Charlotte Region’s Best Kept Secret

March
19
2012

What has 2300 acres, 36 miles of hiking, biking and horseback trails, a 28 acre fishing, kayaking and canoeing lake, historic structures and roadways and 20 minutes from Trade and Tryon in Center City Charlotte?
The Anne Springs Close Greenway in Fort Mill, S.C.
Now our neighbors to the south may take exception that I said [...]

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Buffalo Wings … Facts and Folklore

February
03
2012

I hail from Buffalo, N.Y. It’s famous for many things including the home of two U.S. Presidents, the inauguration of another and the host of a Pan Am Expo. However, if you poll the average person and ask them “What is Buffalo famous for,” you will likely hear one of the following: snow, the [...]

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Feel’n Good in Bad Times!

December
28
2011

In these times, it’s rare to find positive news about housing, but I found something good in an earlier edition of Builder Magazine.
In an article on the health of the country’s top housing markets, the Raleigh-Cary market was ranked No. 1 with a score of 86.9; Durham-Chapel Hill was No. 3 at 81.5 and [...]

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Wet a Line in the North Carolina Mountains

December
05
2011

What better way to spend an autumn day (remember winter does not officially begin until Dec. 21) than wading in gin-clear streams in a mountain valley surrounded by a palette of fall colors, while stalking one of the most elusive fish … mountain trout. These fish are not the largest by any stretch, but they [...]

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Is the Luxury Market Making a Comeback?

September
12
2011

There has been an interesting phenomenon in the new homes market over the last few months…the luxury market for new homes seems to be gaining some momentum! Now every market defines “luxury” differently. For Charlotte it would be homes in excess of $500,000. We have seen a steady rise in sales over the last few [...]

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Are We Headed for Home-ageddon”?

August
02
2011

Last week, we waited to see who was going to blink first on the debt ceiling crisis and watched our elected officials play Russian roulette with our financial future. This was obviously the most visible example of our politicians not listening to their constituents; however it is not the only one. Anyone associated with housing [...]

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A Vacation That Could Turn Into A Staycation

July
22
2011

Many years ago my wife and I visited Beaufort, S.C. (that’s Bewwfort not to be confused with Beaufort, NC pronounced Bowwwfort).
Beaufort is not a town that you pass by on the interstate; you have to want to go there because there’s one way in and out. On the map it appears to be between Charleston [...]

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Build Me the Home I Want…Please!

June
23
2011

I am one of the 40 million baby boomers roaming around out there asking the same question as many others: “When are builders going to pay attention to us and build homes that we want to move into?” What does this home look like you may ask? Well, it would be a one to one [...]

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Hats Off to Our North Carolina Legislators!

May
06
2011

What do builders, developers, farmers, the unemployed, conservationists and local entrepreneurs have in common? They all want their voices heard.
Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to sit in on the State’s Joint Regulatory Reform Committee for the Charlotte region. The purpose of the meeting was to receive input from the public, the regulated community [...]

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It’s Not Easy Being Green

April
14
2011

“It’s not Easy Being Green” was a hit song from the 70’s made popular by Frank Sinatra and Kermit the frog. Well today, “being green” is the latest buzz phrase in the home building industry but what does it really mean?
Simply put, being green when building a home is utilizing practices and products that are [...]

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