North Carolina - Hispanic Population Increased 7.8 Percent In 2007.  More specifically an additional 46,266 called North Carolina Home during the year.  The state’s total of 640,000 make Hispanics the state’s second largest minority group.

CARY - DETROIT PARTNERSHIP BUYS CROSSROADS PROPERTIES       Four Buildings And 20 Acres Comprise The Package.  The purchaser, MayfieldGentry Realty Advisors, paid $56.8 million in behalf of a retirement fund for Detroit fire and police employees.  The buildings, Crossroads I-IV, have a total of nearly 400,000 square feet.  This price is equal to about $145 per square foot.  The buildings are 95 percent occupied.  Another $2.2 million was paid for six tracts that are zoned for shops, hotels or offices. 

The difficulty potential buyers of properties are having in lining up financing for purchases they would like to make is dramatically shown by the fact that only $27.6 million in offices were sold in the Triangle during the first quarter of 2008.  During the first quarter last year $456 million were purchased.

John Fish (919) 696-3474   Email: Marvmax@mindspring.com   Website: www.JohnFish.com

Raleigh, North Carolina.  Chief Executive Magazine High On NC. The magazine says North Carolina is the third best state in the nation for business.  The magazine surveyed CEOs who gave the state high marks for a business climate not overpowered by regulations and for low tax.  They also were very positive about the state’s quality of life.  Last year the magazine rated the state number four.

Cary, North Carolina.  FROM DAVIS TO DAVIS.  Davis Development of Stockbridge, Georgia paid Craig Davis of Cary $5.3 million for 21 acres at the intersection of Weston Parkway and Chapel Hill Road.  The property is zoned to permit 325 apartments, 45 townhouses, 155 condos and 40,000 square feet of shops.  The price Georgia Davis paid Cary Davis for the property was 14 percent more than Cary Davis paid for it in 2001.

John Fish (919) 696-3474   Email: Marvmax@mindspring.com   Website: www.JohnFish.com

Cary, North Carolina.  Epic Games Licenses UE3 to SouthPeak Games of Texas.  UE3 (Engine 3 Technology) is software other companies can use as a base to develop their own PC and video games.  SouthPeak will use Epic’s technology in its “Monster Madness EX: Battle for Suburbia” game.  Makes one wonder whatever happened to Black Bart and BB guns.

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 John Fish (919) 696-3474  Email: Marvmax@mindspring.com Website: www.JohnFish.com

Cary, North Carolina.  The Triangle has done very well throughout the downturn in the U.S. housing market.  None-the-less, both local and national builders have felt the bite of higher interest rates and problems in the mortgage market.  However, one subdivision for national builder KB homes has exceeded expectations.  Twin Lakes, a Martha Stewart - KB Homes project in Cary has been selling at a rate of about 25 homes per month while the 11 other KB communities in the Triangle have been selling at a rate of 6 to 10 homes per month.  Twin Lakes was announced in October of 2005 and in short order had a waiting list of about 800 names.  Prices range from $218,990 to $359,990.  Since construction started in March of 2006 some 350 homes have been sold of the 767 planned for it.  There are also townhomes in Twin Lakes.  Their price range is $148,900 to $167,990.  American MetroStudy tracks tracks construction starts in 1,709 communities  Their figures indicate that Twin Lakes is the fifth best selling subdivision of that entire number. 

A second Martha Stewart/KB Homes development called Wynbrooke will begin construction in Raleigh by September of this year.  The price range will be somewhat higher than in Twin Lakes.  Its range will be from $378,990 to $491,990.

John Fish  (919) 696-3474   Email: Marvmax@mindspring.com   Website:  www.JohnFish.com

Raleigh/Cary - It is not news to anyone that the real estate market has been taking it’s lumps all over the courtry.  The latest figures for the Triangle, specifically the new home market, show that closing were down 8.2% in the first quarter.  Two key factors in that decline were banks tightening their mortgage loan qualifiying requirements and the difficulties people coming to this area are having in selling their homes in the markets they are coming from.  All of which brings me to the subject of this blog.

If any of you in the Raleigh and Cary markets have gone through one or more listing agents, if your home has been on the market more than 160 days, if the marketing approaches used to try to get your home sold have been pretty much the same you probably assume there isn’t much you can do about it.  Not so.  There are a couple of things that can be done that you should know about if you are looking for action.  SO, if your listing agreement has run out or is about to (I cannot and will not solicit another agents listing), if you are looking for a change in how your home is marketed and if you will give me 30 minutes of your time - let’s talk.  There are some ground rules.  The price of your home must be $250,000 or more.  My listing period is 4 months not six months.  If I don’t have it sold in that length of time you are off the hook.  I don’t cut commissions.  If you have already had your home on the market for 6 months or more it has cost you far more than any 1% or 2% difference in commission rate.  Your home must be in good condition and you must be willing to do the things a seller would normally do to put the home in good position to sell.  I will not email you a description of what I do and I won’t discuss it on the phone.  This is to be certain that I may see your home in order to determine that, if properly marketed, it has a good chance to sell.  If you are interested call me and let’s arrange an appointment.  I know this sounds rather blunt but you have a problem that requires action - not stroking.

John Fish (919) 696-3474   Email: marvmax@mindspring.com   Website: www.JohnFish.com

The demand for Wake County shopping centers continues to be red hot.  The 80,441 square foot Mini City shopping center at 4510 Capital Blvd. in Raleigh was sold to Water Investments of Charlotte for $6.2 million.  The 133,237 square foot Mill Pond Village at 3434 Kildaire Farm Road in Cary was sold for $9.1 million

John Fish (919) 696-3474   Email: marvmax@mindspring.com   Website: www.JohnFish.com

Cary Luxury Homes Subdivision.   Creedmoor Partners has yet another subdivision of luxury homes underway.  It is called Renaissance at Regency and is next to Symphony Lake off of Ederlee Drive.  The subdivision will have three sections:  The Estate Homes, The Manor Homes and the Cottage Homes.  There are 34 one-half to one acre sites that range in price from $275,000 to $415,000.  There have already been 13 presales.  The building team is comprised of Rufty Homes, Inc.  SilverCrest Homes, LLC, Ted Keith Builder, Inc., Dixon/Kirby & Company, Inc., Bost Custom Homes, Ange Construction Co., Nearson Custom Homes and Properties, Inc., 1st American Builders, Bluestone Builders, LLC, Sundance Signature Homes, Huntley Design Build, Inc. and Thomas Gipson Homes, Inc.  The minimum size homes in the part of the subdivision is 5,000 square feet and price will start at $1.5 million.  The Manor Homes will offer 65 lots of one-third to one-half acre and homes will be priced from the $900,000s.  Lot prices will range from $180,000 to $330,000.  The builder team will consist of KJ Construction, Mangum Design-Build, Inc., Southern Elegant Homes, Inc., Upright Builders, Inc., J.T. Sullivan Custom Builders, Inc., Taylor Custom Homes of N.C., Inc., Timberline Builders, SilverCrest Homes, LLC, Huntley Design Build, Inc., Ted Keith Builder, Inc., Poythress Homes, Inc.   The Cottage Homes section is designed for Maintenance-free living.  Connected by a gatehouse leading to a private garden area, these homes will be built by Premiere Homes, Inc. There are 114 home sites and prices for these homes will start at $690,000.  The location is truly superior.

For more information please feel free to call or email me at any time.

John Fish (919) 696-3474   Email: marvmax@mindspring.com   Website: www.JohnFish.com  

Raleigh North Carolina. Toll Brothers Communities.   In May of 2006 Toll Brothers had the grand opening of another of their Triangle communities at The Oaks at Meadowridge in Raleigh.  The 113 acre community offers homes ranging in price from the upper $400s to over $1 million.  The area will have 73 homes of six different designs and about 30 exterior architectural designs.  The flagship of the community is the 6,500 square foot Duke Lexington model home. It features a two-story foyer, study, family rooms, huge master bedroom with private den and a gourmet kitchen.

Toll Brothers are also adding two new communites in Cary; The Estates at Olde Carpenter and Green Level Crossing.  The Estates at Olde Carpenter is on Carpenter Upchurch Road is West Cary and will contain 65 single-family homes starting in the mid $400s and ranging in size from 2,978 to 3,695 square feet.  There will be five home designs and each will have four or five varying architectural styles. 

Not far from Olde Carpenter is Green Level Crossing.  Green Level will sport six collections of luxury single-family homes.  Green Level Crossing is located between Hwy. 55 and Hwy. 751 in Cary.

The Toll Brothers Brier Creek community is one of the most succesful in the Raleigh area and has solld more than 1,000 homes.  During the year they introduced their new collection of luxury condos at The Greenbrier Collection at Brier Creek Country Club.  The demand was so strong they had a lottery drawing which resulted in almost two of the eight 22-home buildings being sold out.

Toll Brothers knows a good thing when they see it and they see the Triangle area as a place to have a major commitment.

Another Toll Brothers community Triple Crown Estates in Chapel Hill.  In this community homes are on sites of from 3 to 10 acres with equestrian privileges and is in the Chapel Hill-Carboro City School District - one of the nations’s top ranked school districts.  Home is Triple Crown range from 4000 to 8000 square feet and in price from the $800s to well over $1 million.

For more information about these communities or other communities in the Triangle please feel free to call me or send me an email at any time.  While I sell homes in all price ranges throughout the Triangle I specialize in the marketing of homes of $500,000 and above and even more specifically in assisting couples in the entire process of finding a suitable location to build and in getting a home designed and built in the $1 million and above range.

John Fish (919) 696-3474   Email: marvmax@mindspring.com   Website: www.JohnFish.com

Raleigh Parade of Homes.  Two of the three highest priced Parade Homes I suggested you see in my last post won the top two medals. The gold medal went to the DenMark Construction home in Radcliffe while the silver went to the Jayco Construction home in The Overlook at Chatsworth.  Congratulations to all the winners in all the price ranges and to those with perfect scores.

With regard to million dollar homes (and above) Stacey Anfindsen, an appraiser with Birch Appraisal Group in Cary, says that 130 homes sold in Wake, Durham, Chatham, Franklin, Orange and Johnston counties during 2005 whose closing price was $1 million and above.  That is slightly above the number I come up with but I bow to his knowledge and resources in that area.  Through October 10 of this year my figures indicate that 126 have sold in that princely range and that another 27 are under contract.  Thus, another record breaking year for the area is assured.  On the flip side of that coin, there are 271 homes of $1 million plus currently listed on the Triangle Multiple Listing Service in the above referenced counties.  For those of you who are familiar with the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill areas you might find it interesting to know where the majority of these homes are located - by subdivision.

Raleigh - Wakefield 26, Linville 7, Sheffield 6, North Ridge 6, The Registry 5, Chatsworth 4, Devon 4, Faircroft 3, Belmont Ridge 3, The Barony 3, Stonemoor 3 and Brier Creek 3.  Raleigh - Inside the Beltline - Hayes Barton 9, Budleigh 6, Country Club Hills 4, Lakestone 3, and White Oak 3.

Cary - Regency Park Estates 4 and Preston 3

Chapel Hill - Governor’s Club 20 

Durham - Colvard Farms 7 and Croasdaile Farm 4

To those who want to build in Raleigh there is much to choose from. Hasentree is just underway with some 600 lots.  About 90 have already been spoken for.  The gated community of Linville still has several excellent lots remaining in the new section.  The gated community of The Barony has many excellent lots to select from.  The Registry still has some good lots available.   If you want to build in Cary - NOW - is the time to do your home work - OR - have me do it for you.  Creedmoor Partners,those good folks who brought you Devon, Linville, Stonemoor, Birklands, Chatsworth, Olde Creedmoor, The Moorlands, Traemoor Manor, Hasentree and on and on are at it again in a CHOICE - CHOICE - CHOICE location in Cary called the Renaissance at Regency. It is next to the Koka Booth Amphetheatre and Symphony Lake and just down the road from Regency Park Estates.  It has 34 home sites.  For more information call me at 696-3474. 

John Fish (919) 696-3474  Email: marvmax@mindspring.com  Web Site: www.JohnFish.com

Martha Stewart project in Raleigh.  Martha Stewart will provide the designs for the 98 homes KB Homes will build on 90 acres near the intersection of Leesville and Strickland Roads in north Raleigh.  The homes will start at about $400,000 and be on one-half to three-quarter acre lots.  They will range in size from 2,300 to 4,000 square feet.  This will be the second area development between the two.  The first, Twin Lakes in Cary, has been very successful thus far.  Nearly 130 of the 767 homes and townhomes in Twin Lakes have already sold.  The Twin Lakes homes are somewhat smaller at 1,500 to 4,000 square feet and their costs are between $200,000 and $500,000.

John Fish - (919) 696-3474   Email: marvmax@mindspring.com   Web Site: www.JohnFish.com