New York-based Mascia buys Charlotte apartment complex

New York-based Mascia Development, a national real estate development and investment firm, has bought The Pines on Wendover, a 44-unit multifamily apartment complex.

The company paid $2.6 million for the property on Wendover Road in the Cotsold/Eastover area. It is the company's first Charlotte acquisition. Mascia Development partnered with two local developers on the deal, Thomas Real Estate Investments and Beauwright Development.

“Our firm has been exploring the Charlotte market for some time, as the Queen City has become a financial center second only to New York City and an energy hub for the country,” said Mark Mascia, president and CEO, Mascia Development LLC. 

“We are delighted to partner with two local market experts to make this deal happen. This acquisition is the first of several we plan to make with our partners in the Charlotte market, as we continue to actively look for more opportunities in one of the fastest growing cities in the nation," Mascia said.

Built in 1986, the complex currently is 100 percent occupied.

Charlotte's apartment industry has been increasingly popular among investors and developers. Thousands of new units have been proposed and existing complexes have been selling for top dollar in recent years.

Charlotte foreclosure rate falls

Foreclosure rates in the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill metropolitan area fell during November compared to the same time last year, analytics firm CoreLogic reported Tuesday.

The foreclosure rate was 2.8 percent in November, down from 3.38 percent a year earlier. The rate is lower than the U.S. foreclosure rate of 2.97 percent.

The data is the latest to show a strengthening housing market. Prices remain well off their mid-2000 peaks - on average about 30 percent experts say - but home prices and sales have been rising in recent months.

Another promising sign for the future: The area's mortgage delinquency rate fell, suggesting fewer homeowners may face foreclosure in the future. In November, 6.39 percent of mortgage loans were 90 days or more delinquent compared to 7.19 percent for the same time last year.

Charlotte's delinquency rate hit a high of  7.48 percent in February 2010, while the local foreclosure rate peaked at 3.54 percent in February last year.

Charlotte gained construction jobs in 2012

The Charlotte metropolitan area gained roughly 2,200 construction jobs last year, according to a new analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America. 

North Carolina, meanwhile, lost nearly 4,000 construction jobs during 2012, according to non-seasonally adjusted figures.

Nationally, construction employment rose in 139 out of 337 metropolitan areas last year, declined in 131 areas and was flat in 65, the association reported Monday. 

The higher demand came from the private sector, the group said.

“Private sector demand for energy, health care, higher education and residential construction is having a positive impact in a growing number of metro areas,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. 

“Unfortunately, construction employment in almost as many metro areas appears to be suffering from declining public sector demand and a private sector market that is still well-below peak levels.”

Pascagoula, Miss. added the highest percentage of new construction jobs (42 percent, 1,900 jobs) followed by Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury, Mass.-N.H. (22 percent, 800 jobs).

The Charlotte area grew its jobs by 6 percent, ranking the city 43rd out of 337 in terms of growth.

Standard Pacific Homes stays committed to affordable housing in Charlotte

Habitat Charlotte dedicated a newly built  home this morning as part of its annual Builders Blitz.

Started in 2006, Builders Blitz is a week-long event where home builders build a home at their expense for a family. Sixteen builders participated in its inaugural year, according to Habitat.

But as the economy constricted, the number of participants dropped, to seven in 2007, five in 2008, three in 2009, two in 2010 and 2011 and one in 2012 and this year.

The remaining home builder, Standard Pacific Homes, has been with the program since the beginning, "and they're the last man standing today," says Habitat's Phil Prince.

"Regardless of the economy - and it's been brutal for home builders - Darrell Fries and Standard Pacific have stood by Habitat and the cause of affordable housing," Prince said.

The four-bedroom, two-bathroom house has a front porch and will be bought by a family from Nepal that spent 17 years in a U.N refugee camp before being relocated to Charlotte.

Uptown Charlotte ready for a new office tower?

Charlotte's commercial real estate industry faced a unique challenge four years ago when roughly 3 million square feet of new office space came on the market uptown as the financial crisis was unraveling.

In its third annual State of the Center City report released today, Charlotte Center City Partners makes the case that uptown's office market has largely overcome that challenge and is outperforming peer cities.

In fact, Charlotte Center City Partners President Michael Smith says it's time to think about building a new office tower. Uptown is home to about 41 percent of Charlotte's existing office space.

"It's time to start having those conversations," he told the Observer.

Smith actually is already having conversations with developers, he said. But he declined to share details.

He did say future office development will likely look different that it did in previous decades. Banks once bankrolled much of the new office space. In the future, he said, look for private developers to pay for new projects.

Also, he envisions smaller buildings ranging from 200,000 square feet to 400,000 square feet because lenders are not likely to finance very large speculative buildings.  Office space is also likely to expand beyond Tryon Street with projects cropping up along or off Trade Street.

Click here to read the State of the Center City report.

Charlotte's Andrew Roby, Inc. to be on TV

Charlotte-based residential remodeler Andrew Roby, Inc. will be featured on the DIY Network series Blog Cabin.

The show, in its seventh season, is an interactive home-building TV series that invites viewers to design a house in hopes of winning the finished product. The latest project is the transformation of a 1,600-square-foot four-bedroom, three-bathroom, late 19th century cottage in Atlantic Beach into a modern-day coastal retreat.

Construction is underway and the renovation will be featured during Blog Cabin's new series, which premieres 9:30 p.m. July 29.

Almost 6 million votes were cast for last season’s project to determine the design elements of the home. The voting period for Andrew Roby’s project is open and concludes March 14. Visit www.diynetwork.com for more information.

“Viewers love Blog Cabin because of the truly collaborative nature of the show,” said Steven Lerner, vice president, programming for DIY Network. “The viewers get to see their favorite DIY Network experts working with their own personal design choices to make this ordinary house into a one-of-a-kind getaway. Everyone feels passionate about the details because there is a chance that the home just might be theirs at the end of the season. It’s fun to see everyone really getting into the voting process.”

Two Charlotte firms win leasing assignments

Two Charlotte real estate firms have taken on some new leasing assignments.

Jones Lang LaSalle has been chosen by New Boston Fund, Inc. as leasing agent at Harris Corners Corporate Park. The 361,144-square-foot park is located at the corner of Interstate 77 and W.T. Harris Boulevard across from Northlake Mall.

The property will be marketed for lease by senior vice president Charles Jonas and senior associate Holly Alexander.

And Collett has been selected by Michigan-based Flagstar Bank to handle leasing and property management for Sedgefield Crossing in Greensboro. The center has roughly 110,445 square feet and is anchored by Sedgefield Cinema, Family Dollar and the U.S. Post Office. John Lambert and Stephen Pharr will market available space and Ryan Mosser and Melissa Schutt will manage the center.

Crescent Resources buys land for more homes and apartments

Charlotte-based Crescent Resources has acquired 221 acres in Tennessee to build a new master-planned community that will include for-sale homes and apartments.

Called Lockwood Glen, the project will include up to 384 for-sale homes and 240 apartments.  Construction of the first phase, to include 70 single-family homesites and 27 townhomes, will begin in March. The property is located along the east side of the I-65 corridor about one mile south of Murfreesboro Road.

“Lockwood Glen is an ideal opportunity to introduce Crescent Resources’ residential division to the Nashville market,” said Andy Carmody, president of the residential division for Crescent Resources. “Along with our existing multifamily and commercial interests in the market, we now have significant residential investment in the future of Middle Tennessee.”

Officials expect the first homes, with prices starting in the low to mid $200s, to be complete early in 2014. Pearl Street Partners, LLC is the development manager of this community working in concert with Crescent Resources. 

Long active in the commercial and multifamily development sectors in Nashville, Crescent is the master developer of the Cool Springs office parks Corporate Centre and Greenway Centre, as well as the luxury apartment community Venue at Cool Springs. In addition Crescent owns 60 acres in Cool Springs that are entitled and planned for an additional 750,000 square feet of Class A office space. The company is also the developer of CentrePoint Distribution Park, a warehouse and distribution center in LaVergne, Tenn.

Hendrick Automotive buys site on Independence

Hendrick Automotive Group has bought property at 5201 Independence Blvd.  The auto dealer paid $2.7 million for the site.

Yuriy Vaynshteyn with Carolinas Metro Realty handled the sale for the seller.

New commercial real estate services firm enters Charlotte market

Dallas-based Stream Realty Partners is opening an office in Charlotte and one in Washington, D.C.

Founded in 1996, Stream Realty Partners is a national real estate services, development and investment firm that  leases and/or manages a portfolio of more than 95 million square-feet of office, industrial and retail properties. It has more than 400 employees nationwide.

Daniel Farrar, a top-producer in the firm’s Austin office, will lead the Charlotte region. The Washington office will be spearheaded by Kyle Luby, who was instrumental in establishing the firm’s Atlanta office.

The company said in a release that the openings of both east-coast offices are a significant step in Stream Realty’s continued national expansion. Last year, Stream entered Los Angeles, California and Denver, Colorado.

Luby and Farrar will do development and employee recruitment. Both offices will provide a full range of commercial real estate services throughout all product types. 

Both offices will open in January 2013.

More signs Charlotte housing market is on upswing

Home prices in the Charlotte-Rock Hill-Gastonia metropolitan area rose 5.1 percent in November compared to a year earlier, the latest sign the housing market has stabilized and in recovery.

Nationally, home prises rose 7.4 percent in November on an annual basis, according to the CoreLogic Home Price Index released Tuesday. This is the biggest increase since May 2006 and the ninth consecutive increase in U.S. home prices on a year-over-year basis, the company said.

December prices are expected to grow 7.9 percent nationally compared to December 2011, CoreLogic said.

These figures include distressed sales.

"As we close out 2012, the pending index suggests prices will remain strong," said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic.

Added CoreLogic president and CEO Anand Nallathambi: "We still have a long way to go to return to 2005-2006 levels, but all signals currently point to a progressive stabilization of the housing market and the positive trend in home price appreciation to continue into 2013."

Excluding distressed sales, Charlotte-area home prices rose 4.4 percent in November compared to a year earlier.

Including distressed sales, the five states posting the highest home price appreciation were: Arizona (up 21 percent) , Nevada (up 14 percent), Idaho (up 13.8 percent), North Dakota (up 11.3 percent) and California (up 11.1 percent).

Daimler Trucks signs largest industrial lease for Gaston County in five years

Daimler Trucks North America has signed a lease for 310,000 square feet in Gastonia, in what brokers say marks the largest industrial lease signed in the county during the past five years.

A Daimler Trucks spokesman said the building, on Fairview Drive, will be used for warehousing, light manufacturing and assembly for the Freightliner division.  Freightliner makes parts for trucks and buses and currently has two plants in the area, one in Gastonia and one in Mount Holly.


David Goode, broker in charge for NAI Southern Real Estate, represented Daimler Trucks North America.
He said the lease is a culmination of a 1 1/2-year search to identify the right location for the facility. He said the lease is the largest industrial lease signed in Gaston County since 2007.

U.S. home prices rose more in 2012 than in any year since 2006

Home prices across the country rose 7.5 percent in 2012 - the largest increase since 2006, according to the CoreLogic Home Price Index and January MarketPulse report released Monday.

CoreLogic projects U.S. home prices will rise 6 percent in 2013 because of steady demand fueled by more affordable prices, a lower amount of bank-owned real estate sales, and a low inventory of unsold homes.

The report says housing "made an impressive recovery in 2012" and "clearly was one of the biggest surprises."

The report is the latest in a string of indicators suggesting the housing market, both nationally and locally, is on the rebound.  In Charlotte, local data shows home prices and sales have been steadily increasing. The amount of available homes for sale, meanwhile, has been shrinking, which is good news for sellers because it increases demand.

Medical provider to build rehab center in Huntersville

Medical Facilities of America has bought 6.53 acres with The Park Huntersville, a mixed-use community.

Medical Facilities plans to build a 70,000 square foot rehabilitation center with a minimum of 120 beds. The company has more than 40 centers operating in Virginia and North Carolina.

The Park Huntersville existing tenants include Keller Technology, Presbyterian Hospital and Joe Gibbs Racing.

Nolan Mills of Merrifield Patrick Vermillion represented Medical Facilities of America and  Ted Lee of Spectrum Properties represented the owner, The Park Huntersville.

Charlotte's Beacon Partners buys Charleston building

Charlotte‐based Beacon Partners, a privately held commercial real estate investment and service

company, recently purchased North Rhett Commerce Center, a 511,891-square-foot industrial warehouse facility on 34 acres in North Charleston.

The facility currently houses Husqvarna Professional Products and Integris Logistics as tenants.   Beacon says it will make renovations and improvements over the coming months to enhance the property’s functionality, energy efficiency and appearance.

 This is Beacon’s first acquisition in the Charleston area. Its existing portfolio includes 8 million square feet of office and industrial property in the Carolinas.

“We’ve been studying the Charleston industrial market for some time,” says Beacon Partners’ Chip Stanley.  “North Rhett Commerce Center presented a solid opportunity and location to capitalize on very positive developments with the Port of Charleston, a diverse manufacturing base and advanced security industries in the Charleston region.”


Beacon represented itself in the transaction and the seller was assisted by Hagood Morrison of Colliers International.

Charlotteans have more mortgage debt than other homeowners

Proportionately more Charlotteans are encumbered by mortgage debt than homeowners in other major metropolitan areas, a new study by Zillow shows.

Nationally, about 29.3 percent of homeowners own their homes outright, meaning they don't have a mortgage, Zillow's analysis shows. That equates to about 21 million Americans nationally.

In Charlotte, 20 percent of homeowners are clear of mortgage debt, among the lowest rate out of the 30 cities Zillow tracks. Zillow chose the 30 cities based on population size.

Pittsburgh had the highest number of homeowners who were "free and clear" or mortgage debt, or 38.6 percent, followed by Tampa at 33.2 percent and New York at 29.7 percent.  Those on the bottom, in addition to Charlotte, are Denver with 18.5 percent, Las Vegas at 18.3 percent and Atlanta at 17.7 percent.

A number of factors influence the percentage, including median home values. Zillow found that areas with lower home values generally have higher outright homeownership rates, as smaller loans amounts are easier to pay back more quickly.

Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries said it is important to study which homeowners are free of a mortgage.

"Homeowners unencumbered by a mortgage may be more flexible than indebted homeowners, and therefore more apt or willing to list their homes or enter the market for a new property," he said.  "By determining where these homeowners are located, we can also gain insight into potential inventory and demand in those areas, as well.”

Wells Fargo & Co. senior economist Mark Vitner said people shouldn't be too concerned that relatively fewer Charlotteans are free of mortgage debt.

"This is not as worrisome as it looks," he said. "Charlotte is a relatively young city, with lots of newcomers. The population is largely made up of transplants that moved to the area during the past two decades. Many of these folks bought homes with 30-year or 15-year mortgages and have not been here long enough to pay off their mortgage."

"I would think many of the areas owning homes free and clear have older populations and little-to-no population growth. Look at Pittsburgh, Cleveland (29.4 percent) and St. Louis (27.2 percent).

Charlotte 'the new Austin, Texas' for job growth?

Charlotte was not included among the top 10 markets to watch for commercial real estate during an industry forecast Tuesday.  But the Queen City got some promising nods for its growth potential. A moderator even said Charlotte could be “the new Austin, Texas” in terms of its ability to attract people, create jobs and grow the office market.

Austin, a tech-hub often favored by real estate analysts, ranked No. 4 on the list of hot markets.

Charlotte was also mentioned for its strong apartment market and net migration.

Overall, commercial real estate investors and developers feel more confident about the industry than in previous years, speakers said during a webcast titled “The pulse of the commercial real estate industry,” by PwC. PwC, along with the Urban Land Institute, releases the Emerging Trends in Real Estate, a report based off surveys and interviews, that has highlighted the industry since 1979. The webcast talked about the survey and other trends.

“It’s official, we’re in a recovery,” said Chuck DiRocco, PwC’s director of real estate research. But, he said “it’s recovery anchored in uncertainty.”

Investors have been buying and selling properties in the larger cities, including San Francisco, New York and San Jose, which the survey listed as the top 3 markets to watch. Since the recession hit, investors have favored the larger cities located near ports, known as 24-hour gateway cities.

But the gateway markets have become crowded and prices for prime properties have risen to near pre-recession levels, DiRocco said.

So investors are moving back into the secondary markets, which include Charlotte, Raleigh, Memphis, Portland and Nashville.  Raleigh ranks No. 11 on the list of markets to watch; Charlotte is 17th.

Investors are especially interested in cities that have strong high technology, energy, education and healthcare industries, DiRocco said.

When determining the hot markets, the forecast’s authors focused on markets that can best sustain strong job growth, as well as those boasting strong population growth.  Charlotte got a mention for its strong net migration - ranking 7th out of the 51 metropolitan areas studied.

“Where the jobs are at -- that is where investors are looking,” DiRocco said.

Some economists have recently said Charlotte’s economic growth, as well as the nation’s, has been disappointing. One local economist criticized Mecklenburg County, and North Carolina, for adding jobs too slowly. But there have been promising signs of recovery.

While commercial property prices remain well below their pre-recession peaks, for example, Charlotte’s uptown posted a record year for office building sales in 2012. Brokers sold more than $500 million worth of office buildings, including the iconic Hearst Tower. Brokers involved in the deals say the buyers are national and international institutions.

During Tuesday’s 90-minute presentation, moderators stopped to ask the more than 250 participants to answer survey questions. One question asked people which secondary market they would consider acquiring a stabilized office property in during 2013. Respondents could choose from Denver, Charlotte, Austin and San Jose.

Charlotte was the clear winner, receiving more than 37 percent of the vote, prompting moderator Mitch Roschelle to say “Charlotte may very well be the new Austin, Texas. That is good news in that front.”

In the published forecast, respondents also pinpointed Charlotte, San Francisco and Chicago as “market movers” when it came to new development going forward.

Webcast presenters also addressed the apartment market, which is booming nationally as well as in Charlotte. Rents are forecast to rise, but DiRocco said the industry could be getting overbuilt, possibly by 2014 or 2015.

Nationally, retail has lagged most among commercial properties. The retail industry is still in recession and might move into recovery in 2014, according to the webcast. 

“I think investors remain optimistic. They feel the recovery is real. And I think they feel that commercial real estate continues to offer some of the best risk-adjusted returns,” said PwC's Susan Smith, one of the forecast's authors.

Charlotte home sales and prices continued climb in December

Charlotte-area home sales and prices continued their climb into December, the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association reported Tuesday.

Sales rose 23.4 percent last month compared to the previous year to 2,339. Average sales prices ticked up nearly 8 percent during the same time to $205,537.

Sellers also got more of what they asked for -- around 92 percent of their listing price, up from 90 percent a year earlier.

“Charlotte’s housing market has shown steady signs of improvement over most of 2012 and could be called the year our local recovery started," 2013 Association/CarolinaMLS President Eric Locher said in a release.  "With some of the uncertainty on the federal level temporarily averted, we’re hopeful these trends will continue through what is generally considered a slower selling season.”

The trade association says demand continues to be strong, illustrated by pending sales, which increased 33 percent from December 2011.

Meanwhile, there are fewer homes being listed for sale, shrinking supply to 5.3 months worth, the group says. The falling supply is pushing the market closer to a seller's market.

Short sales and foreclosures accounted for nearly 15 percent of new listings, down from nearly 20 percent in December 2011. Nearly 16 percent of December sales involved distressed homes, down from nearly 18 percent a year earlier.

Foreclosures are also selling quickly: within 59 days for single-family homes and 38 days for townhome and condominium properties.  Short sales took an average 167 days to complete.  The average time a home of any type (distressed or non-distressed) took to sell was 156 days, the association reported.

Eight N.C. cities land on improving market list

The number of metropolitan areas on the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index rose for a fifth consecutive month in January - yet another sign of the housing market's growing strength.

The number of cities on the list rose to 242, up from 201 markets listed as improving in December.

The index identifies metro areas that have shown improvement from their respective troughs in housing permits, employment and house prices for at least six consecutive months. 

A total of 47 new metro areas were added to the list and six were dropped from it this month. 

Eight N.C. cities are on the list: Asheville, Charlotte, Durham, Goldsboro, Greensboro, Greenville, Raleigh and Rocky Mount. Asheville and Rocky Mount are new to the list as of this month.

Six S.C. cities made the list, including Charleston, Greenville and Columbia.

The trade group created the list in September 2011 to highlight metropolitan areas that were showing signs of improvement, bucking the then-national trend.

"The story is no longer about exceptions to the rule, but about the growing breadth of the housing recovery even as overly strict mortgage requirements hold back the pace of improvement," the association's chairman Barry Rutenberg said.

A complete list of all 242 metropolitan areas currently on the IMI, and separate breakouts of metros newly added to or dropped from the list in January, is available at www.nahb.org/imi. 

The National Association of Home Builders is a Washington-based trade association representing more than 140,000 members involved in remodeling, home building, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. 

Honeywell building in Fort Mill sells for $10.4 million

CBRE, Inc. on Thursday announced the sale of the Honeywell Scanning and Mobile Productivity Headquarters facility in Fort Mill, S.C., for $10.4 million.

Built in 2007 for Hand Held Products, the 60,044-square-foot building consisted of office and research and development lab space. Honeywell bought the building, located on 10 acres.

Patrick Gildea and Ryan Clutter of CBRE’s Investment Properties Group represented the seller, Merrifield Patrick Vermillion, a Charlotte-based commercial real estate brokerage and development group. The building was purchased by an affiliate of Cole Real Estate Investments in Phoenix, Arizona.

“The market for single-tenant, net leased investment properties is extremely competitive today,” said Gildea. “With a long term lease to a strong credit tenant, the Honeywell Building is viewed as a hedge against market volatility. With today’s low interest rates, the cap rates for single tenant assets are dropping.”

U.S. shadow inventory falling

The amount of shadow inventory - homes that are seriously delinquent, in foreclosure or owned by banks but not on the market - is shrinking, according to a new report by CoreLogic.

CoreLogic estimates there were about 2.3 million such homes in the country as of October, a 12.3 percent drop from the year before.

CoreLogic said shadow inventory estimates were not available by state or metropolitan area.

Shadow inventory can weigh on the housing market and drag down prices.  Shadow inventory often sells at a steep discount, depressing neighborhood values. It can scare buyers and reduce demand.  Shadow inventory is typically not included in trade group reports.

Nationally, homes in shadow inventory are estimated to be worth $376 billion, down from $399 billion a year ago, CoreLogic says.

Nearly half of the U.S. homes counted as shadow inventory were seriously delinquent but not yet foreclosed, said Mark Fleming, CoreLogic's chief economist. Fleming said the inventory posed little threat to the housing market, which recently has shown promising signs of recovery.

"Given the long foreclosure timeline in many states, the current shadow inventory stock represents little immediate threat to a significant upswing in housing market supply," he said.

Fleming also said demand from investors will help absorb the already foreclosed and bank-owned properties.

Last January the Observer analyzed data and reported that shadow inventory in Mecklenburg County outnumbered active home listings by 2 to 1. About 13,000 Mecklenburg homes were owned by people more than 90 days delinquent on their mortgage. More than 3,800 homes were owned by lenders but not listed for sale.

For Wednesday's report, CoreLogic estimated the current stock of properties in shadow inventory by calculating the number of properties that are seriously delinquent, in foreclosure and held as real estate owned by mortgage services but not currently listed on multiple listing services.  Properties that are not yet delinquent but may become delinquent were not included.

Charlotte apartment building changes hands

Heatherwood Apartment Homes, a 476-unit multifamily property in Charlotte, has been acquired by Elco Landmark Residential, a real estate investment firm that owns and operates multifamily properties throughout the Southeastern united states. 

The acquisition of Heatherwood is part of a larger transaction in which Elco Landmark Residential acquired a multifamily portfolio of four properties from Alabama-based Colonial Properties Trust for approximately $95.4 million.

Elco also acquired Colonial Village's Highland Hills, a 250-unit property built in 1987 and located in Chapel Hill.

Based in Tampa, Elco Landmark Residential is a real estate investment firm that owns interests in and operates 49 multifamily properties containing 15,175 units located throughout the Southeastern United States.