Hotel Hamlin: 30,000 square feet where two homes were torn down

There were 170 home sales pending valued at more than $500,000 in June, a 10-year-high. The market is hot enough for a new trend: Multiple tear-downs for larger estates as lakefront properties in Cornelius and Mooresville once again approach 2008 peak

Properties in both Cornelius and Mooresville once again began to approach 2008’s peak lot values, ranging from $900,000 to well over $1 million.

“One new dynamic in the lot market is the micro-trend of high-end custom home projects now aggregating multiple adjacent tear down lots together to achieve an estate compound…with multiple large projects in the more high demand areas already under way,” says Reed Jackson, managing partner of Ivester-Jackson Distinctive Properties in Cornelius.

A Christie’s affiliate, Jackson said large estate projects will “ultimately raise the bar for Lake Norman’s highest-end home values in select circumstances to crest the $10 million mark.”

Racecar driver Denny Hamlin did just that. He is building a 30,000 square foot home on Mollypop Lane in Cornelius. Not far away there is a massive estate nearing completion at the corner of Belle Isle and John Connor Road.

Meanwhile, the number of pending high-end home sales reached a 10 year high in early June, with more than 170 homes under contract at $500,000 or more, Jackson said.

Across the Charlotte region, home prices are climbing a little faster than the average of the 20 largest U.S. cities year over year, according to S&P/Case-Shiller. Charlotte house prices from May of last year to May of this year rose 4.9 percent vs. 4.4 percent nationwide during the same period.

Comparing May vs. April, though, Charlotte looks like it may have cooled off, with prices climbing .7 percent here, compared to 1.1 percent month to month nationwide.

“As home prices continue rising, they are sending more upbeat signals than other housing market indicators, says David M. Blitzer, managing director at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Nationally, single-family home price increases have settled into a steady 4 percent to 5 percent annual pace following the double-digit bubbly pattern of 2013.”

He said over the next two years or so, the rate of home price increases is more likely to slow down than to accelerate.

“Prices are increasing about twice as fast as inflation or wages,” he said. Housing starts, meanwhile, are only about 1.2 million units annually, and only about half of total starts are single-family homes. Sales of new homes are low compared to existing homes.

How Lake Norman and Cabarrus will fare compared to the Charlotte market is anybody’s guess.

Blitzer said first-time buyers are the weak spot in the market. They provide demand and liquidity that supports trading up by current homeowners. “Without a boost in first-timers, there is less housing market activity, fewer existing homes being put on the market, and more worry about inventory,” Blitzer said.

Millenials, of course, have a different mind-set around home-ownership than previous generations. Then, too, larger downpayments are affecting first-time homebuyers who currently rent. “Mortgage rates are far less important to first-time buyers than a downpayment,” Blitzer said.

Nevertheless, Charlotte home prices are coming back at what looks like a healthy pace. Charlotte’s 4.9 percent year over year gain pales in comparison to Denver at 10 percent and San Francisco at 9.7 percent

In Concord

A large home that looks like an English manor house at 4688 Owl Creek Lane in the Jacobs Ridge subdivision has sold for $790,000 after being listed at $799,000 by Jayne Helms of ReMax Leading Edge. The tax value is $827,000. The 5,500 square foot five-bedroom house sits on nearly 1.8 acres, complete with an in-ground pool and a covered porch with a TV area and a fireplace. Team Honeycutt with Allen Tate Realtors represented the buyers.

In Mooresville

A stately lakefront home at 185 Shelbourne Place in The Point has sold for $2.7 million after being listed at $2.75 million. The three-level Cape Cod, which has a tax value of $2.3 million, has more than 8,400 square feet of heated living area.  The home includes a billiard room, wince cellar, theater and exercise room, as well as a private pier, spa and pool. It also has a four-car garage and private baths in all five bedrooms. Doris Nash of Ivester-Jackson had the listing. Jessica Simpson, also with Ivester-Jackson, represented the buyers.

In Cornelius

A house at 19319 Betty Stough Road in the Patricks Purchase subdivision has sold for $1.1 million after being listed for $1.225 million by Anita Sabates of Allen Tate. The house, which has a tax value of $1.1 million, sits on a 1.2 acre lot just across the road from Lake Norman. The 6,178 square foot home has five bedrooms,  four baths and a pool and spa come complete with an outdoor fireplace. There are two offices and two laundry rooms and a three-car garage. Sherry Hickman of Ivester-Jackson represented the buyers.

In Sherrills Ford

A lakefront home at 9224 Fair Oak Drive in Northview Harbour has sold for $1.155 million after being listed at $1.225 million by Maria Jacobs at Lake Norman Realty. The house, with 5,348 square feet of space, has four bedrooms and four full baths. The property features 309 feet of shoreline and a floating dock as well as four garages. The tax value of the property is $1.287 million. The buyers were represented by Lloyd Radeschi of Lake Realty.