The Point, with its 13 phases and about 900 home-sites is arguably the most well-known and popular luxury community on all of Lake Norman.  It has been fascinating to watch how the recession initially impacted its home sales and the progress it has made since then. In fact, the numbers today would indicate that The Point is actually leading the Lake Norman real estate market’s recovery.

Back in September of 2008, (see my article: Lake Norman Real Estate:  The Point, A Case Study, Part 2  ) The Point looked like this:

• 123 Active Listings
• A whopping 41-months of supply of homes for sale compared to the overall Lake Norman housing market’s 28-months of supply
• The average days on market for the 9 properties sold was 428 DAYS!

Now fast forward to today and The Point looks like this:

• 38 Active Listings (One third of the amount in 2008)
•  7.86 months of supply of homes compared to over 12-months of supply in all of our Lake Norman housing market
• The average days on market for the 29 properties sold in the past 6 months was 178 days

What a remarkable turn around during a very tough national economic slowdown!  What is so interesting is how The Point went from being significantly worse than our overall Lake Norman market in 2008 to today when it is a bit better off than our overall real estate market.

Here are two charts, one for waterfront homes and one for off-water homes to provide you an overview for the past 10 years.  Keep in mind that 2011 is not completed:

Waterfront Home Sales in The Point 

*Note that the while the number of homes sales this year to date are lower, the average price and $ per square foot are siginificantly higher.

Non-Waterfront Homes Sales in The Point

*Again, while the number of sales is down, the average price and days on market are improving.

This is yet another sign that our Lake Norman real estate market is improving.  Low inventories are key to this trend and they are continuing to fall not just in The Point but throughout our Lake Norman area.

Additional Articles

Before buying a Lake Norman Waterfront Home, See it by Boat!

Is ‘The Point’ Lake Normans Ultimate Luxury Home Community?

Relocating to Lake Norman

Fresh Sushi? Hush Puppies? The Scoop About Relocating to Mooresville Lake Norman

Mooresville on Money Magazine’s List of Best Places to Live

Lake Norman, Our Inland Sea

What You Need to Know About Buying Real Estate In North Carolina

My reason for creating this Lake Norman Real Estate blog from the its inception in May of 2007  was and still is all about providing you with as much information and data as possible to help you make an informed decision when buying or selling a home in Lake Norman.

While I don’t talk a lot about our Property Search feature, I chose the company providing this program because they are local, innovative and provide great customer service.

Two of my favorite features are the “Neighborhood Analyzer” and “Research” tools.  I have discussed the “Research” tool in previous articles but as a reminder, once you do a home search and have specific property results, click on any of the properties for the details page.  Once on the details page you will see the word “Research” in bold dark red  just to the right of the listing price. Up will pop three options:

•  DealSniffer Compare this listing to others in the area
  Market Check  Look at homes recently sold in the area
  Neighborhood Analyzer Recent neighborhood market trends

Once you have clicked on “research” and found these three option, Just click on any of these to access more data about the property and it’s competition

Now, go back to the Lake Norman Real Estate’s home page and click on the round button “Search for Homes”.  You are now on the home page for a home search.   At the top right hand corner you will see a small logo with bars:  If you click on this icon you will go immediately to the Neighborhood Analyzer.  From there, just put in a neighborhood and you will get results like this one I just did for The Point:

This Neighborhood Analyzer feature has just been “overhauled” by my service provider and now includes:

• Average prices of both list and sales
• Homes sold per month
• Current inventory
• Interactive map with all currently active and recently sold properties
• Statistical data regarding listing and sales prices.

Pretty cool isn’t it?  As always, any feedback is greatly appreciated.  I will pass them along to my IDX company!

Related Articles 

Lake Norman Waterfront Real Estate: What is Available in YOUR price range?

Lake Norman Real Estate:  Waterfront Home Price Update: Part 1

Lake Norman Relocation Resources

Lake Norman Foreclosures, Short Sales and Green Homes…Search HERE!

For those of you new to Lake Norman real estate, Crescent Communities represent some of the largest, most upscale planned communities on Lake Norman.  Originally the real estate arm of Duke Energy when Lake Norman was first created in the 1960′s, ”Crescent Resources is (now) a real estate development and land management company”.  They still have active sales offices for The Point & The Farms.

On August 26th of last year in I wrote an article with an update about the financial health of Crescent Resources, LLC and a spread sheet real estate analysis of the most notable Crescent Communities on Lake Norman:  How are Lake Norman’s Crescent Communities Faring in 2010? I did the same real estate sales analysis today to provide you with some insight into our 2011 activity in these same Crescent Communities:

* As always these numbers are compiled from the Charlotte Regional Multiple Listing Services

For the sake of comparison, here is my chart from last August:

There are both stunning and unremarkable contrasts between these two reports.  Here are the highlights:

• Active Listings have dropped 8.5% overall with only minor variances by community. Note that Falls Cove has dropped to near zero as they were the hardest hit by the recession.

• Conditional/Active Due Diligence contracts in total are again almost identical.  However, in 2010 The Point and The Peninsula represented 73% whereas today they are only 40% of the total. Very recent sales have been spread fairly evenly across the board.

• Once again The Point leads in Pending sales contracts but I was quite shocked to find none in The Peninsula or The Harbour.  With 6 pending sales The Farms has clearly picked up significantly which will be reflected in other numbers as well.  (New construction returned in the newest phase of  The Farms early this year.)

• It is not fair or meaningful to compare the total closed sales since my analysis last year was over 2 months later in the year than this one.  That said, it is important to note the relative decline in sales in The Point, The Harbour and Sailview and the uptick in The Peninsula, The Farms and Northview Harbor.

• The Months of Supply column is where we see some note worthy numbers.  Overall the Crescent Communites’ months of supply of homes for sale increased from 16.8 to 19.2.  The Point, The Peninsula, The Harbour and Sailview all have significant increases (which is not good) while The Farms and Northview Harbour have experienced significant improvements. Keep in mind that 6-8 months of supply is our goal in a balances real estate market.

• The Days on Market numbers improved this year in all 7 communities.  Once again The Harbour came in with the best numbers.

• The % of the sales price versus the listing price were remarkable similar in every community except The Harbour. I took a closer look and two  high-end waterfront homes in The Harbour sold for significantly less than their asking prices this spring which weighed heavily on their numbers.

• The average $ per square foot for sold properties are always greatly impacted by the number of waterfront luxury estate sales.  This is particularly evident in The Point and The Peninsula but is true of all of the waterfront communities.  So far in 2011 The Point and The Peninsula are almost identical which reflects an improvement in The Point and a decline in The Peninsula.  The Harbour, Sailview and Falls Cove also experienced declines.

So how do these Crescent Communities compare to the entire Lake Norman real estate market?  Together they have experienced a 20% decline in sales compared to 10.7% decline in all of Lake Norman.  We have, through May 30th of this year, a 19-month supply of  homes compared to the Crescent Communities 19.2 however clearly The Point, The Peninsula, The Harbour and Sailview are experiencing weaker sales and  have higher inventories of active listings resulting in higher numbers of months of supply.

The biggest winners so far in 2011 are The Farms and Northview Harbour.  

The weakest links have been The Harbour and Sailview.    However, I would be remise if I didn’t point out that when I did a detailed sales analysis of The Point at the end of March of this year their months of supply stood at 13.5; significantly below the 25-months based upon the current number of active listings (10 more) and the average sales per month in 2011. 

Our Lake Norman real estate market is a bit like a yo-yo right now with no consistent, reliable trends to latch on to which is why I do analysis like this one to provide some insight into real time activity in Lake Norman.  I’m looking forward to doing my monthly Lake Norman Real Estate Hot Sheet on the 21st!

Related Articles About  the Lake Norman Real Estate Market

The Point in Lake Norman: An 11-Year Real Estate Sales Analysis

Lake Norman Real Estate’s May 2011 Sales Analysis: Not Much to Celebrate!

Lake Norman Real Estate’s 1st Quarter 2011 Sale Analysis by Price Range

Lake Norman Waterfront Homes: What is Currently on the Market in your Price Range?

The Point  in Mooresville NC is arguably the most prestigious luxury community in all of Lake Norman and it is also the largest with 18 miles of beautiful Lake Norman shoreline.   

Exactly one year ago I did a sales analysis of  The Point for a client looking for insight into trends as well as an accurate assessment of the current market. But, how did this same luxury community fare in the past 12 months? You may be interested to find out they did and are doing quite well…  But at what price?  Here are the answers:

 12-Month Sales By Price Range

*All data is from the Charlotte Regional Multiple Listing Service only and does not include sales that were not conducted through our MLS

Probably the most shocking number of all in the above chart of sales in The Point for the last 12 months is that there was one sale in the $300,000′s and 14 total sales under $600,000! In fact, this niche accounted for 27% of the annual sales. Almost HALF of the total number of homes sold in The Point were under $800,000. Of course, many of these were distressed sales of inventory left over from our peak building market of 2006/2007.  Note that while this niche represented 46.5% of the sales it represents only 29.3% of the current inventory.

The most significant number, in my opinion, is the months of supply of active listings in The Point which has dropped to 13.6 months a number well below the overall Lake Norman real estate market. And, this is also a vast improvement from 3 years ago.  At their peak there were over 140 active listings in The Point.  Back on September 18, 2008 I wrote:  The Point in Lake Norman: A Case Study #2.  In this report I noted that we had 123 active listings which translated at the time to a whopping 41-month supply of inventory!  Then, in: Lake Norman Real Estate: Affordable Housing at The Point…Wow! on July 25, 2009 I noted that we had 114 active listings and had sold only 19 homes since the beginning of the year for a 38-month supply of active listings.

Here is a look at both waterfront and off-water homes in The Point since 2001 so that you can put the past year’s numbers in historical context:

The Point

Home Sales: Non Waterfront

Highlights

• The $ per square foot has continued to decline since the peak in 2006 but the average sale price has actually increased slightly.
• Sales volume of non-waterfront homes increased 38.5% in 2010
• The list -to-sales price differential has dropped down to 4%

The Point

Home Sales: Waterfront 

Highlights

• The average sales price improved slightly in 2010 while the average dollar per square foot remained fairly steady until our 2011′s first quarter.
• Sales of waterfront homes rose only slightly in 2010.

The Point seems to be over the worst of its own mini meltdown. Inventory is down, sales have improved but this is clearly due to serious drops in the sales prices. Now that most of the earlier round of distressed sales are gone, the question is will the prices of the existing inventory have to drop as well before they sell or has the bleeding stopped?  I am most interested in watching their waterfront homes because up until now they have not dropped in price as much as the overall waterfront housing market in Lake Norman.  Stay tuned!

Most people considering a move to our Lake Norman area are hoping to find a great waterfront home for an incredible bargain.  But, unless they keep up with our Lake Norman waterfront home sales on a regular basis it is hard for most newcomers to know what is available in their price range and if their goals are realistic.  Yes, many folks think that they can get a newer construction home on a lot with open water views, a private dock with deep water for $600,000.  But, is this possible?

In order to paint a very clear picture of our Lake Norman waterfront housing market, I have decided to break this process into two parts:

• Part 1: An analysis by price range of Lake Norman waterfront home sales in the past 4 month (Oct 1, 2010 – Jan. 31, 2011)
• Part 2: A description by price range of waterfront homes currently available for sale in our entire Lake Norman area.

Part 1

* Date is from the Charlotte Regional Mulitple Listing Service

Above is a chart of our Lake Norman waterfront home sales for the past 4 months and the current number of active waterfront listings in these price ranges.  Let’s take a closer look:

$178,000 – $399,999

• This is the entry level price range for waterfront property.  Truthfully, this price range represents “land value only” properties…manufactured double-wides and small, older homes ranging in size from 650 sq ft to 2707 sq ft.  Most of these properties have what I would call ” major issues”.  They may not have any docks, be located on a narrow cove and probably are considered “tear downs”.  Average $ per square foot = $218

$400,000 – $499,999

• Still considered an entry level price range, the properties that sold in the $400,000s in the past 4 months were a combination of newer homes on lots that had very little water or small, older homes (possible tear downs) on lots with better water.  Sizes ranged from 1200 sq ft – 3618 sq ft.  Average $ per square foot = $166

$500,000 – $599,999

• Slightly better homes and/or better location and water.  Homes ranged in size from 1550 sq ft – $4300 sq ft.   In this group there was a new construction home at the very end of a shallow cove, a fixer foreclosure with major issues but on a nice street, and a very dated home but decent depth of water on a cove. None of these homes were in subdivisions.  Average $ per square foot = $175.

$600,000 – $699,999

• This is an interesting price range. In this group was a 5421 sq ft newer construction foreclosure with mold and structural issues, good water views but a tiny dock; an older home with shallow cove water; a huge, 6453 sq ft new-construction foreclosure home in a very undesirable subdivision that went out of business after a handful of homes had been built and not considered good water as it is so close to the I-77; an AWESOME but small (2900 sq ft)  1980′s home with 600 ft of shoreline and incredible views…one of the best buys I have seen!; an almost new construction home in a nice subdivision but lot is very steep down to narrow cove water and small dock, nice new construction foreclosure with a few floorplan issues and a tiny dock/shoreline but lovely water views; a 1990′s home with awesome, open water views, small dock and beach but had tiny bedrooms and had enough deferred maintenance that none of my buyers were willing to make an offer;  a 1980′s home in good condition with incredible open water views and 2-story dock (I sold this one). As you can see, this is an interesting price range where there can be some opportunities if you are willing to COMPROMISE.  Average $ per square foot = $170

 $700,000 – $799,999

• Not too many sales in this price range but lots of inventory.  In fact, the listing prices of these homes that sold in the $700,000′s were $789,000 – $940,000! That tells us that the homes actually listed in the $700,000′s will probably sell much lower. I sold a gorgeous, 5000 sq ft new construction home at the end of a cove in a shortsale for $750,000; a shortsale main-channel home that was a bit dated in The Harbour sold for $765,000; a 7962 sq ft home in Bay Crossing that had no dock sold for $790,000; a dated house with nice open water views sold for $735,000.  This is a very popular price range but one where buyers still need to make some compromises.  The homes with great water were a bit dated and the beautiful newer homes had less desirable water and small or no docks.  Average $ per square foot: $174

$800,000 – $899,999

• Again, just a handful of sales despite the number of active listings in this price range. Interesting that the listing prices of these homes that sold in the $800,000s ranged from $899,000 – $1,075,000!  Average $ per square foot = $170. 

$900,000 – $999,999

• This was a very hot price point during the past few months.  Sales included two gorgeous homes in The Harbour, one sold for $900,000 (5722 sq ft) and the other $910,000 (6459 sq ft) as well as a 5800 sq ft home in Pinnacle Shores and a 5135 sq ft home way up on Astoria Parkway in Catawba.  The listing prices of these sales ranged from $950,000 – $1,149,000.  Average $ per square foot = $172.

$1,000,000 – $1,499,999

•  Sales in this price range were in our most upscale neighborhoods like the Peninsula (5), The Point (1) and The Harbour (1).  They ranged in size from  4850 – 9046 sq ft on just about an acre of land.  The listing prices ranged from $1,000,000 – $1,599,000. The $ per square foot ranged from $121 – $240 per square foot…quite a variance depending on the property and not one that we should average.

$1,500,000 – $1,999,999

• Only 3 sales in this price range two of which were in the Peninsula. The listing prices ranged from $1,990,000 – $2,295,000.  The $ per square foot ranged from $216 – $285.

$2,000,000+

• Three of the 5 of these properties were in The Point, one in The Peninsula and one in Connor Quay.  At this price point it is not wise to generalize but all of these homes sold within 10% of the asking price.  The $ per square foot ranged from $262 – $416!

Lake Norman is an immensely diverse area which is clearly reflected in the fact that our waterfront property sales range from less than $200,000 to over $2,000,000.  In some price ranges the $ per square foot is almost half of what they were in 2006/2007 so this certainly is an opportunity to get on the water.  The key is to remember that even in this down market you may need to make some compromises.  If you are willing to consider a slightly dated home you will have a lot more from which to choose as we simply don’t have that many newer homes on good waterfront lots at bargain prices.  No matter what, once you settle here you will love living on Lake Norman!