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March/April 2014 Vol 3, Issue 2 |
Market Insight:
There is good real estate news in 2014!
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The weather isn't the only thing that's been cooler this winter. Home sales data for the first two months of 2014 showed real estate markets in the Lake Norman and greater Charlotte regions slowing slightly when compared to the same period last year. So, have I changed my tune about the 2014 housing outlook? Not at all. After the extreme exuberance we witnessed last year, a little leveling off might be just what the doctor ordered for the long-term health and stability of the market. And when we compare the first quarter of 2014 to the same period in 2012, we are still up, with the market maintaining a healthy increase over the two-year period.
Keep in mind that these statistical dips in the first quarter of 2014 are just that: dips, not dramatic decreases. And there is lots of good news in these first quarter numbers, too. Our median sales price has grown 22.6% for the year to date. And perhaps more importantly, new contracts written in March 2014 exceeded March 2013 by 9.3%. Where there are new contracts, new closings will follow.
2013 was an extraordinary year. A market can't be expected to dramatically outdo itself each consecutive year, and if it does, that's a sure sign that a correction is on the way. I was recently quoted in The Charlotte Business Journal's Real Estate Report as saying, "Resale inventory is at its lowest point in years, new construction is making a strong comeback and low interest rates continue to help buyers get more house for their money. These factors all contribute to the upward trend." I stand by this statement, and I look forward to a steadily improving market ahead in 2014.
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Comparison of new contracts written in March 2012, 2013, and 2014 in the Lake Norman area.
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For details on your neighborhood's current market news, please email me and I'll be happy to send you a personal market report.
*all data compiled from CMLS for Lake Norman (Area 13)
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Featured Home:
Elegance & convenience are yours in this
lovely cedar-shake Peninsula Home.
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In the Garden... The Secret Garden
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My husband and I have been reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett to our daughters each evening. I haven't read this myself since I was in second grade, and hadn't realized until now how much this classic tale influenced my future love of gardening and nature. The Secret Garden tells the story of two nature-deprived children who discover and explore a forgotten walled garden on an English estate. When they find the hidden key, they attempt to keep their garden a secret, not sharing their new world with adults (thus the name of the book). However, the garden has secrets of its own. When the main character, Mary, first discovers the garden before Spring has arrived, it appears grey and brown without any apparent life. She says, "Is it all a quite dead garden? I wish it wasn't." However, when she looks closer, "..she thought she saw something sticking out of the black earth - some sharp little pale green points. 'Yes, they are tiny growing things...'"
It's this "secret garden" that inspires me most this time of year in my own garden. The new shoots and sprouts are secretly making their way through the remains of winter.
 | | What is this plant's secret identity? Soon, the secret will be out, and a beautiful "money plant" will blossom purple blooms! |
Anyone visiting my garden in early March could easily mistake it for the "quite dead garden" Mary speaks of in the book. It looks pretty unkempt at the moment, and it's hard to resist removing all the dead leaves and debris to help spruce it up, (and alleviate my irrepressible spring fever). However, as I have learned from previous years in the garden, it's best to be patient with Nature's plan. That extra layer of leaves, unsightly as they might be right now, are the perfect blanket for those "little pale green points," when a surprise frost might damage their Spring future. By the end of April, the secret will be out and the garden will be bursting with vibrant greens and color!
 | | What is the secret behind these luscious red shoots? Just imagine a green bush of fuschia peonies soon to be on the scene! |
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Calling All Artists
and Friends of the Arts!
If you thrive on creativity, spring forth to ArtSpring! on May 17th at Pioneer Springs Community School! As a co-founder of this amazing school infused with creativity and nature, I wanted to share with you our recent invitation to the community. I hope you can join us at the event, and if you're interested in sharing your art or being a sponsor, please see below:
The second annual ArtSpring! community celebration of the arts takes place on Saturday, May 17th, 2014 from 2:00-7:00 PM at Pioneer Springs Community School. A multimedia extravaganza of visual art, performing art and music, ArtSpring! features live and silent auctions of regional artists' work, food and beverage trucks, crafts and activities for the whole family, and more. And this year we are excited to welcome indie vocalist and songwriter extraordinaire Danielle Howle as the headlining performer. ArtSpring! is family-friendly, free and open to the public, and it all happens in the inspiring natural setting of Pioneer Springs' campus, in the heart of the Croft Historic District.
The myriad festivities of ArtSpring! are all centered around live and silent auctions of regional artists' work. Event proceeds benefit Pioneer Springs Community School, an independent, non-profit elementary school committed to a holistic education that reconnects kids with nature and their creative spirit. Beginning July 2014, Pioneer Springs will be a public charter school serving grades K-3. For more information, please visit www.pioneersprings.org.
Pioneer Springs is currently soliciting donations of artists' work for the fundraiser. If you are an artist or craftsperson, please consider making a donation of your work. Your talent and generosity will help provide an educational environment to nurture and inspire the next generation of creative thinkers. At Pioneer Springs, creative exploration of curriculum is the rule, rather than the exception! Tax deduction receipts will be provided for all donations. The deadline to receive work is May 7th.
Another powerful way to show your support for ArtSpring! and the Pioneer Springs mission is with an ArtSpring sponsorship. Sponsorship opportunities are available in a wide range of levels. To make a donation of art, become an event sponsor, or for more information, please contact events@pioneersprings.org.
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Over one-hundred items will be auctioned at the upcoming art extravaganza, ArtSpring! Here are a few examples of some of the donated artworks to be featured in the upcoming art auction. Above, "Family Matters," an illuminated, mixed-media assemblage by Nicole Schoepflin. Below, a ceramic teapot by Shari Crouse, and I'll be contributing several pastels, including "Winter Crow" pictured below.
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Green Tip - Renewable Vegetables?
 | | A new pineapple plant was easily grown from the remaining top from a fresh pineapple. |
We've been having fun in the kitchen giving some of our fresh fruits and vegetables a second life. Did you know that many foods will easily re-sprout from the scraps that often wind up in the compost pile? We've had great success with celery and pineapple recently, and look forward to trying some of the other suggested fruits, vegetables, and mushrooms too! Not only does this offer potential savings on future groceries, it is really fun to do, for adults and children alike!
Most of the foods simply need to soak in water to generate new roots. Then just carefully replant them in a very loose soil medium. Once they become established they are ready for the garden! There are many informative websites to guide you with specifics, just Google! Here are few foods that magically regrow themselves: celery, pineapple, green onions, garlic, lemongrass, fennel, ginger, onions, carrots, basil, and potatoes. Some are easier than others, but they are all fun to try!
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Oh, Spring!
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I've got a bad case of Spring fever. This year's variety has been giving me a happy, giddy feeling at random moments when I see a glimpse of new life in the world.
Yesterday, while deeply engrossed in office work at my desk, I saw two fledgling chickadees emerge for the first time from their birdhouse outside my window. They clumsily took flight from the only home they'd ever known and flew straight to the smooth crepe myrtle limb in front of my window. Not realizing that I was only a few feet away (thanks to the tinted glass), the two young siblings started screeching for a parent to join them quick! Not sure if it was for food, or just to say, "Look at me Mom and Dad! I did it!" The moment was fleeting and over before the thought of a camera could capture any of it, but it has lingered with me since as a wonderful spring gift.
 | Blossoms on the
Fuji Cherry bonsai |
Today, as I left home for the office, I passed one my husband's bonsai trees whose branches were bare only days ago. Overnight, the most delicate single blossom had appeared among the new green leaves. I imagined its tiny voice saying, "I am Spring," as I admired its beauty.
Although the cold and rain has made our Spring seem not so Springy this year, the new season is indeed unfolding, revealing itself in vivid moments to be relished as we await the fullness of Spring's promise, right around the corner!
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 Happy Spring!
If you would like more information on market news, have any real estate questions, or have an idea for a topic next month, please feel free to contact me.
Abigail Jennings President, Lake Norman Realty, Inc. 704.892.9673 |
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