soon. Prices are still struggling and are expected to drop again this year. Thousands of distressed homes are sitting on the sidelines, either owned by banks or mired in the foreclosure process.

Still, agents say, they are showing more units and writing more contracts than in the past two years. They say buyers are starting to offer more, just as sellers are becoming more realistic in their prices. The result: Sellers are getting a greater percentage of what they are asking.

In February, Charlotte-area buyers paid an average of 90 percent of the listing price, up from a low of 87 percent last year and the highest since 2008, according to the Carolina Multiple Listing Services. Before the real estate bust, buyers typically paid around 95 percent of the listing price.

“It shows me homes are being priced correctly, and it also shows me buyers are willing to pay,” said Jennifer Frontera, president of the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association. “It’s a sign things are getting better.”

Homes that are getting the most interest are those that have been well-taken care of, are staged well, are in sought-after neighborhoods, and are “properly” priced, which may be between 10 percent and 30 percent below the peak, agents say.

The Charlotte housing market has shown fits and starts before. But agents and experts believe this increase is sustainable. They credit rising consumer confidence, pent-up demand, historically low interest rates and a shrinking supply of homes.

Nationally, Realtors’ confidence in the single-family home market hit a four-year high in February, according to a survey of 4,300 agents by the National Association of Realtors.

Real estate agent Megan Triplett with Allen Tate Realtors said her office in Gastonia started buzzing in the beginning of February.

She declined to share specifics, but said her sales activity has doubled over what it was this time last year. She said one house that has sat on the market for nearly a year recently received four offers within a week and has since sold. Previously, the house had received only one offer, which was for half the $235,000 listing price. The recent offers are closer to the listing price, Triplett said.

“Previously, we saw ugly offers. It was insulting to sellers and lowered morale,” she said. “Buyers aren’t bottom feeding anymore. It’s exciting again.”

One Friday last month, Charlotte real estate agent T.J. Larsen found a home for sale that he wanted to show to his client. But by the time they tried to see the Myers Park property the following Monday, the $1.8 million house had sold.

The same thing happened a week later with a different client. Larsen spotted a listing for a home priced for $425,000 in the Elizabeth neighborhood in the morning, and by the time he tried to make an appointment that evening, the house was under contract.

“I’ve got to start sharpening my teeth with my response time and how aggressively I go after getting appointments,” said Larsen, owner of My Townhome Realty and Maison Properties. “Over the last four years, one tactic was to delay and not show you were that interested. You could do that in a slow market. You can’t do that anymore.”

Retiree Terry Holland and his wife Kris were surprised by the competition when they were house hunting earlier this year.

The couple lost a condo to another buyer. Then, during the drive to a showing for a house, their real estate agent got a phone call saying that house had just sold.

“We were kind of surprised at how quickly some of the properties that we had our eye on did move,” said Holland, who moved to Charlotte from Dallas to be near his four children and five grandchildren. “We learned within a relatively short period of time, if we see something we like, we better move on it.”

They recently closed on a 2,400-square-foot home with a yard and downstairs master bedroom off Providence Road in south Charlotte, paying in the mid-$200,000s. Holland said he feels it’s a great time to be a buyer because interest rates are low and home prices are off their peaks.

In Charlotte, the average sales price for all homes in February was $184,775, according to the Carolina Multiple Listing Services. That’s down nearly 16 percent from $219,515 in February 2007.

Pat Riley, chief operating officer with Allen Tate Company, said the market is benefiting because sellers are more realistic about what they may get for their home.

Companywide, Allen Tate’s sales between January and March 23 rose 37 percent to 4,023 units, up from 2,900 units sold during the same time last year.

“We were gummed up the last couple years with a lot of people that were wishing and dreaming,” Riley said. “Now we have a much more motivated seller than before, and a more educated buyer and seller.”

Still, Charlotte-area home prices will likely fall another 2 percent or 3 percent this year because new foreclosures are expected to hit the market and homebuilders are starting to build again, boosting supply, he said.

Riley expects prices to stabilize in 2013 and start appreciating at a rate of 1 percent to 3 percent a year. Some experts don’t expect housing prices nationally to return to pre-recession levels for another 10 years.

2 offers in 2 days

Charlotte real estate broker Andy Pressley said he averaged two dozen deals a year during the boom days then slowed to about one dozen in recent years. He said he’s already closed a dozen transactions in the last three months, including selling some houses “I thought would never sell.”

“There was literally a light switch that went on at the end of the year,” said Pressley, president of MECA Properties. Recent buyers include a young couple who moved here from Florida and a retired couple in San Diego who wanted a second home close to grandchildren.

Pressley listed Craig Brown’s duplex near Johnson C. Smith University for about a year without any nibbles from prospective buyers.

“Nothing happened and nothing happened, and then I get a phone call and I get two offers on it in two days,” said Brown, who is with a local real estate holding company. Priced at $55,000, the property sold for $47,500 in cash and closed within two weeks. Brown said he sold a similar property a year and a half ago for less.

“I’ve got to believe it’s all a good thing,” Brown said. “The market’s been so soft for the last three or four years, maybe they are turning some of these things around.”

Wells Fargo senior economist Mark Vitner said the market is improving for nondistressed properties. The number of homes available for sale on the market has been shrinking, to 8.9 months of inventory in February, down from 12.4 months’ supply the same time last year, according to MLS. A healthy market is thought to have about 6 months of inventory on the market.

This inventory does not include shadow inventory – the term for homes that are crawling through the foreclosure process, properties that have been foreclosed on but not put up for sale, or houses whose borrowers are so delinquent they are unlikely to recover. An Observer analysis found the Charlotte area had 16,800 distressed properties not counted among homes for sale in October, more than double the 7,887 homes on the market. It’s widely believed those properties will depress prices, delaying a full recovery.

Vitner said more of the distressed properties coming to the market have been vacant longer and have significant maintenance problems. Such sales can also take longer and require more paperwork.

“For buyers wishing to avoid the hassles of buying a distressed property there simply is not much out there to chose from, which is why properties are getting multiple offers,” Vitner said.

Frontera, the local Realtor association president, said she expects the market, and home prices, to see some small dips this year. But overall, she said, she believes the market is gaining strength.

”I don’t think (a recovery) will be a straight shot up. I think we’re building everything back,” she said. “Everything fell apart. We’re putting the pieces back together.”

Helen Adams Realty Sales Meeting

CRRA Presentation, January 10, 2012

Slide #1

Good Morning Everyone.  Welcome to our first in a series of company-wide sales meetings this year.  Over the past 3 months, I have met with most of you together with Laurie, Donna, or Bob to discuss your business plans for this year.  The great majority of your plans conveyed a sense of gratitude for what you have and the opportunities before you.

Slide #2-4

Since this sense of gratitude was a common theme among our most successful business planners, I thought I would leave with you today three essays which convey a sense of self-worth and gratitude toward others.  A positive mindset and a desire to help others are key ingredients to a successful sales program.  Before we move forward with our meeting, lets take just 5 seconds to reflect on who or what we have to be thankful for… ok.  Raise your hand if you were as thankful for Patty Adams as I am?

Slide #4 – Cunningham Slide

Other people I am thankful for are Rebecca Madej, Chris Tilley, David Gulledge, and Hang Cunningham for their outstanding mortgage partnership with us.  I am very pleased to introduce Hank Cunningham to you.  Hank is President of Cunningham and Company.  He has more than 37 years of professional mortgage experience.  He currently serves as chairman of the Residential Board of Directors of the Mortgage Bankers of America.  Hank is also chairman of the Legislative Committee for the Mortgage Bankers of the Carolinas and holds the designation of Certified Mortgage Banker.  Please join me in welcoming Hank Cunningham.

Slides…

Scott’s changes in technology, Bryan Perkins, Holly Hester slides & printed material, Donna Hall & printed material, Laurie Knudsen & printed material.

Slide #5

Charlotte Metro Report: (FYI) Most of these charts will be published on our website later this week.  This report was created and published by Moody’s Analytics in July 2011.  They are forecasting that:

• The unemployment state will steadily improve over the next for years.
• Our population will continue to grow 1.5-2% per year.
• Our single family permits will more than double in 2012.
• Our existing home prices will slide 1.5% in 2012 and increase an aggregate of 11.5% by 2015.
• Net migration in Charlotte has been positive for as long as I can remember.  Cities which are big contributors to Charlotte population include: New York, Washington, Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and Miami.

Slide #6

The Annual Home Price Appreciation Chart is published by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.  In 2011 they depict price depreciation of 4.4%, which is in line with Moody’s and the stats published by our association.

Slide #7

Mecklenburg Single Family by permits were about the same in 2011 as 2010.  For 2012, we are forecasting that double the number of permits will be issued as builders sell of their existing inventory and begin to build their pipelines; this is in line with Moody’s forecast as well.

Slide #8

The average sales price in Charlotte dropped 4% from $208,924 to $200,656.  We forecast a 1% price decline in 2012.

Slide #9

The number of units sold in our MLS system rose 2.3% to 22,529 units.  We forecast that the number of units closed in 2012 will be 23,205, which is an increase of 3%.

Slide #10

This slide shows the number of sales by price range in our MLS system.  We believe we saw a big increase in sales in the 251-350 price range because this is the price range for buyers who are moving up from their first home and have gained some confidence in the market.  In 2012, we will see continued strength in this mid-range price point.  Homes priced up to $150,000 will continue to share a large part of the market as homes in this price range are released by the banks, which will turn into attractive 3^rd party investment opportunities.

Slide #11

This slide is a history of total sales volume and total units sold since 2000.  The dollar volume change from 2006 to 2011 dropped 53%.  The # of units sold in 2011 is 22,529 units – a drop of 48% from 2006 levels.

Slide #12 – “The Trouble with #s, or why you Need a Realtor”

The Charlotte Observer did some pretty good research, which serves as the basis of this story “Housing Glut Looms”.  However, they didn’t tell all sides to the story, which can create misunderstanding and confusion.  Following are a few quotes from this article:

• “For every home listed for sale in Mecklenburg County, at least two more are poised to come on the market.”
• “It’s an epidemic”, said attorney Rick Mitchell, who sees a growing number of clients who have stopped making mortgage payments but have not been foreclosed on.
• “The mere thought of shadow inventory makes potential buyers wary of investing in a new home”
• When shadow inventory comes on the market, it typically sells at a steep discount, depressing neighborhood values.
• “Shadow inventory is probably the most critical part of the equation in terms of getting a recovery going.  It has a chilling effect”, said Mike Vitmer, Chief Economist at Wells Fargo.

But let me ask you to raise your hands?  How many of you in this room have been involved in a multi-offer situation in the last 12 months?  This article suggests that bank owned sales are an epidemic and they are pervasive… that bank sales are happening throughout the market.

Slide #13

In all MLS, the number of closed sales for bank owned properties is at a rate that is 70% higher than in areas 4-1, 5-1, and 6-1.  In all MLS, the number of bank owned properties that are bank owned is 106% higher as a percent of listings than bank owned properties in areas 4-1, 5-1, and 6—1.  Finally, the sold median price for the entire MLS for foreclosures and short sales is $70,000 and $130,000 respectively, vs. $161,950 for traditional sales in all MLS.

Slide #14

And if the Observer had gathered opinions from other sources like Zelman’s quote that “inventories of homes coming down, showing healthy declines or…

Slide #15

…from Nick Timivaos, who said, “Prices can stabilize as long as the “distressed” sort of home sales remains about one-third of all sales.”  Also, if the Observer has shared these prices, then it would have been clear that the majority of bank owned business is in the lower price range of our marketplace.

Slide #16-23

Slides 16-23 just represent the back-up data for the Bank Owned Activity Summary, so I won’t spend any more time on them, but they do show a constant level of bank owned business over the past 24 months.

Slide #31

Briefly, here’s a few of the descriptions of a Ninja: self-improvement, knows the market better than their competition, great customer satisfaction, sales systems with proven consistent results, focused on what works.  For those of you who have been involved with Ninja Selling over the past 4 years, you will recognize this description of courses which Zan Monroe has taught us.

Slide #32

And how do we reinforce our business strategy and coach and advise you, our business partners, to execute on these “Ninja Systems”?  The answer is our team of managers and staff who all engage with you on many, many levels on a daily basis… as coach, as educator, as advisor, as friend.

Slide #33

We have the correct business strategy.  We have the best systems and processes, and the managers and staff to help you execute.  How will we sell real estate in the future?  Active Web, our website provider, asked each of our 23 Enterprise Partners to try and answer this question.  At your seat is my essay, and I would like to highlight some key insights as to how I think we will sell real estate in 2030.  First, we must become masters of the real estate process.  Our business becomes more and more complicated each day, and only the full time professionals will survive into the next decade.  Here are a few excerpts…

• This idea of sharing knowledge is the essence of Eric Thompson’s statement that “we will become masters of the real estate sales process.” We strive to become masters of the process by being informed about ALL issues effecting real estate.
• So what is a REALTOR?  A professional, full-time, fully engaged REALTOR is someone who, as Eric Thompson says, “is sort of like a hybrid REALTOR-Attorney, but much more.”  A full-time professional agent has the knowledge and experience to provide choices or advice and/or guidance in the areas of contract negotiations, design, education, mortgages, appraisals, inspections, remodeling, taxes, investment strategies, market history, market trends, marriage, and family, and on and on and on.  The nature of real estate and its transaction is heterogeneous in the extreme.

Slide #34

The internet has unleashed the information genie from the bottle and she will not return.  This free-flow of information gives consumers the ability to make better, more informed decisions which will drive the real estate market to greater and greater efficiency.  Ignorance cripples market efficiency, while sound data lets buyers and sellers make smart choices.  In a choice-driven market, the consumers take the central roll and become drivers of change… So how will we sell real estate in 2030?  In the end our clients and customers will shape this answer through their quest for richer and more timely information, greater transparency and well-defined service and performance standards.  As REALTORS we recognize these interests of our clients and customers, and we will adapt and join them in their quest.

Conclusion

We are looking forward to an extremely, highly successful year this year.  We will continue to focus on things we can control: the kind of people we hire and work with, the way we treat our customers, the quality of our service, our integrity, and our attitudes.  Here’s to a fabulous 2012, and thank you for joining us today.

Charlotte, NC – As a member of The Active Enterprise Network, a union of privately-held real estate companies across the country that share information and strategy as well as a unified technology platform, Helen Adams Realty will be participating in the network-wide Holiday Blog Swap that aims to answer the question: what will real estate look like in the year 2030?

Alongside 16 other influential brokerages, Helen Adams Realty will be swapping blogs for a day in order to educate consumers and real estate professionals on the future of real estate. Sharing their perspective on what the brokerage, agent and customer will look like in 20 years, Helen Adams Realty intends to bring awareness to current market trends impacting the industry, how technology is influencing these trends and what brokerages can do today to prepare for tomorrow.

Scheduled to kick off on Thursday morning, December 15, 2011, Helen Adams Realty will be featured on the Windermere Tri-Cities Real Estate blog and providing a detailed account of “Real Estate in 2030”. As the year comes to an end, this national discussion is an excellent way to gain perspective and learn from some of the brightest minds in real estate.

“The Holiday Blog Swap is a great opportunity for innovative thinkers to come together and share valuable insight on the ever-changing Real Estate Industry. By participating in this event, not only is Helen Adams Realty gaining exposure to new audiences, but they’re establishing themselves as the voice of the industry and positioning their brand for continued success and further growth for years to come,” states Ido Zucker, Managing Partner at Active Website.

The Holiday Blog Swap kicks off Real Estate Now!, a network-wide series that takes a real estate-related topic and creates a conversation around it each quarter in 2012. On the same day, participating members share their viewpoint on their blog in hopes of engaging with others in the real estate community on important issues facing the industry.

Network members participating in the swap include: Charles Reinhart Company Realtors, Danberry Realtors, The Group, Inc., The Hasson Company, Helen Adams Realty, Kentwood Real Estate LandVest, Inc.,McEnearney Associates Inc, Realtors, McGuire Real Estate, Milestone Realty Consultants, Murney Associates, N.T. Callaway Real Estate Brokers, LLC, Residential Properties Ltd., Skogman Realty, Smith & Associates Real Estate, Windermere Tri-Cities Real Estate, and Wright Kingdom Real Estate.

Readers are encouraged to leave a comment on the Helen Adams Blog or join the discussion on Twitter using the hashtags #ENBlogSwap and #RE2030.

About The Active Enterprise Network

The Active Enterprise Network member base is by invitation only. Comprised solely of private real estate firms, The Enterprise Network does not accept national brands and only works with one company per marketplace. This exclusivity allows for open collaboration and sharing of information within The Enterprise Network, free from any conflict of interest. The goal for members under The Enterprise Network umbrella is to address the technology demands that are emerging in today’s changing real estate market. Together, Enterprise Network members can make the best decisions concerning implementation of systems and solutions, ultimately leveraging everyone to higher levels of business.

Units Under Contract – 2 Year Monthly Trend Line – (13 zips, December 5th, 2011)

Sold Units: 2-Year Monthly Trend Line (13 Zip Codes, December 5th, 2011)

Home sales in the Charlotte market rose 12.4 percent last month from October 2010 but fell 4.4 percent from September.

The Charlotte Regional Realtor Association Charlotte Regional Realtor AssociationLatest from The Business Journals30-year mortgages fall below 4%Mortgage rates drop sharplyNational Association of Realtors Chief Economist Yun speaks to Charlotte agentsFollow this company reports 1,882 closings in October, up from October 2010’s 1,674. There were 1,968 sales in September.

The average sales price in October, $194,837, dropped 3.6 percent from $202,146 in October 2010.

The average price in September was $196,649.

The association reports 1,748 pending sales in October, up 14.1 percent from a year earlier. New listings in October totaled 3,181.

The share of closings on homes in foreclosure or in financial distress in October 2011 was 20.5 percent, down from 34.2 percent in October 2010. New listings of such properties were down 55.6 percent from October 2010.

The figures are for homes in Mecklenburg, Union, Iredell, Lincoln, Cabarrus, Gaston, Stanly, Anson, Montgomery and Alexander counties.

Dr. Yun

Last week, Dr. Yun presented a real estate forecast to approximately 300 members of the Charlotte Association of Realtors at the Marriott Hotel.  Yun was generally optimistic about the real estate market and the economic outlook of our country. He arrives at this optimism by reviewing past trends and applying them to the future.  He believes Charlotte and North Carolina are well positioned to outperform the rest of the country due to our favorable weather, disciplined government budget process and accountability to its citizens, and  our state’s approach to free enterprise through the absence of unions; positions which are reinforced by the fact that most of our state’s in-migration is derived from New York, California and Michigan; all of which are states whose cost of doing business exceeds North Carolina’s due to their high rates of tax, high cost of labor and excessive state and local regulation.  His presentation is below:

LP on News 14

The Story:

CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte and Mecklenburg County housing market is healing. That’s what National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said during a conference Tuesday morning.

Yun says sales have increased for two straight years and inventory is falling. He says that’s a good indicator that the housing market is finding an equilibrium.

“By this time next year, provided there is a continuing job addition in the economy, the housing market is set to return to healthy status,” said Yun.

Dr. Yun says that improvement could be derailed if two things happen.

First, he says new home construction needs to improve. He says current building is at a stand still because banks aren’t lending to builders. He says the new home inventory is at a 40 year low. He says the lack of inventory could cause a housing shortage and prices to spike.

Second, Yun says Washington lawmakers are considering a proposal to raise required down payments for some home buyers to 20 percent. He says the proposal is intended to avoid another housing bubble. Yun says the legislation could stall or damage the housing market.

Lauren Ponder

Dr. Yun stated that sales have increased for two straight years and inventory is falling. He says that’s a good indicator that the housing market is finding an equilibrium. “By this time next year, provided there is a continuing job addition in the economy, the housing market is set to return to healthy status,” said Yun.

Dr. Yun says that improvement could be derailed if two things happen. First, he says new home construction needs to improve. He says current building is at a stand still because banks aren’t lending to builders. He says the new home inventory is at a 40 year low. He says the lack of inventory could cause a housing shortage and prices to spike.  Second, Yun says Washington lawmakers are considering a proposal to raise required down payments for some home buyers to 20 percent. He says the proposal is intended to avoid another housing bubble. Yun says the legislation could stall or damage the housing market.

Please visit the Channel 14 website to see the full coverage of this story.

Video includes Helen Adams Realty’s Lauren Ponder working with a buyer.