Building BOOM!

Anyone notice the trend is back? I see framing crews, roofing crews, and concrete trucks everywhere I turn! I count eight new homes either under construction or completed in last six months this year in my part of Cotswold alone! There are two bare lots with builder signs in Olde Cotswold, and at least two large ones going up on Coddington & Canterbury. This does not even include the major remodels! It's great to see our market rounded out with a balance of resales & new builds. Note that many of the new construction projects sell before they hit our MLS system. Some are custom built homes where the owner buys the land (or a tear- down), picks a builder, and builds for themself. In both cases, the end financials are never public. But the impact on the neighborhood is still great for our property values. And don't assume that new construction is only for the luxury market! Three new homes at the end of Ellsworth and McAlway have recently sold in the high 400's. If you are thinking this might be the right path for you, please contact me! I know of several projects in the works that might be right for you. Boom, boom, boom!

Band those trees!

Part of what makes our in-town neighborhoods so desirable is the mature  tree canopy that the old growth oaks provide. So make sure you protect the value of our homes and our overall community by protecting them from those pesky spring worms that eat their leaves and can leave our magnificent trees crippled and sometimes too far gone to survive. Fall is the time to do it-before the bugs can crawl up into the branches to nest. If you have oak, cherry, or dogwood (three of our most popular trees, and three of the most vulnerable) then call an expert and hire someone to band your trees. I called Heartwood, and they came out the next day to wrap ours. Prices are based on the size of the tree, but even with two VERY large oaks plus a cherry, the bill was only a few hundred dollars. But time is running out! November is the end of the window, so please consider doing it today!!

School open houses- GO!

It's that time of year! If you have a rising Kindergartener, or are looking to change schools, you need to know the open house dates. Our neighborhood home school, Cotswold Elementary, has their second one this week - so mark your calendar - this Wednesday, November 13th at 10am. Thankfully this school is terrific and has lots of neighborhood support. The majority of kids in our neighborhood attend our neighborhood school, and walking to school is a great option from several pockets of the community!

We are also lucky to be located close to several great private, parochial, Christian, and Jewish school options, and there are  lots of families who make this choice for their students. Here are some of the links to their websites for more information on them:
www.tescharlotte.org  For Trinity Episcopal School - located right in Uptown Charlotte for grades K - 8.
www.charlottecountryday.org for Charlotte Country Day School - Located in the Southpark area for grades JK - 12.
www.providenceday.org  Providence Day School is just a few miles from Cotswold - at the intersection of Rama and Sardis for grades JK-12.
www.charlottelatin.org Don't let the location scare you away - located in south Charlotte, but there are shuttle buses in stead of carpool to make it easy on the in-town families who attend. For grades JK-12.
www.stgabrielcatholicschool.org This is also in the heart of Cotswold and includes both the church, elementary school, and preschool. For grades K - 5 plus a separate preschool.
www.cdschool.org Charlotte Jewish Day School is an elementary school located on Providence Road in the Shalom park complex. For grades K - 5.
www.charlottechristian.com Charlotte Christian is located on Sardis Road. For grades JK - 12.

The Classic Cotswold Ranch - 2013 sales stats!

Ahhh... the classic 1950's ranch. In my sales experience I have found that some people love them, and some people DON'T love them. But if you are looking at Cotswold, the ranch is an ever present part of your life. They are everywhere! They vary from traditional brick with black shutters like the one in the photo above, to 1960's mod with higher windows and maybe a partial bit of wood siding. Most in our area have three bedrooms and two full baths. Here is a quick look at how these "3/2 ranches" as we call them have fared this year in our area!

1st Quarter 2013: 11 homes closed with an average sale price of $353,836 for 2102sf. That is an average sale price of $168/square foot.
2nd Quarter 2013: 17 homes closed with an average sale price of $330,500 for 1834sf. That is an average sale price of $179/square foot.
3rd Quarter Sales: 19 homes closed with an average sale price of $349,089 for 1946sf. That is an average sale price of $179/sf.

These numbers are for ALL the Cotswold area - and of course the actual prices vary from one sub-neighborhood to another (Olde Cotswold sells for higher prices than the others, Sherwood Forest tends to sell for less than the others) - but all are included equally in these numbers. So long as they have three bedrooms, two baths, and are not new construction - they were included! These numbers are pretty darn encouraging considering that the averages for 2012 were as follows:

2012 - all 4 quarters combined: 48 homes closed with an average sale price of $300,625 for 2005sf. That is an average sale price of $150/square foot.

Great news that Cotswold has had a great year! If you have friends who would like to live in this area, or if you are considering a move please share my Blog with them or help them get in touch with me!

The Cotswold Family - supporting Adam and Wooten Schmitz

As my first official blog, it seems fitting that I write about the heart of Cotswold  - and that means the neighborhood family. Adam Schmitz lives a block away. He and his wife, Wooten, have lived here ten years. They have two kids close to our kids ages. We've seen them at every Halloween parade, at swim team practice and meets, and walking all around the neighborhood. We watched the election results come in at their house in 2008. I have gotten to know Adam's sister's family and his parents as they both moved the Charlotte in the past year and I was privileged to help them both find their homes to purchase.  For almost two years, Adam has been fighting a nasty battle with Neuroblastoma  - an aggressively growing brain cancer. It has absolutely been a rollercoaster - he has seen miraculous periods where the growth disappeared. But today is a low point, and Adam is now in Hospice care. He has written prolifically about his journey through his caringbridge site (www.caringbridge.org/visit/adamschmitz1). There is a Giveforward.com fundraising site to help with medical expenses. It's titled "the Adam Schmitz Cancer Fund," and I hope you will visit and contribute. Even with treatments coming to an end, they have major medical expenses from past treatments, and any contributions will help. And finally, takethemameal.com is managing the delivery of dinners for them for the next month and beyond. I hope getting this word out about all the different ways to help will make me feel better .... and thank you to all the Cotswold people who have done much more than I have.