And Charlotte just keeps on going.....

The Charlotte Observer reported another National News Article confirming that the Charlotte NC Real Estate Market continues to increase in sales value while the other markets continue to fall. This echos what I've been speaking about for years and what Charlotte Business Leaders have been speaking about for years: Charlotte has a sound Economy, sound Job Growth, tops in Income Levels, one of the lowest Cost of Livings in the Nation....what it all adds up to is that our market CONTINUES to do BETTER and BETTER and as we're on track to be the FASTEST growing Population in the entire US over the next 20 years, it is a FANTASTIC time to be an Investor.

Here is the article in it's entirety:
The Charlotte region again ranks among the nation's urban markets with appreciating real estate.
STELLA M. HOPKINS
shopkins@charlotteobserver.com
The Charlotte region notched its third month Tuesday as the only one of 20 urban markets nationwide still showing rising home prices.
Area prices rose a little less than 1 percent for the 12 months through March, according to the widely followed S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index. That's less of an increase than in previous months but compares favorably with a 14 percent national decline on what is often a person's largest investment.
In addition to the annual gain, Charlotte also was the only one of two markets in which March prices rose slightly compared with the previous month. The monthly upticks in Charlotte and Dallas are the first for any of the 20 markets since September, according to the reports.
The two hardest hit areas – Las Vegas and Miami – have seen annual declines of about 25 percent. Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco also posted drops of more than 20 percent.
By another broad measure, Charlotte area home prices gained 6 percent during the same time frame. That put the Charlotte region at No. 14 out of 292 markets ranked by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, which evaluates a somewhat different pool of sales. Both indexes evaluate repeat sales of single-family homes, an important gauge of changes in value.
The OFHEO quarterly index released last week shows Charlotte with a five-year return of 29 percent. The index also shows that markets with recent declines still have much higher long-term gains than Charlotte. Miami, for example, has a five-year return of 92 percent while Las Vegas is up 65 percent.
Charlotte has so far been spared steep declines because the area didn't experience the sharp gains during the nation's real estate bubble.

It's Official: Charlotte is named the BEST Place to Live in the US

We've talked more and more about the importance of investing in the RIGHT market. You have to know that your market IS headed in a positive growth direction and so therefore your investments will be headed in a POSITIVE growth direction. Well, more GREAT news, Charlotte has been named the Number One BEST Places to Live in the United States! Here is the article:

"Apparently, there's just something about North Carolina. For the second year in a row, America's best city in which to live lies within its borders, according to Relocate-America.com's annual list.
This year, Charlotte, N.C., is in the top spot, the site announced this week. Last year's winner was Asheville, N.C., which slipped to No. 7 on this year's list.
"North Carolina is very active on our radar," said Steve Nickerson, president and CEO of HomeRoute. "It continues to get a flood of interest from all over."
HomeRoute is the real estate firm that operates Relocate-America.com, a source of community information and real-estate resources for those who are relocating. Each year, the site ranks the top 100 places to live in the country.
Areas need to be nominated on the site in order to be eligible for the list; more than 2,000 were nominated this year, Nickerson said. Special efforts are made to prevent spamming campaigns from influencing the results, he added.
But the site's editorial team also takes into account an area's growth, its educational and employment opportunities, crime rates and housing options before granting it a spot in the top 100. Environmental highlights also play a role, with a city gaining points for good air and water quality or the strength of its recycling efforts, Nickerson said.
Home-price appreciation does get some consideration, however it's only one piece of the analysis, Nickerson said -- explaining why some struggling real estate markets in California and Florida, for example, still made the top 100. Areas that offer a comfortable climate and economic opportunity tend to be the most sought-after communities on the site, he said.
Charlotte's diversity of housing options and home affordability were two of the reasons users nominated the city, Nickerson said. The city's strong economy, boosted largely by the banking industry, was another selling point. "

Great Interview on CNN

Well, this has been an exciting week for sure. Charlotte has CONTINUED to do well as the ONLY market actually appreciating STILL. So, that does make for a very great story for the networks and so last Thursday, CNN sent a Producer and News Crew here to Charlotte and they Interviewed myself, Mike Knight, and the President of our Realtor Association, Dot Munson. It turned out to be a very good interview in my opinion (no, not just because it included me) because it did talk about the positive and true reasons as to why Charlotte continues to do well and why so many investors are building their portfolio in Charlotte, because they know it is the intelligent investment to make. They discussed with me our Real Estate Investment Market, Flipping Homes (I was called a "Flipper" during the broadcast and so now as I walk through the office I am constantly hearing dolphin calls from the great "Peanut Gallery" that we have at the office at City View Capital) Remodeling Homes, Dealing with Investors, you name it.

The best part is that they gave another incredible look at Charlotte and again brought to people's attention that Charlotte IS the market to invest in.