Lakefront land at 20205 Lola Circle for $2.35 million

By Dave Yochum. High-price lots are moving fast in Cornelius, with at least one lakefront lot—actually two parcels that will be sold as one—apparently ready to break the $2 million barrier. The property at 20205 Lola Circle is listed at $2.35 million with Lee Ann Miller of Allen Tate.

A late 1960s brick home is expected to be torn down to make way for a multimillion-dollar home. Tax records show the owners of the home as H. Lynn Moretz and his wife, the late Betty Ann Moretz. The property is assessed at $1.03 million—the dirt alone at $875,000.

The Lola Circle property has been on the market for 12 days. The pricetag underscores the tremendous rise in waterfront values, particularly the largest lots with expansive, unobstructed views of Lake Norman.

But it’s waterfront: Less than a half acre Town Harbor for $950,000

A .44-acre lot at 18205 Town Harbor Road closed at $950,000 Jan. 27. It was listed and sold by the father-son team of Jim and Lance Carlyle at Cornelius-based Carlyle Properties.

The high-end real estate markets in Lake Norman, Myers Park and Eastover are sizzling with an influx of buyers not just from out of state, but out of the country. Business and wealth have become internationalized, and real estate experts say money is sometimes no object when it comes to second and third homes.

Cornelius, thanks to Lake Norman and its proximity to Charlotte, is attracting the international set.

Foreign buyers are actively snatching up high-end real estate. The $2 million-plus range saw 20 deals on the lake last year, up from 19 in 2013.

And local bankers are saying they are making jumbo loans at highly competitive rates—not necessarily a rich premium—and lending again for spec homes priced $1.5 million and above.

While cash is king at the top end of the market, follow the money and you’re just as likely to find a lender.

WASHAM

“I am hearing of multiple banks re-entering the larger spec-home financing world,” says Woody Washam, a long-time banker with Carolina Trust Bank’s Mooresville office.

Research shows that there is low inventory of new homes on the market with customers ready to buy in this category, Washam says.

On Mollypop Lane off Belle Isle Drive, racecar driver Denny Hamlin is building a 30,000 square foot house on two lots where the homes were torn down.

Is there a ‘trickle down’ effect?

The trends are helping fuel a resurgence in the high-end residential market. And $2 million is apparently the new $1 million on Lake Norman, luxury brokers say.

But does it “trickle down” to homes priced at less than $500,000? It can’t hurt. And the high-end varies from market to market: $500,000 won’t by much in Manhattan or Beverly Hills. According to Zillow, the median home value in Cornelius is $239,000. The market here, Zillow says, is “hot.”

Reed Jackson, managing partner at Ivester-Jackson Distinctive Properties in Cornelius and Charlotte, says the $500,000 to $999,000 price range is benefiting primarily from the traditional pattern of families “up-shifting” to bigger homes as income and family size increases. “That has returned very strongly with the economy moving forward,” he adds.