Prix fixe menus are available for the event which is a perfect time to try out a new spot so you and whoever you are dining with can try new dishes, and share meals to get a taste of everything. The cost of these set menus is typically between $30-$45 per person not including gratuity. If you add drinks and extras, the cost goes up from there.

There are some amazing restaurants joining the lineup this year that are close to the Lake Wylie area. In the Belmont/Gaston County area are:

• Barrister’s at The Esquire Hotel
• The Bottle Tree
• Drift on Lake Wylie
• Estia’s Kouzina
• Heirloom Restaurant
• Old Stone Steakhouse

In Fort Mill/LakeWylie/Rock Hill/York County they are:

• FishMarket Bar and Grill
• Napa at Kingsley
• Old Town Kitchen & Cocktails
• The Pump House
• The Social Cork Wine Bar

There are many additional options for restaurants to try. Here are some things to keep in mind. You will probably need reservations to make sure the restaurant can seat you since this event is very popular. You can follow the links above to each restaurant to make those reservations or you can call each restaurant separately. This event is dinner only for a dine-in experience so make sure you book your babysitters in advance.For information about buying and selling homes in the Lake Wylie Area, call us at 803-831-8588. You can view current listings and create custom searches on our website here.

Catawba Riverkeeper announced on their website that “Out of concern for the well-being and safety of our volunteers, site captains, and staff around the uncertainty of the weather impacts of Hurricane Ian across the entire region, we have decided to CANCEL The Catawba Riversweep on October 1st, 2022.”

The Catawba Riversweep event brings together many different organizations, partners, and volunteers for community-wide stewardship. Many of these efforts will still happen, though in smaller ways. There are still many other ways you can also help to keep Lake Wylie and the surrounding waterways litter-free. There are additional monthly events listed on the Catawba Riverkeepers website, one as early as October 22nd. In addition, you can host your own cleanup. Catawba Riverkeeper will provide supplies if you can supply the people-power. Volunteers will also receive Riversweep t-shirts.

This annual Catawba Riversweep event will return on October 7, 2023. Anyone who has a vested interest in the Catawba-Wateree River Basin should come and help out so be sure to save the date.

If you want to know more about buying and selling homes in the Lake Wylie Area, call us at 803-831-8588. You can view current listings and create custom searches on our website here.

“On February 26, 2021, the City of Rock Hill became delinquent on their obligation to fund the public infrastructure. Despite our persistent efforts throughout 2021, the City of Rock Hill failed to issue the bonds or provide the funding for the public infrastructure for the project.

“On March 18, 2022, GTRE issued a default notice and the City did not cure its default within the prescribed 30-day cure period. It is unfortunate that some recently decided to conduct a misguided, destructive public relations campaign to obscure their failures.

“We have sent notices to the City to formally terminate the previous agreements. Accordingly, we are prepared to sit down with the City and other interested parties to discuss the significant challenges ahead.”

There is still hope that the project will be able to move forward, but as with many professional sports teams, the projects are highly complicated and expensive. This makes the deals for funding complicated as well as they can involve private and public funds. In this case Tepper Sports had secured $400 million in state and local incentives which also included $225 million in infrastructure improvements in and around the site. Bonds were supposed to be issued by the city of Rock Hill and were never issued which has brought the project to a standstill. Construction stalled about a month ago. The city has proposed an alternate plan to come up with the $225 million without issuing bonds. It is unclear at this point when and if the project will move forward. Until then the site sits idle while the team and the city try to come to terms.

For more information on buying or selling a home in the Lake Wylie area, call us at 803-831-8588. You can view current listings and create custom searches on our website here.

Drift will be a contemporary style chophouse located at McLean Marina in Belmont near the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. The building is a modern farmhouse/barn concept which harkens back to the farming roots of the surrounding area, as well as looking forward to the modern future. The second floor will be available for events and private parties.

The owners of the restaurant are also known for The Pump House in Rock Hill, and Napa at Kingsley in Fort Mill. If you like those, you’ll love Drift. Besides the seafood, steaks, and pasta, they will feature craft beer, and a selection of over 1,000 bottles of wine.

This exciting new space will be a big draw for the area which currently only has Papa Doc’s as a boat accessible restaurant. Papa Doc’s is in the space that was formerly T-Bones. The feel of the new restaurant will be a little less casual with a more upscale menu than Papa Doc’s so they won’t be direct competition.

The restaurant will open this spring and will initially only be open for dinner service. As the summer comes in, expect them to open for weekend lunches, and possibly more times as needed.

For more information or to apply for a job at the restaurant, visit www.driftlkw.com

For more information on buying or selling a home in the Lake Wylie area, call us at 803-831-8588. You can view current listings and create custom searches on our website here.

Early in July, a new casino will open in a temporary location in Kings Mountain. The casino, called Two Kings Casino Resort, has long been awaited and is part of the Catawba Indian Nation. It is a great day trip from Lake Wylie and is perfect for those days when you are recovering from a sunburn, or on rainy days.

The temporary facility is located off exit 5 on Interstate 85 near the Kings Mountain Boulevard interchange. It is a 29,000 square foot complex with 500 slot machines that will bring in revenue for Cleveland County, the town of Kings Mountain, and the Catawba Tribe in North and South Carolina. The permanent facility will have an additional 1,300 slot machines, games tables, and sports betting. The casino will eventually employ thousands of people, but for now they are hiring hundreds of people to staff the temporary location.

Food and drinks will be available from an onsite bar in addition to an outdoor patio with food trucks. Eventually there will be restaurants and additional bars with enough seating capacity for 940 people.

The final location is currently being developed and is expected to be complete in 2022. Until then, expect the casino to be crowded right after launch as everyone rushes to check it out. It will be open 24/7 so you can come late in the evening or early in the morning to see it when it is not so crowded.

For more information on buying or selling a home in the Lake Wylie area, call us at 803-831-8588. You can view current listings and create custom searches on our website here.

There are a few differences this year, with reservations for entry to keep park visitors numbers reduced. Reservations are required for season ticket holders as well as day pass visitors. Visit the Carowinds website https://www.carowinds.com/ to make reservations. Slots are filling up quickly, especially reservations for the main park and waterpark. Be sure to get yours today.

Masks will still be required for guests that have not been vaccinated for Covid-19, but temperature checks are no longer necessary. With vaccination rates on the rise, that means that you should see many maskless faces making the park feel almost like normal again.

If you do go to the waterpark, be sure to check out the new Boogie Board Racer, the longest mat racing slide in the Southeast. It joins the almost 60 other rides, the rest of the waterpark, and the live entertainment to keep you having fun all summer long.

For out of town guests, there is an onsite hotel and campground so there are accommodations for every budget.

There is something for everyone at the park, just don’t forget to bring your sunscreen, or do since they sell sunscreen at shops throughout the park.

For information on buying or selling a home in the Lake Wylie area, call us at 803-831-8588. You can view current listings and create custom searches on our website here.

The new YMCA proposal would be located on Sledge Road and Steele Creek Road. The current proposal would have up to 15,000 square feet of indoor recreation as well as plenty of space for outdoor recreation as well. This would most likely include many types of sports fields and pools.

Homebuilder Pulte Group filed a petition for rezoning of the land for the intended use in August. The entire parcel has 272 acres and would have up to 697 single family homes with 120 age-restricted units for 55+ residents.

Of course, all of this development depends on the approval from city council, but the area is booming with growth. This would be the first YMCA for the Charlotte area since the construction of Sara’s YMCA three years ago. Steele Creek is great because it is close to the lake as well as close to the city. It is a nice in-between point that is fully coming into its own as a destination.

This YMCA would join the other 25 locations in the Greater Charlotte Area. The new location would have the expected features of other locations including childcare, classes, independent workouts, camps, bootcamps, swimming, education, accessibility, day camps and more.

If you are looking to buy or sell a home in the Lake Wylie area, call us at 803-831-8588. To view current listings and create custom searches, visit our website here.

Homes on the tour are presented by local and national homebuilders and are in some of the most desirable neighborhoods. There are many neighborhoods in the Lake Wylie area that made the tour. The rest of the tour is spread over the entire Charlotte region.

The tour runs for three weekends with only the first already done. The next dates are October 11-13 and October 18-20. Homes are open from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Sundays. Homes in neighborhoods closest to Lake Wylie are:

• Paddlers Cove by Dan Ryan Builders
• Arden Mill by Classica
• Timberwood by Essex Homes
• Harper’s Pointe by Taylor Morrison
• The Meridians by Meritage Homes
• Regency at Palisades by Toll Brothers (3 homes on the tour)
• North Reach by Taylor Morrison
• McLean by Essex Homes
• Morgan’s Branch by Taylor Morrison

For more information on the most updated dates and times for the tour, you can like and follow on Facebook or you can check out the interactive Parade of Homes website ParadeCharlotte.com. They do have online maps or you can pick up a printed tour book at any of the homes.

Always remember that agents in those homes will work for the builder, so if you want fair representation in a transaction, bring your Realtor with you to help you negotiate. The seller pays for the buyers agent so there is no cost to you. If you are interested in purchasing a home in the Lake Wylie area, bring us along on the tour, or schedule a private tour without the crowds by calling 803-831-8588. You can view all current listings and create custom searches on our website here.

Residents and visitors alike are excited for the opening after T-Bones on the Lake closed in December ending a 24 year run. This location is fantastic as you can arrive by foot, bike, car or boat to enjoy food, drinks and fellowship. Papa Doc’s is also close to Uptown Charlotte, around a half-hour, so is a perfect quick escape.

The new space has a tiki theme that you can enjoy as individuals, families, groups, or reserve for larger events. There is an oyster bar as well as lake themed decor and a large events space. With a total of 4 bars, the restaurant can seat 650 people. There is a huge outdoor deck, 38 boat slips, and many indoor seating and bar areas. The menu is large and varied so there is sure to be something to please every palate. Expect a wait at first as this is sure to be a popular spot.

If you are looking to buy a home in the Lake Wylie area, give us a call at 803-831-8588. You can view current listings and create custom searches on our website here.

To read more about Papa Doc’s Shore Club, read the full article in The Herald.

The Charlotte Region:

When you start digging into the numbers, for the entire Charlotte region sales were down 14% from December of 2017. Prices were up slightly, with the average sales price up 1.1% to $282,894. Inventory was down yet again from a 2.3 month supply to a 2.2 month supply, a decline of 550 homes. This leaves sellers again in the best position in real estate deals with a balanced market considered to be a 4-6 month supply of inventory. Pending sales were dead even and new listings were down 4.4% from this time last year.

In the Steele Creek area zip codes 28278 and 28273 the Market is extremely tight,

1325 Homes were sold compared to around 2000 in 2017. Currently there were only 15 Homes priced under $300,000 in the entire 28273 area, most sell within 10 days of entering the market and the overwhelming majority of those were priced under $350,000.

York, Clover and Lake Wylie: Zip Codes 29710 and 29745

A similar pattern continues in the South Carolina Market, sales were down from 2017 from a high mark of 1300 to 1135 in 2018, the majority of those 848 were priced under $350,000. Current active inventory is 221 Homes.

When you look just at Lake Wylie, South Carolina non waterfront resale Homes the story is a little bit different. Closed sales were indeed down year over year 15.3% from 98 to 83. Due to the small sample size, the percentages can look extreme so please keep that in mind. Average price was up year over year to $409,539, an increase of 16.2%. Inventory was dead even from last year in terms of months of supply at 3.3, but remember about that extreme note from earlier, there were actually 26 more homes on the market.

This means that sellers are still in a slightly better position in the Lake Wylie area. New listings are on the rise in the area with many new construction projects helping to boost the supply. The new listings were up 23.9% from 67 to 83. Pending listings were down year over year from 75 to 62, down 17.3%. Homes spent longer on the market in 2018 with days on market up 102% from 51 to 103, but this probably reflects new construction homes which typically stay on the market substantially longer than existing Homes.

In River Hills there is an extreme shortage of Homes on the Market the lowest in recent memory 52 closed last year with currently only 9 on the Market. New Homes accounted for an amazing 245 sales with strong sales in the Paddlers Cove Community

WATERFONT MARKET UPDATE

Median prices continue to rise in the waterfront market due to low inventory and high demand, as of this writing there were just 91 active listings in both Carolinas down from the 120 to 140 we experienced over the last decade with a median asking price of $839,000 which is over $100,000 more than last year with only 5 priced below $600,000.

The 1 Million plus market was very active with 11 Million Dollar plus Homes closed in 2018 and currently 14 are on the market, both numbers are about the same as 2017. A total of about 120 legitimately waterfront Homes sold down from about 160 from the year before due to a shortage in inventory with a median price pushing close to $725,000 up from the low $600,000’s a number that stayed steady for some time.

TIPS FOR BUYERS AND SELLERS:

In this unusual Housing market it is still important to discuss Home staging, photography, drone shots, brochures, marketing, Web presence and most of all pricing strategy. Here are a few other tips to guide the process.

The Real Estate transaction is a complicated and emotional process. Contracts and addendums are extensive sometimes reaching 20 to 30 pages.

Make sure you review all the documents prior to listing or purchasing a property, that way there will be no surprises when time comes to make an offer or negotiate an offer..

Understand the hard deadlines for Loans to be approved, Inspections to take place and negotiations on any repairs, speaking of repairs this is the biggest deal killer of them all as Inspectors are paid to find out everything that is not perfect with the Property, that offends most all Sellers.

The best tip of all is always hire an experienced professional Agent not a friend of a friend that just got Licensed or the former Barber or Hair Stylist. Transactional experience is key to a successful and Happy Purchase or Sale.

David McCorkle

David lives on Lake Wylie and is the Principle Broker of Lake Wylie Realty. David has been a Licensed Broker for 40 Years.