Friday, January 25, 2008

Lake Wylie Real Estate - 2007 in Review



2007 - The Year in Review

In mid-summer 2007, we thought we had a record year shaping up for Lake Wylie waterfront home sales. Dollar sales were up almost 20% over the year before, and average home prices were up as well.

Then, after August (see chart to the left), the market changed dramatically. Waterfront home sales suffered a "double whammy" resulting from the overall real estate (mortgage) downturn, as well as the impact from the drought. At the end of the year, total 2007 waterfront home sales in the Lake Wylie area were down 8% vs 2006.

Charlotte fared better than other markets across the region, being one of the few markets to post an increase in home prices and strong sales despite the gloomy news across the rest of the country. In particular, sales for homes above $500,000 climbed 71% in 2007 vs 2006. After August, the increase vs previous year was +10%. Not astronomical, but still a healthy increase!

On the lake, however, sales for September - December 2007 fell 68% vs 2006 sales. Ouch! In fact, during the last three months of the year, only five waterfront homes listed on Charlotte's MLS sold. Five of the 120 homes on the market!

As Milli Vanilli sang in their 1989 hit, "Blame it on the Rain". (Ok, so they weren't really singing, but that's another story.) Anyway, the drought did a number on the market. As public boat ramps closed, fewer people were on the lake. Boat lifts were on the ground. Waterfront properties were puddlefront. You get the idea. Buyers were hesitant.

The good news is that the drought is a temporary situation. Spring is just around the corner, and we'll all be singing "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head." Already we've had enough glorious little raindrops that the Buster Boyd access ramp has reopened. We've had good news of new jobs and new people moving to the area. SC taxes have been lowered. Lake Wylie and Fort Mill are reporting explosive growth. The demand for lakefront property will continue to climb. Life is good!

For a complete list of waterfront property available for sale right now, visit my website, Lake Wylie Waterfront Real Estate. You'll also find many resources for waterfront property owners, Lake Wylie area activities and events, and virtual tours of the area.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Fort Mill Schools - The Freeze is on!

Fort Mill, one of the fastest growing school districts in the state, plans to open two new elementary schools in 2009. In the meantime, some of the elementary schools are resorting to enrollment freezing and attendance reassignments in ordert to control crowding and ensure the high level of quality education we've come to expect from the district.

The capacity in the Fort Mill elementary schools is about 900 students per school. Orchard Park and Gold Hill's attendance has already reached maximum levels and enrollment is frozen. New students in the Orchard Park and Gold Hill districts are being sent to Riverview Elementary. As of early December 2007, Riverview had over 850 students.

Springfield Elementary is the latest Fort Mill school to announce a freeze on new enrollment, beginning June 6, 2008. Springfield's enrollment is expected to reach 1000 students before the end of the school year, and mobile units have been installed to provide 6 new needed classrooms. After the freeze in June, new students in that district will be sent to Fort Mill Elementary, which at this time has fewer than 800 students in attendance.

With the enrollment freezes, the district has to be creative with bus transportation. Children ride buses to schools for which their home is zoned, and then a shuttle bus takes the children to either Fort Mill Elementary or Riverview.

As spots open up in the frozen enrollment schools, students will be able to transfer in based on thier date of residency and grade level. The district will consider siblings as one unit, to avoid the inconvenience to families having to manage children in different schools.

Real estate sales have been extremely strong in the Fort Mill area. New construction homes are charged an impact fee, which has helped fund school expansion plans.

In March, an $87 million bond for a new middle school and two new elementary schools will be presented to voters. If approved, those schools will be ready to open in 2011.

For more Lake Wylie real estate news, property search tools, and Lake Wylie waterfront resources, please visit my website: Lake Wylie Waterfront Real Estate.