BellaVita on Park Haulted September 23, 2007
Posted by The Tryon Street Journal in Charlotte, Real Estate.add a comment
Here is the email I received this week:
Thank you for your interest in Crescent Condominiums. We wanted you to be the first to know that construction of BellaVita on Park has been postponed indefinitely. We will continue to monitor the conditions of the condominium market in Charlotte to determine the best timing for this location.
Our opening event on Oct. 3 has also been cancelled. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Crescent is probably the largest real estate developer in town. If they think the condo market is over-heated, I would stop to take notice. The harder question to answer is whether this is a localized problem for the Park Road/Dilworth area, or a larger Charlotte-area problem. Stay tuned…
Charlotte average home price climbed 4% August 22, 2007
Posted by The Tryon Street Journal in Charlotte, Real Estate.add a comment
Why is it that the media likes to report positive news negatively? The Charlotte Business Journal headline reads “Charlotte existing-home sales down 15%“. Sounds bad, huh? But read on, and you’ll find that the average home price climbed 4% in July to $239,696 when compared to July 2006. Which means our residential real estate is still appreciating, unlike many other parts of the country. What I don’t really care about, and I’m not sure why anyone else would, is that the number of transactions decreased 15%. So fewer people are trading homes. Big whoop. If people are happy living in Charlotte, and more specifically in their current home, they won’t sell… which will result in fewer sales… which will drive up the price, 4%.
SouthHaus: European, modern, and coming to South End August 14, 2007
Posted by The Tryon Street Journal in Charlotte, Real Estate.add a comment
I’m excited one developer has done their homework and decided to bring a unique product to the market… introducing SouthHaus, the latest urban mid-rise in South End. Pre-sales began a month ago, and already over 60 condos have been reserved. This is no ordinary condo project.
First of all, it’s going to be one of the largest in South End… ~10 stories high, 8 of which will be residential, with retail and office below. What makes SouthHaus unique is the design. It’s straight from Europe, including the NanaWall system that allows you to open up the entire glass wall to the outdoors, like seen below in San Fran.
There are many other great features to this project (obviously I’m an advocate), some of which are the city or neighborhood views; ~19ft of vertical glass; loft layout, yet a true bedroom (not a studio); secure parking; steel construction (not wood frame); and reasonable HOA dues.
Did I mention the design?
Office OnDemand April 30, 2007
Posted by The Tryon Street Journal in Business, Charlotte, Real Estate.add a comment
What an obvious yet innovative idea. Smart real estate sub-letters are now offering office space on-demand, for a day, a week, a month, or years. Complete with furnishings, computers, receptionist, and meetings rooms. Executive suites are old news you say? Not like this. Companies that need to do projects temporarily in a new location (hello consulting) are now able to make a phone call, and in a matter of a couple days have an office complete with with custom phone number and professional address ready to go. How is this different from executive suites as are common today? Lease terms are negotiable, amenities are abundant (stocked break room, hi-tech conference rooms, etc.), and availability is immediate.
With all the tele-commuters, consulting, and on-the-go workers running around these days, this is bound to be successful. Large corporations already understand this, and are leasing entire floors of office buildings for temp-space for workers who drop in for a meeting or time to focus away from home (i.e. Bank of America is leasing a significant amount of space in Ballantyne for tele-commuters to use on-demand).
Read Michelle Conlin’s excellent article, then visit Britain’s Regus, the apparent trend-setter in this new corporate workplace trend. If this is old news, tell me, but it seems like a new high-touch, high-tech twist on temp space.
Stocks vs. Real Estate April 29, 2007
Posted by The Tryon Street Journal in Real Estate.2 comments
Marlys Harris at Money Magazine recently published an article comparing investing in stocks to real estate. It’s 90% correct, and her conclusion on which investment is the winner is non-conclusive. But for the most part it’s a great piece that captures most of the similarities and differences between investing in stocks or real estate. Read it now then see my notes about the gaping holes in her analysis:
- She frequently refers to your home when talking about investment real estate. I know the argument can be made that your home is your biggest investment, but it can’t be looked at the same way as investing in stocks or other pure investments, simply because you also derive UTILITY from your home. You live there, and you have to live somewhere. But that aside there are a few other points to keep in mind…
- In “Round 4: Taxes” she is simply wrong by saying about real estate, “there’s no exclusion from taxes when you sell, and you pay 15% in capital-gains taxes on any profit“. The IRS makes a well-known exception to paying taxes when selling investment real estate by using the sale proceeds to purchase another investment property. Essentially, Uncle Sam says if you don’t put any money from the sale in your pocket, I won’t make you pay me either. The 1031 exchange is probably the single-biggest reason investing in real estate even competes with other more-liquid investments. You simply can’t do this with stocks.
- In “Round 2: Leverage”, she talks about the downside of trying to “flip” condos, and being stuck with a mortgage when you’re forced to have a fire-sale in a down market… but that doesn’t happen in commercial real estate. Non-recourse loans are common, which do not require the investor to be personally liable beyond their equity investment. Which means if everything hits the fan you just hand back the keys. Granted you lose your investment, but you wouldn’t lose your home too.
- Another Round 2 item I disagree with is the comment “You could also play in the options market, but you risk losing your entire investment.“ Who ”plays” with their investments? Trading options is serious business. That’s like saying, “you shouldn’t play in the real estate market”. I don’t recommend anyone “play” in any market with yours or anyone else’s money.
- One Round she is missing is Income. Stocks can pay dividends, and income-producing property yields cash flow. In this category real estate easily wins over dividends.
