Thursday, May 15, 2008

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. "

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

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.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Hectic, Crazy, and Busy All At Once....Life As Usual!

Wow. I hope all is well with you and your investing. It has been very hectic for myself and the rest of our "City View Capital" gang. We have moved into a new office, endured the changeover of software on all of our computers which allows us all to "communicate" on the same network (that was as fun as a root canal) and then mix in an incredible market, seminar after seminar speaking engagements, well it makes for a Busy, Hectic and Fun time...in other words...Life As Usual.

The Great news is that the Charlotte Region continues to be the spot for Real Estate Investing. Just a couple days ago, the report came out that Charlotte has not only CONTINUED to have climbing house prices, however Charlotte was the ONLY market in Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller's Home Price index that went up AGAIN in the latest results. Places like Vegas, Miami, and Phoenix and San Diego all saw their values DROP up to 19%!!!

This is more GREAT news for Investors as we continue to provide Cash Flowing Properties are Great Prices, located here in Charlotte (did I mention the ONLY market that AGAIN has increased in sales price in the entire United States?). It has been amazing as our client list continues to get more and more diverse as we are now working with Clients literally located across Europe that are looking to take advantage of both the incredible appreciation opportunity with Real Estate Investments in this region and the strong Euro versus the weakened US Dollar.

Our region continues to have a low cost of living index and combined with an incredibly solid economy (one of the many reasons that experts report that our market continues to do well).

We look forward to hearing from you and invite you to join us: Www.CityViewCap.com

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Charlotte #1 Price Gainer in 2007

While values slowed during 2007 across the US, ONLY three (3) markets finished the year in the positive: Portland, Seattle and CHARLOTTE. Charlotte was the best with a 2.3% increase, the highest in the US. Charlotte did also finish the year on a strong trending note as fourth (4th) quarter of 2006 to fourth (4th)quarter of 2007 actually showed a six (6%) percent rise.

Charlotte's economy stays strong and the commercial building and growth is phenomenal. Class A Office Space is being built as fast as developers can build it and it is virtually all pre-leased before being finished.

The Bio-Tech Center development continues on schedule and the accolades are already coming for this development that is already becoming Nationally and Internationally recognized for it's importance in the Scientific community.

Monday, February 4, 2008

Charlotte Hiring at RECORD Levels in 2007

A great article was in Charlotte's paper on Saturday, February 2nd. Last year, our area added 2.6% MORE jobs in 2007 and had the highest number of jobs in our area in more than a decade. This is another SOLID boost of confidence for our region considering the loss of jobs in other areas and the fact that we grew at 1 and a half times the National Average job growth rate.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Charlotte Growth...just keeps on improving

Here is an article published today that comments on the Healthy State of Charlotte's Economy and Growth:

"Navigating all the construction projects under way in Charlotte might be worth the inconvenience considering the alternative.
Economists say the cranes are a barometer of good health, indicating that things will keep going here no matter what happens on the national level.
The Charlotte Chamber's just completed 2007 report on new and expanding businesses seems to confirm that.
A record 1,326 firms announced plans to invest nearly $2.3 billion -- the second highest amount ever in Mecklenburg -- and create 14,648 jobs.
"What it tells me is we are building the infrastructure for future growth," said Tony Crumbley, chamber vice president of research. "I can't help but feel positive."
The city's uptown vacancy rate is around 2 percent -- the lowest of any downtown in the nation -- and office space is in short supply, helping fuel the building boom.
Employers, especially those who do business with the big banks, are eager to locate in the center city financial hub.
More than a half-dozen office buildings totaling more than 2.7 million square feet are under construction uptown and some won't be finished for two or three more years.
"The chamber's numbers have had a tendency to coincide with the general direction and magnitude of Charlotte growth," said Wachovia Corp. senior economist Mark Vitner. "The report shows we have a large backlog of work."
Home construction starts and sales have slowed, but Charlotte was one of just a few metro areas in the country where home values rose over the past year.
Vitner said local job growth, a key to future demand for housing, also remained relatively strong in 2007.
Planners see the Charlotte region adding an average of almost 50,000 people a year through the end of the decade.
Locally, consumers and businesses are keeping a wary eye on the uncertain national economy.
Vitner isn't predicting a recession, but if should happen, he doesn't believe it will last more than nine months.
In that case, activity likely would slow here, Crumbley said, "but we still have enough under way to keep us afloat."
The new construction and business expansion projects counted by the chamber totaled a record 25.1 million square feet.
Charlotte typically is insulated from drastic economic swings by its diversity of jobs and employers, Crumbley said.
The accommodations and food service industry -- the leading category in 2007 -- accounted for 4,436 of the announced jobs.
But firms also disclosed plans for almost 3,000 technical services jobs, 2,210 retail jobs and 360 manufacturing jobs plus substantial numbers of jobs in health care, finance and administrative support.
The big surprise in the year-end report, Crumbley said, might be the number of manufacturing jobs announced "because we are thought of around the country as a banking community."
Charlotte's location roughly between New York and Miami and interstate highway access is attractive to warehouse, distribution and manufacturing firms."

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Merry Christmas and a GREAT Present for Charlotte: Yet ANOTHER Great Article!

Here is the article that was just printed today: December 26th about Charlotte:

Charlotte is one of just three places where home values are up
BY STEPHEN BERNARD
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK --There are only three places in the country where homes prices are rising - and Charlotte, N.C., is at the top of that very short list.
Along with Charlotte, Portland, Ore. and Seattle posted year-over-year home price appreciation in October, with Charlotte posting the largest gains at 4.3 percent, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index released Wednesday.
The index found that nationwide, U.S. home prices fell in October for the 10th consecutive month, posting their biggest monthly decline since early 1991. The record 6.7 percent drop marked the 23rd consecutive month of price deceleration.
The record 6.7 percent drop also marked the 23rd consecutive month prices either grew more slowly or declined.
"No matter how you look at these data, it is obvious that the current state of the single-family housing market remains grim," said Robert Shiller, who helped create the index, in a statement.
The previous record decline was 6.3 percent, recorded in April 1991. The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index tracks prices of existing single-family homes in 10 metropolitan areas compared to a year earlier.
A broader index of 20 metropolitan areas fell 6.1 percent. Among the 20 metropolitan areas used in the broader index, 11 posted record monthly declines and all 20 declined in October compared to September.
Miami posted the largest decline among those 20 markets. Home prices in the Miami metropolitan area fell 12.4 percent in October compared to the same month last year, surpassing Tampa, Fla. as the worst-performing city. Tampa posted a year-over-year loss of 11.8 percent.
Besides those two cities, Detroit, Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Diego also posted double-digit year-over-year declines.
Atlanta and Dallas, which had previously posted price appreciation, fell in October. Prices fell 0.7 percent in Atlanta and 0.1 percent in Dallas compared to a year earlier.

Some MORE great news and positive reports. Don't let this incredible opportunity pass you by. Call me today and let's get your portfolio of investments full of properties in the BEST Real Estate market in the US...(Don't forget that the Charlotte Region is the FASTEST growing market in the ENTIRE UNITED STATES projected over the next 20 years which means great value for your investment purchases of today in tomorrow!)

Cheers,

Mike Knight
704.631.9938