Lake Norman Real Estate and NC Homes for Sale

I live down Brawley School Road in one of the most beautiful areas I have ever seen.  Yet, if I tell this to a local, I will get a knowing, sympathetic nod  as if to say, '"you poor thing, I am so sorry".  And, if they too live down Brawley School Rd,  we will immediately share war stories about the longest time it has taken us to get to the I-77 and what we each  think of the latest efforts for a building moratorium.  Now, I only live about a third of the way down what we all refer to as the "longest cul-de-sac in the world" so it doesn't take me more than 20 minutes to travel my 2.7 miles to Williamson Rd. during rush hour.   Those who live at the very end of our 8-mile peninsula have much better horror stories.  I know one high school student who leaves at 6:30a.m. to get to school by 8:30a.m.  which is about 14 miles away.      

For those of you who don't live here, the problem is that Brawley School Road is the ONLY road in and out of the entire peninsula and until it is widened in 2008-2011 it will remain one lane each way. (For pictures and commentary go to:  www.brawleyschoolroad.com  website. If the link doesn't work just type in the address as it is accurate.)  For me, coming from Los Angeles, this isn't that much of a problem;  I'm used to much worse, I don't commute during rush hour, and when I am home the quiet, peaceful and natural beauty far outweigh the traffic problems.  (Now I understand why the residents of Malibu CA put up with their awful commutes!)   

But, this got me wondering about the real estate sales at The Point, our premier luxury community located, as you might have guessed by the name, at the very end/point of Brawley School Peninsula.  www.crescent.resources.com/communities/charlotte/thepoint.  I knew the sales at The Point had been slow but I didn't know how slow until I did this quick analysis from the MLS 4/15/07 to 6/14/07:  

Because of the hgher price ranges, it is not terribly worrisome that the average days on market is 199 or 6.6 months VS the average at the lake of 108 days, especially when some of the homes are purchased before construction is complete.   What is alarming is the fact that if they continue to sell 15 properties every two months , they have a whopping 11.7 months supply of homes for sale!  The rest of the Lake Norman Area has about a 6-8 months of supply on hand which reflects a pretty balanced market.    Now, there are other factors that contribute to this over-supply at The Point, not the least of which is they are still building new homes so some of the inventory is new and some is resale.  Particular "Villages" are not selling as well as others.  But I can't help but think that the traffic issues play a role as well.  I have had buyers, not many, but a few, who have told me they will not live down Brawley School. 

My recommendation?  Those who have to commute to Charlotte would be wise to explore a more commuter-friendly area around the lake.  But, if you don't, then I wouldn't rule it out.  Try the traffic at different times and see if it bothers YOU. I wouldn't live anywhere else!