Midwood Mania - THIS WEEKEND - May 1 & 2

Midwood Mania returns for its annual home tour and celebration May 1-2 in the Charlotte Plaza Midwood neighborhood.

Find inspiration in Plaza Midwood’s finest homes and gardens! The home and garden tour begins the evening of Friday, May 1 with a candlelight home tour beginning at 6 p.m. The tour continues on Satruday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. See the lineup of homes and gardens for 2009.
The fun continues Saturday with the Midwood Miles 5K Race, a pet parade, live music, fun activities for kids, and more. All Charlotte neighbors are invited to come out and enjoy this yearly treat.
For more information, visit plazamidwood.org.

Charlotte Tailgait Farmers Market Opens this Weekend, April 25th

Opening day for the 2009 Charlotte Tailgait Farmers Market is Saturday, April 25, from 9 a.m to 1 p.m. at 100 West Park Ave. in South End. You won’t find resellers, chemicals, or pesticides here. Only local growers and producers, committed to sustainable agriculture and educated consumers.
If you are a local farmer, grower, or artisan committed to sustainable practices and have an interest in vending during the 2009 season, please contact at info@charlottetailgatemarket.com.
For more information, visit charlottetailgatemarket.com.

Real Estate Hits Another Record High

Real Estate is more affordable today than at any time in 1988.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released its latest Housing Affordability Index (HAI) today, showing that housing affordability reached an all-time, historic record high of 173.5 in February (see chart above). A HAI of 173.5 would mean that the typical household earning the median family annual income of $59,726 in February would have 173.5% of the qualifying income to purchase a median-priced existing single-family house ($164,600) with a 20% down payment, which would be the highest level of housing affordability since the NAR started reporting housing affordability in 1971. Since mid-2006, the HAI has risen almost 74 points, from 99.6 in July 2006 to 173.5 last month. Stated differently, the annual qualifying income required to purchase a median-price house (with a 20% down payment) is only $34,416, with monthly payments based on a 5.12%, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage ($716.58 per month for principal and interest). Given the median family income of about $59,726, the typical family would have 173.5% of the income required to qualify for the mortgage to purchase the $164,600 home.MP: The record-high housing affordability will play an important role in the real estate market's recovery, and should be considered very positive news. This key real estate market statistic frequently gets overlooked by the media, which often seems more interested in reporting "record high jobless claims/employment losses/______ fill in the blank" when it's negative news, than reporting record high statistics like housing affordability when it's good news.

Lights Out in Charlotte Saturday, March 28th

Everyone likes to feel as if we are contributing to this planet of ours. Well, we all have a chance this weekend. Charlotte will be one of thousands of cities participating in Earth Hour this Saturday, March 28, in an effort to promote energy awareness.
Earth Hour asks people to turn off the lights for an hour – but save energy all the time.
At 8:30 p.m. Saturday, nonessential lights will be doused at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, the Education Center, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police headquarters, Duke Energy and at least some uptown towers, including Gateway Village, Charlotte Plaza and the Carillon.
A number of other government buildings will do the same. Charlotte Center City Partners is asking uptown businesses and residents to join in.
Read more at Charlotte.com.

Community University is for Everyone!

See below post for information.