Charlotte Real Estate Market Changing - TV Coverage

By BOBBY SISK/NewsChannel 36

E-mail Bobby: BSisk@WCNC.com

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CONCORD, N.C. -- There's no question the country is in a major economic slump. But is the Charlotte region the best place to be to weather the storm?

One homebuilder who moved to the area a little more than a year ago says,"Yes." But you have to be willing to change with the customers.

"My father is a homebuilder and I just grew up in the business," said Julie LaTerra, sitting in her Concord design center.

Customers here are surrounded by pink and green, by images of what their new home could look like. The focus is clearly on women.
"We're really unique in that we focus on women as the ones who make the home buying decision," LaTerra said.

The move to the Charlotte region was the first expansion for LaTerra's Connecticut-based company. And it came when the real estate market here was already slowing down. On moving here, LaTerra says the choice was clear.

"Everything pointed to the Charlotte market. And as they say now, Charlotte is the last one out and the first one back in," she said.

LaTerra refers to larger drops in sales and construction in other parts of the country harder hit.
"2009 is going to be challenging year, but it won't be a year where people won't build homes," said LaTerra, who's been in this business more than 30 years.

Her staff, which includes her son Dante, is still seeing a steady stream of customers. But now more than ever, they're making sure every dollar counts.

LaTerra says potential home buyers are doing more research and are more discretionary when it comes to what they need.

"Do they really need that extra 5 feet? And we're finding that today's consumer is saying, 'You know what? I don't. I still want everything in a home, but I really don't need that big marshmallow type of home,'" said LaTerra.

Unlike builders with large master planned communities, right now LaTerra is only building customized homes lot by lot. They range in price from $250,000 to more than $1 million.
The price, though, depends on what the customer needs. Oftentimes, like a house she showed NewsChannel 36 in north Charlotte, the homes are built on land the homeowner already owns.
LaTerra's seen the local housing numbers. In December, residential closings were down more than 42 percent from the same time last year. The average price decreased more than 8 percent. Still, she feels her woman-focused, one house at a time approach is one that can weather the storm.

"It is a made from scratch experience, exactly what they want without just, you know, getting rid of product that I have out on the street and can't sell. That is something that you're seeing right now," said LaTerra.

What else happens during a housing slump? LaTerra says people cocoon. They stay in their homes and spend less money going out. In her design center, that is now being factored into customized floor plans, which focus more on entertaining.

Another sign of the times, the company has added a wealth manager to help clients figure out whether they can afford to build now, or if it's smarter financially to wait.