This week our listings saw an average of 2.6 showings each.   We appear to have made it through a difficult winter, the weather is slowly improving, and things are really looking up for Charlotte.

One of the greatest factors impacting a real estate recovery both locally and nationally right now is unemployment.   People without jobs don’t buy houses.   But on the local front, some positive news was released this week that should substantially assist the Charlotte market.   Siemens Energy recently made the decision to move its gas-turbine division to Charlotte and is expected to bring more than 1000 jobs over the next five years.   Additionally, Fifth Third Bank announced that it will relocate its North Carolina headquarters to uptown Charlotte and will bring 250 employees along.

Clearly, more jobs translate to better home sales.   Right now the national homeownership rate of the total population is about 68%.   So keeping things simple, we could expect for 68%  of those new jobs to translate to home sales.   In  Mecklenburg County,  where last month less than 500 homes sold, this news should have a sizeable positive impact on the local economy.

Hopefully, there is more good news to come and this is just the beginning of a strong recovery.   Time will tell and the numbers will be proof.   Stay tuned.