Category Archives: North Carolina

North Carolina Cities Make the 10 Fastest Growing U.S. Cities List

Charlottecity

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Charlotte’s population has grown 64.6 percent between 2000 and 2010 making it one of the 10 fastest growing cities in America. Despite the recession and housing market, Charlotte has record population gains despite the national average of 10 percent population growth.

Initially recognized as a transportation center, Charlotte is now the “second largest financial center in the nation, after New York,” said Bob Morgan, president of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce.

Jobs at big banks like Bank of America, Citi, Ally Financial, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo have helped the city grow tremendously.

Because of this population growth, there was an increase in demand of Charlotte new homes.

Another North Carolina city that has overcome the odds despite economic instability is Raleigh with a 63.4 percent growth between 2000 and 2010. Because of the high percent of population growth, there has been an increase in building Raleigh new homes.

Named after Sir Walter Raleigh who popularized tobacco use, the city of Raleigh once depended on the tobacco crop for economic success, but now Raleigh is known for its intellectual hub of many technology firms. These firms include Red Hat, an open source software company and Etix, a web-based ticketing company for sports, entertainment and travel.

For a complete list of the 10 fastest growing U.S. cities visit CNNMoney. For more information on Carolina real estate, visit the website.

Carolina Real Estate Agents Can Attend Specialized Training Course for Distressed Homeowners

ToolsThe Charfen Institute is offering a Certified Distressed Property Designation course to provide agents the perfect tools, processes and education to help distressed homeowners avoid foreclosure. Due to a high demand for property education courses, North and South Carolina local area REALTOR® Associations will offer industry-leading Real Estate Short Sale courses.

The North Carolina Association of REALTORS® and Greensboro Regional REALTORS® Association will meet June 14 and 15 in Greensboro, N.C.. If you are in the Cary, area, the Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS® will meet August and August 2. In addition, the Coastal Carolina Association of REALTORS® will meet in Myrte Beach, S.C. on August 7 and August 8.

This is an excellent opportunity for local real estate professionals to learn how to help homeowners facing financial hardships, while also earning their Certified Distressed Property Expert® (CDPE) Designation. Agents with this certification better understand homeowners’ circumstances and can better navigate foreclosure alternatives.

Since 2008, unemployment, underemployment figures and mortgage delinquency have been at a record high. Recent estimates show that more than one in five homeowners nationwide owe more on their home than it is currently worth.

To find out more about these events in the Carolinas and nationwide visit http://www.cdpe.com/schedule.

Struggling homeowners can get free assistance from a CDPE-designed rate estate agent in their area by visiting http://www.cdpe.com/find/cdpe. For more information on Carolina real estate, visit our website.

Make Way for Multi-Family Homes

City buildingsAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, who recently released data concerning construction permits issued by localities in 2011, Raleigh, N.C. was the third top city with the most construction activity with 13.66 construction permits per 1000 housing units.

Why is multi-family building becoming more and more popular? According to the Trulia Rent Monitor, rents rose 5.6 percent nationally in 2011. Construction of multifamily buildings has increased because people could not necessarily afford to purchase or own a home during the recession. Therefore, more and more families are transforming their homes to become more multigenerational friendly.

While Texas and the Carolinas hold the position for the highest rate of construction in metro areas, New England, the Great Lakes, South Florida and Coastal California hold the lowest rate.

There are many factors that explain the sporadic growth in housing developments. One factor is whether there is long term employment growth in the area. Another factor is that many of the metros have had above-average job growth within the past ten years, and that there weren’t any huge home price declines during the crash.

For the U.S., one-third of construction permits in 2011 were for multi-family units, making builder trends change to meet the demand of multifamily construction.

Why does the builder market look more and more like a seesaw, up and down? First, construction activity is bet on future growth. It is a risky guess for builders to decide where to develop in areas where they are expecting a demand for housing. Also, housing units last for a long time, so they inevitably shape the metro areas they are in.

If you’re looking to buy or rent in the Raleigh area, make sure you visit our site for all of the latest North Carolina real estate news.

Raleigh Remains Atop Best Cities for Jobs List

Raleigh is #2 on the List of the Best Performing Cities

Raleigh recently found itself ranking seventh in New Geography‘s annual survey of the best places for jobs. This marks the seventh year in a row that Raleigh ranked within the top 15 cities.

Raleigh is one of the cities that benefits from the nationwide tech growth trend. Other cities benefiting from technology are Austin, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Denver. Other major contributing factors for many cities’ rankings include the energy sector, government-dependence, military towns, manufacturing and the housing bubble. Additionally, for the first time since the recession, 2011 saw more growth in private sector employment than in the public sector.

The list is created by ranking all 398 current metropolitan statistical areas based on employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics from November 200 to January 2012. These rankings are calculated based on recent growth trends, mid-term growth, long-term growth and the region’s momentum. The rankings are also broken down by size since regional economies differently due to their scale.

An increasing number of jobs and Raleigh’s ranking on this list will only serve to boost home sales in this region. For more information on North Carolina real estate, visit our site.

GreenFiber Makes Builder Magazine Editor’s Pick List

InsulationGreenFiber, a company that produces insulation products with multiple environmental benefits, made Builder Magazine‘s 2012 Editor’s pick list. This company, which is headquartered in Charlotte, is one of the ten companies and products on the list.

GreenFiber Insulation is environmentally-friendly insulation that is made for use in attics, floors and walls. Benefits of the product include amazing thermal performance, fire-resistance and sound control. The insulation itself is made up of 85 percent recycled content and is created in a virtually waste-free manufacturing process.

GreenFiber is made and sold for use by everyone from the homeowner to the architect. Homeowners, retailers/dealers, contractors/builders and architects/building officials can all find the benefits and information they need to know on the company’s website. Consumers can also find out about the weatherization assistance program.

Baldwin, Broan-NuTone, Plain & Fancy Cabinets, Kreg Tool, Upono, Caroma USA, Nuheat and Ann Sacks also had products which made the editor’s pick list.

For more information on how you can use GreenFiber when building a new Carolina home, doing home maintenance or increasing energy efficiency, visit their website.