The latest, greatest in prestigious home addresses for the Charlotte NC real estate market, would have to be in Ballantyne. Ballantyne was developed on a stretch of beautiful land (previously the Morrison Hunting Preserve) under the keen eye of Smokey Bissel, who named the development after his Aunt, Barbara Ballantyne. Although in Charlotte, the Ballantyne area operates like a town unto itself. The Ballantyne development is located deep in South Charlotte; right on the edge of both the Union County and South Carolina borders. Near the intersection of Johnston Road and I-485, with Ballantyne Commons running through its middle.

The upscale nature of this area has had Charlotte home buyers flocking to it since its inception-back in the 1990's. Choices in housing abound, ranging from The Ballantyne Country Club and all of its custom homes, sprinkled into the mix are several beautiful single family neighborhoods, swim/tennis neighborhoods, townhomes and condos are nestled in along with a few apartment complexes.The development includes a 4 star resort (Ballantyne) multiple Marriott hotels, and an 18 hole daily-fee golf course. The Ballantyne Development also has a mix of businesses; financial, insurance, builders (you name it) within the confines of a 535 acre corporate park.

What makes it so popular amongst its residents, is the sheer amount of restaraunts (chain, ethnic, upscale and sandwich), grocery (normal,organic and niche) and retail (national, local and boutique ) shopping that is available at your fingertips. Anchored in the heart of the development is The Ballantyne Village. This is a pedestrian friendly center with indoor and outdoor dining; live music outside usually on weekends and Wednesdays; a grand water fountain with cobblestone walks and nearby home-made chocolate shoppe along with a great cigar store (complete with smoking room), amongst an assortment of others shops. If you need more than boutiques, you'll find Carolina Place Mall (Charlotte's largest) just three miles down the road, with furniture row to its side. You should be able to find anything you need within a five mile radius of Ballantyne, including multiple theatres. It's that convenient.

For those of you with children, this area is known for Ballantyne's schools (a bevy of Charlotte's top scoring schools). The area is home to: Ardrey Kell High School; Community House Middle School; Ballantyne, Endhaven, Elon Park and Community House Elementary Schools. It is also home to our busiest library, South Charlotte's Regional Branch, and two YMCA's! The Ballantyne YMCA is for adults only (you can package this up with the family YMCA membership). The family Y (Morrison YMCA) is just around the corner. It has a water park, in-line hockey field, soccer fields, play ground area, and lots of work out classes and fitness rooms; if that's not your cup of tea, just do your own thing in the fitness center. Nothing shabby here!

Charlotte real estate prices in the Ballantyne area varies. Here are some very general guidelines as of July 2009:

If you were thinking about buying a condo or a townhome; the price could range anywhere from the very low $130,000 mark, up through $400,000. The median would range more closely to $175,000-$250,000.

For single family homes, your price range would run anywhere from the low of $175,000 to the high of $3,000,000. Your median price range would roughly be between $250,000 and $500,000.

For Ballantyne Country Club, the prices would start off at around $500,000 and go up to just around the $3,000,000 mark. The median price is around $700,000.

I realize these are rather broad strokes, but, better than no strokes at all. If you are interested in Charlotte NC real estate, please feel free to contact us, and we can certainly guide you with your real estate endeavors and fine-tune some numbers specifically for you.