Stan Suther's Real Estate and Stuff

I recently spent a pleasant fall afternoon showing homes to a couple from out-of-state who are looking to move now that they are empty nesters.  They said that they are in the market for a home in or near a relatively small community that has easy access to the amenities of a larger city.  They also are looking for an older home with some character- Victorian or early 20th century.  Through their search on the internet, they’d found Statesville, NC as a good candidate.  After talking with them about their preferences on the phone, they arrived after a long drive, and we went to visit a number of homes that fit their wishes and a few that looked good on paper (or internet screen) that didn’t pan out in reality.  They are also looking at other communities on the east coast, but I’d say that either Statesville or Mooresville (or somewhere nearby) have a good shot at being their new home.  Both have some attractive older homes (although Statesville has the lead in this) and both are an easy drive to larger communities with extensive amenities. 

I’m not surprised that Statesville came up on their radar screen.  Having grown up just south of there in Troutman, I’ve long known about the wonderful historic homes in several areas of Statesville.  The town is the “County Seat” of Iredell County, and so over the years has attracted many people of means who operated various businesses in the area.  They built some picture perfect homes that still retain their style and grace.  Many have been owned by successive generations who’ve kept them up and improved them so that even today, they turn heads as visitors drive by.  Our whole area also benefits from being not to far north or south, providing a nice mix of weather and seasons, and offer a convenient drive to our mountains to the west and our coast to the east.  We also boast of Lake Norman, the largest lake in the state, with 560 miles of shoreline, that offers lots of recreational opportunities.

I’ve traveled around the country a good bit over the years, but I’ve never seen a place that suits me better than my own home of Iredell County.  Talking to another Realtor today, he said that one of the reasons he’s encouraged about the future of our area is that we consistently attract people who, like my clients, can move anywhere, but choose our area over all the others.  That’s good for our economy and quality of life, not to mention future property values.