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LKN Realty Group - Lake Norman Real Estate

What's the Price? | 04-25-2007

Reprinted from Lake Norman Navigator by Amanda Young

The entrance to Dream Catcher Farm appears a little out of place in north Iredell County.

The stone walls and two fountains on either side of the thick wooden gate are lit up at night by multiple gas lanterns.  On the other side of the gate, a hand-laid cobblestone drive twists and turns through Dream Catcher's 240 acres.

The first structure you'll see is a stable that has been converted into a 2,513-square-foot guest house followed by a playground.

Afraid of bugs?  No worries here.  Those two areas are surrounded by a citronella-misting system.

A little further down the drive, there's a car museum and, finally, the antebellum-style, three-story main residence.  From there, look out over the pond to the stables - complete with an on-site veterinary facility - or go out back to the cook house, which features a huge stone fireplace. (For a look inside, visit www.statesville.com.)

Interested in living on this luxurious estate?

It's on the market - with a price tag of $10 million.

At that price, Dream Catcher Farm is the most expensive home on the market in the entire Charlotte Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

The Charlotte MLS encompasses six counties, including Mecklenburg and Iredell, and portions of some eight others, said real estate agent and broker Tracy Frazier.

Though Dream Catcher is listed at a price far above any other local home, the farm's Realtor, Woodson Gardner, believes it won't be long before Iredell County sees more of these luxury estates.  "There are quite a few developers coming to the area," Gardner said.  "You're going to see more higher-end product.  I think you're going to see a lot more estate-sized lots and homes because people want the elbow room."

Due to the addition of properties like Dream Catcher, Iredell County homeowners can expect a rise in their own property value.

Iredell County real estate is "on the upswing and they're feeling they're catching the wave coming from Charlotte, truthfully," Gardner said.

"As far as other local markets, Statesville still has a great value for what you get so people feel it's worth the drive to come north from Mooresville to get a little more for their money."

Looking at the bigger picture, Gardner said the greater Charlotte area will continue to creep north.  The region appears to have "insulated itself from the real estate bubble" being seen throughout the country.

"So I think on the national stand-front that we're a little of an anomaly - we're not falling into what, unfortunately, some areas have, taking a turn in the other direction," Gardner said.

Lake Norman area real estate is priced at less than what something similar in other parts of the country would be, Frazier said.

"This area is undervalued even though there are many multi-million dollar homes listed," Frazier said, speaking outside of nearly finished water-front home in Denver listed at $3.9 million.

"If you were to build this house and sale it someplaces up north like New York or New Jersey, this house would be upwards of $10, $20 million dollars."

The Denver home is slated to be finished in just a few weeks.  It features a bar on each of the home's two levels as well as a bar outside.

The outside area includes a pool, sauna and cabana.  Inside are his and her's bathrooms and closets and a media room.

In the future, Frazier sees the Lake Norman area making room for more homes like this.

"I think the next thing you'll start to see, and it's already happened, is houses will be bought and torn down and newer, more luxury homes will be built in their place," she said.

The growing market for luxury homes is well illustrated by Dream Catcher Farm.  Though it has been on the market just two months, Gardner has already seen a good deal of activity.  Last week, a family interested in the farm visited for the second time.

Gardner said estates like Dream Catcher attract entertainers, athletes, and independent business owners.  Still, Gardner and Frazier both admit they aren't sure how much someone would need to net each year to make such a purchase.

Frazier estimates that someone putting down 20 percent on the estate ($2 million) and mortgaging the rest for 30 years would pay a monthly payment of $50,565 on principal and interest (figured at 6.5 percent) alone.

Iredell County tax collector Bill Furches said Dream Catcher's owners paid $9,747.60 in property taxes last year.  Since then, the home's assessment has increased more than $400,000.

Dream Catcher Farm was formerly owned by NASCAR raceteam owner Felix Sabates and the current owners have made a great deal of improvements since, like the guest home and cobblestone driveway.

A reporter and photographer were granted access to the property on the condition that they not identify the current owner.

(Take a video tour of Dream Catcher online at http://www.navigatethelake.com/index.php/real_estate/)



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