A lakefront house at 20321 Enclave Oaks Ct. has sold for $2.65 million after being listed at $2.85 million by Dixie Dean of Allen Tate

The S&P/Case-Shiller index shows prices increased 5.4 percent year over year in December 2015 vs. a 5.2 percent increase the month before. A 20-city composite showed a year-over-year gain of 5.7 percent in November and December.

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Portland led the way with an 11.4 percent year-over-year price increase, followed by San Francisco with 10.3 percent and Denver with a 10.2 percent increase. Charlotte prices rose 5.5 percent, according to Case-Shiller.

The outlook is good for higher-end homes in Lake Norman. Pat Riley, CEO of Allen Tate, said Lake Norman “is the very best of all worlds – pristine and controlled by Duke Energy to keep it that way.”

He said the long-term outlook is excellent as well. “Lake Norman is just 25 minutes north of one of America’s most sought-after, clean, safe cities for big entertainment, sports and foodies. The region is under the umbrella of an airport with easy access to the world and book-ended between the beautiful mountains and beaches. It’s all about location, location, location. Here, you can work at home, commute to Winston-Salem or Charlotte, or fly in and out to visit your clients while you live every day in a resort,” he said.

While the upper-end market is attracting buyers from out of state, Abigail Jennings, president of Lake Norman Realty, said the majority of buyers at the high end are actually local. “Some are looking for a new high-end neighborhood for specific amenities and others are looking to make a change of house, to upsize or downsize, and stay within their same neighborhood,” she said.

Although there is plenty to choose from, there’s buyer enthusiasm even at prices north of $2 million, said Lance Carlyle of Carlyle Properties. “Overall there is enthusiasm in every category including the super-luxury, but people are still looking for value and they are willing to step up and pay for it,” Carlyle said.

In Cornelius

A lakefront house at 20321 Enclave Oaks Ct. has sold for $2.65 million after being listed at $2.85 million by Dixie Dean of Allen Tate. The house, which sits on a 1.5 acre lot, has 9,000 square feet of space on three levels. The house has eight bedroom suites, a wine cellar, a music room, gym and theater as well as a screened gazebo and private dock, pool and spa. The tax value of the home is $1.886 million. Nancy Hucks of Lake Norman Realty represented the buyers.

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A lakefront house at 17806 John Connor Road in The Peninsula has sold for $1.199 million after being on the market for 38 days. Listed by Terry Donahue of Carlyle Properties for $1.248 million, the house has four bedrooms and four baths, as well as a pool and a hot tub. and it was on the market for only 38 days. The selling agent was Sue Nichols from Lake Realty. The tax value of the property is $920,000, according to Mecklenburg County property records. The all-brick house, which has a three-car garage, was built in 1998.

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A 6,740 square foot house at 19216 Peninsula Shores Drive has sold for $1.3 million after being listed at $1.4 million by Anita Sabates of Allen Tate. Built in 1995, the seven-bedroom house has a basement with a second living quarters as well as a billiard room, exercise room and a wine cellar. The tax value of the house, which has a swimming pool overlooking the golf course, is $868,200. Jeannie Lytton of Allen Tate represented the buyers. The house was on the market a total of 206 days.