The highest- and lowest-priced single-family home sales from July 30 to Aug. 5

HIGHEST

Sold price: $1.22 million

Square feet: 6,986

Listing and selling agent: Marilyn Hartley, Marilyn Hartley Realty

When Marilyn Hartley took on the listing for this home in the Myers Park area of Charlotte, she knew it was going to be tough to sell.

She said the asking price was a little high, the location was good but very upscale and the house wasn’t finished.

“This is actually a little bit more than the shell of a house,” said Hartley, owner of Charlotte-based Marilyn Hartley Realty. “It was partially built, three years ago, and then the builder went into bankruptcy and it was never finished.”

Many rooms have no flooring and the house needs other work, she said.

“I’ve been trying to sell the home for two years,” she said. “I would get a lot of interested buyers, and plenty of people took tours of the home. But after they saw it they knew they had to be willing to put some money into it to get it finished. Usually, they felt it was going to take too much money to get it ready.”

Hartley said 2301 Sherwood Ave. was supposed to be a $3.5 million home with an elevator to the second floor and basement, which was also supposed to have a wine cellar.

None of those features were added to the house, though.

She estimates that the new owner, whom she declined to name, will spend between $700,000 and $1 million to finish the house. Still, she said, it was a good deal for the area.

“This sold for a lot less per square foot than most homes in that area,” she said, “although I understand that there is less house per square foot when we’re talking about this house.”

Closing thoughts: As other unfinished homes float around the Charlotte market — although most not quite on this scale — Hartley has one piece of advice for real estate agents trying to sell an incomplete house.

“Get a builder you know to work up an estimate on what it would take to finish that property you’re trying to sell,” she said. “I got with Brian Gerard, of Gerard Builders here in Charlotte, and included his estimate in my brochure. It put people more at ease and got them in the mindset of having to spend some money on the home.”

Gerard’s estimate for finishing the house was $675,000, Hartley said.

LOWEST

Sold price: $21,000

Square feet: 1,005

Listing agent: Jason Benham, Benham Real Estate Group

Selling agent: Mark Sloop, Bestway Realty

Since the housing downturn, it’s been a sweet time to be a buyer. But Mark Sloop’s got some good news for those on the other side of a real estate transaction.

“The market is starting to turn a little bit more toward the seller,” Sloop said. “Depending on the area you’re shopping, you might have to pay a little bit more than you would last year.”

Sloop, owner of Harrisburg–based Bestway Realty, was the selling agent for 279 Moore Drive in Concord. It sold for $21,000 to an investor.

He said he’s spent a lot of time over the past five years selling foreclosure properties to investors. This summer, he said, especially compared to the summer of 2011, investment properties are getting snatched up quickly by buyers.

Sloop said 279 Moore Drive was an example of an investment property that didn’t sit on the market for long.

“This house did not need a lot of work,” he said. “My buyer was able to tell right away that it would be a home that could quickly be converted to a rental, and so we made an offer on it the day after it came on the market.”

That was April 26, Sloop said. But it took months to deal with all of the paperwork for the sale of the property, upon which JPMorgan Chase had foreclosed.

Neither Chase nor listing agent Jason Benham returned calls seeking comment for this story.

“With my investment clients I usually stay in the $32,000-and-less range on properties,” Sloop said. “This particular investor has purchased 25 properties from me over the past five years. I have two to three other investors who also buy from me steadily, maybe about one property a year.”

Closing thoughts: When it comes to selling to investors these days, Sloop advises other real estate agents to check their “hotsheets” two or three times a day.

“Generally, if there is something out there like this house in Concord, those go quick,” he said. “Listings are not sticking around as long as they used to if they are priced where someone can go in, change the carpet and paint and stick a tenant in there and make money on the property.”

– SCOTT BAUGHMAN,  [email protected].

A look at the highest-priced sales in other Charlotte-area counties

Alexander County

174 Howard Norton Drive, Hiddenite
Sold price: $60,000
Square feet: 1,104

Anson County

1844 Upper White Store Road, Peachland
Sold price: $205,000
Square feet: 2,000

Cabarrus County

788 Barossa Valley Drive, Concord
Sold price: $405,500
Square feet: 3,860

Gaston County

1121 Scotch Drive, Gastonia
Sold price: $350,000
Square feet: 5,089

Iredell County

843 Morrison Farms Road, Troutman
Sold price: $785,000
Square feet: 4,421

Lincoln County

8203 Landing Court, Denver
Sold price: $343,000
Square feet: 2,776

Montgomery County

121 Arrowwood Trail, Mount Gilead
Sold price: $37,000
Square feet: 300

Stanly County

416 Island Cove Road, Norwood
Sold price: $137,500
Square feet: 1,930

Union County

8710 Victory Gallop Court, Waxhaw
Sold price: $712,882
Square feet: 3,710

 Home sales data and photos are copyright 2012 Carolina Multiple Listing Services Inc.