Category Archives: North Carolina

Ryan Homes Announces New Single Family Homes at Birkdale Grove

new homes near Charlotte

Ryan Homes is excited to announce new homes coming soon to Birkdale Grove in Huntersville, N.C. Carolina new home buyers who have been searching for the perfect new home in this prestigious area won’t want to miss out on this limited opportunity!

Homeowners at Birkdale Grove will enjoy a selection of six unique floor plans with up to six bedrooms and more than 2,500 square feet of living space. These homes are all priced from the $280,000s with brick or stone fronts, HardiePlank Colorplus siding, two-car garages, extensive landscaping packages, high-end finishes and much more! Like all new Ryan homes, these homes are fully Energy Star certified, meaning your utility costs will be cut by up to 30 percent. With only 13 homesites remaining, interested buyers should act now!

Huntersville is a sought-after area, and Birkdale Grove is just one mile to shopping, movie theaters and restaurants. Residents will also enjoy being just north of Charlotte with convenient access to Birkdale Golf Club, Lake Norman and I-77.

For more information on these wonderful new homes, visit www.RyanHomes.com.

Gary Player Design Course Opening at The Cliffs in South Carolina

Gary Player Design course at The Cliffs

The Cliffs and Gary Player Design are excited to announce that The Cliffs at Mountain Park Golf Course is scheduled to open next fall. The is one of only a handful of golf courses currently being constructed in North America, and one of seven courses in The Cliffs Communities. The new course will be a part of the existing 5,000 acre Mountain Park residential community on the southernmost edge of the Blue Ridge Mountians.

The Cliffs at Mountain Park Golf Course will be surrounded by more than a million acres of State Parks and National Forests. The course has been designed with the highest environmental standards in mind, and is carefully planned to preserve the area’s natural beauty. The course will also save money by using organic materials and implementing eco-friendly design practices.

The company expects grassing to be completed over the next few weeks with the course fully operational by the 2013 season.

The Cliffs Communities offers a unique collection of seven private communities nestled among lakes and mountains between Greenville, S.C. and Asheville, N.C. These residential Carolina real estate areas are bordered by thousands of national forests and state parks, and each is designed with a unique personality and style.

For more information about The Cliffs, call 866-411-5771.

Winston-Salem Named As Top 10 Cheapest US City

Cheapest US cities

Even though home prices may be low, buyers still have to consider the cost of living for the region they want to move to. To help buyers out, Kiplinger recently released their list of the top 10 cheapest U.S. cities to live in based on research from the Council for Community and Economic Research. Making the list at number 10 was our very own popular Carolina real estate destination, Winston-Salem, N.C.

Winston-Salem is the most budget-friendly big city within the Tar Heel State, with Raleigh coming in at second. The cost of living index is a 87.5, which means it is around 13 points below the national average. The median household income is below the national average at $41,483, but the average home price is also well below the national average at $199,118. In addition, renting an apartment typically costs around $590 a month. Two of the most popular and biggest employers for the area are Wake Forest University and Reynolds American.

If you’re considering purchasing a new home in either South Carolina or North Carolina, Winston-Salem is the only big city to make Kiplinger’s list of cheapest cities for either state.

Durham Named a Hot City for Foreclosures

durham a hot city for foreclosures

With the real estate market in the condition it’s in, buyers these days are looking to get the best deal possible. In most markets, housing prices are still extremely affordable and interest rates are low, so buyers are able to get more house for less money. However, these conditions are starting to cause a decrease in inventory, especially foreclosure inventory, in many areas, which means prices may soon be on the rise. Even though all of this is true, Business Insider recently named Durham as one of the 10 hottest cities for investing in foreclosed homes.

According to RealtyTrac, home sales prices in the area increased by almost 20 percent between the first quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of this year, but the average foreclosure sale price remains around $150,000. This price is considered an almost 25 percent discount when compared to pricing on a North Carolina new home. However, foreclosure buyers need to act quickly because the company predicts that the foreclosure inventory is down to almost only 11 months of supply.

The only other southern city to make Business Insider’s list is Montgomery, while the rest were confined to Massachusetts, Washington, California, Ohio, Arizona and Rhode Island.

Greenville Remains On June’s Improving Markets Index

iStock

iStock

Good news for South Carolina real estate buyers and residents, Greenville remains this month on the list  of the  nation’s improving markets on the monthly NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index.

Improving economic conditions have resulted in payroll employment being down just 5.2 percent from its highest point set in February 2008. This number is also up 4 percent from its lowest point set in September 2009. Single family home permitting is also up 3.2 percent from its low point set in September 2010.

Greenville’s success has been due to the city’s ability to reinvent itself from a textile center into a growing center for automotives, healthcare and logistics. Greenville is a transportation hub for many trucking firms and distribution centers because of its prime I-85 location between Atlanta, GA and Charlotte, NC. Greenville is also home to two highly regarded and still growing major health systems. Plus, the city is home to the North American headquarters for Michelin and BMW as well as the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research.

The Improving Marketing Index is a relatively new index unveiled by the National Association of Home Builders. It serves to draw attention to the fact that housing market are local, and that there are many metro areas where economic recovery is underway. The index measures monthly data on employment, single family housing permit growth and housing prices to determine whether or not a market is improving.

Florence, SC also made the June list, while the following North Carolina cities are on the list: Jacksonville, Burlington, Goldsboro, Greenville and Hickory.