Charlotte's Belmont Community

Since investing in a home in the community, and having gone to church there as well, I have become very close to the community of Belmont. Not to be confused with the Town of Belmont in Gaston County, it is located just outside Charlotte's Center City and the I-277 loop, bordering 1st ward to the east, and Villa Heights to the west. The community is currently undergoing a revitalization much similar to other rebirths that took place in Wilmore, Wesley Heights, and Elizabeth.

There have been several new mixed income housing projects completed in the past few years, perhaps the most extravagant being Seigle Point, which sits right on the up and coming Sugar Creek Greenway. In 2003 the city put into place the "Belmont Revitalization Plan" which included several million dollars in infrastructure grants, and low interest subsidies for private commercial and residential revitalization of the area. Real Estate prices in the area have been on a steady incline over the past decade, and don't show any signs of slowing down anytime soon, Belmont's future is certainly looking bright!

Housing may be recovering, and fast

Real Estate markets have certainly seen one of the greatest downturns in history, in regards to dollar value decline, but like any other commodity or market item, real estate too has its highs and lows. By many indicators, its seems that we are in the low and actually starting to see an increase in values, as evidenced by the following three major factors;

* The inventory of unsold homes is coming down rapidly from the peak levels of last year. Hovnanian has even sited shortages in some previously saturated markets.
* Housing affordability has improved dramatically from its all-time low levels in recent years.
* Buyers are emerging and markets are “clearing” in some of the hardest-hit areas, like Phoenix, Sacramento and Las Vegas, and it seems clear that these buyers are much more than hurt investors looking to make back what they lost from the downturn.

It is certainly possible that the apparent bottom we are now in may prove to be the eye of the housing hurricane when all is said and done. Yet, it would certainly be a mistake to dismiss the improvements that we have been seeing. Too many observers are busy looking in at the past rather than focusing on the reality in front of them.

Information from Yahoo! Finance http://ping.fm/v6Q86

1,014 New Jobs Announced in Charlotte

Many will look at this economic downturn we are now in and see nothing but negatives. My philosophy has always been to look for what is good about any particular situation.

Neighborhood Assistance Corp., a Boston based non-profit organization just announced their plans for expansion in East Charlotte. They are planning on adding over 1,000 jobs over the next 5 years. I would certainly call this good news and will most certainly help home values in the East Side of Charlotte.